Work

Biased Interviewer Assessments of Respondent Knowledge Based on Perceptions of Skin Tone

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: A rich literature documents the effects of survey interviewer race on respondents’ answers to questions about political issues and factual knowledge. In this paper, we advance the study of interviewer effects in two ways. First, we examine the impact of race on interviewers’ subjective evaluations of respondents’ political knowledge. Second, we substitute measures of respondent/interviewer racial self-identification with interviewer perceptions of respondent skin tone. We find that white interviewers subjectively rate black respondents’ knowledge lower than do black interviewers, even controlling for objective knowledge measures. Moreover, we identify a negative relationship between relative skin tone and interviewer's assessment of knowledge. Subsequent analyses show a linear relationship between subjective knowledge assessments and the difference between respondent and interviewer skin tone. We conclude with a discussion of the impact of colorism on survey administration and the measurement of political attitudes and democratic capabilities.

Source: The Journal of Race Ethnicity and Politics

DOI: 10.1017/rep.2021.40

Authors: Adam M. Enders, Judd R. Thornton

Institutions: University of Louisville, Georgia State University

Language: English

Topic: Survey Methodology and Nonresponse

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,069