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Related Experiment Videos

Forward telescoping: the question matters

V Prohaska1, N R Brown, R F Belli

  • 1Department of Psychology, Lehman College, Bronx, NY 10468-1589, USA. vincentp@alpha.lehman.cuny.edu

Memory (Hove, England)
|November 26, 1998
PubMed
Summary

Forward telescoping, or misremembering event dates as more recent, can skew survey data. This study shows that altering question formats can reduce this recall bias in participants.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Survey Methodology
  • Social Science Research

Background:

  • Forward telescoping, misreporting event dates as more recent, is a common source of survey data inaccuracy.
  • This recall bias may stem from question formats that do not require detailed temporal information retrieval.
  • Understanding and mitigating forward telescoping is crucial for improving the reliability of survey research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of question format on forward telescoping in survey responses.
  • To determine if modifying survey questions can reduce the incidence of reporting events as more recent than they occurred.

Main Methods:

  • Collected two types of data: visits to medical doctors (unverifiable dates) and participation in laboratory research studies (verifiable dates).
  • Compared forward telescoping rates between standard survey questions and modified question formats.
  • Analyzed the influence of question design on participants' temporal recall accuracy.

Main Results:

  • Modifying the survey question format led to significant differences in the amount of forward telescoping observed.
  • The study demonstrated a quantifiable reduction in forward telescoping when questions prompted more detailed temporal retrieval.
  • Verifiable event dates in the laboratory setting confirmed the patterns of recall bias observed.

Conclusions:

  • Survey question design plays a critical role in the occurrence of forward telescoping.
  • Implementing specific question modifications can effectively mitigate recall bias in survey data.
  • These findings offer practical strategies for enhancing the accuracy and validity of survey research.

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