Set Of Judgments Research Articles

Multidimensional scaling and tourism research

Multidimensional scaling (MDS) is a form of analysis which permits the relationships among a set of elements to be represented as interelement distances in spaces. It is suitable for data collected according to a number of different formats. This article describes a number of the formal and technical features of MDS analysis and its variants. The main purpose of MDS approaches lie in their capacity to explore the structure underlying a set of judgements. Existing and potential uses of the multidimensional scaling procedure in tourist studies are discussed. It is concluded that the multidimensional scaling approach can provide more than a complex technique for simplifying data sets. It is also argued that the technique can be used to test hypotheses and conceptual arguments in the tourist literature.

Landscape perception, preference, and schema discrepancy

An experiment is reported in which the relationship between judgments of goodness of example, interest, attractiveness, and preference is examined for a set of landscapes. Goodness-of-example judgments measure the discrepancy between an instance and a prototypical representation stored in a schema in memory. Both the type and the strength of affective responses to the environment are related to amount of discrepancy. The greater the discrepancy the stronger the affective response. The type of affective response changes with increases in discrepancy: for example, from attractive and pleasant, to stimulating and interesting, to exciting and complex, to threatening and ugly. Differences between groups in a culture are related to affective responses to discrepancy and not to differences between the schemata involved. Analyses of the sets of judgments on each of the scales for two groups with different backgrounds by means of the INDSCAL multidimensional scaling model confirms the predicted relationships betwe...

The effect of viewing position on the perceived layout of space.

Eight observers judged the location of 13 objects in an open field by drawing a map of the scene, estimating absolute distances between objects, and rank ordering subsets of distances. Half the observers made judgments twice from the same position while the rest moved 90° around the scene before making the second set of judgments. Scaled judgments showed a strong visible similarity to the actual spatial layout of the scene. Observer judgments changed significantly as a function of observer position. A portion of this effect was due to a perceptual shortening of radial distances. These results were taken to support the classical psychophysical model of space perception rather than a strong ecological model and to emphasize the importance of the subjective element of visual space perception.

Adolescent perceptions of cognitive development

Abstract This study examines the opinions of 112 northern Australian adolescents concerning the importance of various qualities and skills for their lives as students, and for life in general. Among other analyses, a multidimensional scaling (MDS) technique was used to investigate the substructure of these perceptions. The data indicate that these youngsters believe that socio-motivational qualities are more important than intellectual ones, not only for life in general, but also during their student days. The students rated effort (“Doing your best”) as the most important quality for success at school and in later life. Different analyses, across several sets of judgements, indicate a high degree of consensus and consistency in these judgements. It was tentatively suggested that the one group difference which emerged might be attributed to different rates of development of gender schema and self-concepts of boys and girls. The usefulness of MDS analysis as a research strategy for assessing these differen...

The Paired Comparison Method in Educational Research

This paper examined five sets of paired comparison judgments in order to identify the most probable source of intransitivity in the data. An attempt was made to separate the influences of multidimensional judgment criteria, indiscriminable objects, and unreliability. Results call into question the usefulness of the paired comparisons as a method for assessing the dimensionality of judgment criteria, but reinforce its use in providing information about sensitivity to stimulus differences.

Visual and production similarity of the handshapes of the American manual alphabet.

Two experiments were performed to examine the nature of handshape similarity for the 26 elements of the American manual alphabet. Forty deaf college students, half native (first language) signers of American Sign Language and half nonnative signers, participated in the study. In Experiment 1, subjects were asked to base their judgments on visual characteristics of the shapes. In Experiment 2, they were asked to base their judgments on aspects of manual shape production. Hierarchical clustering and multidimensional scaling analyses showed the two sets of judgments to be quite similar. No clear differences were found between native and nonnative signers in either experiment. These data provide a basis for the future manipulation and detection of manual coding in the processing of verbal stimuli.

Effects of single-session repetitive judgments on magnitude estimation scales for lingual vibrotactile sensation.

The human tongue, because it is mucosal in nature and housed within the oral cavity, presents a unique set of problems for suprathreshold vibrotactile magnitude scaling. It was hypothesized that the ideal response mode when testing the lingual structure would entail a single set of stimulus-level judgments to be made by a subject so that fatigue effects and overall subject discomfort associated with lingual vibrotactile suprathreshold testing could be reduced. The purpose of the present investigation was to study the possible effects that single-session repetitive judgments would have on lingual vibrotactile magnitude estimation outcome. Twenty subjects (M age = 23.25 years) participated in a single-session magnitude estimation paradigm which required them to make three magnitude estimation judgments at each of nine stimulus intensity levels. The three data runs were statistically analyzed using a multivariate mixed-model analysis of variance. There appeared to be no statistical differences between the three magnitude scaling runs at any of the nine sensation levels, whether they were compared separately or in all possible combinations, when alpha was set at .05. The results are discussed as being supportive of the possibility that a single set of response judgments can be employed in lingual vibrotactile magnitude scaling. Factors associated with the single-response set, such as ability to run more subjects in less time, better assurance of open-ended responses from subjects, and the increased likelihood of subject response spontaneity are also discussed.

AUTOMATIC CLASSIFICATION OF BOOK MATERIAL REPRESENTED BY BACK‐OF‐THE‐BOOK INDEX

A research project is reported in which techniques for the automatic classification of book material were investigated. Attention was focussed on three fundamental issues, namely: the computer‐based surrogation of monographic material, the clustering of book surrogates on the basis of content association, and the evaluation of the resultant classifications. A test collection of 250 books, which was assembled on behalf of the project, is described together with its surrogation by means of the complete back‐of‐the‐book index, table of contents, title and Dewey classification code(s) of each volume. Some properties of hierarchic and non‐hierarchic automatic classifications of the test collection are discussed, followed by their evaluation with reference to a small set of queries and relevance judgements. Finally, a less formal evaluation of the classifications in terms of the logical appeal of the cluster membership is reported. The work has shown that, on a small experimental scale and in the context of the test data used, automatic classifications of book material represented by index list can be produced which are superior, on the basis of a generalized measure of effectiveness, to a conventional library classification of the same material.

Social categorization, visual cues, and social judgements

AbstractRecent research on social cognition suggests that lifelike visual and vocal information about a person may strongly mediate the impact of prior social categorical knowledge on social judgements. Other research, however, on the contribution of visual cues to impression formation, suggests that they have relatively little impact. This study sought to resolve these conflicting findings by examining the effect of visual cues on social judgements when subjects possess prior social categorical knowledge varying in salience to the experimental task. Videotaped target interviews were monitored by observers in either sound and vision or sound only, and measures were taken of the targets' perceived personality, their ‘actual’ and ‘predicted’ social performance, and social acceptance by observers. Whilst salience of categorization strongly influenced the quality of judgements, visual cues had little if any effect. However, visual cues strongly influenced subjects' confidence in all three sets of judgements, sound and vision subjects being consistently more confident than their sound only counterparts. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research in both social cognition and visual cues.

The theory of reform and indian indirect taxes

Given a set of value judgements, an initial state, and a model of the economy, one can ask whether some feasible tax change would increase welfare. We do this by defining the marginal cost in terms of welfare of raising an extra rupee from the ith good. The inverse optimum problem is the calculation of non-negative welfare weights on households which imply that the initial state is optimum. If no such welfare weights exist, then a Pareto improvement is possible. We illustrate the concepts and results using data from the Indian economy for 1979–1980. Directions of tax reform for a number of specific social welfare functions and for Pareto improvements are presented.

Clinical judgment in rheumatoid arthritis. II. Judging 'current disease activity' in clinical practice.

Two rheumatologists made judgments about 'current disease activity' in real patients and 'paper patients' with rheumatoid arthritis. Analysis of each set of judgments provides a model of judgment policy which contains only 3 clinical variables but explains over 94% of the variance in judgments. The judgment policy models differ markedly from each other and from the clinicians' own perceptions of their behaviour. Judgment policy modelling offers a means of improving co-ordination between clinical investigators within and between centres.

United States Food and Drug Administration approach to risk evaluation and risk management for foods

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is developing a comprehensive program on risk evaluation and risk management related to foods and food ingredients. Various groups view the FDA differently in terms of potential food hazards, but the regulatory agency is required to follow the laws that reflect a set of social judgments about permissible risks and benefits. The traditional agency approaches to risk management are reviewed and recent plins to consider structural changes in the basic food statute that could lead to greater administrative flexibility are presented. The proposed tentative suggestions discussed embody basic principles that the public health and trust remain the focus of food safety laws. Public confidence in the present system must be retained, it must be a credible system, embody valid scientific data, and the regulatory actions must be taken by FDA scientists who are recognized for their scientific competence. All the proposed actions need to be taken without placing unnecessary economic burdens on industry. The scope of this program is reviewed.

Cognitive dimensions of religious experiences

Multidimensional scaling (MDS) and regression techniques were utilized to identify and interpret dimensions in the domain of religious experiences for members of major western religions. Descriptions of personal religious experiences were collected from college students and adult members of various religious groups. A multidimensional scaling analysis was conducted for similarity judgments provided by participants who sorted the experiences into piles according to perceived similarity. Twenty-seven students sorted 102 student experiences, while thirty students and twenty-three adults sorted 132 adult experiences. An additional set of similarity judgments was provided by twenty-nine students who rank ordered a subset of adult experiences according to similarity. The dimensions identified by the MDS were interpreted through a multiple regression analysis of ratings made for a subset of the experiences on a number of attribute scales. Twenty-two students rated the student experiences and thirty students rated the adult experiences on the attribute scales. Student experiences could be described by four dimensions: spiritual-temporal, aesthetic response, social-individual, and discrete-continual. Three dimensions defined the adult experiences: level of personal control, spiritual-temporal, and social-individual. These three dimensions were appropriate for each of the three sets of similarity judgments made for the adult experiences. Points of correspondence and noncorrespondence with previous taxonomies of religious experiences are discussed.

Entry inclinations under uncertainty

This paper considers the market entry decision of a potential entrant that behaves as if it knew the future market demand and its own cost schedules, and formulates a set of probability judgements as to the unknown output rates that its future rivals will maintain. The special case where entry is free and each in-market seller, as well as the potential entrant, assumes that the others will not alter their production provokes the classic Cournot-Stackelberg situation. Although one might suspect that uncertainty would tend to inhibit entry as compared with an equivalent, in the expected-value sense, certainty situation, this is not at all the case. The suspucion is not necessarily true even when management is risk averse.

Spatial Representation of Maps

Two experiments tested the hypothesis that the cognitive representation of spatial relations on a map is primarily a visually keyed process. In Experiment 1, undergraduates studied a labeled map where features were presented either as words alone, as mimetic drawings of the referent, or as geometric symbols. Cued recall data showed that discrete features are best located when they are semantically congruent with the label referent, a fact providing considerable support for the image position. Recognition testing required a set of introspective judgements ordinally related to the interfeature metric on the map. The judgment X distance estimates were highly correlated for all groups, intimating that a high correspondence exists between image distances and the original stimulus metric. Experiment 2 had undergraduates view either a full-scale or a three-quarter reduction of a reference map. Subjects in the reduced version were able to recognize significantly more interfeature comparisons, suggesting a predictable relation between visual and imaginal acuity. The judgement X distance results were essentially the same as in Experiment 1, and the two groups failed to differ in terms of cued recall. Data from both experiments imply that spatial relations are cognitively represented in at least a partially isomorphic fashion, which seems to possess quasi-pictorial qualities.

The effects of confederate prompt delivery style in a standardized social simulation test

Role plays or social simulations are presently one of the most common methods for assessing social skills. Although social simulation techniques have become quite popular, little is known about the psychometric adequacy of many of the role-play instruments which have been developed. This investigation was an attempt to determine certain properties of one particular social skills assessment instrument: the Simulated Social Interaction Test. The effects of various confederate prompt delivery styles on the judged social competency level of subjects in the Simulated Social Interaction Test were examined. Two confederates, one male and one female, were trained to portray three confederate prompt delivery styles: (a) unreceptive, (b) neutral, and (c) receptive. In order to determine if judges would compensate for the different confederate prompt delivery styles, two sets of trained judges rated the levels of skill and anxiety generated by the 30 subjects tested. One set of judges was screened from the confererate delivery while observing the simulation; the other set of judges followed the more common rating procedure (i.e., they were not screened from the confederates' deliveries). Data analysis examined variation in subject performance under each condition and according to each set of judges for both overall social skills and anxiety ratings. Confederate prompt delivery style was found to affect subjects' rated performance. There was also suggestive evidence that judges were sometimes able to compensate for different confederate delivery styles. The practical and theoretical implications of the results are discussed.

Coefficients of Correlation and Concordance for Sets of Triads Judgments

Coefficients of correlation and concordance are defined for profiles consisting of ensembles of partially ordered sets by extending Kendall's rank order correlation (tau) and Kendall's coefficient of concordance (W) to cases where Ss are asked to rank order, or to choose among, the given alternatives in multiple sets (ensembles) of items. Computational versions of each formula are given for the case of triad judgment ensembles.

The Structure Of Activation And Emotion.

Three experiments are reported which examine the structure of experienced activation and emotion. Initially the interest was in activation. A factor analysis of a study of self report ratings of experienced emotion and a multi-dimensional scaling analysis of a study of judged similarities in the experiences associated with words descriptive of activation states revealed that activation would appear to be best conceptualized as a four category structure simi1ar to that proposed by Thayer (1967). A multidimensional scaling analysis of a set of judgments regarding the similarities of experiences associated with words descriptive of both activation and emotion located the activation and emotion words in a four dimensional Euclidian space where a dimensional rather than a categorical structure appeared to be the more appropriate interpretation. The implications of these findings for existing theories of emotion and activation are discussed with particular reference to the theories of emotion put forward by Schachter and Singer (1962) and Mandler (1975).

Toward an understanding of the fundamental attribution error: Essay diagnosticity in the attitude attribution paradigm

The observer error in attitude attribution was examined, focusing upon the perceiver's conception of the relationship between a writer's attitude and the quality of performance on an essay task. Subjects appear to have invested essays, written under assignment, with diagnostic value on the presumption of a correlation between the quality or strength of the essay and the writer's attitude. When subjects were given essays varying in direction, strength, and constraint, their attributions indicated a reversal of correspondent inference for weak essays produced under high constraint, replicating an earlier, conceptually important result ( E. E. Jones, S. Worchel, G. R. Goethals, & J. Grumet, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1971 , 7, 59–80). It was suggested that the attribution error need not reflect general misunderstandings about, or the low salience of, situational factors, but rather is based on the perceiver's inclination to adopt a diagnostic judgmental set in the attitude attribution paradigm.

Judging risks and benefits in the small and in the large

Between April 1978 and October 1979 a large psychometric field study on personal judgments of divergent risky activities was carried out in and around the greater Rotterdam harbor area. Almost 700 adult women and men from three different age groups, and living at systematically varying distances from an area of heavy industries, were personally interviewed with the help of various psychometric judgment tasks. Here, a brief review is given of a theoretical scheme of “aspects of risky decision problems” underlying this empirical study. An account is given of the plan and methods for data collection and analysis. Multidimensional scaling analyses are reported which have resulted in three pairs of cognitive dimensions underlying sets of individual judgments of the “riskiness,” “beneficiality,” and “acceptability,” respectively, of a basic collection of 26 risky activities. “Riskiness,” for example, seems to have been conceptualized as depending upon the “size of potential accident” and the “degree of organized safety.” The various cognitive dimensions appeared to have a particular pattern of intercorrelations, and their interpretations were supported by several aspects of risky decisions, which had been explicitly judged in separate tasks. Respondents disagreed about the implicit weight given to secondary dimensions of “riskiness,” “beneficiality,” and “acceptability.” This could, to some extent, be traced back to systematic differences in group characteristics. The existence of such disagreement implies that average personal judgments of risk, benefit, and acceptability should be handled with extreme caution. Contrary to a classical thesis of risk analysts, no relation was observed between judgments of overall riskiness and those of overall beneficiality across the set of 26 activities. Scale values of the activities on “beneficiality” dimensions did, however, strongly correlate with dimension values of “acceptability.” This suggests that “riskiness” plays a secondary role in risk acceptance decisions. Some implications for understanding societal risk debates, as well as a few weaknesses of this and other risk perception studies, are mentioned. We finally discuss why, and how, risk—benefit perception studies could usefully serve risky decision makers.