A Nomothetic Version of the Brunswikian Lens Model: A Variable- and Person-Oriented Approach

The purpose of this article is to discuss new methodological developments, starting with Schilling and Hogge (2001), aimed at establishing a nomothetic version of the Brunswikian lens model based on multilevel models (multilevel latent class regression). This genuinely person-oriented approach simultaneously allows the idiographic assessment of individual judgment processes and the nomothetic examination of evidence of generalization across individuals. Data of a pilot project on forest persons’ subjective judgment of the quality of wood (“Forstlicher Gotterblick”) are used to demonstrate the proposal: In a paper-pencil test, 29 forest persons (forestry students and foresters) each estimated the internal wood quality of 40 trees on a 6-point rating scale using information provided about six well-known external wood properties for each tree. Two judgment strategies were identified (“Take-The-Best” and random) which could also be assigned to two different types of subjects (“novices” vs. “experts”). Summari...