REFERENT EFFECTS IN THE MAGNITUDE ESTIMATION SCALING OF FREQUENCY EXPRESSIONS FOR RESPONSE ANCHOR SETS - AN EMPIRICAL-INVESTIGATION

The effects of the base referent or standard stimulus on the scale val ues obtained in the magnitude estimation scaling of 34 frequency expre ssions was investigated using 208 subjects and two different referents (''sometimes'' and ''fairly many times''). MANOVA and ANOVA findings indicated that the two referents yielded statistically significant dif ferences in scale values, and t tests of differences between the curre nt and previously obtained scale values supported this conclusion. Fin ally, the scale values produced by the two referents led to the select ion of different sets of 5-point response anchors, suggesting that the divergence in results was also of practical importance. Implications and future directions for research are discussed.