Question

It is a busy morning at the coffee shop. "I asked for a caramel shot; there's none in this coffee!" demands one impatient customer. "This coffee's caffeinated, and I cannot tolerate caffeine," barks another. "You are right. I'm sorry. Here is a tall with a caramel shot," the harried barista apologizes to the first customer. "All right, I will pour you another," she tells the second customer, even though she knows the woman's coffee really was decaffeinated. In signal detection terms, the first customer's remark reflects a _____. The second customer's statement indicates a _____.

Answer 1

Answer:

Correct rejection, false alarm

Explanation:

It is a busy morning at the coffee shop. "I asked for a caramel shot; there's none in this coffee!" demands one impatient customer. "This coffee's caffeinated, and I cannot tolerate caffeine," barks another. "You are right. I'm sorry. Here is a tall with a caramel shot," the harried barista apologizes to the first customer. "All right, I will pour you another," she tells the second customer, even though she knows the woman's coffee really was decaffeinated. In signal detection terms, the first customer's remark reflects a correct rejection. The second customer's statement indicates a false alarm.

In signal theory, correct rejection occurs when you fail to detect a signal when if fact the signal is not there. The impatient customer never actually asked for a caramel shot even though he actually needed it.

False alarm is the deceptive or erroneous report of an emergency, causing unnecessary panic and/or bringing resources to a place where they are not needed. The second customer actually was served a decaffeinated coffee how ever she insist that it was caffeinated, this is a false alarm, however, the barista gives her another cup.