Direct-comparison judgments: when and why above- and below-average effects reverse.
Above-average and below-average effects appear to be common and consistent across a variety of judgment domains. For example, several studies show that individual items from a high- (low-) quality set tend to be rated as better (worse) than the other items in the set (e.g., E. E. Giladi & Y. Klar, 2002). Experiments in this article demonstrate reversals of these effects. A novel account is supported, which describes how the timing of the denotation of the to-be-judged item influences attention and ultimately affects the size or direction of comparative biases. The authors discuss how this timing account is relevant for many types of referent-dependent judgments (e.g., probability judgments, resource allocations) and how it intersects with various accounts of comparative bias (focalism, generalized-group, compromise between local and general standards [LOGE]).
Windschitl
Paul D
PD
Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. paul-windschitl@uiowa.edu
Conybeare
Daniel
D
Krizan
Zlatan
Z
D001290:Attitude; D015982:Bias; D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D014796:Visual Perception