Who misreports on internet health surveys, and do images of watching eyes discourage misreporting? An online experiment from China
Abstract Background Few studies in China have examined correlates of internet health survey misreporting or the effect of interventions to mitigate misreporting. We conducted an experiment to: (1) identify correlates of survey misreporting, and (2) assess the impact of “watching eyes” images on surv...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer
2024-02-01
|
| Series: | Discover Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s44202-024-00123-8 |
| _version_ | 1827326521458556928 |
|---|---|
| author | Tianyu Guo Chuqing Cao Jing Wang Xinwen Hu Ying Chen Stephen W. Pan |
| author_facet | Tianyu Guo Chuqing Cao Jing Wang Xinwen Hu Ying Chen Stephen W. Pan |
| author_sort | Tianyu Guo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Few studies in China have examined correlates of internet health survey misreporting or the effect of interventions to mitigate misreporting. We conducted an experiment to: (1) identify correlates of survey misreporting, and (2) assess the impact of “watching eyes” images on survey misreporting. Exposure to watching eyes has been shown to discourage socially deviant behavior. Methods In 2022, a contract survey company recruited 1655 online survey respondents who were ≥ 18 years old and living in China. Participants were randomized to one of four arms. Participants randomized to arms 1 and 3 were asked to report their blood type. Participants randomized to arms 2 and 4 were also asked to report their blood type, but were additionally told they could end the survey early if they reported AB blood type. Participants randomized to arm 3 or 4 (but not arms 1 or 2) were shown an image of watching eyes before being asked to report their blood type. Results Among participants with lower educational attainment, the probability of reporting AB blood type was higher if incentivized to report AB blood (19.05% vs 9.26%), though this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.189). Among participants incentivized to report AB blood type, the probability of reporting AB blood type was significantly greater among individuals shown watching eyes (19.93% vs 11.56%, p < 0.01). Conclusion Internet health surveys in China must begin assessing and mitigating participant misreporting. Larger studies are needed to elucidate potential mechanisms of association between socioeconomic status, participation incentives, and internet survey misreporting. Exposure to watching eyes may decrease participatory engagement and cooperation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:46:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-79bf66f4bb2240c88745f9e56d49c456 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2731-4537 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:46:46Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Discover Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-79bf66f4bb2240c88745f9e56d49c4562024-03-05T19:56:13ZengSpringerDiscover Psychology2731-45372024-02-01411810.1007/s44202-024-00123-8Who misreports on internet health surveys, and do images of watching eyes discourage misreporting? An online experiment from ChinaTianyu Guo0Chuqing Cao1Jing Wang2Xinwen Hu3Ying Chen4Stephen W. Pan5Department of Chemistry, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool UniversityDepartment of Applied Mathematics, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool UniversitySchool of Public Health, Harvard UniversityDuke Kunshan UniversityWisdom Lake Academy of Pharmacy, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool UniversityDepartment of Health and Environmental Sciences, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool UniversityAbstract Background Few studies in China have examined correlates of internet health survey misreporting or the effect of interventions to mitigate misreporting. We conducted an experiment to: (1) identify correlates of survey misreporting, and (2) assess the impact of “watching eyes” images on survey misreporting. Exposure to watching eyes has been shown to discourage socially deviant behavior. Methods In 2022, a contract survey company recruited 1655 online survey respondents who were ≥ 18 years old and living in China. Participants were randomized to one of four arms. Participants randomized to arms 1 and 3 were asked to report their blood type. Participants randomized to arms 2 and 4 were also asked to report their blood type, but were additionally told they could end the survey early if they reported AB blood type. Participants randomized to arm 3 or 4 (but not arms 1 or 2) were shown an image of watching eyes before being asked to report their blood type. Results Among participants with lower educational attainment, the probability of reporting AB blood type was higher if incentivized to report AB blood (19.05% vs 9.26%), though this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.189). Among participants incentivized to report AB blood type, the probability of reporting AB blood type was significantly greater among individuals shown watching eyes (19.93% vs 11.56%, p < 0.01). Conclusion Internet health surveys in China must begin assessing and mitigating participant misreporting. Larger studies are needed to elucidate potential mechanisms of association between socioeconomic status, participation incentives, and internet survey misreporting. Exposure to watching eyes may decrease participatory engagement and cooperation.https://doi.org/10.1007/s44202-024-00123-8MturkSojumpWenjuanxingFraudEye cuesEye primes: surveillance cues |
| spellingShingle | Tianyu Guo Chuqing Cao Jing Wang Xinwen Hu Ying Chen Stephen W. Pan Who misreports on internet health surveys, and do images of watching eyes discourage misreporting? An online experiment from China Discover Psychology Mturk Sojump Wenjuanxing Fraud Eye cues Eye primes: surveillance cues |
| title | Who misreports on internet health surveys, and do images of watching eyes discourage misreporting? An online experiment from China |
| title_full | Who misreports on internet health surveys, and do images of watching eyes discourage misreporting? An online experiment from China |
| title_fullStr | Who misreports on internet health surveys, and do images of watching eyes discourage misreporting? An online experiment from China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Who misreports on internet health surveys, and do images of watching eyes discourage misreporting? An online experiment from China |
| title_short | Who misreports on internet health surveys, and do images of watching eyes discourage misreporting? An online experiment from China |
| title_sort | who misreports on internet health surveys and do images of watching eyes discourage misreporting an online experiment from china |
| topic | Mturk Sojump Wenjuanxing Fraud Eye cues Eye primes: surveillance cues |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/s44202-024-00123-8 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tianyuguo whomisreportsoninternethealthsurveysanddoimagesofwatchingeyesdiscouragemisreportinganonlineexperimentfromchina AT chuqingcao whomisreportsoninternethealthsurveysanddoimagesofwatchingeyesdiscouragemisreportinganonlineexperimentfromchina AT jingwang whomisreportsoninternethealthsurveysanddoimagesofwatchingeyesdiscouragemisreportinganonlineexperimentfromchina AT xinwenhu whomisreportsoninternethealthsurveysanddoimagesofwatchingeyesdiscouragemisreportinganonlineexperimentfromchina AT yingchen whomisreportsoninternethealthsurveysanddoimagesofwatchingeyesdiscouragemisreportinganonlineexperimentfromchina AT stephenwpan whomisreportsoninternethealthsurveysanddoimagesofwatchingeyesdiscouragemisreportinganonlineexperimentfromchina |