Comparing Indicators of Knowledge within and between Cultural Domains

This article examines the use of the cultural consensus model to estimate individual informants’ knowledge of cultural domains. The author compares informants’ knowledge scores generated by the cultural consensus model derived from triad data and rating data with each other and with free list lengths in two closely related domains—brands of bicycles and the greatest cyclists of all time. Results indicate that individual informant competency scores correlated at highly variable levels (.11–.75). These results raise questions concerning the model’s validity related to individual informant competency scores. More research is needed concerning the range of domain consensus and interinformant variability in genuine knowledge that produces valid informant competency scores and the impact that different research instruments have on competency scores.