Abstract
Signal detection theory was applied to evaluate the sensitivity of 15 staff workers while classifying maturity levels of children at a children's home. Stimulus materials were provided to each staff worker in a packet of 30 scenarios describing the behavior of the 30 resident children. The scenarios were then classified by the staff workers into five maturity levels and a confidence rating in the accuracy of each classification was made. A response conditional rating analysis was employed to treat the data. Best performing staff did not exhibit greater confidence in their classifications than did their poorer performing counterparts. Many staff were insensitive to the accuracy of their classifications. Suggestions for improving performance were developed from the results.
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