Which term describes misreporting of support due to social desirability bias, contributing to poll inaccuracies in elections involving racial dynamics?

• A. Sampling error
• B. Bandwagon effect
• C. Bradley effect
• D. Margin of error

Answer: (C)

Social desirability bias in political polling can distort results when race is involved. The term for this specific misreporting is the Bradley effect: voters may tell pollsters they support a Black candidate to appear nonracist, but when it comes to voting, they choose the White candidate. This can make polls overstate support for the minority candidate, producing inaccuracies in election forecasts. The other concepts describe different ideas—sampling error is random sampling variation, the bandwagon effect is people moving toward the current popular choice, and the margin of error is the estimate of precision around poll results.