Further Evidence on Response Sets and Test Design

reported is new, evidence has also been drawn from scattered publications which were overlooked in the earlier review. Material on response sets is to be found in a great many sorts of studies, discussed under many names. Particular attention should be drawn to the early reports of Lorge (15) and Goodfellow (6) on this topic. As our earlier report demonstrated, response sets have been identified in tests of ability, personality, attitude, and interest, and in rating scales. Among the most widely found sets are acquiescence (tendency to say &dquo;True,&dquo; &dquo;Yes,&dquo; &dquo;Agree,&dquo; etc.), evasiveness (tendency to say &dquo;?,&dquo; &dquo;Indifferent,&dquo; &dquo;Uncertain,&dquo; etc.), and similar biases in favor of a particular response when certain fixed alternatives are offered. Other sets include the

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