Psychophysical study of numbers

Two experiments were conducted to study the number biases of subjects in situations not involving the usual psychophysical stimuli. In Exp. I subjects were asked to generate numbers (within boundary conditions) they thought other people would produce under the same conditions. In Exp. II only a single lower boundary (e.g., 1,10 or 100) was employed and subjects generated a set of numbers larger than the boundary. Results suggested that definite number biases exist. Multiples of 1, 10, 100 and to a lesser extent 5, 50 and 500 dominate and are appropriate to the log cycle. That is, multiples of 1 occur most often in the cycle 1–10, multiples of 10 in the cycle 10–100, etc. The implications of these results are noted for several psychophysical theories.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47497/1/426_2004_Article_BF00309723.pd

Psychophysical study of numbers

This paper develops three theoretical models to predict the numbers generated by S s in an experiment described by Baird and Noma, 1975, Exp. II. The models (digit, base, and quarter) are each grounded on different assumptions about the process underlying number generation without the constraints of physical stimuli usually present in psychophysical tasks. Each of the models proved applicable to a restricted subrange of the physical continuum from 1–1000. A combination of models seems necessary to adequately predict number generation.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47498/1/426_2004_Article_BF00308940.pd

A new solution to the problem of finding all numerical solutions to ordered metric structures

A new algorithm is used to test and describe the set of all possible solutions for any linear model of an empirical ordering derived from techniques such as additive conjoint measurement, unfolding theory, general Fechnerian scaling and ordinal multiple regression. The algorithm is computationally faster and numerically superior to previous algorithms.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45740/1/11336_2005_Article_BF02293603.pd

Centroid Scaling of Citation Data: Charting the History of a Scientific Specialty, Plate Tectonics (Geology).

When a published article includes another article in its reference list its author expresses a conceptual link between the article and the article it cites. Based on this simple premise a method for scaling is developed. It is called centroid scaling. This method places articles as points into a Euclidean space. In this space articles connected by a citation link are drawn as close as possible to each other. Using this simple model of the citation bond, centroid scaling locates both citing and cited articles in a common space. The advantages of centroid scaling over previous methods, such as bibliographic coupling and co-citation is demonstrated. First, basing the method on a model of the citation bond permits parallel development of the scaling method and models of the citation bond. Second, the basic computational procedure can be implemented using subroutines that are generally available in most computer facilities. This method is applied to spatially locate 21 articles on plate tectonics according to the pattern of citations they received from 1971 to 1980. The analysis revealed year-to-year changes in the relative locations of articles. These article relocations were interpreted in light of conceptual changes within geology.Ph.D.Information scienceScience historyUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/159248/1/8304561.pd

A New Method of Measuring Financial Risk Aversion Using Hypothetical Investment Preferences: What Does It Say in the Case of Gender Differences?

Aversion to risk is one of the main factors driving investment decisions. Studies have been based on either simple decisions in a laboratory setting or real-life decisions viewed in retrospect. The study\u27s main contribution to the literature consists of a new and elaborate method of measuring risk combined with a real-world investment task brought into a laboratory setting and show that in this controlled environment on average women are more risk averse than men. Unlike previous studies, the authors measure risk tolerance in units that naturally map into the risk-return space used by investors, giving them the missing tool to identify the optimal portfolio among the set of investment options that comprise the efficient frontier

Heuristic method for label placement in scatterplots

heuristic plot, metric plot,