The Berlin Numeracy Test
| Cokely, E.T., Galesic, M., Schulz, E., Ghazal, S., & Garcia-Retamero, R. (2012). Measuring risk literacy: The Berlin Numeracy Test. Judgment and Decision Making, 7, 25-47.
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For more information, see
http://www.riskliteracy.org.
Description:
The Berlin Numeracy Test is a new psychometrically sound instrument that quickly assesses statistical
numeracy and risk literacy. The Berlin Numeracy Test has been found to be the strongest predictor of comprehension
of everyday risks (e.g., evaluating claims about products and treatments; interpreting forecasts), doubling the predictive
power of other numeracy instruments and accounting for unique variance beyond other cognitive tests (e.g., cognitive
reflection, working memory, intelligence). The Berlin Numeracy Test typically takes about three minutes to complete
and is available in multiple languages and formats, including a computer adaptive test that automatically scores and
reports data to researchers (
www.riskliteracy.org). The online forum also provides interactive content for public outreach
and education, and offers a recommendation system for test format selection.
Purpose
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A three minute test of numeracy and risk literacy provides superior psychometric properties in higher-ability samples (e.g., college students). |
Questions
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Computer adaptive test has 2-3 questions; paper and pencil test has 4 questions; One item can be used as a median-split
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Sub-scales
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Domain
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Numeracy
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Psychometrics
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Validation
studies compared the Berlin Numeracy Test to Lipkus et al. (2001), Schwartz et al. (1997) and a
host of other cognitive ability/style instruments (e.g., cognitive reflection
test by Frederick, 2005; Fluid Intelligence via Raven's Matrices)
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Sample items
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Out of 1,000 people in a small town 500 are members of a choir. Out of these 500 members in a choir 100 are men. Out of the 500 inhabitants that are not in
a choir 300 are men. What is the probability that a randomly drawn man is a
member of the choir? Please indicate the probability in percent.
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References:
Scale:
- Cokely, E.T., Galesic, M., Schulz, E., Ghazal, S., & Garcia-Retamero, R. (2012). Measuring risk literacy: The Berlin Numeracy Test. Judgment and Decision Making, 7, 25-47.
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