scholarly journals No magic bullet: estimating anti-immigrant sentiment and social desirability bias with the item-count technique

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Rinken ◽  
S. Pasadas-del-Amo ◽  
M. Rueda ◽  
B. Cobo
Keyword(s):  
Social Desirability ◽  
Magic Bullet ◽  
Social Desirability Bias ◽  
Direct Question ◽  
Predictor Models ◽  
List Experiment ◽  
Mixed Modes ◽  
Attitudes Toward Immigration ◽  
Item Count Technique ◽  
Spanish Region

AbstractExtant scholarship on attitudes toward immigration and immigrants relies mostly on direct survey items. Thus, little is known about the scope of social desirability bias, and even less about its covariates. In this paper, we use probability-based mixed-modes panel data collected in the Southern Spanish region of Andalusia to estimate anti-immigrant sentiment with both the item-count technique, also known as list experiment, and a direct question. Based on these measures, we gauge the size of social desirability bias, compute predictor models for both estimators of anti-immigrant sentiment, and pinpoint covariates of bias. For most respondent profiles, the item-count technique produces higher estimates of anti-immigrant sentiment than the direct question, suggesting that self-presentational concerns are far more ubiquitous than previously assumed. However, we also find evidence that among people keen to position themselves as all-out xenophiles, social desirability pressures persist in the list-experiment: the full scope of anti-immigrant sentiment remains elusive even in non-obtrusive measurement.

Did Shy Trump Supporters Bias the 2016 Polls? Evidence from a Nationally-representative List Experiment

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Coppock
Keyword(s):  
Social Desirability ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Social Desirability Bias ◽  
Representative Survey ◽  
Direct Question ◽  
Vote Preference ◽  
List Experiment ◽  
Nationally Representative

AbstractExplanations for the failure to predict Donald Trump’s win in the 2016 Presidential election sometimes include the “Shy Trump Supporter” hypothesis, according to which some Trump supporters succumb to social desirability bias and hide their vote preference from pollsters. I evaluate this hypothesis by comparing direct question and list experimental estimates of Trump support in a nationally representative survey of 5290 American adults fielded from September 2 to September 13, 2016. Of these, 32.5% report supporting Trump’s candidacy. A list experiment conducted on the same respondents yields an estimate 29.6%, suggesting that Trump’s poll numbers were not artificially deflated by social desirability bias as the list experiment estimate is actually lower than direct question estimate. I further investigate differences across measurement modes for relevant demographic and political subgroups and find no evidence in support of the “Shy Trump Supporter” hypothesis.

Tax compliance and social desirability bias of taxpayers: experimental evidence from Indonesia

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Endra Iraman ◽  
Yoshikuni Ono ◽  
Makoto Kakinaka
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Social Desirability ◽  
Tax Evasion ◽  
Tax Compliance ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Social Desirability Bias ◽  
Lower Income ◽  
Tax Returns ◽  
List Experiment ◽  
Experiment Technique

Abstract Identifying taxpayers who engage in noncompliant behaviour is crucial for tax authorities to determine appropriate taxation schemes. However, because taxpayers have an incentive to conceal their true income, it is difficult for tax authorities to uncover such behaviour (social desirability bias). Our study mitigates the bias in responses to sensitive questions by employing the list experiment technique, which allows us to identify the characteristics of taxpayers who engage in tax evasion. Using a dataset obtained from a tax office in Jakarta, Indonesia, we conducted a computer-assisted telephone interviewing survey in 2019. Our results revealed that 13% of the taxpayers, old, male, corporate employees, and members of a certain ethnic group had reported lower income than their true income on their tax returns. These findings suggest that our research design can be a useful tool for understanding tax evasion and for developing effective taxation schemes that promote tax compliance.

scholarly journals Do Survey Estimates of the Public’s Compliance with COVID-19 Regulations Suffer from Social Desirability Bias?

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Larsen ◽  
Jacob Nyrup ◽  
Michael Bang Petersen
Keyword(s):  
Social Desirability ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Social Desirability Bias ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Public Health Crisis ◽  
Compliant Behavior ◽  
List Experiment ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Survey Estimates

The COVID-19 pandemic has led governments to instate a large number of restrictions on and recommendations for citizens’ behavior. One widely used tool for measuring compliance with these strictures are nationally representative surveys that ask citizens to self-report their behavior. But if respondents avoid disclosing socially undesirable behaviors, such as not complying with government strictures in a public health crisis, estimates of compliance will be biased upwards. To assess the magnitude of this problem, this study compares measures of compliance from direct questions to those estimated from list-experiments - a response technique that allows respondents to report illicit behaviors without individual-level detection. Implementing the list-experiment in two separate surveys of Danish citizens (n>5,000), we find no evidence that citizens under-report non-compliant behavior. We therefore conclude that survey estimates of compliance with COVID-19 regulations do not suffer from social desirability bias.

scholarly journals Contextual Prejudice: How Occupational Context and Stereotypes Shape Bias against Gay and Lesbian Employees

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 371-391
Author(s):  
Emma Mishel
Keyword(s):  
Labor Force ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Social Desirability ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Gay And Lesbian ◽  
Social Desirability Bias ◽  
Cultural Stereotypes ◽  
Shape Bias ◽  
List Experiment ◽  
The U.S

While much research provides evidence that gay men and lesbians are discriminated against in the U.S. labor force, the contexts in which such bias is enhanced or reduced, or the mechanisms behind it, are harder to pinpoint. This article puts forth that occupational context—and specifically, the stereotypes about gay men and lesbians evoked by certain occupational contexts—plays an important role in shaping bias against gay men and lesbians in the labor force. I argue that people are implicitly guided by cultural stereotypes about gay men and lesbians, which affects perceptions about whether they are suitable for specific occupations. This leads to penalties for being openly gay or lesbian in some occupational scenarios, but may lead to less or no penalties in others. This theory is tested empirically using a list experiment, a methodological technique designed to reduce or eliminate social desirability bias in responses. Results suggest that bias against gay men and lesbians is not standard across all occupations or subgroups of gay employees, but rather, is shaped by important contextual factors that can activate certain stereotypes about gay and lesbian individuals.

A Tale of Two Countries: The Effectiveness of List Experiments to Measure Drug Consumption in Opposite Contexts

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel García-Sánchez ◽  
Rosario Queirolo
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Social Desirability ◽  
Marijuana Use ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Social Desirability Bias ◽  
Indirect Measures ◽  
List Experiment ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Sensitive Issues ◽  
Representative Samples

Abstract The utility of list experiments in overcoming social desirability bias in surveys may be conditioned on social contexts. Sensitive issues in some countries may be less delicate in others, as with the case of drug use. We test this argument using a list experiment to measure marijuana use in two countries that differ in terms of social progressiveness: Colombia and Uruguay. Using nationally representative samples, we find no differences between the direct and indirect measures of marijuana use in liberal Uruguay, whereas in Colombia, the list experiment failed to produce an estimate of marijuana use. Therefore, social contexts affect the capacity of list experiments to elicit valid estimates.

scholarly journals Contextual Prejudice: How Occupational Context and Stereotypes Shape Bias against Gay and Lesbian Employees

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Mishel
Keyword(s):  
Labor Force ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Social Desirability ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Gay And Lesbian ◽  
Social Desirability Bias ◽  
Cultural Stereotypes ◽  
Shape Bias ◽  
List Experiment ◽  
The U.S

While much research provides evidence that gay men and lesbians are discriminated against in the U.S. labor force, the contexts in which such bias is enhanced or reduced, or the mechanisms behind it, are harder to pinpoint. This article puts forth that occupational context—and specifically, the stereotypes about gay men and lesbians evoked by certain occupational contexts—play an important role in shaping bias against gay men and lesbians in the labor force. I argue that people are implicitly guided by cultural stereotypes about gay men and lesbians, which affects perceptions about whether they are suitable for specific occupations. This leads to penalties for being openly gay or lesbian in some occupational scenarios, but may lead to less or no penalties in others. This theory is tested empirically using a list experiment, a methodological technique designed to reduce or eliminate social desirability bias in responses. Results suggest that bias against gay men and lesbians is not standard across all occupations or subgroups of gay employees, but rather, is shaped by important contextual factors that can activate certain stereotypes about gay and lesbian individuals.

scholarly journals Do Survey Estimates of the Public’s Compliance with COVID-19 Regulations Suffer from Social Desirability Bias?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Vinæs Larsen ◽  
Michael Bang Petersen ◽  
Jacob Nyrup
Keyword(s):  
Social Desirability ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Social Desirability Bias ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Public Health Crisis ◽  
Compliant Behavior ◽  
List Experiment ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Survey Estimates

The COVID-19 pandemic has led governments to instate a large number of restrictions on and recommendations for citizens’ behavior. One of our best tools for measuring compliance with these strictures are nationally representative surveys that ask citizens to self-report their behavior. But if respondents’ avoid disclosing socially undesirable behaviors, such as not complying with government strictures in a public health crisis, estimates of compliance will be biased upwards. To assess the magnitude of this problem, this study compares measures of compliance from direct questions to those estimated from list-experiments - a response technique that allows respondents to report illicit behaviors without individual-level detection. Implementing the list-experiment in two separate surveys of Danish citizens (n>5,000), we find no evidence that citizens under-report non-compliant behavior. We therefore conclude that survey estimates of compliance with COVID-19 regulations do not suffer from social desirability bias

scholarly journals When to Worry about Sensitivity Bias: A Social Reference Theory and Evidence from 30 Years of List Experiments

2020 ◽  
Vol 114 (4) ◽  
pp. 1297-1315 ◽  
Author(s):  
GRAEME BLAIR ◽  
ALEXANDER COPPOCK ◽  
MARGARET MOOR
Keyword(s):  
Social Desirability ◽  
Indirect Measurement ◽  
Social Desirability Bias ◽  
Sensitive Topics ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Social Reference ◽  
Bias Variance ◽  
Reference Theory ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
Item Count Technique

Eliciting honest answers to sensitive questions is frustrated if subjects withhold the truth for fear that others will judge or punish them. The resulting bias is commonly referred to as social desirability bias, a subset of what we label sensitivity bias. We make three contributions. First, we propose a social reference theory of sensitivity bias to structure expectations about survey responses on sensitive topics. Second, we explore the bias-variance trade-off inherent in the choice between direct and indirect measurement technologies. Third, to estimate the extent of sensitivity bias, we meta-analyze the set of published and unpublished list experiments (a.k.a., the item count technique) conducted to date and compare the results with direct questions. We find that sensitivity biases are typically smaller than 10 percentage points and in some domains are approximately zero.

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