Influence of Gender Does a pollster’s gender have an effect on poll responses by men? A U.S. News & World Report article about polls stated: “On sensitive issues, people tend to give ‘acceptable’...

Influence of Gender
Does a pollster’s gender have an effect on poll responses by men? A U.S. News & World Report article about polls stated: “On sensitive issues, people tend to give ‘acceptable’ rather than honest responses; their answers may depend on the gender or race of the interviewer.” To support that claim, data were provided for an Eagleton Institute poll in which

surveyed men were asked if they agreed with this statement: “Abortion is a private matter that should be left to the woman to decide without government intervention.” We will analyze the effect of gender on male survey subjects only. Table 11-8 is based on the responses of surveyed men. Assume that the survey was designed so that male interviewers were instructed to obtain 800 responses from male subjects, and female interviewers were instructed to obtain 400 responses from male subjects. Using a 0.05 significance level, test the claim that the proportions of agree/disagree responses are the same for the subjects interviewed by men and the subjects interviewed by women.

Table 11-8 Gender and Survey Responses