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    Decision Architecture Entry #0134

    Why the second question on a survey is the real one

    The opening question sets a frame. Every answer that follows is given inside it, and the respondent cannot see the frame because they are standing in it.

    Adept
    The hidden part #0134

    The first question is not a question. It is the frame in which the second question will be understood.

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    Choice Design Entry #0229

    The reason a form field order changes what you disclose

    Ask the sensitive question first and many people stop. Ask it last and most people answer, because the earlier fields have already established a pattern.

    Adept
    The hidden part #0229

    Order is an instrument. Early low-cost answers create an investment the respondent then protects by answering the expensive one.

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    Decision Architecture Entry #0128

    Why the order of questions changes the answers

    Ask about happiness first and then about politics, or reverse the order: the same person gives different answers to the same questions.

    Novice
    The hidden part #0128

    Earlier answers become context for later ones. A survey does not measure opinion; it measures opinion in the order the surveyor chose.

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