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https://doi.org/10.18148/srm/2017.v11i2.6782
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Heaping at Round Numbers on Financial Questions: The Role of Satisficing
[journal article]
Abstract "Survey responses to quantitative financial questions frequently display strong patterns of heaping at round numbers. This paper uses two studies to examine variation in rounding across questions and by individual characteristics. Rounding was more common for respondents low in ability, for responde... view more
"Survey responses to quantitative financial questions frequently display strong patterns of heaping at round numbers. This paper uses two studies to examine variation in rounding across questions and by individual characteristics. Rounding was more common for respondents low in ability, for respondents low in motivation, and for more difficult questions, all consistent with theories of satisficing. Questions that require more difficult information retrieval and integration of information exhibit more heaping. The use of records, which lowers task difficulty, reduces rounding as well. Higher episodic memory is associated with less rounding, and standard measures of motivation are negatively associated with rounding. These relationships, along with the fact that longer response latencies are associated with less rounding, all support the idea that rounding is a manifestation of satisficing on open-ended financial questions. Rounding patterns also appear remarkably similar across the two studies, despite being fielded in different modes and employing different question order and wording." (author's abstract)... view less
Keywords
survey research; interview; online survey; income; financial situation; response behavior; data quality
Classification
Methods and Techniques of Data Collection and Data Analysis, Statistical Methods, Computer Methods
Free Keywords
financial survey; satisficing; rounding; heaping; survey response
Document language
English
Publication Year
2017
Page/Pages
p. 189-214
Journal
Survey Research Methods, 11 (2017) 2
ISSN
1864-3361
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed
Licence
Deposit Licence - No Redistribution, No Modifications