Two-By-Two: Categorical Thinking About Continuous Bivariate Data

We argue that people often evaluate continuous bivariate data as if it were categorical. They mentally dichotomize X and Y to form a 2x2 matrix, leading to predictable biases in judgments. These biases can be exacerbated or attenuated with simple changes to how the data are coded and presented.

Citation:

Bart de Langhe, Philip M. Fernbach, and Julie Schiro (2018) ,"Two-By-Two: Categorical Thinking About Continuous Bivariate Data", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 46, eds. Andrew Gershoff, Robert Kozinets, and Tiffany White, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 670-670.