What is the social desirability effect?
A)the bias in surveys that comes from the failure of pollsters to interview respondents from lower socioeconomic backgrounds
B)the strong desire that people have to express their opinions to survey researchers
C)the fact that respondents report what they think the interviewer wishes to hear or whatever they think is socially acceptable,rather than what they actually believe
D)the impression conveyed by polls that something is important to the public when actually it is not

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The social desirability effect refers to the bias in surveys that arises because respondents tend to report what they think the interviewer or the society expects them to say, rather than their true beliefs or actions. This bias can distort the accuracy of survey results, especially on sensitive topics, and lead to over- or underestimation of social phenomena. Option A is incorrect because it describes the sampling bias, which refers to the bias in survey data that arises from the non-random or incomplete inclusion of respondents from different groups or populations. Option B is incorrect because the desire to express opinions is not necessarily related to the social desirability effect, but rather a general motivation of respondents to participate in surveys. Option D is incorrect because it refers to the bandwagon effect, which is the misleading impression conveyed by polls that a certain opinion is popular or dominant in the public, when in fact it may not be.

What Is the Social Desirability Effect