scholarly journals Raters’ Decision Making Variations in Scoring Writing Samples

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 142
Author(s):  
Asma Dabiri

This study examined raters’ decision making variations in a writing assessment task focusing on individual differences in decision-making style (DMS). The participants’ of the study were six TEFL instructors. A rating scale obtained from Turner and Upshur, 2002 and a General Decision Making Style Inventory questionnaire, GDMSI, obtained from Scott and Bruce (1995) were administered to raters. The results showed the raters’ behaviors were not equally the same in the same rating situations. These discrepancies suggested individual socio-cognitive differences in accounting for some rater variability in scoring. In addition, characteristics of the texts (not just individual cognitive characteristics) favored certain decision-making behaviors. Accordingly, a re-visioning of the one-size-fits-all approach that is currently the norm in the training of raters for scoring writing assessments is needed. Further, a more individualized approach to rater training is needed. If the individual decision-making style to a great extent is dependent on basic cognitive abilities that are stable and not easily changed, then the decision support systems need to be flexible in order to match the needs of the individual decision makers.

Intersections ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-278
Author(s):  
Judit Flóra Balatonyi

Based on my digital anthropological research (nethnography, online surveys, and in-depth interviews) this paper will examine the individual decision-making processes and choices related to getting married during times of COVID-19 in Hungary. The paper raises questions about the extent to which these choices and decisions were individual and reflexive, and how they were influenced or restricted by legal structures and contexts. Using classical and contemporary social theories about decision-making (structuralist and reflexive approaches), on the one hand I aim to explore the structural and contextual circumstances of making decisions about whether to go ahead with, hold-off, modify, postpone, or cancel wedding plans. On the other hand, I study the individual ‘decision horizons’ as well. Through examining discourses surrounding weddings as well as through case studies, I look at how social actors identify and perceive their options and how they perceive and interpret the related structural constraints, contexts, and rules. The results emphasize that despite – or rather in the face of – changing circumstances, many couples sought new opportunities and new means of adapting, but in the meantime they recognized and interpreted the structural constraints that could potentially influence their weddings, maneuvered between them, or just overcame or circumvented them, and at other times sought to create new structures through their individual and community practices.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Emmanuel Tetteh ◽  
Christopher Boachie

PurposeThis paper attempts to investigate the influence of psychological biases on saving decision-making of bank customers in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachIt employs weighted least squares regression to test the effect of psychological biases on savings decisions of bank customers.FindingsThe findings show that all the nine psychological biases, namely mental accounting, availability, loss aversion, representativeness, anchoring, overconfidence, status quo, framing effect and disposition effect employed for the study have a significant influence on saving decision of bank customers. The results depict that psychological biases are entrenched in the saving pattern of bank customers in Ghana.Practical implicationsFor policy purposes, the study recommends that bank customers need to enhance their knowledge of psychological biases in order to improve their gains from savings, and not to fall prey to these prejudices. The satisfied customer is a dependable source of bank viability and survival.Originality/valueTo the best of the knowledge of the author, this study provides the first empirical evidence of the influence of psychological biases on saving decisions of bank customers in Ghana. The findings of this study will enhance knowledge on the influence of psychological biases on individual decision-making and will accentuate the fact that the individual is not an entirely rational being.


Author(s):  
Irina A. Iles ◽  
Xiaoli Nan

Counterfactual thinking is the process of mentally undoing the outcome of an event by imagining alternate antecedent states. For example, one might think that if they had given up smoking earlier, their health would be better. Counterfactuals are more frequent following negative events than positive events. Counterfactuals have both aversive and beneficial consequences for the individual. On the one hand, individuals who engage in counterfactual thinking experience negative affect and are prone to biased judgment and decision making. On the other hand, counterfactuals serve a preparative function, and they help people reach their goals in the future by suggesting effective behavioral alternatives. Counterfactual thoughts have been found to influence an array of cognitive processes. Engaging in counterfactual thinking motivates careful, in-depth information processing, increases perceptions of self-efficacy and control, influences attitudes toward social matters, with consequences for behavioral intentions and subsequent behaviors. Although it is a heavily studied matter in some domains of the social sciences (e.g., psychology, political sciences, decision making), counterfactual thinking has received less attention in the communication discipline. Findings from the few studies conducted in communication suggest that counterfactual thinking is a promising message design strategy in risk and health contexts. Still, research in this area is critically needed, and it represents an opportunity to expand our knowledge.


1997 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerard H. Maassen ◽  
Jos L. van der Linden ◽  
Wies Akkermans

In 1944, U. Bronfenbrenner remarked on the need for a two-dimensional model of sociometric status. The low value of the correlation between the variables liking and disliking-assumed basic dimensions of sociometric status-is often cited as evidence for the correctness of Bronfenbrenner’ssuggestion. Sociometric status is derived from a coalescence of judgements at the individual level. In this article we argue that score attribution at this level (where one group member assesses another) is one-dimensional along the liking-disliking continuum. Two-dimensionality of sociometric status arises at the group level. However, we also show that at this level liking and disliking are not two distinct dimensions, but the poles of just one, the other being visibility (or impact). If the one-dimensional model of liking score attribution on the individual level is accepted, the obvious thing to do is to instruct respondents accordingly. Rating scales are suitable for this. The rating-scale methods we suggested in previous publications (e.g. Maassen, Akkermans, & van der Linden, 1996) are in keeping with this argument. Moreover, these methods may be recommended for their reliability, validity and for the variety of research designs to which they can be applied.


1961 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sidney Verba

It is a truism that all action within the international system can be reduced to the action of individuals. It is also true, however, that international relations cannot be adequately understood in terms of individual attitudes and behaviors. Models of the international system usually deal with larger units, nation-states, as prime actors. To what extent can such models give us adequate explanations of international relations without some built-in variables to deal with individual decision-making?It may be that some processes in international relations can be adequately explained on the level of social structure without explicit consideration of the personality, predispositions, attitudes, and behavior of the individual decision-maker. In that case, the introduction of variables dealing with individual behavior would complicate the model without commensurate payoff in terms of increased understanding and prediction. This would be true if the impact of individual decision-making on the behavior of nations in their relations with other nations were slight, or if the impact varied randomly (because, for instance, of idiosyncratic factors) among the population of international events that one was trying to explain. If, on the other hand, models of the international system that either ignore or make grossly simplifying assumptions about individual decision-making can explain international relations only very imperfectly, it may well be worth the additional effort to build variables about individual decision-making into them.


2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 881-892 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Wang ◽  
Yu Pan ◽  
Kecheng Zhang ◽  
Yujia Sui ◽  
Tingjie Lv ◽  
...  

We compared individual and joint risk-based decision making using the Balloon Analogue Risk Task, with a focus on participants' (160 Chinese men) emotional experience during decision making and their Big Five personality traits as measured by the NEO Five-Factor Inventory. We found that, compared with the individual decision-making process, making a joint decision led to reduced risk taking and increased earnings, and brought a greater sense of control, stronger feelings of achievement and happiness, and a reduced sense of regret for the participants. The Big Five personality traits of the participants were related to their risk-based decision making; participants tended to act differently according to their personality traits during individual and joint decision making. Our findings show that, compared with individual decision making, joint decision making has many advantages.


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