Abstract
When judging performances in a sequence, the current score is often influenced by the preceding score. Where athletes are perceived to be similar, a judgement is assimilated towards the previous one. However, if judges focus on the differences between the two athletes, this will result in a contrasting influence on their scores. Here, I investigate sequential effects during synchronized diving events at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. Although previous research found assimilation in scores of gymnasts, the current data showed contrast effects—current scores benefited from following a poor performance but were at a disadvantage if they followed a high-scoring performance. One explanation may be that the processes involved in judging synchronized pairs results in a focus on the differences between athletes, producing a contrast effect across dives. That the specific direction of this sequential bias may depend on the particular sport has implications for how judges might approach their roles in a context-dependent manner, as well as how such biases should be addressed.
Highlights
Many judgements in life are supported by the use of technical instruments, where an objective measurement can be achieved— a ruler gives us the length of a line, or scales will determine our weight
The analyses revealed positive correlations between the target divers’ scores and the scores of the divers right before them, in line with previous research [9]. This assimilation effect means that the score of a diving pair increases with increasing scores of the pair that dived directly before them, but it means that their score decreases with decreasing scores of the preceding pair
In the majority of cases, I found strong evidence of contrast effects—the previous diving pair in a sequence had a negative influence on the scores of the current pair of divers if the previous divers performed well
Summary
Many judgements in life are supported by the use of technical instruments, where an objective measurement can be achieved— a ruler gives us the length of a line, or scales will determine our weight. In these situations, we can be fairly sure that such measures are (relatively) accurate and the role of subjective judgements has been minimized. Even when adhering to specific criteria or guidelines (e.g. when judging artistic gymnastics at the European Championships), judges’ scores can still differ significantly from each other [1] In these circumstances, despite the use of scoring guidelines and often extensive training prior to qualification as a judge, people’s opinions will always vary
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