Answering tendencies on questionnaires: Comparing Mandarin and Bahasa Malaysia versus English

Aims

Conducting psychological research in different countries and cultures necessitates measures in different languages. However, the language of a measure might influence responses, even within the same multilingual individual. The cultural accommodation theory proposes that one’s association with a language influences their responses. Moreover, response styles (RSs), such as an extreme or acquiescence RS, might systematically affect responses regardless of the content of the measure. These effects were reported on culture-related measures but are unclear on culture-free measures.

Methodology and analyses

We aimed to investigate the effects of language on psychological measures that do not explicitly examine cultural factors. Multilingual Malaysians (n = 111) filled in the Adult Executive Functioning Inventory (ADEXI), the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale—21 items (DASS-21), the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory (Brief COPE), the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL), and the Traditional Masculinity-Femininity Scale (TMF) in Bahasa Malaysia and English, or in Mandarin and English

Findings.

There were no language differences on the ADEXI and TMF. However, several subscales of the Brief COPE, the Stress subscale of the DASS, and the PedsQL scores were higher in Mandarin than in English. On the Brief COPE and the PedsQL, there were also differences in RS between Mandarin and English, which might explain (part of) these differences. There were no differences between Bahasa Malaysia and English in scores. However, there was a more extreme RS in English than in Bahasa Malaysia and a more acquiescence RS in Bahasa Malaysia than in English on the Brief COPE. These differences suggest that the measures are not culture-free or that previously reported language differences did not result from culture alone. The language of a measure might be an additional important factor. When using different translations of the same measure, it is important to take cultural accommodation and RS into account.