Article

Quantitative science and the definition of measurement in Psychology

Wiley
British Journal of Psychology
Authors:
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the author.

Abstract

It is argued that establishing quantitative science involves two research tasks: the scientific one of showing that the relevant attribute is quantitative; and the instrumental one of constructing procedures for numerically estimating magnitudes. In proposing quantitative theories and claiming to measure the attributes involved, psychologists are logically committed to both tasks. However, they have adopted their own, special, definition of measurement, one that deflects attention away from the scientific task. It is argued that this is not accidental. From Fechner onwards, the dominant tradition in quantitative psychology ignored this task. Stevens' definition rationalized this neglect. The widespread acceptance of this definition within psychology made this neglect systemic, with the consequence that the implications of contemporary research in measurement theory for undertaking the scientific task are not appreciated. It is argued further that when the ideological support structures of a science sustain serious blind spots like this, then that science is in the grip of some kind of thought disorder. …unluckily our professors of psychology in general are not up to quantitative logic… E. L. Thorndike to J. McK. Cattell, 1904

No full-text available

Request Full-text Paper PDF

To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.

... I denne artikkelen argumenterer jeg for at pedagogikkfeltet har adoptert psykologiens perspektiv på måling, men også dette perspektivets tankefeil -som i ytterste konsekvens kan så tvil om vitenskapeligheten til kvantitativ utdanningsforskning. Ifølge Michell (1997) har kvantitativ forskning to oppgaver knyttet til målinger: en vitenskapelig og en instrumentell. Den vitenskapelige oppgaven handler om å teste de underliggende antakelsene ved måling, slik som at det som måles faktisk er målbart. ...
... Når et begrep blir forstått som prosedyrene for å identifisere det (operasjonalisme) og det er forskerens valg som avgjør tallrepresentasjon (skalaer), blir DPR modifisert i Stevens' teori ved at det er forskeren som også definerer relasjonene mellom begreper (se også Michell, 1997). Premissløs DPR sammen med operasjonalisme gjør den vitenskapelige oppgaven ved måling overflødig, da det er forsker som definerer hva som måles og hvordan det skal måles. ...
... verdier). De matematiske symbolene viser til relasjoner mellom mengder (Michell, 1997). Symbolet for addisjon (+) viser til relasjoner mellom mengder i den forstand at «a + b = c» betyr at mengden c består av de separate delene a og b. ...
Article
Full-text available
Til tross for at måling er en hyppig anvendt metode i kvantitativ utdanningsforskning, blir lite oppmerksomhet viet til logikken som ligger bak tallene. I denne artikkelen argumenterer jeg for at utdanningsforskning har adoptert psykologiens syn på måling sammen med en rekke vitenskapelige tankefeil. Artikkelen gir en gjennomgang av innholdet i de to overlappende tilnærmingene til måling som preger dagens metodologi: måling som tallfesting og måling som validering. Basert på en sammenligning med en klassisk forståelse av måling argumenteres det for at kvantitativ utdanningsforskning ikke måler, men kvantifiserer teoretiske begreper. Denne forståelsen av måling sår tvil om andre rådende oppfatninger i kvantitativ forskning, spesielt ontologiske og vitenskapelige antakelser. Basert på gjennomgangen av psykologisk måling argumenteres det for at utdanningsforskning ikke har tilknytning til ontologisk realisme, som ofte antas i metodelitteraturen. Jeg viser også til den utestede hypotesen om den iboende kvantitative strukturen til teoretiske begrep, som danner fundamentet for at noe i det hele tatt er målbart. Hovedtema i artikkelen er at «måling» i utdanningsforskning blir gjort utelukkende til en instrumentell oppgave forstått som instrumentutvikling, mens vitenskapelige oppgaver blir tatt for gitt.
... Psychometric models can be used to model the associations between item scores and to identify a variable from them so that scores on this variable can serve as a "measure of the construct". In contrast to other measurement theories, such as the classical [86] and representational theories of measurement [66], psychometric theories (sometimes called 'test theories' 1 ) thus conceptualize the measurement problem statistically [77]. ...
... In line with the traditional measurement of "attributes" in psychometrics, and measurement of "properties" in metrology [75], the measurement targets we discuss refer to properties and not to the objects that bear the property. There is no agreement in the literature on whether nominal properties can be 'measured' or whether alternative terms should be used for examining such nonquantitative properties (see e.g., [73][74][75]86]). We choose to use a more tolerant definition of measurement that allows for the measurement of quantitative, ordinal and nominal properties, in line with Mari et al. [75]. ...
Article
Full-text available
In psychology, regulation of measurement practices relies on the use of psychometric models that relate the targeted psychological construct to a set of observations in empirical research. Recent work has argued for a new conceptualization, in which psychological constructs are viewed as networks. However, in contrast to existing models, network psychometrics has not articulated normative guidelines for measurement. To develop normative criteria for measurement in the network framework, a clearer picture is needed about possible measurement targets in a network. Using the example of depression, we explore five such potential measurement targets in the network framework: the structure of the network, the current state of the network, and three properties of the dynamical landscape, the expected state, vulnerability, and stable state. We discuss strategies for measuring these targets as well as challenges that arise in doing so.
... Furthermore, a discussion of multiple viewpoints would honestly represent measurement in research methodology. Viewpoints on measurement include, but are not limited to, classical/realist, operationalist, representationalist, pragmatic, as well as statistical, such as item response theory and Rasch measurement (Maul et al., 2016;Michell, 1997Michell, , 1999. These viewpoints are not merely semantic but are fundamentally different views of measurement and numbers. ...
... The realist perspective would define measurement as estimating or discovering continuous quantities (Michell, 1997(Michell, , 1999. This viewpoint makes a major distinction between simple numerical coding as done when assessing a variable like sex, pain, and even possibly intelligence, as opposed to measurement with a variable like length or mass. ...
Article
Full-text available
Measurement is integral to science. Given that it takes many years to become knowledgeable in measurement, it is valuable to consider current practices in teaching measurement to undergraduate psychology students. It is argued here that psychology research method courses could benefit from significant additions and clarifications in the topic of measurement. Three topics to consider are: discussions of different measurement viewpoints, the conditions for continuous quantities, and measurement challenges in psychology. These topics can be integrated into our courses and would translate to a more nuanced understanding of measurement and a greater ability to critically think about measurement in psychology. Suggested strategies for teaching about these topics are also discussed.
... In the second experiment participants performed four sets of maximal effort repetitions using the CARE machine for three conditions: 1) 20 concentric only muscle actions, 2) 20 eccentric only muscle actions, and 3) 10 concentric and 10 eccentric muscle actions alternated. During these experiments participants provided self-report ratings of their perceptions of capacity 2 It should be noted for the reader that, whilst the authors take a realist ontological stance regarding the concepts and constructs discussed here and would hope to draw inferences from our data regarding these as such, certain hypotheses regarding the specific structure of them, particularly that they are quantitative attributes, meaning their specific magnitudes are related to one another ordinally and additively and thus sustain measurement via numerical estimation of ratios of magnitudes (Michell 1997), as yet remain untested. Thus, the reader is forewarned to at present consider the realist interpretation of our findings with particular tentativeness and perhaps instead to consider them primarily with respect to the specific operations undertaken until such time as the quantity assumption is tested. ...
... Here both actual capacity as a measurable ratio quantity, and the self-reported perception of capacity, were on the 0-100% interval allowing us to explore the extent of their identity at least with respect to the operationalisations themselves. However, whilst actual capacity was measured, it is not entirely clear that perception of capacity is itself a measurable ratio quantity (Michell 1997). It is possible to test empirically the assumption of quantitative structure for even intensional constructs such as the phenomenology considered here thanks to advances such as conjoint measurement theory (Luce and Tukey 1964). ...
Article
Full-text available
The actual capacity to perform tasks, and actual fatigue, are concepts that have been thought of as inherently linked. These considerations also extend to their phenomenology, meaning the perception(s) of capacity or fatigue. The phenomenology of capacity or fatigue thus may be capturing the same underlying latent construct. Further, it is speculated that the actual capacity of a person to perform a given task, and their perception of that capacity, have a psychophysical relationship. The aim of this study was therefore twofold: 1) to explore the extensional equivalence of perceptions of capacity and fatigue, and 2) to explore the relationship between actual capacity and the perception of that capacity. We analysed secondary outcomes from two experiments where 21 participants performed various elbow flexion tasks with either a dumbell, or a connected adaptive resistance exercise (CARE) machine enabling measurement of actual capacity (i.e., maximal force). Mixed effects ordered beta regression models estimated the latent constructs during conditions from self-reports of perceptions of capacity and fatigue comparing the two operationalisations, and the relationship between actual capacity (i.e., % maximal force) and self-reports of perceptions of capacity. We hypothesised that, given their theoretical extensional equivalence, the latent constructs captured by self-report ratings as operationalisations of perceptions of capacity and fatigue would exhibit a strong negative relationship between each other reflecting strong identity, and a positive association albeit with weak as opposed to strong identity between actual capacity and perception of capacity. Our results appear to broadly corroborate both hypotheses. There was a very strong relationship indicating strong identity and thus extensional equivalence of perceptions of capacity and fatigue latent constructs (r =-0.989 [95% CI-0.994 to-0.981]). Further, a coarse grained directional relationship between actual capacity and the perception of capacity was present suggesting only weak identity at best. Future research should endeavour to identify conditions permitting testing of assumptions of the present work (i.e., the quantity assumption) and explore further possible psychophysical models relating actual, and perceptions of, demands, capacity, and effort to understand the impact of the former upon the latter given the conceptual relationships between them.
... While Kwok (2025P) acknowledges the theoretical possibility of future, radically different paradigms of 'computation' or 'information processing' beyond the Turing model¹, the argument holds strongly based on our current best scientific and philosophical understanding of computation, biology, and phenomenology: core ER dimensions appear non-computable by standard means due to their deep entanglement with the specific nature of living, conscious systems. • Challenges from Formal Measurement Theory: Beyond computational limits, attempting to measure ER dimensions objectively faces fundamental hurdles from the perspective of measurement theory itself (Suppes & Zinnes, 1963;Tal, 2020;Michell, 1997). Meaningful scientific measurement, particularly quantitative measurement, typically requires the attribute being measured to possess certain structural properties (e.g., additive structure for interval or ratio scales), along with stable, observable manifestations, clear operational definitions allowing for reliable procedures, and validated instruments demonstrating construct, content, and criterion validity (Kwok, 2025O). ...
Preprint
Full-text available
This paper delves into the fundamental, arguably insurmountable, challenges and profound potential risks associated with attempting to computationally model and quantitatively measure "Existential Redundancy" (ER). ER, defined within the Existential Symbiosis Theory (EST) (Kwok, 2025R) as those crucial quality dimensions transcending direct utility that constitute the core of current human experiential depth, meaning-making, intrinsic valuation, and authentic creativity (e.g., meaning generation, intrinsic value judgment, aesthetic appreciation, non-utilitarian creativity, affective depth, existential awareness), presents a unique challenge to computational approaches. Building upon prior EST arguments regarding ER's deep roots in phenomenology and bio-philosophy (Kwok, 2025F) and the analysis suggesting potential non-computational limits of mind grounded in substrate dependence (argued via IBE in Kwok, 2025P), this paper first establishes and reinforces the theoretical stance that key ER dimensions, due to their intrinsic connection to subjective qualia, irreducible embodiment, living autopoietic processes, and complex lifeworld contexts, are, based on our best current scientific and philosophical understanding, likely in principle non-computable by standard Turing-equivalent paradigms and inherently resistant to complete, objective, context-independent measurement using conventional quantitative methods. Subsequently, it critically assesses the significant limitations of existing computational fields attempting to model or quantify related concepts (e.g., affective computing, computational aesthetics, value learning, computational creativity), revealing their prevalent reductionist tendencies and fundamental failure to bridge the ontological "Authenticity Gap" (Kwok, 2025F) between simulation and lived reality, often conflating functional mimicry with genuine human states (a problem also highlighted in Kwok, 2025O). On this critical foundation, the paper proceeds with extreme caution to propose a purely theoretical framework for potentially constructing "ER Proxy Indicators." It must be stressed unequivocally that this is not an attempt to actually measure or quantify ER itself. Instead, this exploration serves primarily as a critical thought experiment aimed solely at considering the possibility of identifying potential behavioral or informational pattern correlates that might, under highly specific and rigorously validated (if validation is even achievable, which remains deeply doubtful) conditions, indirectly signal something about the functional complexity or potential risks associated with AI simulations related to ER dimensions. Simultaneously, and forming the core message of this paper, it emphasizes, at length and with maximum warning, the fundamental limitations of any such proxy indicators (they are proxies for functional simulation aspects, never measures of ER itself), their severe and multifaceted risks of misuse (including the dangerous trivialization of ER and human experience (Kwok, 2025N), the reinforcement of computational hegemony and reductionism, enabling sophisticated manipulation (Kwok, 2025p') or social control, and providing a pseudo-objective veneer for discrimination), and the immense, perhaps insurmountable, methodological challenges in validating even their extremely limited efficacy (validity hurdles detailed in Kwok, 2025O, Kwok, 2025K). This paper strictly defines the interpretive boundaries for any such proxies and positions their primary, highly restricted potential value (if any) solely in revealing the limits of AI simulation, identifying specific operational risks associated with those simulations, and serving as a concrete critical warning framework against naive quantification. Ultimately, it calls forcefully for establishing robust ethical norms prohibiting the misuse of proxy indicators (especially for evaluating humans or inferring AI sentience), advocating a research path that firmly acknowledges in-principle non-computability, focuses resolutely on qualitative understanding and risk warning, prioritizes ethical self-awareness over measurement ambition, and shifts focus from attempting to measure ER towards understanding the complex socio-technical conditions that enable or hinder its flourishing in human life.
... This prerequisite is rooted in the concept that measurement involves estimating the ratio of a unit of measurement, a task that depends on the existence of a quantitative framework. Consequently, determining whether an attribute is measurable requires empirical investigation to ensure the existence of a quantitative structure and the feasibility of ratio estimation (Michell, 1997). If attributes lack a quantitative structure, conventional measurements become unfeasible, prompting researchers to explore alternative methodologies such as classification or ordering. ...
Article
Full-text available
This article discusses the origins of the psychometric paradigm and its reliance on the notion that mental attributes can be measured. Galton's assumption that mental attributes can be discerned through definite actions in response to definite situations is misguided. This article highlights the ternary nature of causality, involving causes, effects, and specific causal fields. The same cause may not produce the same effect in different causal fields, and different causes may produce the same effect in different causal fields. The relationships between observable measures and aspects of character are unclear, and indirect indices of mental attributes are inherently ambiguous. This article focuses on Francis Galton's role in establishing these beliefs and argues that his reasoning was flawed and influenced by Pythagoras' philosophy of science and his desire to present eugenics as science. This paper aims to describe Sir Francis Galton's theory regarding the science of measurement and its relevance to psychometrics. Using the literature review method on various sources (scientific articles and textbooks) related to the topic of discussion. Overall, this article challenges the assumption that mental attributes are inherently quantitative and argues for a more nuanced understanding of measurement in psychometrics.
... Estas características específicas influyen directamente en el diseño y la aplicación práctica de las pruebas. Aunque los fundamentos de la medición de variables psicológicas han sido debatidos desde los inicios de la psicología (Aftanas et al., 2018;Bartlett, 1939;Borsboom, 2005;Maul et al., 2016;Michell, 1997), este debate teórico no pone en duda la capacidad predictiva de las pruebas (Borman et al., 1997;Salgado y Moscoso, 2008;Schmidt y Hunter, 1998). Desde una perspectiva metodológica y aplicada, es esencial que la validez de las puntuaciones en un contexto específico se demuestre empíricamente mediante estudios diseñados para ese propósito. ...
Article
Full-text available
La evaluación de variables no cognitivas, como los factores de personalidad, es clave en los procesos de selección de personal en las administraciones públicas, si bien su implementación presenta ciertos desafíos. Este artículo aborda la importancia de validar estos procesos integrando los principios de publicidad y transparencia con las buenas prácticas en el uso de test. Basándonos en el informe de la Comisión de Test del Consejo General de la Psicología sobre el uso de test psicométricos en los procesos de selección en las administraciones públicas, se presentan 16 recomendaciones organizadas en siete áreas: objetivos, aplicación de test, puntuaciones, criterios de selección, informes, diversidad funcional y cualificación. Se enfatiza la necesidad de documentar y justificar cada etapa para garantizar la fundamentación de las decisiones. Las directrices resuelven dudas y alinean el uso de las pruebas con los principios de publicidad, transparencia y equidad que rigen la selección pública.
... En definitiva, el desarrollo motor infantil es un proceso evolutivo que abarca varias dimensiones o áreas con características y determinantes biofísico, mientras que las inteligencias y el lazo existente entre madre e hijo son construcciones hipotéticas, que pertenecen al campo psicológicos y socioculturales (Michell, 1997). ...
Book
Full-text available
Es un libro con diversos enfoques universitarios con trabajos rscriturales de docentes y estudiantes,con énfasis el Lengua y Literatura, además aborda otras áreas
... Estas características específicas influyen directamente en el diseño y la aplicación práctica de las pruebas. Aunque los fundamentos de la medición de variables psicológicas han sido debatidos desde los inicios de la psicología (Aftanas et al., 2018;Bartlett, 1939;Borsboom, 2005;Maul et al., 2016;Michell, 1997), este debate teórico no pone en duda la capacidad predictiva de las pruebas (Borman et al., 1997;Salgado y Moscoso, 2008;Schmidt y Hunter, 1998). Desde una perspectiva metodológica y aplicada, es esencial que la validez de las puntuaciones en un contexto específico se demuestre empíricamente mediante estudios diseñados para ese propósito. ...
Article
Full-text available
The evaluation of non-cognitive variables, such as personality factors, is key in personnel selection processes in public administration, although its application presents certain challenges. This article addresses the need to ensure the validity of these processes by integrating the principles of transparency and publicity with best practices in the use of tests. Based on the report from the Test Commission of the General Council of the Spanish Psychological Association on the use of psychometric tests in selection processes in public administration, 16 recommendations are provided, organized into seven areas: objectives, test application, scoring, selection criteria, reports, functional diversity, and qualifications. We emphasize the need to document and justify each stage to guarantee fair and well-founded decisions. These guidelines solve some of the issues that arise in the application of non-cognitive tests, and ensure alignment with the principles of publicity, transparency, and fairness in public sector selection.
... The lecturer assessment outcome is thus narrow and precise, where judgements are unrepresentative of actual lecturer performance requirements and are likely to create ineffective platforms for longer-term institutional development, without recognising the changing environment of universities in the 21 st Century. This restricts the professionalism of lecturers and also their scope of interest and research occupation, by using the classical paradigm of educational measurement (Michell, 1997) underpinned by an authoritarian rule, restricting objectivity (Huot, 1996) as lecturers lose teaching autonomy, and remuneration, if failing to perform (Pratt and Alderton 2019), and only teach to a test (Coe, et al., 2020). This creates conflict due to accountability requirements, where the evaluation system uses data sets to accommodate simple ranking outcomes (Van Vught, and Ziegele, 2012). ...
Article
Full-text available
This is a study focused on the opinions of lecturer evaluations and research capacity implications for Private Universities in Bangkok, Thailand. The scope for this research were authoritive opinions from academics at professor level. A qualitative methodology was utilised using grounded theory to enable an understanding of the views and practices concerning lecturer performance and research capability. The targeted population of interest was made up of fourteen (14) professorial-level respondents, one from a single department, located across private universities in Bangkok. The research outcomes comprised of four 4 main-themes - Research Capacity; Performance Management; System Qualities; and Work Features; and the corresponding 13 sub-themes, with 294 discussion targets.Major outcomes from the research raises a range of issues associated with lecturer performance and research capacity building, where inadequate and biased lecturer performance mechanisms, which in turn, create pressures on lecturers to publish research, without funding or support processes. There would appear to be little university research commitment and orientation, leading to an impoverished research climate, with particular reliance on in-country publications, of ambiguous quality.
... This is at the core of recent exchanges around invariance that tap into the ontological questions of concepts for culture-comparative research (Meuleman et al., 2022;Sokolov, 2018;Welzel et al., 2021). These issues are certainly of interest and challenging for psychology more generally (Maraun, 1998;Michell, 1997). Our concern here is focused specifically on the consideration of the comparability of the theoretical constructs and concepts across cultural groups. ...
Article
Claims about human behavior have been hampered by limited availability of comparable data across cultures. Invariance testing has been proposed to address questions about the comparability of data, yet statistical methods have been challenged on various grounds across psychology and related fields. We highlight how current debates confuse distinct issues and fail to consider the role of data within science. We aim to overcome the impasse by a) summarizing various criticisms, b) distinguishing five mapping processes that occur during a typical research project and c) exploring how thinking about invariance as mapping can move current discussions forward. Specifically, we differentiate 1) mapping ideas to theoretical constructs and concepts, 2) mapping constructs to stimuli, 3) mapping participants’ responses to stimuli onto numerical representations, 4) testing internal relations of stimuli responses (the typical focus of statistical invariance testing) and 5) mapping empirical observations back to theoretical statements. We treat invariance testing as a theory-guided process that offers important insights about instruments, construct validity and psychological theories throughout the research process that are currently missed by focusing on only the statistical details. Psychological claims that are valid for all humans depend on questions of invariance in the broad sense that we outline here.
... Algunos autores señalan que lo psicológico no es medible y que no es en sí mismo cuantitativo. Otros autores afirman que los fenómenos psicológicos son ordinales (e.g., se puede sentir más o menos dolor) y que esto no significa que los constructos sean cuantitativos (e.g., el dolor no es numérico) (Michell, 1997). Incluso se ha postulado la inconmensurabilidad de los psicológico (Gunther, 2009) y las dificultades de basar la ciencia de lo humano en lo cuantitativo (Tafreshi et al., 2016). ...
... Algunos autores señalan que lo psicológico no es medible y que no es en sí mismo cuantitativo. Otros autores afirman que los fenómenos psicológicos son ordinales (e.g., se puede sentir más o menos dolor) y que esto no significa que los constructos sean cuantitativos (e.g., el dolor no es numérico) (Michell, 1997). Incluso se ha postulado la inconmensurabilidad de los psicológico (Gunther, 2009) y las dificultades de basar la ciencia de lo humano en lo cuantitativo (Tafreshi et al., 2016). ...
Article
Full-text available
This article introduces the reader to the pragmatic perspective of measurement that goes beyond the traditional view of measurement as assigning numbers (Stevens, 1958). The educator has to consider the measurement process and the assumptions (theoretical and psychometric) that he or she has regarding that process in order for the measurement to be valid and actionable. In addition, measurement should shift from focusing on normally distributed continuous variables to the use of measures such as ordinals and nominal that allow us to address other phenomena of interest such as levels of progression and improvement. Finally, an example is presented with the pragmatic measurement of 21st century skills.
... Antifoundationalism about measurement is the view that measurements are dependent on theoretical assumptions (Chang 2004;Tal 2012;van Fraassen 2012). Contemporary discussion of psychological measurement is often focused on this debate (see Michell 1993Michell , 1997Michell , 1999Michell , 2005Hood 2013). In this article, though, I offer a critique of a method employed in psychological measurement that sidesteps this contentious issue. ...
Article
Full-text available
Traditional wisdom dictates that statistical model outputs are estimates, not measurements. Despite this, statistical models are employed as measurement instruments in the social sciences. In this article, I scrutinize the use of a specific model—the logit model—for psychological measurement. Given the adoption of a criterion for measurement that I call comparability, I show that the logit model fails to yield measurements due to properties that follow from its fixed residual variance.
... And measurement is the process of assigning numerical values to relationships between objects, rather than to the objects themselves. Only in this case, according to J. Michel, real numbers are not assigned but naturally generated in the measurement process [24]. ...
Article
The reliability of the results of sensory analysis depends on a number of factors that affect the objectivity of the tests carried out. Today, the credibility of subjective measurements is primarily achieved through standardization . However, the issue of the credibility of subjective measurements remains, furthermore, it moves to a new level. Special attention must be paid to subjective measures related to the measurement of sensations to ensure credibility of results. The dynamics of increasing credibility through factor standardization lags behind the dynamics of stakeholder demand for increasing the credibility of subjective measurements. The purpose of the paper is to consider subjective measurements from the point of view of the development of the theory of quantitative measurements and to substantiate a process model for measurement that ensures the meaningfulness of the results in relation to expert assessments that ensure the subjectivity of measurements when conducting sensory tests, the results of which form decisions on compliance or non-compliance. The object of research is expert assessment methods used in sensory measurements, specifically in the evaluation of participating experts. The research methods used in this work include system analysis of measurement theories, method of alternatives, and standardized methods of expert assessment. A model of quantitative measurements is proposed to ensure meaningful measurement results, based on an analysis of the evolution of measurement theories. The problem of ensuring the meaningfulness of subjective measurements is formulated, which manifests itself in the form of risks of making incorrect decisions about characteristics of food products and processes based on expert assessments that lack reliability. An algorithm for quantitative measurements has been defined and tested on a specific example of expert assessment, demonstrating the importance of the identified problem of ensuring the reliability of expert assessments.
... A persistent issue within psychometrics, spanning various contexts, is the ongoing debate over the reliability of tests of cognitive ability for the general population (Michell, 1997). Reynolds (1982) argued that tests are closely related to the culture in which they are developed, and hence they are culturally loaded, resulting in differential performance between individuals who have different ethnic backgrounds. ...
Article
Full-text available
The article presents the results of a study that examines the impact of sociocultural environment on the development of verbal skills in Romani children aged 7–11 years, with a particular emphasis on children from socially excluded localities. The results are based on a verbal test derived from the Woodcock-Johnson Cognitive Ability Test (WJ IV COG), which was processed using item analysis according to the Rasch model. The main results are based on analysing the differential function of individual items within the verbal tests within the research group (N = 399) compared to the normative sample of the Czech population (N = 936). A secondary goal is to compare Romani children originating from socially excluded areas (N = 204) with those from non-excluded areas (N = 195). Regarding item comparisons between the majority and sample groups, they reveal significant disparities in 14 items (70%) of the Synonyms subtest and 9 items (45%) of the Antonyms subtest. The results highlight the crucial role of a more limited vocabulary, particularly in formal linguistic expressions by Romani children. The presented words representing differently functioning items can also serve as a basis for linguistic analysis and can be applied in assessing educational needs. When comparing the group of children based on their residence in a socially excluded locality, significant differences in the DIF were identified for one item from the Synonyms subtest and three items from the Antonyms subtest.
... What does and what does not constitute measurement has received considerable attention from philosophers of science. These specialists are arguably better-placed than psychologists to comment on such issues, but psychologists have almost invariably ignored the issues raised by, for example, Michell (1997Michell ( , 2000Michell ( , 2008, McGrane (2015), Maul et al. (2016) and Trendler (2009). They instead take comfort in S S Stevens' (1946) far-reaching claim that "measurement, in the broadest sense, is defined as the assignment of numerals to objects or events according to rules.". ...
... Ugyanezt a definíciót Stevens később sokszor megismételte írásaiban, így az 1951-es kísérleti pszichológiai kézikönyvében, amely rendkívül nagy hatásúvá vált. Michell (1997b) 44 könyv (elsősorban pszichometriai, kisebb részben általános és társadalomstatisztikai tankönyv, kézikönyv) mérésdefinícióját vizsgálta meg. Ezekből 39 adott Stevens meghatározásához hasonló szerkezetűt, eltérő fogalmakkal. ...
Article
A statisztikai elemzésnek meglehetősen különleges a méréshez való viszonya, mivel a mérés és a méréselmélet nemcsak az elemzés alapjául szolgáló adatokat biztosítja, hanem jelentős bizonytalanságok forrása is lehet az elméleti, módszertani és alkalmazott kutatások során. Ezért különösen fontos a méréssel kapcsolatos kérdések árnyalt, részletes bemutatása, a különböző megközelítésekkel és a mögöttük álló érvekkel együtt. A tanulmány a mérés hétköznapi és természettudományos jelentésének ismertetését követően a mérés eltérő felfogásait vizsgálja, majd a társadalomstatisztikában a 20. század közepére bekövetkezett drasztikus jelentésváltozására tér rá. Foglalkozik a mérési skálák elméletével, a skálák kritikájával, bővítési javaslataival, végül a mérési skálák keretén belül nem elhelyezhető Likert-skála típusú állítások egyes sajátosságait tárgyalja. Az írás egyik konklúziója, hogy a mérési skálák Stevens-féle rendszere nem tekinthető az adattípusok adekvát leírásának.
... These and others could be relevant constructs for developing a more theoretically sound model (see Sect. 4.3). In general, there are concerns about whether psychological constructs can be measured through quantitative questionnaires (Michell 1997), calling for an interpretive and contextualized analysis of results. In this regard, it is notable that this research does not provide solid answers to what factors related to trust contribute to the results and that seafarers might interpret autonomy in various ways based on the systems' vague nature. ...
Article
Full-text available
Increased automation and autonomy are anticipated in the maritime industry, and safe operation is contingent on operators’ appropriate trust in the technology. Seafarers have a strong professional commitment, valuing practical experience and professional independence, which might be challenged by autonomous vessels. It was hypothesized that professional commitment would be negatively related to trust in autonomy and interaction with age of the officer. Using a questionnaire on bridge officers in Norwegian vessels ( N = 2016), we performed a multiple linear regression to test the hypotheses. Professional commitment was significantly related to lower trust in autonomy, thus supporting this hypothesis. We found partial support for an interaction effect with age, as the effect of professional commitment was strongest among those with lower age. The model did not account for much variation in trust in autonomy and, therefore, seems to be largely related to aspects other than those considered in this study. Implications for future research are presented.
... On the one hand, strong formal theories are notoriously hard to formulate, as they require robust psychological phenomena, well-defined constructs, and valid ways of measuring these constructs (Eronen & Bringmann, 2021). The possibilities and limits of measuring constructs in psychology is itself a topic that has remained highly controversial even after decades of intense debate (e.g., Franz, 2022a;2022b;Lovasz & Slaney, 2013;Maraun, 1998;Michell, 1997;Slaney & Racine, 2013). Consequently, formalized mathematical models in psychology that require valid ways of measuring constructs are at least as controversial as the measurement of psychological constructs itself. ...
Article
Full-text available
Psychology is currently facing a multilayered crisis stemming from the fact that the results of many psychological studies cannot be replicated (replication crisis), that psychological research has neglected cross-cultural and cross-temporal variation (universality crisis), and that many psychological theories are ill-developed and underspecified (theory crisis). In the present article, we use ideas derived from debates in theoretical and philosophical psychology as a basis for responding to all three crises. In short, we claim that psychological concepts are inherently vague in the sense that their meanings and the rules for their application are indeterminate. This does not imply that psychological concepts are ineffable or lack meaning. It implies, however, that hoping to arrive at a finite set of necessary and sufficient criteria that define psychological concepts once and for all is an illusion. From this, we deduce four recommendations for responding to psychology’s crises. First, we argue that the replication crisis could be approached by paying more attention to the context conditions under which psychological realities and knowledge about these realities are being created. Second, we claim that the universality crisis can be alleviated by putting more effort into exploring variability across times and cultures. Third, we contend that acknowledging the language dependence of psychological research could be a fruitful way of addressing the theory crisis. Last, we show that embracing theoretical and methodological pluralism would be an antidote against psychology’s crises in general.
... This is at the core of recent exchanges around invariance that tap into the ontological questions of concepts for culture-comparative research (Meuleman et al., 2022;Sokolov, 2018;Welzel et al., 2021). These issues are certainly of interest and challenging for psychology more generally (Maraun, 1998;Michell, 1997). Our concern here is focused specifically on the consideration of the comparability of the theoretical constructs and concepts across cultural groups. ...
Preprint
Claims about human behavior have been hampered by limited availability of comparable data across cultures. Invariance testing has been proposed to address questions about the comparability of data, yet statistical methods have been challenged on various grounds across psychology and related fields. We highlight how current debates confuse distinct issues and fail to consider the role of data within science. We aim to overcome the impasse by a) summarizing various criticisms, b) distinguishing five mapping processes that occur during a typical research project and c) exploring how thinking about invariance as mapping can move current discussions forward. Specifically, we differentiate 1) mapping ideas to theoretical constructs and concepts, 2) mapping constructs to stimuli, 3) mapping participants` responses to stimuli onto numerical representations, 4) testing internal relations of stimuli responses (the typical focus of statistical invariance testing) and 5) mapping empirical observations back to theoretical statements. We treat invariance testing as a theory-guided process that offers important insights about instruments, construct validity and psychological theories throughout the research process that are currently missed by focusing on only the statistical details. Psychological claims that are valid for all humans depend on questions of invariance in the broad sense that we outline here.
... Measurements of attributes such as emotions, well-being, or intelligence are widely used for various purposes in society, but it remains a matter of discussion whether psychological measurement is analogous to measurement in the natural sciences, and to what extent it qualifies as measurement at all. Authors such as Michell (1997Michell ( , 1999Michell ( , 2008 and Trendler (2009Trendler ( , 2019 have forcefully argued that psychological researchers have not shown that psychological attributes are quantitative and that there is no reason to believe that psychologists are actually measuring anything. This criticism has led to much discussion among theoretical psychologists and philosophers (e.g., Bringmann & Eronen, 2016;Franz, 2022;Humphry, 2013;Sherry, 2011) but has had few if any practical implications. ...
... However, this operationalisation involves precise methodological choices about how to normalise individual raw values/scores and ultimately requires reducing individual variation in such complex traits to unidimensional metrics. One should not confuse the phenotypic continuity generated by our measurement methods with continuity in a stronger, ontological sense (Hibberd, 2014;Koi, 2021;Meehl, 1992Meehl, , 1999Michell, 1997Michell, , 2012Serpico, 2018Serpico, , 2020Serpico & Borghini, 2021;Serpico & Petrolini, 2023). ...
Article
Full-text available
Research in pharmacogenomics and precision medicine has recently introduced the concept of Polygenic Scores (PGSs), namely, indexes that aggregate the effects that many genetic variants are predicted to have on individual disease risk. The popularity of PGSs is increasing rapidly, but surprisingly little attention has been paid to the idealisations they make about phenotypic development. Indeed, PGSs rely on quantitative genetics models and methods, which involve considerable theoretical assumptions that have been questioned on various grounds. This comes with epistemological and ethical concerns about the use of PGSs in clinical decision-making. In this paper, I investigate to what extent idealisations in genetics models can impact the data gathering and clinical interpretation of genomics findings, particularly the calculation and predictive accuracy of PGSs. Although idealisations are considered ineliminable components of scientific models, they may be legitimate or not depending on the epistemic aims of a model. I thus analyse how various idealisations have been introduced in classical models and progressively readapted throughout the history of genetic theorising. Notably, this process involved important changes in the epistemic purpose of such idealisations, which raises the question of whether they are legitimate in the context of contemporary genomics.
... As Tafreshi et al. (2016: 238) explain, such a flexible definition "leaves no room for questioning the adequacy of those numbers for capturing the nature of psychological attributes." Michell (1997Michell ( , 2000Michell ( , 2003 has argued that it has become common practice in psychology to quantify psychological attributes without presenting evidence that these attributes have quantitative properties, but rather merely presuming that they do (Tafreshi et al. 2016). ...
Article
Full-text available
In this paper, we examine the epistemological and ontological assumptions algorithmic hiring assessments make about job seekers’ attributes (e.g., competencies, skills, abilities) and the ethical implications of these assumptions. Given that both traditional psychometric hiring assessments and algorithmic assessments share a common set of underlying assumptions from the psychometric paradigm, we turn to literature that has examined the merits and limitations of these assumptions, gathering insights across multiple disciplines and several decades. Our exploration leads us to conclude that algorithmic hiring assessments are incompatible with attributes whose meanings are context-dependent and socially constructed. Such attributes call instead for assessment paradigms that offer space for negotiation of meanings between the job seeker and the employer. We argue that in addition to questioning the validity of algorithmic hiring assessments, this raises an often overlooked ethical impact on job seekers’ autonomy over self-representation: their ability to directly represent their identity, lived experiences, and aspirations. Infringement on this autonomy constitutes an infringement on job seekers’ dignity. We suggest beginning to address these issues through epistemological and ethical reflection regarding the choice of assessment paradigm, the means to implement it, and the ethical impacts of these choices. This entails a transdisciplinary effort that would involve job seekers, hiring managers, recruiters, and other professionals and researchers. Combined with a socio-technical design perspective, this may help generate new ideas regarding appropriate roles for human-to-human and human–technology interactions in the hiring process.
... Although there are limitations in adding item responses to produce such a total (Michell, 1990(Michell, , 1997, it was undertaken for purposes of comparison. A rating of poor working ability was obtained by 49 out of the 58 persons in this sample' six would be categorised as moderate working ability and only three as being of good working ability. ...
... Som nevnt tidligere antar man at mange av de egenskapene man studerer er kontinuerlige variabler. Høgheim (2023) kaller det for spekulasjon å anta kvantitet uten empirisk støtte, og slutter seg til Michell (1997) som hevder at den vitenskapelige oppgaven knyttet til måling er å teste de underliggende antagelsene ved måling, slik som at det som måles faktisk er målbart. Dette sies å vaere en testbar hypotese, og Høgheim (2023) viser ved hjelp av additive conjoint measurement (ACM) hvordan det kan gjøres med en test som skal måle forventning om mestring. ...
Article
Full-text available
Det er viktig å være oppmerksom på at det som kalles måling i pedagogisk forskning er noe annet enn det man vanligvis kaller måling. Det er fordi de begrepene som studeres (kunnskaper, motivasjon, trivsel osv.) er abstrakte begreper som ikke kan observeres direkte. For å kunne foreta empiriske studier av slike begreper må man samle informasjon om indikatorer på begrepene, og det gjøres vanligvis gjennom direkte observasjon og/eller spørsmål. Slike «målinger» er nødvendigvis usikre, og derfor er det viktig å vurdere resultatene kritisk. Har vi «målt» det vi sier at vi har målt? Begrepsvaliditet kan defineres som samsvar mellom begrepet slik det er definert og begrepet slik det er «målt». Men samsvar mellom noe som er kjent og noe som ikke kan måles, kan heller ikke måles. Derfor må valideringsprosessen bestå i å samle evidens gjennom rasjonal argumentasjon støttet av empiriske data. Som følge av usikkerheten i målingen, og av andre validitetstrusler som kort nevnes i artikkelen, bør forskningsresultater regnes som konstruksjoner. Det er vanligvis riktigere å si «forskning tyder på at» enn «forskning har vist at». Dette er i samsvar med kritisk realisme, definert som kombinasjon av ontologisk realisme og epistemologisk konstruktivisme. English abstract On “Measuring” What Cannot be Measured It is important to note that what is called measurement in educational research is something different from what is usually called measurement. This is because the concepts studied (knowledge, motivation, well-being, etc.) are abstract concepts that cannot be observed directly. In order to do empirical studies of such concepts, one must collect information from indicators of the concepts, and this is usually done through direct observation and/or questions. Such “measurements” are unsure, and it is important to assess the results critically. Have we “measured” what we say we have measured? Construct validity can be defined as correspondence between the concept as it is defined and the concept as it is “measured.” However, correspondence between something that is known and something that cannot be measured cannot be measured either. Therefore, validation can only take place by collecting evidence through rational argumentation supported by empirical data. As a result of the measurement uncertainty and of other validity threats that are briefly mentioned in the article, research results should be considered constructions. It is usually more correct to say that “research suggests that” than to say “research has shown that.” This is in accordance with critical realism, defined as a combination of ontological realism and epistemological constructivism.
... A key component of the argument in Høgheim's article, which owes a significant debt to the work of Joel Michell (see, for example, Michell, 1993Michell, , 1997, is that education research needs to return to a classical version of measurement as outlined by Euclid, Newton, and Descartes. This argument is made in opposition to the modern or representationalist version of measurement, as originally outlined by Norman Campbell, where representation is by the codes mentioned by Høgheim (1920, as cited in Høgheim, 2023. ...
Article
Full-text available
In this article, I use critical realism to address the question of whether or not education (along with the social sciences and psychology) is a real science. I therefore challenge Popper's demarcation criteria between science and pseudoscience. I relate this argument to the question of "construct validity" and "representationalism" in the context of a debate with Sigve Høgheim who is sympathetic towards Popper's position. In the process, I suggest a non-instrumental way to approach research in education.
... When presenting this definition, Stevens states that he is paraphrasing N.R. Campbell's discussion of measurement in the Final Report (1940) of the Committee of the British Association for the Advancement of Science's debate on the problem of measurement. 21 Michell (1997), p. 358. 22 Presidential Task Force (2023, p. 7. ...
... Many psychometrics experts do not think psychometric scales are capable of providing ratio measures [20], [21]. Many even doubt that subjective ratings can be treated as anything higher than ordinal [22], [23], [24], [25], [26], [27], [28], including Stevens [29] himself (the person who originally defined the levels of psychological measurement). Thus, there is good reason to doubt whether the NASA-TLX approaches to computing workload are valid with respect to the level of measurement. ...
Article
Human mental workload can profoundly impact human performance and is thus an important consideration in the design and operation of many systems. The standard method for assessing human mental workload is the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX). This involves a human operator subjectively rating a task based on six dimensions. These dimensions are combined into a single workload score using one of two methods: scaling and summing the dimensions (where scales are derived from a paired comparisons procedure) or averaging dimensions together. Despite its widespread use, the level of measurement of NASA-TLX's dimensions and its computed workload score has not been investigated. Additionally, nobody has researched whether NASA-TLX's two approaches for computing overall workload are mathematically meaningful with respect to the constituent dimensions' levels of measurement. This is a serious deficiency. Knowing what the level of measurement is for NASA-TLX scores will determine what mathematics can be meaningfully applied to them. Furthermore, if NASA-TLX workload syntheses are mathematically meaningless, then the measure lacks construct validity. The research presented in this article used a previously developed method to evaluate the level of measurement of NASA-TLX workload and its dimensions. Results show that the dimensions can, in most situations, be treated as interval in population analyses and ordinal for individuals. Our results also suggest that the methods for combining dimensions into workload scores are meaningless. We recommend that analysts evaluate the dimensions of NASA-TLX without combining them.
... The first part was a qualitative focus group study (Sanders & Stappers, 2012), aimed at uncovering the primary user needs for features in highly autonomous driving contexts and exploring the feasibility of displaying information projected on the glazing. The second part was a quantitative study (Michell, 1997) that involved designing a questionnaire to examine the extent to which a larger sample of users required feature information in different driving contexts and explored their preferred display areas. ...
Article
Full-text available
The automotive glazing projection display pertains to projecting information onto unique glazing materials in a car through projection equipment, a new direction of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) in the intelligent cockpit. The core issue in glazing projection is determining what information should be projected onto the car's glazing and the area to which it should be projected. To address this issue, we conducted a focus group comprising 12 people. We distributed 1082 questionnaires to investigate future autonomous driving contexts, user information demands based on glazing projection, and regional preferences for displaying such information. We selected five contexts and nine high-rated features to design a driver-specific display interface. We conducted eye-movement experiments to investigate the effect of the projection interface on the driver's gaze behaviors under different display areas and subsequently modified the display areas. This study confirms the feasibility of the glazing projection display and provides theoretical support for HCI development in the intelligent cockpit.
Article
In this paper I propose a concept to describe the circular developmental trajectory of psychometrics of intelligence in the twentieth century, and I argue that this circularity explains the degenerate character of the field. Defining, measuring, and explaining intelligence formed a closed circuit of reciprocal refinement activities. I call this circular, internally guided, and non-progressive refinement process degenerate bootstrapping. Bootstrapping, especially in the initial stages of a science, is inevitable and might end up with better measuring instruments and a better theoretical foundation. In the psychometric intelligence case, the absence of truly test-independent benchmarks, over-reliance on test score correlations, and the absence of genuine theorizing prevented the field from making significant conceptual progress. The circularity is specific to psychometric intelligence research and the diagnosis of degenerate bootstrapping does not apply to neighboring fields and approaches. To describe the bootstrapping process, I will offer a conceptual history, starting with Alfred Binet and focusing on the work of American founders, namely, Lewis M. Terman and David Wechsler. Methodological and conceptual aspects of the circular modifications will be discussed with special emphasis on the definition and measurement of intelligence as well as the status of factor-analytic theories. A current brain based theory of intelligence, Parieto-Frontal Integration Theory (P-FIT) can escape this circularity to the degree that it goes beyond the conceptual confines of psychometrics.
Article
This paper aims to clarify the impact of artificial intelligence on the effectiveness of decision-making at the private banks in Yemen. The quantitative approach was employed, utilizing both descriptive and analytical methods. The population consisted of leaders from the main branches of private banks in the capital, Sana'a. A questionnaire was the primary data collection tool. 231 questionnaires were distributed, and 219 valid questionnaires (92% response rate) were collected for analysis. Data were analyzed using appropriate statistical methods within the SPSS v26. The paper concluded that artificial intelligence has a positive impact on the effectiveness of decision-making at the private banks in Yemen. Keywords: Effectiveness of Decision-making, Artificial Intelligence, User, Systems, Devices, Private banks أثر الذكاء الاصطناعي على فاعلية القرارات الإدارية في البنوك الأهلية في اليمن عبد الكريم قاسم السياغي1، أكرم محمد العرشاني2 الملخص هدفت الدراسة إلى توضيح أثر الذكاء الاصطناعي على فعالية اتخاذ القرار في البنوك الخاصة في اليمن مستخدمة المنهج الكمي بأسلوبيه الوصفي والتحليلي، حيث تكون مجتمع الدراسة من قادة الفروع الرئيسة للبنوك الخاصة في العاصمة صنعاء، وكانت الاستبانة الأداة الرئيسة لجمع البيانات. تم توزيع 231 استبانة، واسترداد 219 استبانة صالحة (نسبة الاستجابة 92%) للتحليل، حيث تم تحليل البيانات باستخدام الطرق الإحصائية المناسبة ضمن برنامج SPSS v26. توصلت الدراسة إلى وجود أثر إيجابي للذكاء الاصطناعي على فاعلية اتخاذ القرار في البنوك الخاصة في اليمن. الكلمات المفتاحية: فاعلية القرارات الإدارية، الذكاء الاصطناعي، المستخدم، الأنظمة، الأجهزة، البنوك الأهلية.
Article
Full-text available
Using psychometric concepts and methods for measuring religious cognitions, emotions, behaviors, experiences and phenomena is a common trend in academic disciplines that are assumed to study religion scientifically such as psychology and sociology of religion. This trend is based on an unstated and more or less, unverified pre-assumption that psychological attributes and spiritual attributes, both belong to the same category and do not differ from each other. Some evidences against this pre-assumption were discussed and the basic thesis of the main research, which this article is a report of its first section, was introduced: the quantification of religiosity can not be viewed conceptually as a valid scientific endeavor unless it overcome two fundamental challenges, the mind-body challenge and the spirit-mind one, by assuming four ontological/epistemological stances. The basic challenge for measuring psychological attributes is to filling the gap between two ontologically different entities, i.e. body and mind. This challenge has its roots in the long-standing body-mind problem and its most influential formulation was known as Cartesian dualism that somehow entered the scene of debates on psychological measurement in late 19th century as the Quantity Objection. This basic challenge, i.e. the transition from body to mind, was the main focus of discussion in this article. Keywords quantification of religiosity psychological measurement mind-body problem Cartesian dualism psychometry
Article
Full-text available
Despite the passage of 051 years since the beginning of the program of measuring psychological characteristics and increasing its applications and validity, There is still unsurpassed skepticism about the feasibility of psychological measurement. Most of the requirements These doubts can be explained by the historical concept of "quantity problem", which is still ontological in two ways epistemologically, they have maintained their validity and efficiency, he explained. Based on the ontological problem of quantity, Quantitative acceptance is one of the characteristics of the body, and it cannot be related to the mind, which is ontologically territorial It belongs to different people, he generalized. The problem of the present research is to identify the followers of "Ethology Program". "Scientific" in general and psychological measurement, in particular, is for the challenge with this problem. Surprisingly, in the end Seekers of objectivity, perhaps without knowing it, were forced to rely on one of the most important systems of objectivity in science. that is, to base the measurement on the foundation of "mentalism": Analytical review of the background and foundations of psychological measurement The analysis of the criticisms and followers related to it reveals that, although relying on "homogeneity theory" as One of the forms of "materialist monism" is the ontological solution that generally scientists in the "universe" have proposed and do, but what is really and "in practice" the ontological foundation of psychological measurement It is the "unitarianism of the mentalists" that through the "operationalism" approach, as follows It has entered psychology and social sciences so clearly and consciously. Key words: psychological measurement, quantity objection, homogeneity theory, unitarianism, subjectivism, Operationalism
Chapter
Full-text available
Hacia mediados del siglo XIX, los hegelianos y los neokantianos (Fries 1842) se convirtieron en el único baluarte intelectual contra el positivismo dominante. En las décadas finales del siglo XIX e inicios del XX, los frentes de resistencia se multiplicaron: otros neokantianos como Cassirer (1906), otros idealistas como Croce (1905) naturalmente la escuela historicista alemana, de Dilthey hasta Rickert, y aislados intelectuales franceses como Meyerson (1908) y Bergson (1922) — mientras la actitud de los marxistas siempre fue ambivalente. Sin embargo, mientras en filosofía el positivismo nunca logró predominar sobre otras corrientes, y las ciencias de la naturaleza fueron obviamente inmunes a la adoración de sí mismas, hasta la mitad del siglo pasado las orientaciones herederas del positivismo (conductismo, neopositivismo, operacionalismo) dominaron la escena en todas las ciencias del hombre y de la sociedad — con la excepción de la antropología cultural, en la que las escuelas cientificistas de Murdock (1937) y de Nadel (1949) sólo fueron importantes minorías.
Chapter
Based on the data set described in chapter four, this chapter demonstrates that exploratory data visualization often yields meaningful initial findings, as well as potential correlations among variables that may be explored further with statistics and more innovative visual representations. It also clarifies how to write preliminary research questions based on data and measurement scales and how to select the most appropriate types of visualizations to answer these questions. By describing, summarizing, and analyzing the data through tables and graphs, this chapter provides an overview of data aggregation, presentation, and exploratory visualization. Through exploratory data analysis, it also reveals how the tenure lengths of Constantine’s governors distinguished them from their counterparts in the rest of the empire and prompts new questions for further exploration.
Article
Full-text available
The validity of psychological measurement is crucially connected to a peculiar form of epistemic circularity. This circularity can be a threat when there are no independent ways to assess whether a certain procedure is actually measuring the intended target of measurement. This paper focuses on how Fechner addressed the measurement circularity that emerged in his psychophysical research. First, I show that Fechner’s approach to the problem of circular measurement involved a core idealizing assumption of a shared human physiology. Second, I assess Fechner’s approach to this issue against the backdrop of his own epistemology of measurement and the measurement context of his time. Third, I claim that, from a coherentist and historically-situated perspective, Fechner’s quantification can be regarded as a first successful step of a longer-term quantification process. To conclude, I draw from these insights some general epistemological reflections that are relevant to current quantitative psychology.
Preprint
Full-text available
In psychology, regulation of measurement practices relies on the use of psychometric models that relate the targeted psychological construct to a set of observations in empirical research. Recent work has argued for a new conceptualization, in which psychological constructs are viewed as networks. However, in contrast to existing models, network psychometrics has not articulated normative guidelines for measurement. To develop normative criteria for measurement in the network framework, a clearer picture is needed about possible measurement targets in a network. Using the example of depression, we explore five such potential measurement targets in the network framework: the structure of the network, the current state of the network, and three properties of the dynamical landscape, the expected state, vulnerability, and stable state. We discuss strategies for measuring these targets as well as challenges that arise in doing so.
Article
Full-text available
The objective of this study is to determine the impact of change management on digital transformation initiatives in Yemeni telecom sector. A quantitative approach with analytical and deductive methods was adopted to examine the relationship and determine the impact between change management and digital transformation. The study targeted a population of 902 managers and team leaders in the sector. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to a stratified sample of 226 respondents. The random sample was 25% of each stratum. The questionnaire items were designed to measure the change management dimensions (Change Urgency, Visionary Coalition, Empowerment and Sustainability) and digital transformation dimensions (Technology, Processes, People, Culture and Business Model). The results generated show a highly significant positive relationship between effective change management practices and the successful implementation of digital transformation initiatives (substantial positive coefficient B of 0.786, R2 of 0.62 and high t-value of 29.34, and the extremely low p-value below 0.001). In conclusion, this study indicates that digital transformation initiatives require practicing proper and structural change management practices.
Preprint
Full-text available
This article aims to defend the thesis according to which it is possible to quantify the psychological damage of a person. To do so, it proposes a hypothetical case in order to analyze a borderline situation. In this situation, it will be necessary to take into account two scenarios: (i) the legal scenario of litigation and (ii) the social implications for the person concerned. Once the case has been reconstructed, it is intended to point out a way of analysis based on what is known in sociology as social capital; then, a psychometric analysis model of the damage will be proposed and the implications in socioeconomic terms will be explained. Finally, based on the reading of the hypothetical case, a discussion that helps to understand the paradox between determinism and freedom will be presented as well as an optimized mathematical structure.
Preprint
Full-text available
This fiction aims to construct an analogy that could support multidisciplinary discussions. It will be necessary to take into account perspectives from organizational psychology, biology, anthropology and sociology. I hope that this playful, creative approach will entertain and educate the reader.
Preprint
Full-text available
A method to measure and collect social capital is introduced. By implementing a transferable voting system, the author explains how to gather and quantify a groups social capital. This method provides a real-time analysis of social capital and has developed a platform to manage the total value of groups social capital. Subsequent social capital analytics and stochastics are introduced.
Chapter
In this chapter, I review key conceptual and methodological sources of bias in psychological measurement, emphasizing those with particular relevance to political phenomena and providing relevant examples of measurement bias in political psychological research. I then review the case of authoritarianism, which until recently was predominantly assessed among political conservatives. This emphasis on right-wing authoritarianism, and paucity of research concerning left-wing authoritarianism, has led to widespread conceptual obstacles to understanding the psychological underpinnings of authoritarianism, illustrating the degree to which measurement bias has key implications for theory development and testing. In closing, I provide several recommendations for reducing political bias in psychological measurement.
Chapter
A soundscape is a perceptual construct of an acoustic environment and, therefore, must be distinguished from the actual physical environment. Because the definition of soundscape is based on the perception or experience by a person or people in context, the study of human perception has become a major objective of soundscape research. The soundscape approach has roots in environmental psychology and goes beyond the simplistic notion of conventional environmental noise assessment. A listener is not only a passive receiver of environmental noise; instead, a listener becomes part of a dynamic system of information exchange and is involved in its creation. The listener responds not only to sound in terms of wasteful annoyance, but within the soundscape paradigm, environmental sound can be interpreted as a resource composition that can elicit diverse affective reactions. These affective reactions are believed to reflect evolutionarily shaped responses that prepare humans for action and are accompanied by physiological responses and behavioral changes. This perspective has stimulated multiple investigations regarding the main affective descriptors and the underlying indicators of soundscape appraisal, with some affective factors increasingly being acknowledged as the driving factors of emotional apprehension. Soundscape research surpasses the simplistic realm of environmental noise assessment solely in terms of sound pressure level indicators and annoyance and promotes the idea that multidimensional responses to sound cannot fully be understood without contemplating the context.KeywordsAffectAffective qualityEmotionSound perceptionSaliency
Article
Full-text available
A key feature of the polytomous Rasch model is that it entails a single classification process into one of a set of ordered response categories. The first aim of this article is to make explicit two processes in rubric designs that bring about such classifications, and identify implications of the distinction between them. The first process involves judgements of similarity, typified by judgements that a performance is similar to a category description. The second process involves judgements of difference. It is typified by judgements that a performance is better than a category description. In this article, each process is explicated using a hypothetical context in which assessors compare performances with exemplars. The second aim is to demonstrate that, for reporting purposes, judgements of similarity are recommended, particularly when results are interpreted by persons with limited knowledge of the Rasch model and its parameters. In judgements of similarity, category descriptions are located at the peak of each category probability curve, at the point of highest probability in each the category, with thresholds located between them. This is easier to interpret than judgements of difference, where category descriptions are located at the thresholds, and where the point of highest probability has no material reference. This is explicated using a simple real-world example. Implications for rubric design are discussed, as well as implications for related types of instruments, such as attitudinal measures and pairwise comparisons.
Article
Full-text available
A nonrelational theory of cross-modal matching, including magnitude estimation, is proposed for the general class of 1-dimensional measurement structures that have real-unit (ratio and interval scale) representations. A key feature of these structures is that each point of the structure can be mapped into each other point by a translation, which is the structural analogue of ratio scale transformations of the representation. Let M denote a 1:1 matching relation between 2 (not necessarily distinct) unit structures. The major assumption is that for each translation τ of one structure, there is a translation ς τ of the other such that if xMs, then τ( x) Mς τ( s). This property is shown to be equivalent to a power law holding between the unit representations. A concept of similar relations is taken from dimensional analysis, and 2 matching relations are shown to be similar if and only if their power laws differ only in the unit (modulus), not the exponent. A relation R between pairs in each system is said to be a ratio relation relative to a matching relation M satisfying the above condition provided that ( x,y) R( s,t) obtains if and only if for some translation τ both τ( x) Ms and τ( y) Mt. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Full-text available
Justification, in the vernacular language of philosophy of science, refers to the evaluation, defense, and confirmation of claims of truth. In this article, we examine some aspects of the rhetoric of justification, which in part draws on statistical data analysis to shore up facts and inductive inferences. There are a number of problems of methodological spirit and substance that in the past have been resistant to attempts to correct them. The major problems are discussed, and readers are reminded of ways to clear away these obstacles to justification. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Full-text available
Explores the relationship between measurement scales and statistical procedures in 3 theories of measurement within psychology—the representational, the operational, and the classical. It is asserted that the representational theory implies a relation between measurement scales and statistics, although not the one mentioned by S. S. Stevens (1946) or his followers. The operational and classical theories, for different reasons, imply no relation between measurement scales and statistics, contradicting Stevens's prescriptions. It is concluded that a resolution of this permissible-statistics controversy depends on a critical evaluation of these different theories. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Full-text available
The current predicament of British science is but one consequence of a deep and widespread malaise. In response, scientists must reassert the pre-eminence of the concepts of objectivity and truth.
Chapter
Stevens proposed that measurement in psychology should employ one of four scales, nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio, each characterized by a mathematical operation that defines the group of which the scale is an example. Isomorphic with the mathematical scale, there is an appropriate psychological operation which if employed warrants the use of the corresponding scale. The development of this proposal is traced.
Book
Described by Einstein as “the most important event in physics since Newton's time,” the discovery by James Clerk Maxwell that a vast array of phenomena could be united by four elegant formulas remains one of the greatest successes of modern physics. This book, based on the third originally published in 1891, presents the original work which underpins the electronic revolution in the 20th century and which inspired both Lorentz’s theories on the electron and Einstein's theory of relativity. Volume II covers magnetism and electromagnetism.
Article
The modern viewpoint on quantities goes back at least to Newton’s Universal Arithmetick. Newton asserts that the relation between any two quantities of the same kind can be expressed by a real, positive number.2 In 1901, O. Hoelder gave a set of ‘Axiome der Quantitaet’, which are sufficient to establish an isomorphism between any realization of his axioms and the additive semigroup of all positive real numbers. Related work of Hilbert, Veronese and others is indicative of a general interest in the subject of quantities in the abstract on the part of mathematicians of this period. During the last thirty years, from another direction, philosophers of science have become interested in the logical analysis of empirical procedures of measurement.3 The interests of these two groups overlap insofar as the philosophers have been concerned to state the formal conditions which must be satisfied by empirical operations measuring some characteristic of physical objects (or other entities). Philosophers have divided quantities (that is, entities or objects considered relatively to a given characteristic, such as mass, length or hardness) into two kinds. Intensive quantities are those which can merely be arranged in a serial order; extensive quantities are those for which a “natural” operation of addition or combination can also be specified. Another, more exact, way of making a distinction of this order is to say that intensive quantities are quantities to which numbers can be assigned uniquely up to a monotone transformation, and extensive quantities are quantities to which numbers can be assigned uniquely up to a similarity transformation (that is, multiplication by a positive constant).4 This last condition may be said to be the criterion of formal adequacy for a system of extensive quantities.
Article
Cliff's (1992) commentary on the failure of axiomatic measurement theory (AMT) to generate as much impact on cognitive psychology and psychometrics as he had once anticipated invites further commentary. For the most part, we do not disagree with his observations, but we believe that some amplification and clarification may be helpful. We attempt to establish three major points: 1. There are areas of psychology (e.g., decision making and psychophysics) in which AMT has had consider- ably more impact than Cliff acknowledges, and in these areas it assumes the form of theory, not scale, construction. 2. There are results of a new type (described in Luce, Krantz, Suppes, & Tversky, 1990; Narens, 1985), less well known than those of Krantz, Luce, Suppes, and Tversky (1971), about which Cliff makes no comment. These results should be of broad interest in psychol- ogy for two reasons: They provide a shelf of nonad- ditive representations that can be drawn upon along with the traditional additive and multiplicative ones, and they give better understanding about how to apply meaningfulness and invariance arguments. 3. The failure of measurement to "take" in cognition and psychometrics is related to a deep conceptual ques- tion conceming the relationship between statistics, as away of describing randomness, and measurement, as a way of describing structure. The lack ofan adequate theory for this relationship is, in reality, a weakness of both fields. Our observations do not undercut Cliffs charge that a possibly major reason for the limited impact lies with the researchers themselves. There is no question that our published works tend to be mathematically accessible only to persons having some exposure to abstract alge- bra, geometry, and topology. Except for Roberts, whose 1979 book describes some of the major additive models and their applications, the field is still awaiting someone willing and able to write a suitable bridging work. We suspect this is a major reason why Cliff and others seem unaware of some of the important applications and de-
Article
The thesis that numbers are ratios of quantities has recently been advanced by a number of philosophers. While adequate as a definition of the natural numbers, it is not clear that this view suffices for our understanding of the reals. These require continuous quantity and relative to any such quantity an infinite number of additive relations exist. Hence, for any two magnitudes of a continuous quantity there exists no unique ratio. This problem is overcome by defining ratios, and hence real numbers, as binary relations between infinite standard sequences. This definition leads smoothly into a new definition of measurement consonant with the traditional view of measurement as the discovery or estimation of numerical relations. The traditional view is further strengthened by allowing that the additive relations internal to a quantity are distinct from relations observed in the behaviour of objects manifesting quantities. In this way the traditional theory can accommodate the theory of conjoint measurement. This is worth doing because the traditional theory has one great strength lacked by its rivals: measurement statements and quantitative laws are able to be understood literally.
Article
Current researches on how we arrive at decisions concentrate on utility functions. This article deals with individuals' choices among pairs of dternatives involving only two components, in situations where no risks are incurred. For instance, Alice's father announces he will buy her a Ford coupé for graduation. Sheispermitted toselect between blue and yellow, and to decide whether or not it is to be convertible. A model for choices of this type is detailed here and a test of it reported.
Article
Various axiomatic theories of magnitude estimation are presented. The axioms are divided into the following categories:behavioral, in which the primitive relationships are in principle observable by the experimenter;cognitive, in which the primitive relationships are theoretical in nature and deal with subjective relationships that the subject is supposedly using in making his or her magnitude estimations; andpsychobehavioral, in which the relationships are theoretical and describe a supposed relationship between the experiment's stimuli and the subject's sensations of those stimuli. The goal of these axiomatizations is to understand from various perspectives what must be observed by the experimenter and assumed about the subject so that the results from an experiment in which the subject is asked to estimate or produce ratios are consistent with the proposition that the subject is, in a scientific sense, “computing ratios” in making his or her magnitude responses.
Article
This book is written as a text for a one semester course introducing students to the foundational issues involved in psychological measurement. It is not intended to compete with traditional textbooks on psychometrics, but rather to supplement them, by bringing to students in a critical way some of the recent advances made in our understanding of measurement by theorists such as S. S. Stevens, P. Suppes and R. D. Luce. The theory of conjoint measurement shows how non-extensive forms of measurement can be incorporated within a single, neo-traditional conception, one which has number as part of the empirical realm. In this book I have sought to present conjoint measurement as part of such a theory, one consonant with the development of quantitative science and consonant with an empirical realist theory of number. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Scitation is the online home of leading journals and conference proceedings from AIP Publishing and AIP Member Societies
Article
Professor Terman compares the mental test and the psychological experiment, basing his comparison upon a questionary sent to twenty-two psychologists. The following differences were noted: "1. Tests are intended to throw light upon individual differences; the experiment, to establish general principles. 2. The test, in contrast to the experiment, is characterized by simplicity, or brevity, or less elaborateness, or the use of paper and pencil instead of apparatus. 3. The test has a practical aim, usually individual diagnosis and guidance; it has to do with technology rather than with science." Five correspondents point out the methodological identity of test and experiment. The main thesis of the paper is that the mental test and the psychological experiment are essentially alike, and this is shown by examining the alleged grounds of distinction: (1) Use of tests in individual psychology; (2) pencil and paper character; (3) omission of introspection; (4) exactness, verifiability of results, control of conditions, and possibilities of analysis; (5) practical vs. theoretical aim. An historical survey shows that the mental test and the psychological experiment have grown up together. The psychologists questioned voted that the test method compares well in importance with other accepted psychological methods. From Psych Bulletin 22:01:00163. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Sensory psychology, although it quantitatively measures temporal, spatial, and intensive differences, is considered a qualitative science, because sensations show qualitative and modality differences. These must be accounted for by some selective process, which is usually assigned to the end organ rather than to the afferent nerve terminal. A study of the nature of stimulation, however, shows that afferent nerves and their impulses are qualitatively alike, and a quantitative description of the differences in volleys of nerve discharge constitutes a complete description of neural differences. What, then, is the basis of differentiation between sensations? An examination of hunger and nausea, cold and warmth, pain and pressure, indicates that they are differentiated in terms of the patterns of movement in given tissues which arouse corresponding patterns of nerve discharge. The word quality refers only to such a moment-by-moment representation of events at the periphery. The spatial and temporal pattern of the sensation is determined by the pattern of the volley of nerve impulses, but the modality is determined by the central region which furnishes the intrinsic nervous activity upon which the peripheral pattern is impressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
The author asserts that experimental psychology has added not a single quantitative law since the formulation of Weber's law. He believes that a promising approach to the problem of mental measurement may lie in the possibility of correlating experiences of "more" or "less" with extensive changes of linear magnitude. The program which he suggests for carrying out the problem is as follows: "Compare two or more linear magnitudes, note the errors resulting from the different comparisons, and plot one against the other. If the resulting series of points forms a smooth curve it will be possible to express differences in terms of errors, or errors in terms of differences. The meanings will be identical. The unit distance may be defined as that distance which is reacted to correctly in 75% of the cases, or any other percentage preferred to 75." It appears to the author to make little difference whether the units be equal in the psychological sense or in the physical sense. In selecting a method we must provide at least two samples differing from each other, if possible, only in the one feature to be compared. The method of paired comparisons and the method of rank differences are two methods which satisfy these requirements. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Discussions about the adequacy of psychological measurement and assessment can quickly become controversial. Debates about the usefulness of criticism of psychological testing are longstanding. My 1st purpose, then, is to provide a historical survey of relevant measurement and assessment concepts. I do not delve into intimate details and complexities, but trace measurement and assessment controversies over time and across psychological domains. My 2nd goal is to expand discussion of the possible directions of measurement and assessment beyond those typically considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
A methodological analysis of certain problems which arise in connection with psychophysical measurement is given. An attempt is made to discourage the use of terms such as 'intensive,' 'extensive,' and 'additive' when referring to scales in psychophysics. Measurement in psychophysics is set up as a "technique in its own right which one cannot without violence subsume under any of the customary classifications of physical measurement." Attention is directed to the awkwardness of the fact "that a field of research as significant as psychophysics has been disguised as a search for scales." In setting the psychophysical scales aside from physical measurement, no disparagement of these scales is intended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
The purpose of this study was to examine the possibility of measuring all those discriminable characteristics that exist in discriminable degrees. The logical criteria for measurement were critically examined and the psychological scaling methods were analyzed in the light of these criteria. The conclusion was drawn that none of the attempts at measurement, used so far by psychologists, meet the necessary criteria for fundamental measurement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
The distinctions often drawn between applied and general psychology are seen to break down under analysis. Since everything ordinarily included by psychologists in the term applied psychology is shown to belong under general (experimental) psychology, applied psychology has no real scientific connotation (apart from the careful work of psychologists in the applied field, so-called, which is truly scientific) and hence may be turned over to pseudo-scientists with little regret. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Two major traditions regarding the theory and practice of measurement in psychology can be identified: the classical approach associated with the work of S. S. Stevens, and the more recently developed axiomatic approach. These two approaches are compared and related to the historical development of the logical analysis of measurement. Some practical consequences of the choice of a measurement theory paradigm are discussed, and the appropriateness of the two major approaches to guide the theory and practice of psychological measurement are evaluated.
Article
The paper focuses on three problems of generalizing properties of concatenation structures (ordered structures with a monotonic operation) to ordered structures lacking any operation. (1) What is the natural generalization of the idea of Archimedeaness, of commensurability between large and small? (2) What is the natural generalization of the concept of a unit concatenation structure in which the translations (automorphisms with no fixed point) can be represented by multiplication by a constant? (3) What is the natural generalization of a ratio scale concatenation structure being distributive in a conjoint one, which has been shown to force a multiplicative representation of the latter and the product-of-powers representation of units found in physics? It is established (Theorems 5.1 and 5.2) that for homogeneous structures, the latter two questions are equivalent to it having the property that the set of all translations forms a homogeneous Archimedean ordered group. A sufficient condition for Archimedeaness of the translations is that they form a group, which is equivalent to their being 1-point unique, and the structure be Dedekind complete and order dense (Theorems 2.1 and 2.2). It is suggested that Archimedean order of the translations is, indeed, also the answer to the first question. As a lead into that conclusion, a number of results are reported in Section 3 on Archimedeaness in concatenation structures, including for positive structures sufficient conditions for several different notions of Archimedeaness to be equivalent. The results about idempotent structures are fragmentary.
Article
The paper presents a translation of excerpts from Fechner's (1887) paper On the principles of mental measurement and on Weber's law, which was his last and most perfect (Wundt) statement of the assumptions underlying his outer psychophysics. Fechner maintains that all measurement, including mental measurement, rests on the principle that n magnitudes that are judged equal may be added and result in a magnitude n times as large as the individual magnitudes. He concedes that bisection methods fulfill this principle as well as just noticeable differences. Weber's law is not a necessary precondition of mental measurement; its validity is an empirical question rather than a matter of principle. The differential threshold is not an inherent property of sensation or attention, but depends on the unavoidable spatio-temporal noncoincidence of stimuli and of the sensations corresponding to them. Given this presupposition and assigning a value of zero to the absolute threshold, it is possible to arrive at a scale of sensation differences, and thus of sensations, from a scale of difference sensations.
Chapter
The twentieth century has witnessed an unprecedented 'crisis in the foundations of mathematics', featuring a world-famous paradox (Russell's Paradox), a challenge to 'classical' mathematics from a world-famous mathematician (the 'mathematical intuitionism' of Brouwer), a new foundational school (Hilbert's Formalism), and the profound incompleteness results of Kurt Gödel. In the same period, the cross-fertilization of mathematics and philosophy resulted in a new sort of 'mathematical philosophy', associated most notably (but in different ways) with Bertrand Russell, W. V. Quine, and Gödel himself, and which remains at the focus of Anglo-Saxon philosophical discussion. The present collection brings together in a convenient form the seminal articles in the philosophy of mathematics by these and other major thinkers. It is a substantially revised version of the edition first published in 1964 and includes a revised bibliography. The volume will be welcomed as a major work of reference at this level in the field.
Article
The study deals mainly with absolute magnitude estimation (AME) of the component loud-nesses and the total loudness of pairs of heterofrequency, sequential tone bursts. Two kinds of relations are derived from the obtained group and individual data on the assumption of loudness additivity and a two-stage scaling model. They refer to numerical loudness estimates versus derived loudness magnitudes and to the loudness magnitudes versus tone sensation levels. The relations are validated by means of indirect and direct loudness matches. In an auxiliary experiment, the same subjects performed AMEs of subjective line lengths. The resulting group and individual relations between the numerical estimates and the underlying physical line lengths were found to be nearly the same as those between the numerical loudness estimates and the derived loudness magnitudes. The mutual consistency among the several sets of empirical and derived data strongly supports the assumptions of loudness additivity and the two-stage model.
Article
This article presents a discussion of the coordinate relationship of mathematical models and empirical observations of the real world. Scales of measurement are taken as examples of the application of mathematical models and the point is made that if the axioms of these scales are not satisfied by that segment of the real world which is mapped into them, then the interpretations of the mathematical conclusions may have no meaning or reality. It is for this reason that it is possible to impose on the real world an abstract theory which may be invalid. A partial ordering of various alternative mathematical systems available for measurement is presented with illustrations in order to reveal the relative strengths of these scales to which the real world must conform to permit their application.
Article
A refutation of Brower's criticisms of the users of statistics, the "atomistic fallacy," and the use of "complicated" statistics. (See ^W24:^n 3494.)
Article
It can be maintained that the application of any but ordinal statistics to the results of psychological measurement is unjustified, since there is no operation of addition, and no transitive symmetrical relation of equality. However, the meanings given numbers in measurement can be considered as varying with the operations employed in the measurement. Psychologists can develop measurement operations which will allow the application of statistical methods without a process of addition; e.g. equal-unit and ratio scales.
Vicissitudes of Fechnerian psychophysics in America Psychology : Theoretical-historical Perspectives
  • H E Adler
Adler, H. E. (1980). Vicissitudes of Fechnerian psychophysics in America. In R. W. Rieber & K. Salzinger (Eds), Psychology : Theoretical-historical Perspectives, pp. 11-23. New York : Academic Press. University Press.
Final report of the committee appointed to consider and report upon the possibility of quantitative estimates of sensory events
  • A Ferguson
  • C S Myers
  • R J Bartlett
  • H Banister
  • F C Bartlett
  • W Brown
  • N R Campbell
  • K J W Craik
  • J Drever
  • J Guild
  • R A Houstoun
  • J O Irwin
  • G W C Kaye
  • S J F Philpott
  • L F Richardson
  • J H Shaxby
  • T Smith
  • R H Thouless
  • W S Tucker
Ferguson, A., Myers, C. S., Bartlett, R. J., Banister, H., Bartlett, F. C., Brown, W., Campbell, N. R., Craik, K. J. W., Drever, J., Guild, J., Houstoun, R. A., Irwin, J. O., Kaye, G. W. C., Philpott, S. J. F., Richardson, L. F., Shaxby, J. H., Smith, T., Thouless, R. H. & Tucker, W. S. (1940). Final report of the committee appointed to consider and report upon the possibility of quantitative estimates of sensory events. Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 2, 331-349.
The fundamental nature of measurement
  • I Lorge
Lorge, I. (1951). The fundamental nature of measurement. In F. Lindquist (Ed.), Educational Measurement, pp. 533-559. Washington, DC : American Council of Education.
Measurement structures with Archimedean ordered translation groups. Order, 4On the possible psychophysical laws' revisited: Remarks on cross-modality Luce, Simultaneous conjoint measurement: A new type of fundamental A critique of mental measurements
  • R D Luce
  • R D R D Luce
  • D H Krantz
  • P Suppes
  • A D Tversky
  • J W Tukey
  • T J Mccormack
Luce, R. D. (1987). Measurement structures with Archimedean ordered translation groups. Order, 4, Luce, R. D. (1990). 'On the possible psychophysical laws' revisited: Remarks on cross-modality Luce, R. D., Krantz, D. H., Suppes, P. & Tversky, A. (1990). Foundations of Measurement, vol. 3. San Luce, R. D. & Tukey, J. W. (1964). Simultaneous conjoint measurement: A new type of fundamental McCormack, T. J. (1922). A critique of mental measurements. School and Society, 15, 686692. Massey, B. S. (1986). Measures in Science and Engineering: Their Expression, Relation and Interpretation.