Item Context Effects Are Relevant for Monitoring Evaluative Well-being: Replication of Previous Work and Mitigation

Abstract

To ensure the accuracy of self-reported data, it is important to reduce potential sources of bias such as the unwanted influence of prior questions on subsequent questions, the so-called item context effect. This article attempts to replicate the finding that evaluative subjective well-being was affected by a preceding item, a question about the political atmosphere in the country; it also examines manipulations that could mitigate the impact of the context-inducing item on well-being. Study 1 used a sample of 4,500 participants recruited from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk; it examined the effect of three manipulations based on adding buffer questions or adding text to reorient participants’ attention. A context effect was found, and one manipulation mitigated the context effect. Study 2 used a nationally representative sample (n = 906); it only replicated the context effect. These results reaffirm the importance of carefully considering item context effects in survey research.