Key ideas

• Surveys are powerful tools for gathering large amounts of data quickly, but people don't always tell the truth or remember accurately.
• Social desirability bias and recall error are both forms of self-report bias that can distort survey answers.
• Neutral question wording avoids hinting at an expected answer and pushing people toward a socially desirable response.
• Anonymity reduces social pressure, and objective data sources like tracked exercise logs reduce recall errors, improving the study's validity.

Key terms

self-report bias

Errors that occur when participants report on themselves, including social desirability bias and recall error.

social desirability bias

When participants alter their answers to present themselves favorably.

recall error

When participants rely on flawed memory to answer.

neutral wording

Phrasing questions so they don't suggest a certain expected answer.

anonymity

Collecting responses without identifying who gave them, which reduces pressure to look good.