The Equivalence Interval as a Measure of Uncertainty.
Abstract
Subjects made a series of 15 judgments, one about each of five stimuli in three different stimulus classes. Then, supposing that their answers were not exactly correct, half of the subjects were asked to indicate the range of values within which they were reasonably certain that the correct answer did in fact lie. This range is termed an equivalence interval. The remaining subjects were simply asked to rate their confidence in the accuracy of each judgment. It was found that the width of the equivalence intervals correlated quite highly with the confidence ratings: As subjects in one group became less confident in the accuracy of their judgments the equivalence intervals given by subjects in the other group became wider. In addition, both measures indicated that the subjects were most uncertain about their judgments when clearly defined standards of comparison were least available. The results were discussed in terms of the usefulness of the equivalence interval technique as a measure of uncertainty. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1978
- Accession Number
- ADA056949
Entities
People
- Andrew M. Reenan
- James R. Larson Jr.
Organizations
- University of Washington