ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT DRINKING AND SEX - RESPONSE EFFECTS IN MEASURING CONSUMER-BEHAVIOR

This article reports a nationwide study of response effects based on answers from almost 1,200 respondents to threatening behavioral questions presented in various formats. Results indicate that threatening questions requiring yes-or-no answers can be asked in any format, but that threatening questions requiring quantified answers are best asked in open-ended, long questions with respondent-familiar wording.