WARD, MARY KATHRINE. Using Virtual Presence and Survey Instructions to Minimize Careless Responding on Internet-Based Surveys. (Under the direction of Dr. Samuel B. Pond.) Internet-based survey data inform knowledge creation in research and justify work activities in many organizations. While there are decided advantages to Internet-based surveys, this mode of administration comes with its own set of challenges. Survey respondents may intentionally or unintentionally respond to the survey in a manner that does not accurately reflect their true beliefs or feelings. The purposes of this study were to examine two approaches that address the problem of careless responding (CR), and increase attentiveness among respondents with better survey design. This study investigated instructional manipulation and virtual human presence as potential buffers against CR. The sample consisted of undergraduate students who voluntarily completed an Internet-based survey. This study used a 3x3 between-subjects experimental design where virtual presence (absent, animated shape, and virtual human) and type of instruction (anonymous, warning, and feedback) were the independent variables. Indicators of CR were the dependent variables. Findings showed that warning instructions significantly reduced some forms of CR, but promising feedback had little effect on CR. The interaction of instructions and virtual presence had a significant effect on CR. Future research will need to tease apart the nuances of the relationship between instructions, virtual presence, and CR. The discussion includes implications for Internet-based survey administration and future directions for addressing the problem of CR.

Surveys administered online have several benefits, but they are particularly prone to careless responding, which occurs when respondents fail to read item content or give sufficient attention, resulting in raw data that may not accurately reflect respondents’ true levels of the constructs being measured. Careless responding can lead to various psychometric issues, potentially impacting any area of psychology that uses self-reported surveys and assessments. This review synthesizes the careless responding literature to provide a comprehensive understanding of careless responding and ways to prevent, identify, report, and clean careless responding from data sets. Further, we include recommendations for different levels of screening for careless responses. Finally, we highlight some of the most promising areas for future work on careless responding. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 74 is January 2023. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

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related to increasing respondent motivation to respond carefully. Study 1 presented control, scripted, or video-recorded instructions designed to increase the social influence of survey administrators on survey participants. Participants in the control group were significantly more likely to admit to CR than the script and video groups. Compared with the control, scripted instructions decreased interest, and had no effect on objective indicators of CR. Study 2 found that instructions designed to induce cognitive dissonance increased logical consistency of responses and survey interest. Instructions to create a sense of hypocrisy increased accuracy on instructedresponse items. Study 3 showed that leveraging social exchange theory in survey instructions generally had no effect on CR. Similar results were found for both continuous and dichotomous scoring of indicators of CR across the three studies. Results demonstrate that facets of CR can be influenced via survey design. Future studies are needed to develop a more thorough understanding of best practices in survey design with respect to preventing CR.

In this review, we consider the advent of neuroscience in management and organizational research. We organize our review around two general themes pertaining to how areas of the brain may be relevant to management and organizational behavior. First, intrinsic, at-rest activity in the brain provides trait-like information that can be used to better understand individuals in terms of cognition, emotions, and behaviors. Second, reflexive activity involves an understanding of the brain in terms of its state-like responses to stimuli. In our review, we identify several research challenges and opportunities, such as the need to consider the theoretical basis of neural concepts and measures and the use of team-based neuroscience technologies. In addition, although research in organizational neuroscience is relatively new, some interesting practical implications are raised here. We conclude with a consideration of key limitations, specifically the possibility of excessive reductionism, as well as ethical and professional issues.