Department of Psychology
University of Lucknow
PAIR COMPARISONS
Introduction- one paragraph about the method
Name of the experiment: Pair Comparisons
Purpose: To obtain the preference for actors on the basis of acting ability.
The points to ponder, given at last, should be discussed with the students before starting the experiment.
Subject’s details:
Name............Age ………………… Gender…………, Educational Qualification…………………….
Material used: Cards containing the pairs that have to be compared, pen, paper, z table, metronome.
Method
Preliminary setup: The names of seven actors were chosen. Pairs were made following Guilford’s formula. Cards were made containing one pair on each card. Rj matrix (choice matrix) was made to take the responses of the subject. The metronome was set at one tick per second.
Procedure
The subject was called and seated comfortably. A rapport was established during which her/his details were sought. Thereafter, she was given the following instructions-
“I would be showing you certain cards. Each card would have a pair of two actors. You have to give your preference for one of the two in terms of their acting skills.”
After giving the instructions cards were shown one by one to the subject with an exposure period of 2 seconds only. The responses of the subject are noted in choice matrix. The data of 9 more subjects was pooled with the data of the subject. The frequency matrix is prepared from the pooled data. Thereafter proportion (p) matrix is prepared from the frequency matrix. With the help of z table, z matrix was prepared from the p matrix. A preference scale for the group is prepared on the basis of rank judgements.
Precautions:
(1) Every name appeared equally on the right and on the left to control the space error.
(2)The position of any stimulus on the right and left was alternated.
(3) Subjects were matched for age, gender, education etc. (for pooled data)
Result
Table- 1 Choice matrix of individual subject
Table -2 Frequency matrix of pooled data
Table -3 Proportion matrix
Table -4 Z matrix
(1) Ezjk =(sum of Z scores converted through P matrix)
(2) Mzjk = Ezjk / 7
(3) Rjk (Rank judgement) = (By adding the smallest value (highest negative) to
all other values.
(4) Preparing a preference scale (RJ scale)
Points to ponder:
Method of Choice (Fechner 1876) two highly developed forms of this method are Pair comparisons and Ranking method.
Law of Comparative Judgement (Thurston 1972).
Z scores and comparison with other standard scores.
Applications of Pair Comparison method.
References
Guilford, J.P. (1954) - Psychometric Methods, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing.
Edwards, A.L. (1957) - Techniques of Attitude Scale Construction, Vakils, Feffer and Simons Pvt. Limited.
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