Expert Judgment
Expert Judgment - Related Videos
09:20
Using fMRI to Dissect Moral Judgment
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2023
Source: William Brady & Jay Van Bavel—New York University In examining the roles of reason and emotion in moral judgments, psychologists and philosophers alike point to the trolley dilemma and the footbridge dilemma. With the trolley dilemma, most people say that it is appropriate to pull a switch to stop a train from hitting five people by diverting it to kill one person. However, with the footbridge dilemma, most people say it is inappropriate to push a large man off of a bridge in order...
08:04
Evaluating the Accuracy of Snap Judgments
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2023
Source: Diego Reinero & Jay Van Bavel—New York University Social psychologists have long been interested in the way people form impressions of others. Much of this work has focused on the errors people make in judging others, such as the exaggerated influence of central traits (such as "warm" and "cold"), the insufficient weight given to the context in which others' behavior takes place, and the tendency for people to make judgments that conform to their initial expectations about another.
08:12
A Psychophysics Paradigm for the Collection and Analysis of Similarity Judgments
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Cited by 3 •
2022
The protocol presents an experimental psychophysics paradigm to obtain large quantities of similarity judgments, and an accompanying analysis workflow. The paradigm probes context effects and enables modeling of similarity data in terms of Euclidean spaces of at least five dimensions.
12:10
Assessment of Mouse Judgment Bias through an Olfactory Digging Task
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2022
This article provides a detailed description of a novel mouse judgment bias protocol. Evidence of this olfactory digging task's sensitivity to affective state is also demonstrated and its utility across diverse research fields is discussed.
13:00
Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments
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Cited by 20 •
2017
Temporal-order judgments can be used to estimate processing speed parameters and attentional weights and thereby to infer the mechanisms of attentional processing. This methodology can be applied to a wide range of visual stimuli and works with many attention manipulations.
FAQs
When evidence is incomplete, expert judgment works by combining several information sources rather than relying on a single observation. Experts consider observed behavior, relevant theoretical understanding, and contextual cues, then use these inputs to interpret actions or anticipate responses. This integration is useful when behavioral conditions are complex or when controlled empirical evidence does not fully address the decision.
Disagreement among experts is informative because it can expose different assumptions, interpretations, or expectations about behavior. Cognitive bias may also shape how evidence and contextual cues are weighed. Structured elicitation, independent assessments, and written reasoning help make these influences more visible and the process more consistent. The resulting differences can guide further investigation instead of being concealed by a single consensus.
Expert judgment should not substitute for systematic measurement when reliable empirical data can be obtained. Its main value is to support interpretation, hypothesis generation, or decisions where evidence remains limited. Combining expert assessments with behavioral measurements allows researchers to compare expectations with observed outcomes, identify errors, and strengthen conclusions through ongoing validation.
A structured process begins by specifying the behavioral question or alternative being considered, followed by eliciting assessments from people with relevant knowledge and experience. Experts should state their assumptions, provide independent evaluations where appropriate, and document the reasoning behind their conclusions. This record makes the basis of an assessment clearer and supports later comparison or revision.
In behavioral research, expert judgment can help assess actions, anticipate responses, and estimate the likely effects of an intervention. It also supports hypothesis generation and policy design when controlled data are limited. These uses are most defensible when the judgment is tied to clearly described observations, theoretical understanding, and contextual information rather than presented as an unsupported conclusion.
Validation connects an expert assessment to what happens afterward. Researchers can compare anticipated responses or intervention effects with subsequent behavioral evidence, then reconsider the original assumptions and reasoning. This ongoing process does not eliminate uncertainty, but it shows where judgments perform well, where they require adjustment, and how expert input can complement systematic measurement in future decisions.