The Effects of the Researcher's Physical Attractiveness and Gender on Mail Survey Response

摘要

This study examines how using a photo in the cover letter of a mailsurvey affects mail survey response. A 2 x 2 factorial design was usedthat manipulated the physical attractiveness and gender of the sup-posed researcher that was depicted in the cover letter photo. In ad-dition, a control group was used that received a cover letter withouta photo. The results revealed the following: (1) a photo of the surveyresearcher does not enhance the response rate to the survey; (2) in thecase of an attractive male researcher, a photo may dampen the responserate; and (3) within the factorial design, the only variable to have aneffect on the survey's response rate was the gender variable: Photosdepicting female researchers produced a higher response rate thanphotos depicting male researchers. This study also illustrated that acrude pretest of the survey procedures with students can, in someareas, produce fairly accurate predictions of the results of a fieldexperiment.