Epistemic Consequentialism: Philip Percival

I aim to illuminate foundational epistemological issues by reflecting on 'epistemic consequentialism'—the epistemic analogue of ethical consequentialism. Epistemic consequentialism employs a concept of cognitive value playing a role in epistemic norms governing belief-like states that is analogous to the role goodness plays in act-governing moral norms. A distinction between 'direct' and 'indirect' versions of epistemic consequentialism is held to be as important as the familiar ethical distinction on which it is based. These versions are illustrated, respectively, by cognitive decision-theory and reliabilism. Cognitive decision-theory is defended, and various conceptual issues concerning it explored. A simple dilemma suggests that epistemic consequentialism has radical consequences.     

A FURTHER STUDY OF DIRECT AND INDIRECT SCALING METHODS

The direct method of ratio estimation and the indirect method of pair comparisons were used to construct scales of the political importance of eleven Swedish monarchs. The scale from pair comparisons on the assumption of Case V was a logarithmic transformation of the ratio estimation scale. This is in line with the results obtained in several previous studies.     

Relation between childhood peer victimization and adult perfectionism: are victims of indirect aggression more perfectionistic?

Using two independent samples and two different measures of perfectionism, this study investigated the hypothesized relation between retrospective accounts of perceived peer-inflicted emotional abuse during childhood and perfectionism in adulthood. Emotional victimization ('indirect' aggression) is characterized by behavior in which mental harm is inflicted on victims through exclusionary acts, gossiping, and rumor spreading. Study one: Self-reported questionnaires of indirect victimization [DIAS; Bjorkqvist, Lagerspetz, and Osterman, 1992] and perfectionism [multidimensional perfectionism scale; Hewitt and Flett, 1991] were administered to 162 (mean age=20.14 years) female undergraduate psychology students. Results support the predicted positive relationship between recalled indirect peer victimization and current socially prescribed/self-oriented perfectionism. Study two: self-reports of indirect peer victimization and perfectionism (eating disorder inventory-perfectionism) were collected from 196 (mean age=19.5 years) female undergraduate students. Again, recalled indirect peer victimization was a statistically significant predictor of current socially prescribed/self-oriented perfectionism whereas recalled direct (physical, verbal) peer victimization held no relation. Discussion addresses the implications of these results, which hold importance for both the bullying and perfectionism literatures.     

Stevens vs Fechner: A plea for dismissal of the case

Fechner's Law is based on the assumption that jnd's can be concatenated in order to get a measure of sensation. Stevens contended this assumption; he argued that measurement of sensation by measuring jnd's is ‘indirect’. His ‘direct’ methods, however, appear to be much less direct than originally assumed. Especially Stevens' (implicit) assumption that subjects use numbers on an absolute scale appears to be unwarranted. Ratio scaling is therefore nothing more than cross-modality matching between the number scale and another modality. This view has two consequences. Firstly, it is quite natural to find power functions by cross-modality matching, even when Fechner's Law holds for both modalities. Secondly, if Stevens' power law is true, there will be an overestimation of all exponents by a factor 2.5. All typical power functions will be concave downward after correction for this effect. The discussion boils down to a discrimination between two quite similar curve families: log functions and power functions with an exponent below 0.6. The practical significance of this discussion is doubted.     

Empirical evaluation of axioms fundamental to Stevens's ratio-scaling approach: I. Loudness production

Stevens's direct scaling methods rest on the assumption that subjects are capable of reporting or producing ratios of sensation magnitudes. Only recently, however, did an axiomatization proposed by Narens (1996) specify necessary conditions for this assumption that may be put to an empirical test. In the present investigation, Narens's central axioms of commutativity and multiplicativity were evaluated by having subjects produce loudness ratios. It turned out that the adjustments were consistent with the commutativity condition; multiplicativity (the fact that consecutive doubling and tripling of loudness should be equivalent to making the starting intensity six times as loud), however, was violated in a significant number of cases. According to Narens's (1996) axiomatization, this outcome implies that although in principle a ratio scale of loudness exists, the numbers used by subjects to describe sensation ratios may not be taken at face value.     

Empirical evaluation of axioms fundamental to Stevens’s ratio-scaling approach: I. Loudness production

Stevens’s direct scaling methods rest on the assumption that subjects are capable of reporting or producing ratios of sensation magnitudes. Only recently, however, did an axiomatization proposed by Narens (1996) specify necessary conditions for this assumption that may be put to an empirical test. In the present investigation, Narens’s central axioms ofcommutativity andmultiplicativity were evaluated by having subjects produce loudness ratios. It turned out that the adjustments were consistent with the commutativity condition; multiplicativity (the fact that consecutive doubling and tripling of loudness should be equivalent to making the starting intensity six times as loud), however, was violated in a significant number of cases. According to Narens’s (1996) axiomatization, this outcome implies that although in principle a ratio scale of loudness exists, the numbers used by subjects to describe sensation ratios may not be taken at face value.     

Extensions of Narens' theory of ratio magnitude estimation

Stevens postulated that the responses of a participant in a ratio scaling experiment can be used directly to construct a psychophysical function. Today, it is generally accepted that the axioms of commutativity and multiplicativity are crucial for the interpretation of the subjects' ratio scaling behaviour. Empirical findings provide evidence that commutativity holds, whereas multiplicativity fails to hold across different sensory modalities. This shows that, in principle, Stevens' direct scaling methods yield measurements on a ratio scale level, but that the numerals occurring in a ratio scaling experiment cannot be taken at face value. Thus, Narens and others introduced a transformation function f, which converts the numerals used in an experiment into the latent mathematical numbers. The aim of the present paper is to specify the (unknown) shape of the transformation function f, by analysing different extensions of the multiplicative property. The results provide evidence that f is either a power function or a logarithmic function.     

MEASUREMENT OF 'POLITICAL.' PREFERENCES: A further study of direct and indirect scaling methods

The direct methods of ratio estimation and magnitude estimation and the indirect method of pair comparison were used to construct scales of liberalism and conservatism. It was found ( a ) that the scales of conservatism are linearly related to each other and ( b ) those of liberalism are also linearly related to each other but with a discontinuity in the middle of the range; one linear function for the conservative statements and another for the liberal statements, with the discontinuity occurring in the middle of the subjective scale. Liberalism vs. conservatism was found to be reverse. The linear function between all kinds of scales as well as the reverse relation between liberalism vs. conservatism suggest that the continuum of political preferences is metathetic.     

Can we adapt to highly automated vehicles as passengers? The mediating effect of trust and situational awareness on role adaption moderated by automated driving style

The emergence of highly automated driving technology provides safe and convenient travel while also causing user inadaptation. Therefore, based on human factors engineering, it is necessary to study highly automated vehicles (HAVs) that meet different user needs. Thus, this study aims to investigate the relationships between state anxiety, situational awareness, trust, and role adaptation. The adaptation model is constructed to conduct a study on the adaptation of HAVs with different automated styles when user roles change from driver to passenger. Simulated riding was conducted in the HAV experiment (N = 117), collecting scale data after each participant had experienced each automated driving style. A structural equation modeling approach was applied to analyze the adaptation model based on scale data. The results showed that there was a significant correlation between state anxiety, situational awareness, trust, and role adaptation. State anxiety has a significant negative predictive effect on trust, situational awareness, and role adaptation. In addition to its direct impact on role adaptation, state anxiety also has an indirect effect on role adaptation through situational awareness and trust. Furthermore, the automated driving style has been confirmed to have a moderating role in the relationship between the direct and indirect effects of state anxiety and role adaptation. Our findings contribute to multiple streams of the literature and have important implications for designing personalized automated driving to improve user acceptance.     

Examining the validity of numerical ratios in loudness fractionation

Direct psychophysical scaling procedures presuppose that observers are able to directly relate a numerical value to the sensation magnitude experienced. This assumption is based on fundamental conditions (specified by Luce, 2002), which were evaluated experimentally. The participants' task was to adjust the loudness of a 1-kHz tone so that it reached a certain prespecified fraction of the loudness of a reference tone. The results of the first experiment suggest that the listeners were indeed able to make adjustments on a ratio scale level. It was not possible, however, to interpret the nominal fractions used in the task as "true" scientific numbers. Thus, Stevens's (1956, 1975) fundamental assumption that an observer can directly assess the sensation magnitude a stimulus elicits did not hold. In the second experiment, the possibility of establishing a specific, strictly increasing transformation function that related the overt numerals to the latent mathematical numbers was investigated. The results indicate that this was not possible for the majority of the 7 participants.     

METHODOLOGICAL NOTE ON SCALES OF GUSTATORY INTENSITY

E kman , G. Methodological note on scales of gustatory intensity. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1961, 2, 185–100.—The subjective salt intensity of seven concentrations of sodium chloride in water was measured by the method of ratio estimation and by three variants of the method of magnitude estimation. The four scales thus constructed were not in agreement. The magnitude scales varied systematically with the stimulus used as standard. The average magnitude scale was in good agreement with the scale constructed by the method of ratio estimation. A combined scale was constructed from all the data. This scale is a power function of stimulus concentration. The exponent of the function is 1.59. The function includes an additive constant, which may indicate either the lack of an absolute zero point of the scale, or the presence of a basic sensation without external stimulation.     

Indirect scaling methods for testing quantitative emotion theories

Two studies investigated the utility of indirect scaling methods, based on graded pair comparisons, for the testing of quantitative emotion theories. In Study 1, we measured the intensity of relief and disappointment caused by lottery outcomes, and in Study 2, the intensity of disgust evoked by pictures, using both direct intensity ratings and graded pair comparisons. The stimuli were systematically constructed to reflect variables expected to influence the intensity of the emotions according to theoretical models of relief/disappointment and disgust, respectively. Two probabilistic scaling methods were used to estimate scale values from the pair comparison judgements: Additive functional measurement (AFM) and maximum likelihood difference scaling (MLDS). The emotion models were fitted to the direct and indirect intensity measurements using nonlinear regression (Study 1) and analysis of variance (Study 2). Both studies found substantially improved fits of the emotion models for the indirectly determined emotion intensities, with their advantage being evident particularly at the level of individual participants. The results suggest that indirect scaling methods yield more precise measurements of emotion intensity than rating scales and thereby provide stronger tests of emotion theories in general and quantitative emotion theories in particular.     

The experience of road environments under two lighting and traffic conditions: Application of a road environment construct list

The aim of this study is to find out whether the different accident rates on two roads may be explained by drivers' different appreciations of these roads. Therefore a rating scale specially developed for the evaluation of drivers' experience of the road environment was used. The study is based on the assumption that experience of the road environment is an important factor in driving behaviour. An experiment was carried out in which two roads were compared in daylight and darkness, with and without traffic. The roads were presented on films. Subjects' evaluation scores appeared to be founded on three factors, which explained 66.8 per cent of the variance. The factors were named ‘hedonic value’, ‘activational value’ and ‘perceptual variation’. Composite scores were constructed from the rating scale scores for each factor, per road, and condition. This revealed that the two roads differed on all three factors. Ambient lighting and traffic conditions also influenced the values of the factors and some interactions were found. The range of scores for one road was greater than for the other. The road that ranked lowest on activational level and perceptual variation, especially during daylight conditions with no traffic, was ranked highest on hedonic value. This combination of conditions and experiences could explain the higher rate of ‘incomprehensible’ single vehicle accidents on that road compared with the other.     

Moving Forward Indirectly: Reanalyzing the validity of employment interviews with indirect range restriction methodology

This study provides updated estimates of the criterion‐related validity of employment interviews, incorporating indirect range restriction methodology. Using a final dataset of 92 coefficients (N = 7,389), we found corrected estimates by structural level of .20 (Level 1), .46 (Level 2), .71 (Level 3), and .70 (Level 4). The latter values are noticeably higher than in previous interview meta‐analyses where the assumption was made that all restriction was direct. These results highlight the importance of considering indirect range restriction in selection. However, we found a number of studies involving both indirect and direct restriction, which calls into question the viability of assuming all restriction is now indirect. We found preliminary empirical support for correction of one of these multiple restriction patterns, indirect then direct.     

Value Systems and Social interaction: A Field Study in a Newly Independent Nation1

A field study was conducted in Papua New Guinea to test the hypothesis that extent of social interaction will be positively related to the degree to which individuals of one group perceive that members of the other group share value systems similar to their own (perceived value similarity) and see each other to have something in common (perceived commonality). Indigenous and Australian students at Port Moresby High (a multi-racial school) answered a questionnaire that involved specially constructed items and that also included the Rokeach Value Survey, the Triandis and Triandis Social Distance Scale, and some other measures. Social interaction was assessed by using both direct measures (a specially constructed index, number of good friends in other group) and indirect measures (knowledge and use of Pidgin, social distance). Results for the Australian group showed that the direct measures of social interaction were positively and significantly related to perceived similarity in instrumental value systems and that both the direct and indirect measures of social interaction were positively and significantly related to perceived commonality. But the dependent variables were unrelated to perceived similarity in terminal value systems for this group. There was a general absence of significant relationships between the measures of social interaction and either perceived value similarity or perceived commonality for the indigenous students. Results were discussed in terms of the measures used and certain theoretical issues concerning the determinants of social interaction and the importance of field research.     

CAN A DECAY PROCESS EXPLAIN THE TIMING OF CONDITIONED RESPONSES?

To explain time-scale invariant distributions of response latencies, it appears to be necessary to postulate scalar noise in the remembered intervals, against which the subjective measure of the currently elapsing interval is compared. At least in some cases, the observed variability cannot be due to variability in the subjective intervals written to memory; it must come from noise (variability) in the reading of a memory. The Staddon and Higa proposal offers no explanation for the observed variability, and it is unclear what noise assumption would yield the observed variability, given their assumption that intervals are timed by a nonlinear decay process. The decay process cannot plausibly be represented by the logarithmic function, because it begins and ends at infinity. The assumption of any form of nonlinear timing is inconsistent with the most important result of the time-left experiment, which is that the changeover time increases linearly with the comparison-standard difference.     

The Relationship Between Force and Force Variability in Minimal and Near-Maximal Static and Dynamic Contractions

The critical assumption of linearity between force and force variability for rapid movements made by Schmidt, Zelaznik, and Frank (1978) was studied in four experiments in the present study. The first three experiments extended earlier work showing linearity between force and force variability for submaximal force levels in static and dynamic contractions. However, at near-maximal force levels, when force was increased, force variability leveled off and then decreased in both static and dynamic conditions. A fourth experiment using the rapid-timing paradigm showed that increased submaximal loads on the movement produced slight decreases in VE. But when the loads were larger, where force and force variability were no longer linearly related, increased load led to larger decreases in VE. These observations led to the hypothesis that VEt is linearly related to the ratio of force variability to force; data from two experiments are presented that support this idea. The motor-output variability theory seems to hold for a wide range of sub-maximal force values, but needs modification for those conditions where near-maximal forces are required.     

The relationship between force and force variability in minimal and near-maximal static and dynamic contractions

The critical assumption of linearity between force and force variability for rapid movements made by Schmidt, Zelaznik, and Frank (1978) was studied in four experiments in the present study. The first three experiments extended earlier work showing linearity between force and force variability for submaximal force levels in static and dynamic contractions. However, at near-maximal force levels, when force was increased, force variability leveled off and then decreased in both static and dynamic conditions. A fourth experiment using the rapid-timing paradigm showed that increased submaximal loads on the movement produced slight decreases in VE. But when the loads were larger, where force and force variability were no longer linearly related, increased load led to larger decreases in VE. These observations led to the hypothesis that VE is linearly related to the ratio of force variability to force; data from two experiments are presented that support this idea. The motor-output variability theory seems to hold for a wide range of sub-maximal force values, but needs modification for those conditions where near-maximal forces are required.     

Stevens’ Direct Scaling Methods and the Uniqueness Problem

Stevens postulated that we can use the responses of a participant in a ratio scaling experiment directly to construct a psychophysical function representing the participant's sensations. Although Stevens' methods of constructing measurement scales are widely used in the behavioral sciences, the problem of which scale type is appropriate to describe ratio scaling data is still unresolved. To deal with this problem, we develop a theoretical framework to specify the scale type attained by Stevens' direct scaling methods. It is shown, under fairly mild background assumptions, that the behavioral axioms presented in this paper are necessary and sufficient for the psychophysical functions to be ordinal-, interval-, log-interval-, or ratio-scales. Furthermore, suggestions on how to test these behavioral axioms are provided. Requests for reprints should be sent to thomas.     

Effect of suggestion on perception: replication of Gheorghiu and Reyher's study

Gheorghiu and Reyher in 1982 described a Scale of Sensory Suggestibility consisting of an indirect-direct method of assessing suggestibility. In this study a further sample of 81 women was tested on Gheorghiu and Reyher's scale. The scale has tactual, auditory, and visual items. Each item was administered to the left and right sides of the body in random sequence and the method of presentation was varied. The scale is indirect in that the announced stimuli are never presented to participants, contrary to their expectations; it is direct because the subjects are cautioned that a stimulus might not actually be presented. The scale showed acceptable internal consistency. There were no right-left side differences. The methods of presentation were not equally successful. Progressive Intensification and Progressive Decrease in Intensification of stimulation were the most successful, whereas Expectation of series without objective stimuli was the least successful, contrary to Georghiu and Reyher's results. Finally, item analysis showed that all the items had high reliability coefficients, except two auditory and one visual items. Implications for clinical practice were discussed.