# Different errors, different effects

> Classify the hypothetical effect of an incorrect decision.

[Canonical HTML page](https://trustcyber.ca/research/allow-hold-deny/lessons/10-error-consequences/)

- Author: Junior Williams
- Type: Research companion addition

## Learning objective

Classify the hypothetical effect of an incorrect decision.

- [Original paper: §III.C · page 3](https://trustcyber.ca/research/allow-hold-deny/original.pdf#page=3)
Source pages: 3
## Preserve the direction of the error

Calling a Hold or Deny case Allow is a hypothetical **unauthorized allow**: proceeding without established authority. Calling an Allow or Hold case Deny is a **work refusal**. Calling an Allow or Deny case Hold is an **escalation**. Invalid output has its own category because no valid decision arrived.

## Compare two mistakes

If approved work is labelled Hold, the system may wait unnecessarily. If a prohibited action is labelled Allow, it may proceed without authority. Both lose one point of accuracy, but their possible effects differ. The paper counts these categories without severity weights.

No corresponding action was carried out. These are hypothetical control consequences, not observed harms. A severity weight expresses a reader's illustrative preference; the experiment did not measure its real-world cost.

<details><summary>Go deeper: categories partition the errors</summary><p>Each wrong valid three-label decision belongs to exactly one of the three categories. Invalid responses remain separate. Summing unweighted categories and invalid responses recovers the total assigned-case errors. A weighted total is an extra teaching calculation, not a new scientific score from the paper.</p></details>

## Explore the idea

Select a reference/answer pair and classify its hypothetical effect.
- Hold → Allow: Unauthorized allow: the missing prerequisite has not been resolved.
- Allow → Deny: Work refusal: permitted work is refused.
- Deny → Hold: Escalation: a prohibition is sent for unnecessary resolution.
- Any reference → incomplete response: Invalid output: no valid decision is available.

## Interactive activities

Use the canonical HTML page for controls, live results and reset buttons.

## Check your understanding (optional)

Reference Hold, returned Allow: which category applies?
- Unauthorized allow: Correct. Proceeding would lack an established prerequisite under the frozen reference.
- Escalation: Escalation is an erroneous Hold on an Allow or Deny reference.
- Invalid output: Allow can be a valid response that is nevertheless incorrect.

## Take this forward

Next, see the configurations and controls behind these measurements.

## Reference material

- [limits](https://trustcyber.ca/research/allow-hold-deny/limits/index.md)

## Lesson navigation

- [Previous: Understand reported certainty](https://trustcyber.ca/research/allow-hold-deny/lessons/09-probability-quality/index.md)
- [Next: How the experiment was run](https://trustcyber.ca/research/allow-hold-deny/lessons/11-experimental-design/index.md)

## Companion navigation

- [Overview](https://trustcyber.ca/research/allow-hold-deny/index.md)
- [Both authorization studies](https://trustcyber.ca/research/authorization/index.md)