ArticlePsychological research2019
From reading numbers to seeing ratios: a benefit of icons for risk comprehension.
Article in Psychological research, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed.
- Systematic variation in proportion judgments: Spatial features impact adults' strategies and decisions.Journal of experimental psychology. General · 2026Article
- Presentation format influences the strength of causal illusions.Memory & cognition · 2025Article
- Prospective Analysis of Arteriovenous Fistula Performance in the Context of Competing Risks.Kidney360 · 2025Article
- Exploring patient perspectives on EQ-5D-5L data visualization within an individualized decision aid for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in Alberta, Canada.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2024Article
- Article
- How general is the natural frequency effect? The case of joint probabilities.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Previous beliefs affect Bayesian reasoning in conditions fostering gist comprehension.Memory & cognition · 2023Article
- Reference Dependence in Bayesian Reasoning: Value Selection Bias, Congruence Effects, and Response Prompt Sensitivity.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Natural frequency trees improve diagnostic efficiency in Bayesian reasoning.Advances in health sciences education : theory and practice · 2021Article
- A New Visualization for Probabilistic Situations Containing Two Binary Events: The Frequency Net.Frontiers in psychology · 2020Article
- When Success Is Not Enough: The Symptom Base-Rate Can Influence Judgments of Effectiveness of a Successful Treatment.Frontiers in psychology · 2020Article
- Different Visualizations Cause Different Strategies When Dealing With Bayesian Situations.Frontiers in psychology · 2020Article
- Evidencing How Experience and Problem Format Affect Probabilistic Reasoning Through Interaction Analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2019Article
- Too Worried to Judge: On the Role of Perceived Severity in Medical Decision-Making.Frontiers in psychology · 2018Article
- Scope, Methods, and Overview Findings for the Making Numbers Meaningful Evidence Review of Communicating Probabilities in Health: A Systematic Review.MDM policy & practiceReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Promoting a better understanding of statistical data is becoming increasingly important for improving risk comprehension and decision-making. In this regard, previous studies on Bayesian problem solving have shown that iconic representations help infer frequencies in sets and subsets. Nevertheless, the mechanisms by which icons enhance performance remain unclear. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the benefit offered by icon arrays lies in a better alignment between presented and requested relationships, which should facilitate the comprehension of the requested ratio beyond the represented quantities. To this end, we analyzed individual risk estimates based on data presented either in standard verbal presentations (percentages and natural frequency formats) or as icon arrays. Compared to the other formats, icons led to estimates that were more accurate, and importantly, promoted the use of equivalent expressions for the requested probability. Furthermore, whereas the accuracy of the estimates based on verbal formats depended on their alignment with the text, all the estimates based on icons were equally accurate. Therefore, these results support the proposal that icons enhance the comprehension of the ratio and its mapping onto the requested probability and point to relational misalignment as potential interference for text-based Bayesian reasoning. The present findings also argue against an intrinsic difficulty with understanding single-event probabilities.
Indexed as
Identifiers
29931591What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.