Optional extra · not on the syllabus

Sensitivity and criterion

Percent correct mixes how well two states can be told apart with how willing you are to say “yes.” Signal detection separates those quantities.

d′ = z(Hit) − z(False alarm) Criterion c = −0.5 [z(Hit) + z(FA)] decides how willing you are to say “yes.”
A mind with two overlapping clouds

Noise and signal+noise

Read the computation

d′ = 1.20

Hit
False alarm
Miss
Correct rejection

Studio move: keep d′ fixed and slide criterion. Accuracy changes. Sensitivity does not. That is the whole argument against “percent correct” as a grade for a mind, a diagnosis, or a work of art that is easy to over-call.

Optional 20-trial field

Was the faint T there?

Half the trials show a low-contrast T. Press J for yes, F for no. Your hit and false-alarm rates become your own d′.

Waiting.

Your d′
Your criterion