ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the use of lens models as a conceptual framework for examining human judgment and decision-making. Lens models offer a promising framework for guiding our views of human judgment within the context of rater-mediated assessments. The chapter provides a comprehensive new model, or critically evaluates a particular theoretical perspective on human judgment. It utilizes cognitive psychology in general to conceptualize judgmental processes and reflects on judgments of experts and trained raters. Raters in assessment contexts are trained to operate as experts who have been prepared for their judgments. The chapter presents an example from R. W. Cooksey, P. Freebody, and C. Wyatt-Smith to illustrate the application of the lens models within the context of writing assessment. Research on human judgment has also been influenced by several general trends in 20th-century psychology. Cognitive psychology provides guidance for thinking about human judgment.
