Dataset Information

On the round number bias and wisdom of crowds in different response formats for numerical estimation.

ABSTRACT: When asked for numerical estimations, people can respond by stating their estimates (e.g., writing down a number) or indicating a number on a scale. Although these methods are logically the same, such differences may affect the responses to the numerical estimations. In this study, we examined how differences in response format affected responses to numerical estimations using two behavioral experiments. We found that participants showed a round number bias (i.e., people answered estimates with round numbers) when simply stating a number and the distribution of responses tended to be less diverse. In contrast, this tendency was not observed when the participants responded using a scale. Participants provided more diverse estimates when they answered using a scale. Furthermore, we analyzed how this difference in response distribution was related to the wisdom of crowds (the aggregated judgment is as accurate as, or sometimes better than, the best individual judgment in the group) using computer simulations. The results indicated that round number bias affected the achievement of the wisdom of crowds. Particularly, when the group size was small, biased responses resulted in less effective achievement. Our findings suggest that using an appropriate scale is a low-cost method for eliminating round number bias and efficiently achieving the wisdom of crowds.

SUBMITTER: Honda H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9114128 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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On the round number bias and wisdom of crowds in different response formats for numerical estimation.

Honda Hidehito H Kagawa Rina R Shirasuna Masaru M

Scientific reports 20220517 1

When asked for numerical estimations, people can respond by stating their estimates (e.g., writing down a number) or indicating a number on a scale. Although these methods are logically the same, such differences may affect the responses to the numerical estimations. In this study, we examined how differences in response format affected responses to numerical estimations using two behavioral experiments. We found that participants showed a round number bias (i.e., people answered estimates with ...[more]

PMID: 35581220

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Project description:According to theories of embodied numerosity, processing of numerical magnitude is anchored in bodily experiences. In particular, spatial representations of number interact with movement in physical space, but it is still unclear whether the extent of the movement is relevant for this interaction. In this study, we compared spatial-numerical associations over response movements of differing spatial expansion. We expected spatial-numerical effects to increase with the extent of physical response movements. In addition, we hypothesized that these effects should be influenced by whether or not a spatial representation of numbers was presented. Adult participants performed two tasks: a magnitude classification (comparing numbers to the fixed standard 5), from which we calculated the Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect; and a magnitude comparison task (comparing two numbers against each other), from which we calculated a relative numerical congruity effect (NCE), which describes that when two relatively small numbers are compared, responses to the smaller number are faster than responses to the larger number; and vice versa for large numbers. A SNARC effect was observed across all conditions and was not influenced by response movement extent but increased when a number line was presented. In contrast, an NCE was only observed when no number line was presented. This suggests that the SNARC effect and the NCE reflect two different processes. The SNARC effect seems to represent a highly automated classification of numbers as large or small, which is further emphasized by the presentation of a number line. In contrast, the NCE likely results from participants not only classifying numbers as small or large, but also processing their relative size within the relevant section of their mental number line representation. An additional external presentation of a number line might interfere with this process, resulting in overall slower responses. This study follows up on previous spatial-numerical training studies and has implications for future spatial-numerical trainings. Specifically, similar studies with children showed contrasting results, in that response format but not number line presentation influenced spatial-numerical associations. Accordingly, during development, the relative relevance of physical experiences and presentation format for spatial-numerical associations might change.

Dataset Information

On the round number bias and wisdom of crowds in different response formats for numerical estimation.

Publications

On the round number bias and wisdom of crowds in different response formats for numerical estimation.

Similar Datasets

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