Abstract
We examined the existence of gender-of-interviewer effects in two local-area surveys in which male and female interviewers were randomly assigned to interview male and female respondents. Small but consistent gender-of-interviewer effects arose on questions related to the women's movement, women's issues, and gender equality, demonstrating that, as expected, respondents were more likely to provide feminist answers to female interviewers. Gender-of-interviewer effects were somewhat more pronounced and consistent on controversial political topics: the women's movement (feminists and political activism) and their policy agenda. There was mixed evidence on whether respondents were equally susceptible to gender-of-interviewer effects. In one of the surveys, gender-of-interviewer effects were more pronounced among less well-educated and younger respondents than among respondents who were better educated or older. This effect was not replicated in the second survey.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Anderson, Barbara A., Silver, Brian D., and Abramson, Paul R. (1988). The effects of the race of interviewer on race-related attitudes of black respondents in SRC/CPS National Election Studies. Public Opinion Quarterly, 52: 289-324.
Argentino, Concetta M., Kidd, Aline H., and Bogart, Karen (1977). The effects of experimenter's sex and subject's sex on the attitudes toward women of fraternity, sorority, and mixed-dormitory residents. Journal of Community Psychology 5: 186-188.
Ballou, Janice (1990). Respondent/interviewer gender interaction effects in telephone surveys. Paper presented at the 1990 International Conference on Measurement Errors in Surveys, Tucson.
Ballou, Janice, and DelBoca, Frances K. (1980). Gender interaction effects on survey measures in telephone interviews. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Public Opinion Research, Mason, Ohio.
Becker, Betsy, J. (1986). Influence again: An examination of reviews and studies of gender-difference research. In Janet S. Hyde and Marcia C. Linn (eds.), The Psychology of Gender: Advances Through Meta-Analysis. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Bishop, George (1990). Issue involvement and response effects in public opinion surveys. Public Opinion Quarterly 54: 209-218.
Campbell, Bruce A. (1981). Race-of-interviewer effects among southern adolescents. Public Opinion Quarterly 45: 231-244.
Crowne, D., and Marlow, D. (1964). The Approval Motive. New York: John Wiley.
DeMaio, Theresa J. (1984). Social desirability and survey measurement: A review. In Charles E. Turner and Elizabeth Martin (eds.), Surveying Subjective Phenomena, Vol. 2. New York: Russell Sage.
Devine, Patricia G. (1989). Stereotypes and prejudice: Their automatic and controlled components. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 56: 5-18.
Eagly, Alice H. (1983). Gender and social influence. American Psychologist 38: 971-981.
Eagly, Alice H., and Carli, Linda L. (1981). Sex of researchers and sex-typed communications as determinants of sex differences in influenceability: A meta-analysis of social influence studies. Psychological Bulletin 90: 1-20.
Feldman, Stanley, and Zaller, John (1992). The political culture of ambivalence: Ideological responses to the welfare state. American Journal of Political Science 36: 268-307.
Finkel, Steven E., Guterbock, Thomas M., and Borg, Marian J. (1991). Race-of-interviewer effects in a preelection poll. Public Opinion Quarterly 55: 313-330.
Grimes, Michael D., and Hansen, Gary L. (1984). Response bias in sex-role attitude measurement. Sex Roles 10: 67-72.
Groves, Robert M., and Fultz, Nancy H. (1985). Gender effects among telephone interviewers in a survey of economic attitudes. Sociological Methods and Research 14: 31-52.
Gurin, Patricia (1985). Women's gender consciousness. Public Opinion Quarterly 49: 143-163.
Hatchett, Shirley, and Schuman, Howad (1975/76). White respondnets and race-of-interviewer effects. Public Opinion Quarterly 39: 523-28.
Kalmuss, Debra, Gurin, Patricia, and Townsend, Aloen L. (1981). Feminist and sympathetic feminist consciousness. European Journal of Social Psychology 11: 131-147.
Kane, Emily W., and Macaulay, Laura J. (1993). Interviewer gender and gender attitudes. Public Opinion Quarterly 57: 1-28.
Krosnick, Jon A., and Abelson, Robert (1992). The case for measuring attitude strength in surveys. In Judith Tanur (ed.), Questions about Questions. Russell Sage Foundation.
Krosnick, John A., and Schuman, Howard (1988). Attitude intensity, importance, and certainty and susceptibility to response effects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 54: 940-952.
Landis, Judson R., Sullivan, Daryl, and Sheley, Joseph (1973). Feminist attitudes as related to sex of the interviewer. Pacific Sociological Review 16: 305-314.
Lenski, Gerhard E., and Leggett, John C. (1960). Caste, class and deference in the research interview. The American Journal of Sociology 65: 463-467.
Lueptow, Lloyd B., Moser, Susan L., and Pendleton, Brian F. (1990). Gender and response effects in telephone interviews about gender characteristics. Sex Roles 22: 29-42.
Paulhaus, Delroy L., and Reid, Douglas B. (1991). Enhancement and denial in socially desirable responding. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 60: 307-317.
Philips, Derek (1971). Knowledge from What? Chicago: Rand McNally.
Schuman, Howard, and Converse, Jean M. (1971). The effects of black and white interviewers on black responses. Public Opinion Quarterly 35: 44-68.
Schuman, Howard, and Presser, Stanley (1981). Questions and Answers in Attitude Surveys: Experiments in Question Form, Wording, and Context. New York: Academic Press.
Scott, Jacqueline (1989). Conflicting beliefs about abortion: Legal approval and moral doubt. Social Psychology Quarterly 52:319-326.
Sears, David O., and Huddy, Leonie (1990). On the origins of the political disunity of women. In Patricia Gurin and Louise Tilly (eds.), Women, Politics and Change. New York: Russell Sage.
Zaller, John, and Feldman, Stanley (1992). A simple theory of the survey response: Answering questions versus revealing preferences. American Journal of Political Science 36: 579-616.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Huddy, L., Billig, J., Bracciodieta, J. et al. The Effect of Interviewer Gender on the Survey Response. Political Behavior 19, 197–220 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024882714254
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024882714254