Jacob Feldman

Information-theoretic signal detection theory.

Psychological Review · 2021 · 21 citations

Signal detection theory (SDT), the standard mathematical framework by which we understand how stimuli are classified into distributions such as signal or noise, is an essential part of the modern psychologist's toolkit. This article introduces some mathematical tools derived from information theory which allow surprisingly simple approximations to key quantities in SDT. The main idea is a lower bound on the probability of correct classification of a stimulus, as a function of information-theoret…

Mutual Information and Categorical Perception

Psychological Science · 2021 · 16 citations

Categorical perception refers to the enhancement of perceptual sensitivity near category boundaries, generally along dimensions that are informative about category membership. However, it remains unclear exactly which dimensions are treated as informative and why. This article reports a series of experiments in which subjects were asked to learn statistically defined categories in a novel, unfamiliar 2D perceptual space of shapes. Perceptual discrimination was tested before and after category le…

Perceptual Biases in the Interpretation of Non-Rigid Shape Transformations from Motion

Vision · 2024-07-04 · 2 citations

Most existing research on the perception of 3D shape from motion has focused on rigidly moving objects. However, many natural objects deform non-rigidly, leading to image motion with no rigid interpretation. We investigated potential biases underlying the perception of non-rigid shape interpretations from motion. We presented observers with stimuli that were consistent with two qualitatively different interpretations. Observers were shown a two-part 3D object with the smaller part changing in le…

Probabilistic origins of compositional mental representations.

Psychological Review · 2023-11-03 · 2 citations

. For any given distribution, a variety of compositional forms (features and combination rules) are possible, which can be quite different from one another, entailing different degrees of fidelity, different numbers of features, and even different induced regularities. This article proposes three specific criteria for a compositional representation: fidelity, simplicity, and robustness. The information-theoretic framework introduces a new and potentially useful way to look at the problem of comp…

Defining Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in Autistic People: A Framework for Assessment Using Key Elements to Aid in Characterization

2025-05-28 · 1 citations

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is the intentional destruction of one’s own body tissue without suicidal intent and for purposes that are not socially or culturally accepted or practiced. Research on NSSI in autistic people is limited but increasing. NSSI is strongly associated with suicide, and it is an important behavior to better understand given the high rates of NSSI and suicide in autistic people. To date, research focused on autistic people has mostly used self-report questionnaires to ass…