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Studies in History and Philosophy of... Aug 2023Like any science marked by high uncertainty, climate science is characterized by a widespread use of expert judgment. In this paper, we first show that, in climate...
Like any science marked by high uncertainty, climate science is characterized by a widespread use of expert judgment. In this paper, we first show that, in climate science, expert judgment is used to overcome uncertainty, thus playing a crucial role in the domain and even at times supplanting models. One is left to wonder to what extent it is legitimate to assign expert judgment such a status as an epistemic superiority in the climate context, especially as the production of expert judgment is particularly opaque. To begin answering this question, we highlight the key components of expert judgment. We then argue that the justification for the status and use of expert judgment depends on the competence and the individual subjective features of the expert producing the judgment since expert judgment involves not only the expert's theoretical knowledge and tacit knowledge, but also their intuition and values. This goes against the objective ideal in science and the criteria from social epistemology which largely attempt to remove subjectivity from expertise.
Topics: Judgment; Intuition; Uncertainty; Knowledge
PubMed: 37315425
DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsa.2023.05.005 -
Cognition Jul 2023Misinformation can negatively impact people's lives in domains ranging from health to politics. An important research goal is to understand how misinformation spreads in...
Misinformation can negatively impact people's lives in domains ranging from health to politics. An important research goal is to understand how misinformation spreads in order to curb it. Here, we test whether and how a single repetition of misinformation fuels its spread. Over two experiments (N = 260) participants indicated which statements they would like to share with other participants on social media. Half of the statements were repeated and half were new. The results reveal that participants were more likely to share statements they had previously been exposed to. Importantly, the relationship between repetition and sharing was mediated by perceived accuracy. That is, repetition of misinformation biased people's judgment of accuracy and as a result fuelled the spread of misinformation. The effect was observed in the domain of health (Exp 1) and general knowledge (Exp 2), suggesting it is not tied to a specific domain.
Topics: Humans; Illusions; Communication; Judgment; Knowledge; Politics; Social Media
PubMed: 36871397
DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105421 -
Cortex; a Journal Devoted To the Study... Feb 2024Foundational work in the psychology of metacognition identified a distinction between metacognitive knowledge (stable beliefs about one's capacities) and metacognitive... (Review)
Review
Foundational work in the psychology of metacognition identified a distinction between metacognitive knowledge (stable beliefs about one's capacities) and metacognitive experiences (local evaluations of performance). More recently, the field has focused on developing tasks and metrics that seek to identify metacognitive capacities from momentary estimates of confidence in performance, and providing precise computational accounts of metacognitive failure. However, this notable progress in formalising models of metacognitive judgments may come at a cost of ignoring broader elements of the psychology of metacognition - such as how stable meta-knowledge is formed, how social cognition and metacognition interact, and how we evaluate affective states that do not have an obvious ground truth. We propose that construct breadth in metacognition research can be restored while maintaining rigour in measurement, and highlight promising avenues for expanding the scope of metacognition research. Such a research programme is well placed to recapture qualitative features of metacognitive knowledge and experience while maintaining the psychophysical rigor that characterises modern research on confidence and performance monitoring.
Topics: Humans; Metacognition; Judgment
PubMed: 38041921
DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2023.11.002 -
Journal of Vision Mar 2024The ability of humans to identify and reproduce short time intervals (in the region of a second) may be affected by many factors ranging from the gender and personality...
The ability of humans to identify and reproduce short time intervals (in the region of a second) may be affected by many factors ranging from the gender and personality of the individual observer, through the attentional state, to the precise spatiotemporal structure of the stimulus. The relative roles of these very different factors are a challenge to describe and define; several methodological approaches have been used to achieve this to varying degrees of success. Here we describe and model the results of a paradigm affording not only a first-order measurement of the perceived duration of an interval but also a second-order metacognitive judgement of perceived time. This approach, we argue, expands the form of the data generally collected in duration-judgements and allows more detailed comparison of psychophysical behavior to the underlying theory. We also describe a hierarchical Bayesian measurement model that performs a quantitative analysis of the trial-by-trial data calculating the variability of the temporal estimates and the metacognitive judgments allowing direct comparison between an actual and an ideal observer. We fit the model to data collected for judgements of 750 ms (bisecting 1500 ms) and 1500 ms (bisecting 3000 ms) intervals across three stimulus modalities (visual, audio, and audiovisual). This enhanced form of data on a given interval judgement and the ability to track its progression on a trial-by-trial basis offers a way of looking at the different roles that subject-based, task-based and stimulus-based factors have on the perception of time.
Topics: Humans; Bayes Theorem; Judgment; Metacognition; Time Perception
PubMed: 38506794
DOI: 10.1167/jov.24.3.5 -
PloS One 2023Racism creates and sustains mental health disparities between Black and White Americans and the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing harassment directed at Black Americans has...
Racism creates and sustains mental health disparities between Black and White Americans and the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing harassment directed at Black Americans has exacerbated these inequities. Yet, as the mental health needs of Black Americans rise, there is reason to believe the public paradoxically believes that psychopathology hurts Black individuals less than White individuals and these biased distress judgments affect beliefs about treatment needs. Four studies (two pre-registered) with participants from the American public and the field of mental health support this hypothesis. When presented with identical mental illnesses (e.g., depression, anxiety, schizophrenia), both laypeople and clinicians believed that psychopathology would be less distressing to Black relative to White individuals. These distress biases mediate downstream treatment judgments. Across numerous contexts, racially-biased judgments of psychological distress may negatively affect mental healthcare and social support for Black Americans.
Topics: Humans; United States; Racism; Judgment; Pandemics; COVID-19; Psychological Distress
PubMed: 37856467
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293078 -
CMAJ Open 2023Although research briefly mentions that family members have encountered unexpected experiences during the medical assistance in dying (MAiD) process, from keeping MAiD a...
BACKGROUND
Although research briefly mentions that family members have encountered unexpected experiences during the medical assistance in dying (MAiD) process, from keeping MAiD a secret, to being judged and feeling guilty, the potential implications of these are less understood. This study's aim was to examine guilt, judgment and secrecy as part of the MAiD experiences of family members in Canada.
METHODS
We conducted a qualitative descriptive study with 1-hour semistructured interviews by telephone or video from December 2020 to December 2021. Through local and national organizations, we recruited Canadian family members with MAiD experience. A subset analysis of unexpected experiences was conducted, which identified 3 categories: guilt, judgment and secrecy. Similar codes were grouped together within each category into themes. Participants were sent the draft manuscript and their suggestions were integrated.
RESULTS
A total of 45 family members from 6 provinces who experienced MAiD from 2016 to 2021 participated. Many people who had MAiD were diagnosed with cancer, comorbidities or neurologic disease. Some participants unexpectedly found themselves managing guilt, judgment and/or secrecy, which may complicate their grieving and bereavement. Numerous participants experienced judgment from relatives, friends, religious people and/or health care professionals. Many kept MAiD secret because they were not allowed to tell or for religious reasons, and/or selectively told others.
INTERPRETATION
Family members said they were ill-prepared to manage their experiences of guilt, judgment and secrecy during the MAiD process. MAiD programs and assessors/providers could provide family-specific information to help lessen these burdens and better prepare relatives for common, yet unexpected, experiences they may encounter.
PubMed: 37607750
DOI: 10.9778/cmajo.20220140 -
BMC Medical Imaging Nov 2023This study aimed to compare the diagnostic efficiency of Ovarian-Adnexal Reporting and Data System (O-RADS) and doctors' subjective judgment in diagnosing the malignancy...
BACKGROUND
This study aimed to compare the diagnostic efficiency of Ovarian-Adnexal Reporting and Data System (O-RADS) and doctors' subjective judgment in diagnosing the malignancy risk of adnexal masses.
METHODS
This was an analysis of 616 adnexal masses between 2017 and 2020. The clinical findings, preoperative ultrasound images, and pathological diagnosis were recorded. Each adnexal mass was evaluated by doctors' subjective judgment and O-RADS by two senior doctors and two junior doctors. A mass with an O-RADS grade of 1 to 3 was a benign tumor, and a mass with an O-RADS grade of 4-5 was a malignant tumor. All outcomes were compared with the pathological diagnosis.
RESULTS
Of the 616 adnexal masses, 469 (76.1%) were benign, and 147 (23.9%) were malignant. There was no difference between the area under the curve of O-RADS and the subjective judgment for junior doctors (0.83 (95% CI: 0.79-0.87) vs. 0.79 (95% CI: 0.76-0.83), p = 0.0888). The areas under the curve of O-RADS and subjective judgment were equal for senior doctors (0.86 (95% CI: 0.83-0.89) vs. 0.86 (95% CI: 0.83-0.90), p = 0.8904). O-RADS had much higher sensitivity than the subjective judgment in detecting malignant tumors for junior doctors (84.4% vs. 70.1%) and senior doctors (91.2% vs. 81.0%). In the subgroup analysis for detecting the main benign lesions of the mature cystic teratoma and ovarian endometriosic cyst, the junior doctors' diagnostic accuracy was obviously worse than the senior doctors' on using O-RADS.
CONCLUSIONS
O-RADS had excellent performance in predicting malignant adnexal masses. It could compensate for the lack of experience of junior doctors to a certain extent. Better performance in discriminating various benign lesions should be expected with some complement.
Topics: Female; Humans; Ovarian Neoplasms; Judgment; Adnexal Diseases; Ultrasonography; Risk Assessment; Sensitivity and Specificity; Retrospective Studies
PubMed: 37986051
DOI: 10.1186/s12880-023-01153-9 -
Scientific Data Nov 2023Face perception is a fundamental aspect of human social interaction, yet most research on this topic has focused on single modalities and specific aspects of face...
Face perception is a fundamental aspect of human social interaction, yet most research on this topic has focused on single modalities and specific aspects of face perception. Here, we present a comprehensive multimodal dataset for examining facial emotion perception and judgment. This dataset includes EEG data from 97 unique neurotypical participants across 8 experiments, fMRI data from 19 neurotypical participants, single-neuron data from 16 neurosurgical patients (22 sessions), eye tracking data from 24 neurotypical participants, behavioral and eye tracking data from 18 participants with ASD and 15 matched controls, and behavioral data from 3 rare patients with focal bilateral amygdala lesions. Notably, participants from all modalities performed the same task. Overall, this multimodal dataset provides a comprehensive exploration of facial emotion perception, emphasizing the importance of integrating multiple modalities to gain a holistic understanding of this complex cognitive process. This dataset serves as a key missing link between human neuroimaging and neurophysiology literature, and facilitates the study of neuropsychiatric populations.
Topics: Humans; Amygdala; Emotions; Facial Recognition; Judgment; Magnetic Resonance Imaging
PubMed: 37935738
DOI: 10.1038/s41597-023-02693-z -
Scientific Reports May 2024Vocal attractiveness influences important social outcomes. While most research on the acoustic parameters that influence vocal attractiveness has focused on the possible...
Vocal attractiveness influences important social outcomes. While most research on the acoustic parameters that influence vocal attractiveness has focused on the possible roles of sexually dimorphic characteristics of voices, such as fundamental frequency (i.e., pitch) and formant frequencies (i.e., a correlate of body size), other work has reported that increasing vocal averageness increases attractiveness. Here we investigated the roles these three characteristics play in judgments of the attractiveness of male and female voices. In Study 1, we found that increasing vocal averageness significantly decreased distinctiveness ratings, demonstrating that participants could detect manipulations of vocal averageness in this stimulus set and using this testing paradigm. However, in Study 2, we found no evidence that increasing averageness significantly increased attractiveness ratings of voices. In Study 3, we found that fundamental frequency was negatively correlated with male vocal attractiveness and positively correlated with female vocal attractiveness. By contrast with these results for fundamental frequency, vocal attractiveness and formant frequencies were not significantly correlated. Collectively, our results suggest that averageness may not necessarily significantly increase attractiveness judgments of voices and are consistent with previous work reporting significant associations between attractiveness and voice pitch.
Topics: Humans; Male; Female; Voice; Adult; Young Adult; Beauty; Judgment; Adolescent
PubMed: 38714709
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-61064-9 -
Brain Topography Nov 2023Spatial reference frames (RFs) play a key role in spatial cognition, especially in perception, spatial memory, and navigation. There are two main types of RFs:...
Spatial reference frames (RFs) play a key role in spatial cognition, especially in perception, spatial memory, and navigation. There are two main types of RFs: egocentric (self-centered) and allocentric (object-centered). Although many fMRI studies examined the neural correlates of egocentric and allocentric RFs, they could not sample the fast temporal dynamics of the underlying cognitive processes. Therefore, the interaction and timing between these two RFs remain unclear. Taking advantage of the high temporal resolution of intracranial EEG (iEEG), we aimed to determine the timing of egocentric and allocentric information processing and describe the brain areas involved. We recorded iEEG and analyzed broad gamma activity (50-150 Hz) in 37 epilepsy patients performing a spatial judgment task in a three-dimensional circular virtual arena. We found overlapping activation for egocentric and allocentric RFs in many brain regions, with several additional egocentric- and allocentric-selective areas. In contrast to the egocentric responses, the allocentric responses peaked later than the control ones in frontal regions with overlapping selectivity. Also, across several egocentric or allocentric selective areas, the egocentric selectivity appeared earlier than the allocentric one. We identified the maximum number of egocentric-selective channels in the medial occipito-temporal region and allocentric-selective channels around the intraparietal sulcus in the parietal cortex. Our findings favor the hypothesis that egocentric spatial coding is a more primary process, and allocentric representations may be derived from egocentric ones. They also broaden the dominant view of the dorsal and ventral streams supporting egocentric and allocentric space coding, respectively.
Topics: Humans; Space Perception; Electrocorticography; Spatial Processing; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Judgment
PubMed: 37474691
DOI: 10.1007/s10548-023-00989-2