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Diverse Pre-Treatment Effects in Survey Experiments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 December 2017

Katerina Linos  and
Kimberly Twist
Katerina Linos
Affiliation:
Professor University of California, School of Law, Berkeley, e-mail: klinos@berkeley.edu
Kimberly Twist
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor, San Diego State University, e-mail: kim.twist@sdsu.edu
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Abstract

Researchers using survey experiments typically assume respondents are blank slates, encountering information for the first time. We study how prior real-world information dissemination through the mass media shapes experimental results. We show prior exposure can lead us to both under- and overestimate true framing effects in experiments. Message clarity moderates the impact of pre-treatment, with clear information more likely to produce pre-treatment effects than unclear information.

Keywords

survey experimentpre-treatmentSupreme Courtpublic opinion
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Experimental Political Science , Volume 5 , Issue 2 , Summer 2018 , pp. 148 - 158
Copyright
Copyright © The Experimental Research Section of the American Political Science Association 2017 

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