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 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.

Multidimensional Assessment of Social Desirability Bias: An Application of Multiscale Item Randomized Response Theory to Measure Academic Misconduct

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-397
Author(s):  
Nils Wlömert ◽  
David Pellenwessel ◽  
Jean-Paul Fox ◽  
Michel Clement
Keyword(s):  
Social Desirability ◽  
Academic Misconduct ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Social Desirability Bias ◽  
Randomized Response ◽  
Response Theory ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
Item Level ◽  
Construct Dimensions

Abstract It is challenging for survey researchers to investigate sensitive topics due to concerns about socially desirable responding (SDR). The susceptibility to social desirability bias may vary not only between individuals (e.g., different perceptions about social norms) but also within individuals (e.g., perceived sensitivity of different items). Thus, controlling for SDR is particularly challenging when analyzing multidimensional constructs that are measured via multiple groups of items with varying degrees of sensitivity. In this research, we address this challenge using a combination of a randomized response (RR) approach for data collection and a multiscale item response theory (IRT) model for data analysis. While the RR approach protects the anonymity of respondents at the item level, the multiscale IRT approach accounts for the multidimensional nature of the construct and explicitly models the item-level differences in the measurement of its dimensions. We empirically demonstrate the benefits of the model using a multidimensional self-report instrument for the assessment of academic misconduct of university students. Based on an experiment with random assignment, our results uncover considerable differences in the perceived sensitivity, both between the construct dimensions and between their measurement items. These findings support the view that individuals engage in SDR to varying degrees depending on the perceived sensitivity of the specific items and groups of items. In contrast, a social desirability scale that treats SDR as a stable personality trait is not found to capture meaningful differences in response style. Finally, we show how structural models can be incorporated into the framework to link the latent construct’s dimensions to individual-level explanatory variables.

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.

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.

Exploring the empirical evidence of social desirability bias (SDB) in sport consumer research

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Youngho Park ◽  
Dae Hee Kwak
Keyword(s):  
Social Desirability ◽  
Sport Management ◽  
Marketing Research ◽  
Sport Marketing ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Social Desirability Bias ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Report Data ◽  
Self Report Data ◽  
And Control

PurposeThe current study aims to provide a systematic approach to detecting and identifying social desirability bias (SDB) in survey data using controversial sponsorship as a research context.Design/methodology/approachWe used an experimental approach to manipulate sponsorship situations (e.g. Beer sponsor vs Sports drink sponsor) that could potentially motivate respondents to under-report their perceptions toward the sponsor. By employing both procedural and statistical approaches, our evidence shows that responses toward the controversial sponsor were in fact contaminated by SDB.FindingsThe findings of the study provide methodological and practical implications for how sport marketing scholars and practitioners can identify, detect and control SDB in self-report data.Originality/valueWe argue that some survey research in sport marketing may be prone to SDB, but SDB has not received sufficient attention in sport marketing research. We emphasize the importance of detecting (and avoiding/controlling) SDB in sport management research.

Authoritarian Rallying as Reputational Cascade? Evidence from Putin’s Popularity Surge after Crimea

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
HENRY E. HALE
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Desirability ◽  
International Conflict ◽  
Econometric Analysis ◽  
Panel Survey ◽  
Preference Change ◽  
List Experiment ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Identification Strategy

When international conflict causes an authoritarian leader’s popularity to soar, extant theories lead us to treat such “rallying” as sincere preference change, the product of surging patriotism or cowed media. This study advances a theory of less-than-fully sincere rallying more appropriate for nondemocratic settings, characterizing it as at least partly reflecting cascading dissembling driven by social desirability concerns. The identification strategy combines a rare nationally representative rally-spanning panel survey with a list experiment and econometric analysis. This establishes that three quarters of those who rallied to Putin after Russia annexed Crimea were engaging in at least some form of dissembling and that this rallying developed as a rapid cascade, with social media joining television in fueling perceptions this was socially desirable.

scholarly journals Self-reported compliance and attitudes about social distancing during the COVID-19 outbreak

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brauer Group Lab
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Public Health Crisis ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
The Media ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
News Networks

We studied self-reports of social distancing in a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults. We found that younger, less educated individuals who do not see social distancing as effective or the norm are currently less likely to fully comply with social distancing recommendations. Barriers such as not being able to tolerate social distancing for a long time prevent individuals from doing so, while seeing how distancing can help one's family and others is a potential benefit that could be made salient to encourage compliance. Communication campaigns aimed at increasing social distancing should use trusted sources such as public health officials and should work through national news networks and social media, as these are the media most used by the individuals whose behavior we need to change to address the current public health crisis.

scholarly journals Exploring Social Desirability Bias in Perceptions of Dog Adoption: All’s Well that Ends Well? Or Does the Method of Adoption Matter?

Animals ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney Bir ◽  
Nicole Olynk Widmar ◽  
Candace Croney
Keyword(s):  
Social Desirability ◽  
Choice Experiment ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Latent Class Model ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Desirability Bias ◽  
Random Parameters ◽  
Class Model ◽  
Random Parameters Logit ◽  
Nationally Representative

Dogs are a popular companion animal in the United States; however, dog acquisition is often a contentious subject. Adoption is often cited as an ethical and popular method of acquisition but interpretation of the term ‘adoption’ may vary. In a nationally representative survey of the U.S., 767 respondents were asked questions regarding their opinions of dog acquisition and adoption. Within the sample, 45% had a dog; of those, 40% had adopted a dog, and 47% visited a veterinarian once a year. A best-worst choice experiment, where respondents were asked to choose the most ethical and least ethical method of acquiring a dog from a statistically determined set of choices, was used to elicit respondents’ preferences for the most ethical method of dog adoption. A random parameters logit and a latent class model were used to estimate relative rankings of dog adoption methods. In the random parameters logit model, the largest preference share was for adoption from a municipal animal shelter (56%) and the smallest preference share was for adoption from a pet store (3%). Dog acquisition was further evaluated by creating an index of social desirability bias using how important respondents believed certain dog characteristics were compared to how important respondents believed others would rate/rank the same dog characteristics. The highest incidences of social desirability bias occurred for the dog characteristics of appearance and breed.

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