Who Likes It More? : Using Response Times To Elicit Group Preferences in Surveys

Alos Ferrer, Carlos and Garagnani, Michele (2025) Who Likes It More? : Using Response Times To Elicit Group Preferences in Surveys. Working Paper. Lancaster University, Department of Economics, Lancaster.

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Abstract

Surveys remain crucial tools for measuring societal preferences, but their reliability is limited by noise and bias in respondent data. We introduce a novel non-parametric method that leverages response times to reveal group preferences and rank preference strength across different populations. We validate the approach and apply it to key socio-economic questions using large representative surveys. The method complements traditional survey analysis techniques, providing clear indicators of when standard analyses may be inadequate and when response time data can yield additional insights. Importantly, our method also quantifies response biases, allowing researchers to adjust for systematic distortions in survey data.