WORD-FREQUENCY EFFECT AND RESPONSE BIAS

Abstract

MANY RECENT INVESTIGATORS HAVE STUDIED "RESPONSE BIAS" THEORIES OF THE PERCEPTION OF COMMON VS. UNCOMMON WORDS. 4 DIFFERENT CLASSES OF THEORY ARE DISTINGUISHED, AND IT IS DEMONSTRATED THAT 3 OF THEM ARE INCONSISTENT WITH PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED AND WITH FRESH DATA. THE 4TH SENSE OF RESPONSE BIAS, HOWEVER, LEADS TO THE PREDICTION THAT BIAS ON CORRECT RESPONSES MAY BE GREATER THAN THAT ON ERRORS, AND IS VERY ACCURATELY CONSISTENT WITH THE DATA. THIS IS THE SENSE OF RESPONSE BIAS AS ANALOGOUS TO THE BIAS OF A CRITERION IN A STATISTICAL DECISION. (26 REF.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1967 American Psychological Association.