Validation of the Subjective Numeracy Scale: Effects of Low Numeracy on Comprehension of Risk Communications and Utility Elicitations

The Subjective Numeracy Scale (SNS) is a self-report measure of perceived ability to perform various mathematical tasks and preference for the use of numerical versus prose information.1 The 8-item scale contains no mathematics questions and has no correct or incorrect answers. Instead, it con-sists of 4 questions asking respondents to assess their numerical ability in different contexts and 4 questions asking them to state their preferences for the presentation of numerical and probabilistic information. Because the SNS measures perceptions of quantitative ability rather than the ability itself, we expected it to serve as a valuable, but imperfect, proxy for tests of objective numeracy. Our companion arti-cle1 shows that the SNS is both reliable and highly correlated with the most commonly used numerac