responsbias

Response bias, sometimes written as respons bias in informal usage, is a systematic tendency for respondents to answer questions in a way that does not reflect their true beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors. It can affect survey data, experimental self-reports, and other forms of self-disclosure, leading to distorted conclusions.

Common forms include social desirability bias (the desire to present oneself favorably), acquiescence or yea-saying (a tendency to agree with statements regardless of content), extreme or central tendency responding, and recall bias (imperfect memory influencing reported past events). Interviewer influence and question order can also introduce response bias, as can mode effects (differences between online, phone, or in-person surveys).

Causes of response bias include social expectations, perceived judgment by the interviewer, concerns about privacy, cultural norms, and limitations of memory. The design of questions and the surrounding context can magnify or mitigate these effects, as can the perceived anonymity of the respondent and the presence of an interviewer.

Implications include distorted prevalence estimates, biased measures of attitudes or behaviors, and spurious associations between variables. When present, response bias can threaten the validity and reliability of findings, complicating interpretation and policy or clinical decisions.

Mitigation strategies encompass careful survey design and administration: ensuring anonymity or confidentiality, using neutral and non-judgmental wording, balancing item wording, and employing indirect questioning or randomized response techniques. Additional approaches include pre-testing instruments, using validated scales, triangulating with objective data, and applying statistical adjustments such as weighting or imputation to reduce bias in analyses. Related concepts include social desirability bias and recall bias.