A Shift towards Dynamic Perception Analysis with Continuous Psychophysics

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Constantin Rothkopf
• Subject Area: General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 542568578

Psychophysics is foundational in various scientific fields, utilizing signal detection theory (SDT) to quantify behavior and its neural underpinnings. Despite its extensive use, the current paradigm suffers from both practical and theoretical shortcomings, often sacrificing ecological validity for experimental simplicity and requiring many tedious binary decisions by expert subjects. Classical approaches like SDT have notable shortcomings, especially in representing intricate perception-action cycles and measuring implicit visual information usage. Continuous psychophysics has emerged as a new paradigm to address these gaps, transitioning from binary responses to continuous behavioral adjustments, thereby allowing a more dynamic understanding of sensory processing. A key advancement is the Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) framework, which takes both perception and action into account, presenting a potential solution to traditional psychophysics' limitations. Our project aims to validate LQG in continuous psychophysics comprehensively and examine its capacity to mitigate known challenges with SDT, offering a holistic approach that integrates both perceptual and decision-making processes.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Spain
• Partner Organisation: Agencia Estatal de Investigación
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr. Joan Lopez-Moliner