title: The application of the theory of signal detection to the assessment of speech perception.
abstract: Traditional audiological measures of speech recognition ability have failed to correlate well with self-assessments of communication difficulty. In this tutorial, an approach to the evaluation of speech perception is described that uses quantities derived from the theory of signal detection. The basics of the theory are reviewed briefly, and its relevance to communication processes is discussed. The measures of performance accuracy and decision criterion provided by the theory of signal detection offer a way of quantifying the ability of a listener to assess the accuracy of his or her own identifications of spoken messages. It is hoped that these quantities will provide new information about communication processes and help to characterize communication difficulties encountered in everyday life.
mesh_terms: D001302:Audiometry, Speech / Q000379:methods*; D003142:Communication; D006801:Humans; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D013067:Speech Perception; D013069:Speech Reception Threshold Test