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Glossary
An item format that asks respondents to choose between options designed to be equally desirable, reducing social desirability effects.
A forced-choice item asks respondents to pick between two or more options designed to be equally desirable (or undesirable) — so respondents can't just choose whatever makes them look best. For example: "Which describes you better — 'I am detail-oriented' or 'I am big-picture'?"
Forced-choice formats are used in personality assessments and selection contexts to blunt social desirability bias. They have trade-offs: forcing choices makes responses harder to compare across people on a single trait scale, and they can feel frustrating to respondents. Sophisticated scoring models exist to handle the ipsative structure they create.