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Thinking, Judging, and Communicating: A Process Account of Context Effects in Attitude Surveys

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Social Information Processing and Survey Methodology

Part of the book series: Recent Research in Psychology ((PSYCHOLOGY))

Abstract

The central goal of asking questions in a survey is to obtain reliable information about characteristics of the respondent. Asking, and consequently answering questions, however, never occurs in a vacuum. Rather, it occurs in a specific social and cognitive context that may influence responses in undesired ways (e.g., Schuman & Presser, 1981). Thus, a change in the answer to a particular question may not necessarily reflect an attitude change on the part of the respondent but simply may be the influence of a different context. Schuman, Presser, and Ludwig (1981), for example, found that divergent responses toward abortion, as measured in two consecutive surveys, were caused not by a change of opinion over time but by the presence or absence of a particular question before the target question.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Mannheim, Germany

    Fritz Strack

  2. University of Georgia, USA

    Leonard L. Martin

Authors
  1. Fritz Strack
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  2. Leonard L. Martin
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Zentrum für Umfragen, Methoden und Analysen, Mannheim, Germany

    Hans-J. Hippler (Project Director) (Project Director)

  2. Psychologisches Institut, Universität Heidelberg, 6900, Heidelberg, Germany

    Norbert Schwarz

  3. Departments of Business Administration and Sociology, Survey Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 61801, Urbana, Illinois, USA

    Seymour Sudman

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© 1987 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

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Strack, F., Martin, L.L. (1987). Thinking, Judging, and Communicating: A Process Account of Context Effects in Attitude Surveys. In: Hippler, HJ., Schwarz, N., Sudman, S. (eds) Social Information Processing and Survey Methodology. Recent Research in Psychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4798-2_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4798-2_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-96570-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-4798-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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