The Influence of Graphical and Symbolic Language Manipulations on Responses to Self-Administered Questions

Abstract

This article reports results from 14 experimental comparisons designed to test 7 hypotheses about the effects of two types of nonverbal languages (symbols and graphics) on responses to self-administered questionnaires. The experiments were included in a survey of 1,042 university students. Significant differences were observed for most comparisons, providing support for all seven hypotheses. These results support the view that respondents' answers to questions in self-administered surveys are influenced by more than words. Thus, the visual presentation of questions must be taken into consideration when designing such surveys and, especially, when comparing results across surveys in which the visual presentation of questions is varied.