Speakers
Abstract
Background: Recent technological advancements have contributed to the growing popularity of the experience sampling method (ESM) across various fields. However, the intensive nature of ESM raises concerns about careless responding, where participants provide responses without paying sufficient attention to the questionnaire. To better understand careless responding, this study investigated its temporal dynamics in ESM data across three commonly used sample types (community, student, clinical).
Methods: We leveraged four careless responding indicators from previous research: response time, within-beep standard deviation, occasion-person correlation, and inconsistency index. We used multivariate and univariate multilevel models and analyzed the trajectories of the indicators over time, both over the course of the study and over the course of a day.
Results: Our results showed that careless responding is not a stable phenomenon, and the indicators differ in their ability to capture it. Specifically, response time and within-beep standard deviation decreased over the course of the study, suggesting increased carelessness, although these trends were also likely influenced by habituation effects. Inconsistency index remained largely stable, indicating that it might not capture temporal changes in carelessness effectively. Occasion-person correlation showed mixed trends, raising questions about its ability to detect carelessness. The presence of few and small associations among the indicators implies that they flag distinct kinds of carelessness and thus complement each other.
Conclusions: Overall, these findings highlight the importance of accounting for carelessness in ESM studies and demonstrate that these indicators, despite their individual limitations, provide valuable tools for identifying different patterns of careless responding.
| Oral presentation | An investigation of the temporal dynamics of careless responding across different populations in experience sampling data |
|---|---|
| Author | Milla Pihlajamäki |
| Affiliation | PhD candidate |
| Keywords | experience sampling, careless responding |
