Attitudes toward surveys were conceptualized as having two relatively independent components: feelings about the act of completing a survey, called survey enjoyment, and perceptions of the value of survey research, called survey value. After developing a psychometrically sound measure, the authors examined how the measure related to respondent behaviors that directly impact the quality and quantity of data collected in surveys. With the exception of a response distortion index, survey enjoyment was generally related to all the respondent behaviors studied (item response rates, following directions, volunteering to participate in other survey research, timeliness of a response to a survey request, and willingness to participate in additional survey research). Survey value was related to item response rates, following directions, and willingness to participate in additional survey research. A respondent motivation and intentions explanation is provided. Although the identified effect sizes were generally small, a number of practical implications emerge and are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1977). Attitude-behavior relations: A theoretical analysis and review of empirical research. Psychological Bulletin, 84, 888-918.
2.
Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
3.
Armstrong, J. S., & Lusk, E. J. (1987). Return postage in mail surveys: A meta-analysis. Public Opinion Quarterly, 51, 233-248.
4.
Arvey, R. D., Strickland, W., Drauden, G., & Martin, C. (1990). Motivational components of test taking. Personnel Psychology, 43, 695-716.
5.
Baruch, Y. (1999). Response rate in academic studies: A comparative analysis. Human Relations, 52, 421-438.
6.
Edwards, J. E., Thomas, M. D., Rosenfeld, P., & Booth-Kewley, S. (1997). How to conduct organizational surveys: A step-by step guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
7.
Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
8.
Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
9.
Fox, R. J., Crask, M. R., & Kim, J. (1988). Mail survey response rate: A meta-analysis of selected techniques for inducing response. Public Opinion Quarterly, 52, 467-491.
10.
Gallup, G. (1988). Employee research: From nice to know to need to know. Personnel Journal, 67(8), 42-43.
11.
Goyder, J. (1986). Surveys on surveys: Limitations and potentials. Public Opinion Quarterly, 50, 27-41.
12.
Heberlein, T. A., & Baumgartner, R. (1978). Factors affecting response rates to mailed questionnaires: A quantitative analysis of the published literature. American Sociological Review, 43, 447-462.
13.
Heider, F. (1946). Attitudes and cognitive organization. Journal of Psychology, 21, 107-112.
14.
Heider, F. (1958). The psychology of interpersonal relations. New York: Wiley.
15.
Helgeson, J. G., & Ursic, M. L. (1994). The role of affective and cognitive decision-making processes during questionnaire completion. Psychology and Marketing, 11, 493-510.
16.
Kraut, A. I. (1996). An overview of organizational surveys. In A. I. Kraut (Ed.), Organizational surveys: Tools for assessment and change (pp. 1-14). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
17.
Krosnick, J. A. (1991). Response strategies for coping with the cognitive demands of attitude measures in surveys. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 5, 213-236.
18.
Paulhus, D. L. (1984). Two-component models of socially desirable responding. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 598-609.
19.
Paulhus, D. L. (1988). Assessing self deception and impression management in self reports: The Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding—Reference manual. Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
20.
Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1981). Attitudes and persuasion: Classic and contemporary approaches. Dubuque, IA: William C. Brown.
21.
Podsakoff, P. M., & Organ, D. W. (1986). Self-reports in organizational research: Problems and prospects. Journal of Management, 12, 531-544.
22.
Rogelberg, S. G., & Luong, A. (1998). Nonresponse to mailed surveys: A review and guide. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 7(2), 60-65.
23.
Rogelberg, S. G., Luong, A., Sederburg, M., & Cristol, D. (2000). Employee attitudes surveys: Examining the attitudes of noncompliant employees. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 284-293.
24.
Rosse, J. G., & Noel, T. W. (1996). Leaving the organization. In K. R. Murphy (Ed.), Individual differences and behavior in organizations (pp. 451-504). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
25.
Rosse, J. G., Stecher, M. P., Miller, J. L., & Levin, R. A. (1998). The impact of response distortion on pre-employment personality testing and hiring decisions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 634-644.
26.
Schleifer, S. (1986). Trends in attitudes toward and participation in survey research. Public Opinion Quarterly, 50, 17-26.
27.
Schmit, M. J., & Ryan, A. M. (1992). Test-taking dispositions: A missing link? Journal of Applied Psychology, 77(5), 629-637.
28.
Schriesheim, C. A., & Eisenbach, R. J. (1995). An exploratory and confirmatory factor-analytic investigation of item wording effects on the obtained factor structures of survey questionnaire measures. Journal of Management, 21, 1177-1193.
29.
Sjoberg, G. (1955). A questionnaire on questionnaires. Public Opinion Quarterly, 18, 423-427.
30.
Tourangeau, R. (1987). Attitude measurement: A cognitive perspective. In H. Hippler, N. Schwarz, & S. Sudman (Eds.), Social information processing and survey methodology (pp. 149-162). New York: Springer-Verlag.
31.
Ursic, M. L., & Helgeson, J. G. (1989). Variability in survey questionnaire completion strategies: A protocol analysis. Journal of the Market Research Society, 31, 225-240.
32.
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063-1070.
33.
Yammarino, F. J., Skinner, S. J., & Childers, T. L. (1991). Understanding mail survey response behavior: A meta-analysis. Public Opinion Quarterly, 55, 613-639.
34.
Yu, J., & Cooper, H. (1983). A quantitative review of research design effects on response rates to questionnaires. Journal of Marketing Research, 20, 36-44.
35.
Zerbe, W. J., & Paulhus, D. L. (1987). Socially desirable responding in organizational behavior research: A reconception. Academy of Management Review, 12, 250-264.
