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Exploring the development of area judgements using a PEST technique
Author(s) -
Avons S. E.,
Thomas Sally
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
british journal of developmental psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.062
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 2044-835X
pISSN - 0261-510X
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-835x.1990.tb00821.x
Subject(s) - judgement , psychology , statistics , matching (statistics) , standard deviation , rectangle , point (geometry) , value (mathematics) , variance (accounting) , comparator , mathematics , arithmetic , cognitive psychology , physics , law , business , geometry , accounting , quantum mechanics , voltage , political science
Previous studies of the information integration rules used in area judgements have employed either rating scales, or area‐matching techniques in which a pair of rectangles is presented and one is adjusted to match the other in size. In this study a PEST (Parameter Estimation by Sequential Testing) procedure was used to track the point of subjective equality between a standard rectangle and a comparator rectangle of different shape. This method has the advantage that a simple binary choice is the only response required. Functional measurement analysis was carried out on groups of adults, 5‐ and 10‐year‐old children who each completed two replications of a 3 × 3 design in which 3 values of standard area were combined with 3 values of comparator width. The results supported previous findings that young children generally use an addition (height + width) rule whereas older children and adults use a multiplying rule in area judgement. A second experiment confirmed the difference in predominant strategy between 5‐ and 11‐year‐old children and eliminated one possible artefact due to the starting value of the tracking series. This confirmation of the development change in area‐judgement strategies using a different method suggests that the strategy changes are real and not an artefact of measurement techniques. In addition, the present technique reveals more widespread use of the multiplying strategy than previous methods based on rating scales. The implications of this finding are discussed.