Reply to Pek et al.: Science is not the signal detection problem it is ordinarily thought to be
Year: 2020
Type: letter
Abstract: In our target article (1), we note that signal detection theory evolved (2) from Fisher’s (3) null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) approach ( H : δ = 0, H 1: δ ≠ 0) as elaborated by Neyman and Pearson (4), who additionally proposed considering the specific magnitude of the alternative hypothesis ( H : δ = 0, H 1: δ = μ). We then argue that this perspective is a useful fiction, not an accurate depiction of underlying reality. The true, underlying effect size (δ) associated with an experimental protocol is more reasonably conceptualized as having been drawn from a continuous distribution, and it is never equal to zero. Pek et al. (5) argue that the Fisherian perspective can be revised by dropping the null hypothesis fiction … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: b6wilson{at}ucsd.edu or jwixted{at}ucsd.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Institution: University of California San Diego
Language: English
Subfield: Statistics and Probability
Field: Mathematics
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3035104334