A Gallup poll asked two questions:

Question

1. Do you favor a tax cut or “increased spending on other government programs”? Result: 75% favored a tax cut.

2. Do you favor a tax cut or “spending to fund new retirement savings accounts, as well as increased spending on education, defense, Medicare and other programs”? Result: 60% favored increased spending.

Discuss among yourselves:

How did the wording affect the results? What sorts of biases might be present?

Answer 1

The mentioning of specific spending goals, which might effect the respondent directly, probably influenced the responses.