Investigating strength and frequency effects in recognition memory using type-2 signal detection theory.

Abstract

Criterion- versus distribution-shift accounts of frequency and strength effects in recognition memory were investigated with Type-2 signal detection receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, which provides a measure of metacognitive monitoring. Experiment 1 demonstrated a frequency-based mirror effect, with a higher hit rate and lower false alarm rate, for low frequency words compared with high frequency words. In Experiment 2, the authors manipulated item strength with repetition, which showed an increased hit rate but no effect on the false alarm rate. Whereas Type-1 indices were ambiguous as to whether these effects were based on a criterion- or distribution-shift model, the two models predict opposite effects on Type-2 distractor monitoring under some assumptions. Hence, Type-2 ROC analysis discriminated between potential models of recognition that could not be discriminated using Type-1 indices alone. In Experiment 3, the authors manipulated Type-1 response bias by varying the number of old versus new response categories to confirm the assumptions made in Experiments 1 and 2. The authors conclude that Type-2 analyses are a useful tool for investigating recognition memory when used in conjunction with more traditional Type-1 analyses.

Why Can Some Service Employees Provide Service of a Consistently High Quality While Others Cannot?

“…This argument can be supported by the finding that experience is related to increased sensitivity to signal changes (Lueddeke and Higham 2011). This argument is also consistent with the finding that signal repetition is related to correct detection of the signal (Higham et al 2009). Furthermore, work experience is a predictor of job outcome (Teng et al 2009).…”

“…Moreover, the signal detection theory posits that experience helps improve sensitivity to signal changes (Lueddeke and Higham 2011). Experience helps an individual to identify a signal that appears repetitively, increasing the detection of the signal (Higham et al 2009). Therefore, the signal detection theory could be used to infer that employees with long working experience (i.e., high job tenure) can correctly detect signals relevant to serving customers, enabling them to provide a consistently high quality of service and subsequently reduce service quality variation.…”

The recency ratio as an index of cognitive performance and decline in elderly individuals

“…If this is true, we should predict also Alternatively, it may be possible that HRPs are aware of an existing memory deficit and, strategically, focus on recency items to maximise performance. In this case, it would be expected that HRPs might also show better response monitoring for recency items than for items presented previously (e.g., Higham, Perfect & Bruno, 2009). However, as these questions fall outside of the current focus of this report, they are best left for consideration by further research.…”

Regional White Matter Variation Associated with Domain-specific Metacognitive Accuracy

“…A primary concern in any metacognitive (Type II) analysis is to separate estimates of Type II sensitivity from the potential confounding influence of sensitivity on the primary (Type I) task (e.g., Galvin, Podd, Drga, & Whitmore, 2003). Type II sensitivity refers to an individualʼs ability to discriminate between their own correct and incorrect responses, whereas Type I sensitivity refers to an individualʼs ability to discriminate between stimulus alternatives (i.e., their capacity to distinguish old items from new items in a recognition memory task; Higham, Perfect, & Bruno, 2009;Clarke, Birdsall, & Tanner, 1959). SDT approaches can quantify metacognitive accuracy independent of an observerʼs decision strategy or cognitive ability on the primary task, which have been shown to confound other methods of estimating metacognitive ability (Fleming & Lau, 2014;Maniscalco & Lau, 2012).…”