Mail surveys among college students: Do initial responders score differently from nonresponders on the 16PF?

A single experiment is reported which investigated possible personality dif ferences between college students who responded to a mail survey and those who did not. 208 college students completed the 16PF as part of a class ass ignment. Then each student was mailed a survey dealing with either a nation al or local issue (environmental, media, or sports). Multivariate analysis of the 16 subscales of the 16PF yielded a significant interaction between s ex and response type. Subsequent protected univariate analyses identified s ignificant sex x response type interactions on scales Q2 (Self-reliance), F (Liveliness), and O (Apprehension). Mean differences on the Self-reliance and Apprehension were sex differences rather than personality differences b etween responders and nonresponders. The only mean difference for response type was on Liveliness and applied only to men; responders scored lower tha n nonresponders. Multivariate analysis of the global scales of the 16PF yie lded a significant interaction between sex and response type. Projected uni variate analyses indicated a significant interaction between sex and respon se type on the Extraversion scale and a sex difference; female nonresponder s scored higher than male nonresponders. No other comparisons were signific ant.