Behavioral versus Questionnaire Measures of Expectations

Abstract

The goal of the present research is to determine the degree of correspondence between the observed behavior in an experiment and the attitudes expressed in a questionnaire administered after an experiment. To do so, we replicate Driskell and Mullen’s study using more data from multiple experiments and conduct more sophisticated analyses. The attitudinal measures are questionnaire items regarding study participants’ views of themselves, a partner, and their task performance, measured after interaction. The behavioral measure records the participants’ resistance to influence from their partners and is thought to reflect underlying expectations for competence. Using confirmatory factor analysis, we find that there is a strong relationship between attitude and behavior, such that they appear to represent a single construct. Implications of this finding for experimental methodology are discussed in support of more concise approaches.