Knowledge that Transforms

The methods of retranslation and policy capturing were used to assess evaluations of proposed transportation services for the physically handicapped. Subjects (N = 102) participated in a 2 x 2 x 2 experimental design in which they were classified according to their occupation (college student vs Department of Transportation employee), the amount of thought (i.e., salience) they had given to the problem of transporting the physically handicapped, and whether or not the costs of the transportation services were presented to them. The dependent variable was an acceptability rating for supplemental bus equipment used to transport the handicapped. Analysis of variance results revealed that occupational classification and salience exhibited statistically significant effects on the acceptability ratings. The results are discussed in the context of policy-capturing research as a means of identifying social preferences for policy formation. (Author/TRRL)