Explaining the "accuracy" of proxy-reports on attitudes towards immigrants in Germany. Two approaches compared

Jäger, Angela (author)

report the attitudes of their reference group or close discussion partners. Studies using a social network approach have found evidence for a strong association between the respondents' own attitude reports and their reports onthe perceived attitudes of relevant others. Since most research has not tested whether this perception of ego is congruent with the actual attitudes of the alters, it remains unclear to what degree the observed correlations aresubstantiated in social influence processes or simply result from egos' projection of their own attitudes on their alters. However, descriptive statistics have confirmed that proxy-reports and self-reports with regard to attitudes reveal a relatively low degree of congruence. In this study, the influence of egoćs access to information on the quality" of the proxy-reportsconcerning attitudes towards immigrants in Germany is analyzed inthe context of a broader understanding of the congruence of proxy-reports. For this purpose, we use two approaches that apply different criteria of validity to assess the 'accuracy' of proxy-reports on attitudes on an individual level. In order to address our questions, we reanalyze recently collected data (N = 1.693) on egos' attitudes towards immigrants, including information about egosć perception of altersć attitudes and alters' self-reports on the same matter. According to our results stemming from multivariate two-level regression models, the accuracy of proxy-reports is conditional on characteristics of the dyadic relationships as well as the complete network in which these dyads are embedded, a fact which apparently has not yet been considered in previous research. In summary, it is recommended that for the collection of attitudinal data by means of proxy-reports the name interpreter items should refer to general dispositions rather than to specific attitudes of alters.

• Language: English
• Work type: Not categorized
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FDV - Faculty of Social Sciences
• Year: 2005
• Number of pages: Str. 27-57
• Numbering: Vol. 2, no. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-22459
• UDC: 303
• ISSN on article: 1854-0023
• COBISS.SI-ID: 24322141
• Publication date in RUL: 11.07.2014

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Advances in methodology and statistics
• Shortened title: Metodol. zv.
• Publisher: Fakulteta za družbene vede
• ISSN: 1854-0023
• COBISS.SI-ID: 215795712