Do People Eat in Dining Halls as Often as They Say They Do.

摘要

The purpose of the study was to assess the validity of self-reported attendance rates at meals in a military dining facility. In a personal interview setting, 171 airmen were asked how often they ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the dining facility during a typical 5-day work week and during a typical 2-day weekend. The reported frequencies subsequently were compared to observed rates averaged over two weeks. Of the airmen who had eaten at least one meal in the dining facility, 76% overestimated actual attendance. Reported rates significantly exceeded observed rates for each type of meal (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) and for each type of day (weekday and weekend). Possible explanations of these findings were discussed, and implications for the self-report method, in general, were considered.