A theoretical and experimental concept in psychology that studies how a person distinguishes meaningful signals from noise or non-essential stimuli in situations where perception is uncertain or information is ambiguous. The theory suggests that the decision-making process in sensory perception depends not only on the strength of the stimulus, but also on psychological factors such as attention, expectations, motivation, and a person’s willingness to take risks in evaluation. The theory is based on two main concepts:
1) Sensitivity – the ability of a person to distinguish a signal from noise;
2) Decision Criterion – the level at which a person decides whether the stimulus received is a real signal or just noise; This criterion may vary depending on conditions and expectations.