Channel, temporal, and composite uncertainty in the detection and recognition of auditory and visual signals

Abstract

In a 2AFC detection task, channel and temporal uncertainty were separately shown to produce decrements in the detectability of auditory and visual signals. The observed effect of channel uncertainty suggests that Ss are capable of using an “attentional” or “performance-compensation” strategy. This finding is discussed in relation to a “multiple-observation” model for channel uncertainty. Recognition measures were taken where appropriate and gave some support to the hypothesized attentional strategy. Under composite uncertainty conditions both types of uncertainty were presented simultaneously; the results indicated that any interaction effect was small, relative to the separate effects of channel and temporal uncertainty.