Response strategies for coping with the cognitive demands of attitude measures in surveys

TLDR

Satisficing occurs when respondents, faced with high cognitive demands, provide satisfactory rather than optimal answers, manifesting as incomplete or biased information retrieval, lack of integration, or shortcut strategies such as choosing the first plausible response, agreeing with assertions, endorsing the status quo, failing to differentiate items, saying “don’t know,” or random selection. The paper proposes that high cognitive effort in survey questions leads respondents to give satisfactory rather than optimal answers. The authors identify numerous factors that may promote satisficing and review evidence supporting these speculations. The study suggests many useful directions for future research.

Abstract

Abstract This paper proposes that when optimally answering a survey question would require substantial cognitive effort, some repondents simply provide a satisfactory answer instead. This behaviour, called satisficing , can take the form of either (1) incomplete or biased information retrieval and/or information integration, or (2) no information retrieval or integration at all. Satisficing may lead respondents to employ a variety of response strategies, including choosing the first response alternative that seems to constitute a reasonable answer, agreeing with an assertion made by a question, endorsing the status quo instead of endorsing social change, failing to differentiate among a set of diverse objects in ratings, saying ‘don't know’ instead of reporting an opinion, and randomly choosing among the response alternatives offered. This paper specifies a wide range of factors that are likely to encourage satisficing, and reviews relevant evidence evaluating these speculations. Many useful directions for future research are suggested.