Weight and value in an information integration model: subjective rating of job applicants

Abstract

A linear judgment model incorporating both relative weights and subjective values of information was investigated in a task in which subjects rated the quality of hypothetical job applicants on the basis of length of work experience, score on an aptitude and skills test, and interview rating. Results of Experiment 1 indicated that a linear model adequately described the data and that information concerning test score had the greatest effect. Experiments 2 and 3 employed a design which in conjunction with an information integration model allowed for the estimation of subjective scales for the three types of information and weights reflecting the degree of importance of each type of information. In Experiment 3 both the weights and the scales for the information varied as a function of an occupation title supplied to subjects as a context variable.