A Novel Target Detection Task Using Artificial Stimuli: The Effect of Familiarity.
- R.P. McLaren, Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
- Ciro Civile, Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
- Anna Cooke, Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
- IPL McLaren, Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom
AbstractIn this paper we demonstrate that a target detection task is facilitated when the background on which the target is presented is a familiar one, even though the target appears at a random location. We compare performance in that condition with one where the background is randomly generated and establish a significant difference between these two versions of the task in terms of both d’ and criterion, C. We also go on to look at the effect of a tDCS procedure that we know to affect discrimination performance on this difference, discovering that it seems to reduce or reverse the difference in criterion for these two conditions. We ascribe this effect to the neurostimulation manipulation shifting the distribution of information used to reach a decision.