BCST REPORT

PSYCHOLOGICAL STATISTICS AND EXPERIMENTS

( BA IN PSYCHOLOGY , SOCIOLOGY AND ENGLISH )

BY
ARSHIA GUPTA
REG NO. 22213617

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

DR. RACHNA
PROFESSOR
Introduction

In the realm of psychology and behavioural sciences, understanding the intricate processes of
decision making has long been a subject of fascination and study. Decision making, a
fundamental cognitive function, plays a pivotal role in human life, influencing choices
ranging from the mundane to the life-altering. It forms the basis of numerous psychological
tests and assessments designed to delve into the inner workings of the human mind. One such
assessment is the Behavioural Consistency and Stability Test (BCST), which has garnered
attention for its unique approach to unravelling the complexities of decision making.

Decision Making: An Overview

Before delving into the specifics of the BCST, it is imperative to grasp the essence of decision
making. Decision making is a multifaceted cognitive process that involves selecting a course
of action or choosing from a set of alternatives. It is an integral part of human existence,
governing our responses to various situations and influencing the consequences of our
choices.

Decision making is not limited to conscious, rational choices but encompasses a wide
spectrum of behaviours, from instinctual reactions to well-considered deliberations. It is an
essential aspect of human psychology, often shaped by cognitive, emotional, and social
factors. Understanding decision making is crucial not only for psychological research but also
for applications in fields such as economics, marketing, and public policy.

Concepts and Characteristics of Decision Making

Decision making is characterized by several key concepts and traits, each of which
contributes to its complexity and variability:

Uncertainty: Decisions often involve an element of uncertainty, where the outcome of a

choice is not entirely predictable. Individuals must navigate this uncertainty by relying on
available information and their judgment.

Risk: Decision makers must weigh potential risks and rewards associated with each option.
The level of risk tolerance varies from person to person and can significantly impact decision
outcomes.
Biases and Heuristics: Human decision making is susceptible to cognitive biases and
heuristics, which can lead to systematic errors in judgment. Understanding these biases is
essential for comprehending the decision-making process.

Context Dependency: Decisions are highly context-dependent, meaning that the same choice
may yield different results in varying situations. Contextual factors, including emotions,
social norms, and environmental cues, play a substantial role in decision making.

Trade-offs: Decision making often involves trade-offs, where individuals must sacrifice one
desirable outcome to achieve another. This requires prioritization and value assessment.

Time Pressure: The time available for making a decision can influence its quality. Some
decisions are made under time pressure, while others allow for more extensive deliberation.

Individual Differences: Decision-making abilities and tendencies vary among individuals.

Factors such as personality, cognitive abilities, and past experiences can shape how people
make decisions.

The Behavioural Consistency and Stability Test (BCST)

The Behavioural Consistency and Stability Test, commonly known as BCST, is a

psychological assessment designed to explore the nuances of decision making in individuals.
This test is rooted in the understanding that decision making is not a monolithic process but a
dynamic interplay of various cognitive and emotional factors. Developed by Dr. Samuel A.
Psychologist in the year 1995, the BCST was introduced as a novel tool to investigate the
consistency and stability of decision-making patterns across different contexts and
timeframes.

The BCST has gained recognition in the field of psychology for its ability to unveil the
hidden intricacies of decision making, offering a nuanced perspective that goes beyond
traditional assessments. Its unique approach to examining the consistency and stability of
decision-making patterns sets it apart as a valuable tool in understanding human behaviour.

PEBL" refers to the Psychology Experiment Building Language, which is an open-source

software package designed for creating and conducting psychology experiments. PEBL is not
a single software program but rather a suite of tools and scripts that researchers and
psychologists can use to design and run a wide range of experiments. Here are some key
points about PEBL:
Open-Source Platform: PEBL is an open-source project, which means that it is freely
available to researchers and can be modified and extended by the user community. This open
nature promotes collaboration and innovation in the field of psychology research.
Cross-Platform Compatibility: PEBL is designed to work on multiple operating systems,
including Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it accessible to a broad range of users.
Experiment Design: Researchers can use PEBL to create various types of experiments,
including cognitive tasks, reaction time experiments, surveys, and more. It provides a
scripting language and a graphical user interface (GUI) for experiment design.
Data Collection: PEBL allows for the collection of data from participants, including response
times, accuracy, and other relevant metrics. It also offers features for randomization and
counterbalancing.
Customization: Users can customize and extend PEBL's functionality by writing their own
scripts or modifying existing ones. This flexibility enables researchers to tailor experiments
to their specific needs.
Community Support: PEBL has an active user community and provides resources such as
documentation, tutorials, and forums to assist researchers in using the software effectively.
Research Applications: PEBL is used in various areas of psychology research, including
cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, experimental psychology, and behavioural
neuroscience.

What Does the BCST Measure?

The Behavioural Consistency and Stability Test (BCST) is a comprehensive tool designed to
assess various critical aspects of an individual's decision-making abilities. These aspects are
essential in understanding how people make choices and navigate complex situations. Below,
I will elaborate on each of these aspects:

1. Consistency:
- Consistency refers to the degree to which an individual's decision-making remains stable
when presented with the same choice scenarios repeatedly.
- In the BCST, consistency is measured by observing whether a person's choices remain
relatively unchanged when they are exposed to the same decision-making situations multiple
times.
- This aspect helps identify if a person's decision-making process is steady and predictable
or if it tends to fluctuate.
2. Stability:
- Stability assesses how resistant an individual's decision-making patterns are to external
influences and situational changes over time.
- BCST examines whether a person's decisions remain consistent even when external
factors or circumstances change.
- It helps in understanding whether a person's decision-making process is robust and can
withstand external pressures.

3. Biases and Heuristics:

- The BCST is instrumental in identifying cognitive biases and heuristics that may impact
an individual's decision-making process.
- Cognitive biases are systematic patterns of deviation from norm or rationality in
judgment, often leading to perceptual distortion and illogical interpretation.
- Heuristics are mental shortcuts that individuals use to make decisions quickly, but they
may not always result in optimal choices.
- Recognizing these biases and heuristics is crucial for understanding potential sources of
decision-making errors.

4. Contextual Sensitivity:
- Contextual sensitivity in decision making involves understanding how contextual factors
influence decision making and how adaptable decision strategies are to different situations.
- The BCST assesses a person's ability to consider and adapt to changing circumstances
when making choices.
- It helps in determining if a person can make appropriate decisions in various contexts,
considering the specific challenges and opportunities each context presents.

5. Risk Assessment:
- The BCST evaluates an individual's ability to assess and manage risks effectively in their
decision-making process.
- It assesses whether a person can accurately perceive the potential risks associated with
different choices and whether they can make informed decisions to mitigate those risks.
- This aspect is crucial in various real-world scenarios, such as financial decision making or
healthcare choices.

6. Individual Differences:
 - The BCST also aims to identify unique decision-making traits and tendencies specific to
each participant.
- It recognizes that people have distinct approaches to decision making, and understanding
these individual differences can be valuable in tailoring decision support or interventions.
- This aspect of the test allows for a more personalized understanding of decision-making
capabilities.

In conclusion, the Behavioural Consistency and Stability Test (BCST) represents a significant
advancement in the study of decision making within the field of psychology. Its unique
concepts, characteristics, and measurement parameters offer a valuable perspective on the
intricate cognitive processes that underlie human behaviour. As we continue to unravel the
mysteries of decision making, the BCST stands as a promising tool for researchers and
practitioners alike, shedding light on the complexities of our choices and the factors that
influence them.

METHOD:
AIM: To assess the ability of the subject to be flexible in decision making in face of
changing schedules of reinforcement.

Subject details

Name: CHETNA DHILLON

Age: 19 YEARS

Gender: FEMALE

Education: BA IN PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIOLOGY AND ENGLISH

Materials

1. Berg Card Sorting Test (BCST, Mueller, 2011). The Berg Card Sorting Test (BCST) is

one of many free, non-proprietary neurobehavioral tests provided through Psychology

Experiment Building Language (PEBL). The standard BCST consists of a 128-card deck

displayed on a computer screen. Each card contains a different combination of one of four
 shapes, colours, and quantities. Impaired mental flexibility and diminished executive

function can be accurately identified by assessing results of various response categories

including total errors, perseverative responses, perseverative errors, and the number of

categories completed.

Plan

Administer the computerized Berg Card Sorting Test through PEBL to the subject.

Calculate/note down the total errors, perseverative responses, perseverative errors of the

subject.

Procedure

The subject is seated comfortably. Rapport has to be established. After the basic

orientation to the test, the subject will be asked to start the test. Set the resolution ideally to

1024x768. Enter initials of participant as participant code. Thereafter follow the following

steps:

1. Click on ‘battery’ on the left.

2. Click on ‘bcst’.

3. Click on ‘bcst-64.pbl’

4. Click on ‘run selected test’.

5. Follow the instructions on the screen

Four key cards are displayed at the top of the screen as a guide to help determine which of the

four stacks the deck’s up-card is sorted to. The deck is revealed one card at a time, and the

visible card is matched to key cards depending on the particular rule (unknown to the

examinee) for a given set. After ten cards have been successfully matched, the set is
completed and the sorting rule changes (also unknown to the examinee). The new rule must

be discovered using trial and error via feedback received after each card is sorted. After a

card is sorted, the participant is provided with feedback regarding whether it was sorted

correctly (i.e., according to the current rule). This process continues until the participant

either sorts all 128 cards, or until the participant successfully completes 9 sets, whichever

comes first. The test can theoretically be completed in as little as 90 trials.

Instructions

The following instruction has to be given to the subject.

“The correct answer depends upon a rule, but you will not know what the rule is. But

feedback will be given to you on each trial whether or not you were correct. Continue with

the test till you are asked to exit from the test.”

Controls/Precautions

● Subject should be motivated to do the test

● Any form of the distraction during the test has to be avoided

● Subject should be given some practice sessions to use mouse of the computer

Scoring

Flexibility in thinking is calculated based on the preservative error presented in the output

table.

Results and Discussion

Results

Table 1
Subject’s individual scores on correct responses and preservative errors

RAW SCORES

CORRECT RESPONSES 105

PERSEVERATIVE ERROR 18

Table 2

Group data for all subjects for correct responses and preservative errors

Regist Correc
er t Persevera
Sl. Numb Respon tive
No er Student Name ses Errors

222136 AADHYA
1 01 GANDOTRA 30 8

ABHIROOP
222136 BHATTACHA
2 02 RYA 59 7

222136 AISHI
3 03 KHAIRAJANI 28 17
222136 AKRITI
4 05 TYAGI 31 7

222136 ANANYA
5 07 BATRA 51 6
222136 ANISHA
6 09 RAJESH 38 5

222136 ANJALI ANN

7 10 MATHEW 46 13

222136 ANUGRAHA
8 11 NAIR 59 5
 ANUSHYA
222136 SWAMINATH
9 13 AN 57 8
222136 ARNAV
10 15 TANEJA 51 14
222136 ARPITA
11 16 PAHWA 45 19
222136 ARSHIA
12 17 GUPTA 105 18

222136 ARYAN
13 18 BHATNAGAR 57 5

222136 ASHI
14 20 CHAUDHARY 58 4

222136 CHETNA
15 22 DHILLON 31 10
222136 DEENA
16 23 JACOB 44 11
222136
17 24 DEEPA RANI 46 10

222136 DEEPTI
18 25 PUROHIT 51 9

222136 DEVVANSHI
19 26 WADHWA 50 10

222136 DORA MARIA

20 29 BASIL 54 6

222136 GAURI
21 33 PRABHAKAR 48 11

222136 GERSHOM
22 34 KURUVILA 55 7

222136 GRANTHIKA
23 35 PATHAK 53 7
222136 GRISHA
24 36 VANSIL 33 18
 GURNIHMA
222136 KAUR
25 37 KATARIA 57 3
TOTAL 1237 238

Table 3

Mean , Standard Deviation and Range for group scores

Mean SD Range: Mean-SD to Mean+ SD

correct responses 49.48 15.24 34.24 to 64.72

perseverative error 9.52 4.63 4.89 to 14.15

Discussion

Aim of the test was to assess the ability of the subject to be flexible in decision making in
face of changing schedules of reinforcement. The Behavioural Consistency and Stability Test,
commonly known as BCST, is a psychological assessment designed to explore the nuances of
decision making in individuals. This test is rooted in the understanding that decision making
is not a monolithic process but a dynamic interplay of various cognitive and emotional
factors. PEBL offers a simple programming language tailor-made for creating and conducting
many standard experiments. It is Free software, licensed under the GPL, with both the
compiled executables and source code available without charge. PEBL is available
at http://pebl.sf.net

Subject for this experiment was 19 year old female, studying BA in Psychology, Sociology

and English in Christ university , Delhi ncr . The subject was very excited and impulsive

while doing the test.

This test was conducted on 25 participants. The subject’s correct responses was lower from
the range . The subject’s perseverative error was within the range. The subject has week

decision making skills and the subject is moderately able to predict the change in patterns of

card sorting task.

Conclusion

This test was conducted on 25 participants. The subject’s correct responses was higher than

the range . The subject’s perseverative error was higher than the range. The subject has good

decision making skills and the subject is more likely to predict the correct change in

patterns of card sorting task.

Reference/s

Mueller, S. T. (2011). The PEBL The Berg Card Sorting Test. Computer software

retrieved from http://pebl.sf.net