The Effects of Paper-and-Pencil Tests vs. Face to Face Interviews and the Proximity of Other People on Responses to Intimate Questions

This study investigated how willing participants are to share responses to intimate questions depending on proximity to others and test mode. Participants consisted of 120 undergraduate Framingham State College students who were randomly assigned to either private (paper and pencil) or public (face-to-face group interview) survey questions. For each mode of questioning participants were either in close proximity to others (no space between each participant) or far proximity to others (one seat between each participant) Participants were asked to respond to questions on drug and alcohol use and then to complete a fear of negative evaluation scale and a self-consciousness scale. Results indicated no difference between responses depending on survey mode or proximity to others. Additionally, ratings of fear of negative evaluations from others and self-consciousness showed no difference in responses to questions on drug and alcohol use