Question 1

A test taker who has developed "test-wiseness" is mostly likely to benefit from which common type of response bias.

Accepted Answer

Test-wiseness often involves strategies for making educated guesses when the test taker is unsure of the answer. This skill can particularly benefit from the common response bias of guessing, as it involves using test-taking strategies to increase the likelihood of choosing the correct answer even when uncertain.

Question 2

Most correction for guessing formulas use a(n) _______ guessing model.

Accepted Answer

The most correction for guessing formulas use a blind guessing model, assuming that a student guesses randomly on questions they don't know the answer to.

Question 3

The major reason that the Educational Testing Service stopped using the correction for guessing formula on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) was because _______.

Accepted Answer

The Educational Testing Service stopped using the correction for guessing formula when it converted the GRE to a computer adaptive test, which adjusts the difficulty of questions based on the test taker's performance, making the penalty for guessing unnecessary.

Question 4

If Kelly's supervisor, Manuel, rates Kelly high on all job dimensions, even though she is not really high on all just dimensions, then this would be an indication of what type of response bias?

Accepted Answer

The Illusory Halo effect occurs when an evaluator's overall impression of an individual (in this case, a positive one) influences their ratings on specific dimensions of that individual's performance or characteristics, leading to uniformly high ratings even if not all aspects of performance are equally high. This is what's described in the scenario with Kelly and Manuel.

Question 5

Citlalli wants to perform well on her job interview and as a result is answering questions in a way that makes herself appear better than she is. While she is not doing so on purpose, the final result is that she is making herself look better than she truly is. This would be an example of what type of response bias.

Accepted Answer

Self-Deceptive Enhancement is when individuals unconsciously present themselves in an overly favorable manner, believing their exaggerated self-assessment.

Question 6

Response ______ tend to be context specific and as a result, can be reduced if certain measures are taken such a providing proper training or adding additional instructions.

Accepted Answer

Biases tend to be context-specific and can often be reduced through interventions such as proper training or adding additional instructions, which help individuals make more informed decisions.

Question 7

In general, most correction for guessing formulae tend to ________ the amount of guessing that occurs on a given test.

Accepted Answer

The answer of In general, most correction for guessing formulae...

Question 8

One way to address the issues of response biases (e.g., leniency, severity, and acquiescence) that tend to be a result of the scale being used, is to include ________.

Accepted Answer

Including multiple reverse scored items within a measure helps to counteract response biases by ensuring that respondents cannot simply agree or disagree with all items, thus providing a more balanced and accurate assessment.

Question 9

Personality measures with high social desirability in strong demand contexts (e.g., employment interviews) tend to consistently demonstrate _______.

Accepted Answer

Personality measures in contexts like employment interviews, where there is a strong incentive to present oneself in a favorable light, often show evidence of faking. This is because individuals may attempt to respond in ways they believe are most desirable to the interviewer or the organization, rather than in ways that are most truthful to their actual personality traits.

Question 10

Which of the following would typically be considered a random error bias?

Accepted Answer

Sampling error is considered a random error bias because it occurs by chance variation when a sample does not perfectly represent the population from which it is drawn. This type of error can occur randomly in either direction (overestimating or underestimating the true value) and is not due to any systematic error in the sampling process.

Question 11

Briefly compare and contrast the concepts of response biases and response styles? How are they similar and/or different from one another?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Briefly compare and contrast the concepts of...

Question 12

Briefly outline several ways that response biases can be prevented before they occur.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Briefly outline several ways that response biases...

Question 13

What are some of the most effective ways to address the issue of guessing on multiple choice tests?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What are some of the most effective...

Question 14

Socially desirable responding consists of both impression management and self-deceptive enhancement. Briefly distinguish the two and provide an example of each.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Socially desirable responding consists of both impression...

Question 15

While survey researchers and methodologists are continually refining ways to address response biases, it is still unclear on what to do with the biased response once they are identified. What were some of the suggestions provided by Shultz, Whitney, and Zickar (2021) in Module 16?

Accepted Answer

The answer of While survey researchers and methodologists are continually...

Quiz 16: Response Biases