Overt Expectancies in a Classroom Setting: Implications for the Validity of Responses Obtained from an Attitudinal Scale

Abstract

Subjects were given either positive, negative, or neutral information concerning an attitudinal questionnaire that they were asked to complete. The positive information group obtained the lowest scores, followed by the negative information group, with the neutral information group obtaining the highest mean score. An analysis of variance revealed that the differences among the mean scores of the three groups were significant. This outcome was contrary to what most of the literature predicts. The subjects acted in opposition to what they had been told.

It was concluded that the validity of affective measures could be affected by instructions given to examinees who may develop different interpersonal expectancies of the outcome.

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