Exploring the Outer Limits of Response Bias

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Abstract
In view of evidence that response bias in survey research is especially pronounced among children and less educated adults, biases associated with acquiescence to yes-no questions, question structure (closed versus open-ended), and question wording were explored in four samples of mentally retarded children and adults. Among such cognitively limited persons, systematic response bias proved to be the rule rather than the exception, with group profiles varying dramatically as a function of how questions were asked. Moreover, even within these low IQ samples, tendencies toward response bias were negatively (although modestly) correlated with IQ. The findings not only point toward grave threats to response validity in research with the mentally retarded but also imply that relationships between level of cognitive functioning and response bias should be explored further in other populations.

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