What Are the Priming and Ceiling Effects of One Experience Measure on Another?

Abstract

Patient-reported experience measures have notable ceiling effects which can hinder efforts to learn and improve. This study tested whether an iterative (Guttman-style) satisfaction questionnaire combined with instructions intended to give people agency to critique us primes responses on an ordinal scale and reduces ceiling effects. Among the 161 subjects randomly assigned to complete an iterative satisfaction questionnaire before or after an ordinal scale, there was no difference in mean satisfaction (no priming). The Guttman scale was more normally distributed and had slightly less ceiling effect when compared to the ordinal scale. Iterative satisfaction scales partially mitigate ceiling effects. The absence of priming suggests that attempts to encourage agency and reflection have limited ability to reduce ceiling effects, and alternative approaches should be tested.