false alarm

in signal detection tasks, an incorrect observation by the participant that a signal is present in a trial when in fact it is absent. The false-alarm rate is the proportion of incorrect yes responses in such a task. See also signal detection theory. Compare miss.

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Psychology term of the day

November 21st 2024

ethnopsychopharmacology

n. the branch of pharmacology that studies ethnic and cultural variations in the use of and response to psychoactive agents across divergent groups, as well as the mechanisms responsible for such differences. —ethnopsychopharmacological adj.