Subjects were asked to evaluate student performance based on two sources of information differing in variability. In Experiment 1 the relative variability of test scores and paper grades assigned to a given student had no effect on the weighting of information, and evaluations were based on averaging the two types of information. In Experiments 2 and 3 the weighting of test scores was compared for a highly variable grader and a less variable grader. Differential weighting occurred only when instructions linked variability to reliability. It was concluded that evaluators can assign less weight to a source of information perceived to be less reliable but they will not ordinarily use relative variability of scores as an index of reliability.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.