Who's afraid of response bias?

ABSTRACT: Response bias (or criterion) contamination is insidious in studies of consciousness: that observers report they do not see a stimulus may not mean they have absolutely no subjective experience; they may be giving such reports in relative terms in the context of other stimuli. Bias-free signal detection theoretic measures provide an excellent method for avoiding response bias confounds, and many researchers correctly adopt this approach. However, here we discuss how a fixation on avoiding criterion effects can also be misleading and detrimental to fruitful inquiry. In a recent paper, Balsdon and Azzopardi (Absolute and relative blindsight. Consciousness and Cognition 2015; 32:79-91.) claimed that contamination by response bias led to flawed findings in a previous report of "relative blindsi

SUBMITTER: Peters MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4972336 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature