Elisabet Borg Assistant Professor

After obtaining my doctoral degree in 2007, I was appointed as an Associate Professor of Psychology. Since then, my primary focus has been on teaching scientific methodology and statistics. In recognition of my pedagogical contributions in this field, I was awarded the "Teacher of the Year" prize at Stockholm University in 2011. Together with my colleague Joakim Westerlund, I have also authored the textbook "Statistik för beteendevetare," which has been well-received for its straightforward and clear style.

My doctoral dissertation in 2007, titled "On Perceived Exertion and its Measurement," examined the development of the so-called "Borg scales" within the psychophysical tradition. The initial scale, known as the Borg RPE scale® (6-20), was designed by my father, Professor Gunnar Borg, in the 1960s to gauge perceived exertion. The scale was constructed such that responses would linearly correlate with heart rate and workload during aerobic physical activity. In the subsequent decades, particularly in the 1970s and 80s, Gunnar worked to create a scale where responses would instead correlate linearly with the actual intensity of the experience. Here, the psychophysical scaling method known as magnitude estimation played a pivotal role, as did the use of "quantitative semantics" to determine the words to be included in the scale and their placement on it. Other significant principles are outlined in our 2001 article, 'A new generation of scaling methods: Level-anchored ratio scaling.'

In my dissertation, I also suggested that the relatively "new" Borg centiMax scale® could be utilized for measuring other sensations and emotions beyond perceived exertion and sensory perception, such as smell, taste, and sound intensity. My recent research has focused on this area, and despite the scale's intricate design, it has proven effective for assessing conditions like depression and anxiety.

The centiMax scale has also been applied in other domains, including the assessment of hypernasality in speech therapy evaluations, performance assessment in diving, and regulating force in golf putting strokes.