As with the experienced clinicians, where a novice judged a trial as more certain (of abuse) than the upper 95% confidence limit, this indicated that, in their judgement, the elderly person was significantly more at risk of financial abuse. Thus, the decision variable was the sense of certainty that the expert/novice felt when confronted with information that may indicate financial abuse and the criterion (the value that defines sufficiently high certainty to warrant a judgement call that this might be abuse) was point beyond which action is warranted.