In-Flight Target Reporting—How Many is “A Bunch”?

This study defines the quantitative meaning of some common but ambiguous modifiers used in noun phrases. The modifiers were “couple,” “few,” “some,” “several,” “(object)s,” “number,” “bunch,” “lot,” and “many,” A total of 117 subjects were asked to make quantitative estimates of each of 45 sighting reports, such as “a bunch of trucks.” It was found that the mean numerical estimates associated with the above modifiers differed significantly across the modifiers and types of target used in the noun phrases but did not depend on the type of pilot background and aircraft flown.