Abstract
A common goal in psychological research is the measurement of subjective impressions, such as first impressions of faces. These impressions are commonly measured using Likert ratings. Although these ratings are simple to administer, they are associated with response issues that can limit reliability. Here we examine best-worst scaling (BWS), a forced-choice method, as a potential alternative to Likert ratings for measuring participants’ facial first impressions. We find that at the group level, BWS scores correlated almost perfectly with Likert scores, indicating that the two methods measure the same impressions. However, at the individual participant level BWS outperforms Likert ratings, both in terms of ability to predict preferences in a third task, and in terms of test-retest reliability. These benefits highlight the power of BWS, particularly for use in individual differences research.
Highlights
A common goal in psychological research is the measurement of subjective impressions, such as first impressions of faces
We find that best-worst scaling (BWS) scores are a better predictor of individual participants’ preferences on a separate criterion task compared to Likert ratings, indicating improved validity for BWS ratings
Likert scores were calculated as the mean rating given to each face
Summary
A common goal in psychological research is the measurement of subjective impressions, such as first impressions of faces. This research focuses on the trait impressions that we form within seconds of seeing a face These facial first impressions do not necessarily reflect a person’s true nature: not all studies find evidence that first impressions accurately predict personality traits or behaviour, and where accuracy is found, effects are generally small (see Bonnefon, Hopfensitz, & De Neys, 2015; Todorov, Funk, & Olivola, 2015; Todorov, Olivola, Dotsch, Mende-Siedlecki, & Fiske, 2015 for review and discussion). Burton et al Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications (2019) 4:36 instance, they might be asked to rate their impression of the attractiveness of faces on a scale from 1, “not at all attractive”, to 9, “extremely attractive.” This method is simple and straightforward for the experimenter, but is prone to a number of response biases and difficulties. These difficulties introduce biases and error that can reduce the validity and reliability with which impressions are measured
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