Asking Questions - The Definitive Guide To Questionnaire Design ...

ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS 123
test of the similarities of these terms was obtained in a context of
questions about year-round daylight savings time (Murray and others,
1974). The following two questions were asked of the same
respondents in a national probability sample in March and April
of 1974:
As you know, we recently switched from standard time to
[year-round] daylight savings time. That means that it now
gets light an hour later in the morning than before we
switched over. It also means that it now gets dark an hour
later in the evening than before we switched over. How do
you feel about being on [year-round] daylight savings time
now? Would you say you like it very much, like it somewhat,
dislike it somewhat, or dislike it very much?
As you know, the United States Congress put our country
back on daylight savings time this winter as part of a two-year
experiment to try to save energy. Some people think that we
should continue to have daylight savings time all year round—
that is, not turn the clocks back at the end of next October.
Would you approve or disapprove of remaining on daylight
savings time all year round next year, or don’t you care one
way or the other?
Although a cross-tabulation of the responses indicated a positive
correlation between the two items, 14 percent of those who
liked year-round daylight savings time “very much” “disapproved”
of it, and 10 percent of those who disliked it “very much” “approved”
of it. The correspondence between the two evaluations was
highest for those who felt strongly about the issue. The correspondence
between the two evaluations was considerably less for those
with more moderate likes or dislikes. These findings support the belief
that strongly held attitudes are generally more resistant to
effects of question wording than are weakly held attitudes.