No. 268 · Evidence · Heuristics and Bias
Response Bias
What people say about themselves often reflects how they want to appear, not what they do.
In the Almanac
“The Bradley effect”, 1982 · “Arbitron’s People Meter”, 2007
Both stories in full, three ways to use it and where it misleads.
Get the AlmanacQuestions
What is Response Bias?
Response Bias is the tendency for people to give inaccurate or misleading answers in surveys and interviews. They may say what sounds acceptable, misremember, or describe who they wish they were rather than what they actually do.
How do you avoid Response Bias?
To reduce it, ask neutral questions, use anonymous forms, and ask about specific recent behaviour. Where possible, compare words with real records, including your own habits. Self-reports still matter, especially for feelings, but treat them as clues rather than the final truth.
When does Response Bias matter?
Response Bias is one of the 68 mental models for evidence, the situations where you ask: Is this really true? Within that, it belongs to “When research goes wrong”, alongside Anecdotal Evidence, Data Dredging and Hasty Generalisation.
What is an example of Response Bias?
Two stories show it at work: The Bradley effect (1982) and Arbitron’s People Meter (2007). Both are told in full in The Mental Models Daily Almanac, which has two stories for each of its 365 models.
Which mental models are related to Response Bias?
Observer-Expectancy Bias, Observer Effect and Framing. Response Bias itself comes from heuristics and bias.