Effects of Visual Priming on Rating Scale Usage

TL;DR

This study investigates how visual priming influences the way respondents use rating scales in surveys, revealing that priming can alter the distribution of ratings on a five-point scale.

Contribution

It provides experimental evidence on the impact of visual priming on rating scale usage, highlighting potential biases in survey responses.

Findings

Primed respondents used Category 1 less.

Primed respondents used Categories 3 and 4 more.

No effect was observed on Categories 2 and 5.

Abstract

Rating scales are much used in survey research. Often, it is assumed that the scores obtained through rating scales can be compared within and between respondents when studies are in one country. In addition, it is assumed that they can be treated as a numerical scale. In this paper, we study the anchoring effect of a visual stimulus on rating scale usage. To do so, we set up a randomized experiment where the experimental group was primed by asking to rate the filling of a cylinder that was presented visually. For a five point rating scale, we find the effect that primed respondents use Category 1 less and Categories 3 and 4 more, and no effect on Categories 2 and 5.