Here's yet another study of what seems to me to be self-evident -- that people are less likely to reveal embarrassing or harmful information if not assured of confidentiality.
In a study published in The Journal of Family Psychology, researchers from the Univ. of Colorado and Texas A&M surveyed 4,884 married women. In face-to-face interviews, one percent admitted to adulterous relationships. On an anonymous questionaire, more than six times as many did so..
You've confused anonymity with confidentiality. The study suggests that anonymous respondents are more likely be candid. The study does not address the question of whether confidentiality increases candor.
My guess is that, even if the respondents had been assured of confidentiality in the face to face interviews, they would not have admitted to more adulterous relationships. Confidentiality does not significantly decrease the embarrassment that a person feels when speaking to a person. Anonymity, on the other hand, does decrease embarrassment.
Posted by: Howard Roberts | July 13, 2009 at 11:09 PM
Good point. It is not a problem, however, in the several studies reported in ULE (2004) at p. 140.
Posted by: Monroe Freedman | July 14, 2009 at 09:23 AM