Neutral Responses to Structured Questionnaires within Organizational Settings: Roles of Rater Affective Feelings and Demographic Characteristics

This study is a follow-up to a prior publication by the authors dealing with influences behind neutral responses to structured questionnaires. The earlier study found rater affective feelings, nationality, and age to be significant influences, while sex was not. The questionnaire used in the first study dealt primarily with supervision and relied on a three-point scale. The present instrument covers a broader range of topics and uses a five-point Likert-type scale. The results on the influence of rater affective feelings are consistent with previous studies, but there is some variation in the demographic influences. Implications of the findings are discussed and suggestions are offered for additional research.