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Measuring social norms: direct and indirect methods and the role of financial incentives in reducing misreporting

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  • Ann-Kristin Reitmann

    (CREM - Centre de recherche en économie et management - UNICAEN - Université de Caen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université - UR - Université de Rennes - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Universität Passau [Passau], Leibniz Universität Hannover = Leibniz University Hannover)

  • Clotilde Mahé

    (VU - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam [Amsterdam], Amsterdam Institute for Global Health & Development [Amsterdam, The Netherlands])

  • Micheline Goedhuys

    (Maastricht University [Maastricht])

  • Eleonora Nillesen

    (Maastricht University [Maastricht])

Abstract

We test two common features of the opinion-matching method to elicit personal beliefs and perceived social norms regarding female labor force participation among a sample of young Tunisian men and women. Our survey experiment contains two orthogonal treatment arms. In the first treatment arm, respondents were randomly assigned to answer a direct question about their personal beliefs regarding women working outside the home and an indirect questioning technique that provides more cover for the respondent: the list experiment. We find significant discrepancies between the two, particularly among male respondents -suggesting either biased personal beliefs in the direct question or non-strategic misreporting in the list experiment. It follows that, depending on which method is deemed more credible and which gender sample is considered, the prevalence of pluralistic ignorance varies widely in our setting. For the second treatment arm, we provided half of our sample with a financial incentive when eliciting perceived social norms regarding the appropriateness of women working. We find that financial incentives are necessary for both men and women to distinguish their personal beliefs from their perception of what others believe.

Suggested Citation

  • Ann-Kristin Reitmann & Clotilde Mahé & Micheline Goedhuys & Eleonora Nillesen, 2026. "Measuring social norms: direct and indirect methods and the role of financial incentives in reducing misreporting," Post-Print hal-05496799, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05496799
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2026.107465
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05496799v1
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    1. Bryn Rosenfeld & Kosuke Imai & Jacob N. Shapiro, 2016. "An Empirical Validation Study of Popular Survey Methodologies for Sensitive Questions," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 60(3), pages 783-802, July.
    2. Nillesen, Eleonora & Grimm, Michael & Goedhuys, Micheline & Reitmann, Ann-Kristin & Meysonnat, Aline, 2021. "On the malleability of gender attitudes: Evidence from implicit and explicit measures in Tunisia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    3. Kuhn, Patrick M. & Vivyan, Nick, 2022. "The Misreporting Trade-Off Between List Experiments and Direct Questions in Practice: Partition Validation Evidence from Two Countries," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 30(3), pages 381-402, July.
    4. Boring, Anne & Delfgaauw, Josse, 2024. "Social desirability bias in attitudes towards sexism and DEI policies in the workplace," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 465-482.
    5. Erin L. Krupka & Roberto A. Weber, 2013. "Identifying Social Norms Using Coordination Games: Why Does Dictator Game Sharing Vary?," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 11(3), pages 495-524, June.
    6. James Andreoni & B. Douglas Bernheim, 2009. "Social Image and the 50-50 Norm: A Theoretical and Experimental Analysis of Audience Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 77(5), pages 1607-1636, September.
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    JEL classification:

    • C83 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Survey Methods; Sampling Methods
    • C99 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Other
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • J29 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Other
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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