Vague Language in Disclosures Study

About this document

This document contains survey instructions, items and questions to be used in fielding the study. Not all
survey items will be included. Instead, waves of collection will use different items. Generally, respondents
will read information and then will be asked to rate that information and their understanding of it using a
series of survey items. All waves will use items that do not take more than 30 minutes to complete.

Questionnaire
Privacy Notice
The information you provide will assist the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in learning about
disclosure effectiveness.
Participation is voluntary. You may withdraw your participation at any time. No identifying information
will be collected.

Paperwork Reduction Act

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person
is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number.
The OMB control number for this collection is 3170-0048. It expires on XX/XX/XXXX. The time to
respond to this collection of information is expected to be 15-30 minutes per response Comments
regarding this collection of information, including the estimated response time, suggestions for improving
the usefulness of the information, or suggestions for reducing the burden to respond to this collection
should be submitted to Bureau at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Attention: PRA Office),
1700 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20552, or by email to [email protected]

Survey Context

Participants will be asked to imagine they are in a situation where they see a particular form. The situation
varies depending on the form, for example “imagine you have a student loan, and have received the
following form in the mail.”

Questionnaire
Design Validity and Reliability

Note: These measures ensure that the study design is effective. In this case, the study is effective if
language that is hypothesized to be more or less vague is also seen by consumers as more or less
vague.

1. How vague or clear is this information?
o
Very vague

o
Somewhat vague

o
Somewhat clear

o
Very clear

o
Very abstract

o
Somewhat
abstract

o
Somewhat
concrete

o
Very concrete

2. How concrete or abstract is this information?

3. How specific or general is this information?
o
Very general

o
o
Somewhat general Somewhat specific

o
Very specific

4. Please rate the clarity of each statement. [Present all conditions]
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

Very vague
Somewhat vague
Neither vague nor clear
Somewhat clear
Very clear

Outcomes

Note: The outcome measures included here test our hypotheses that vague language in a disclosure may
impact (1) the extent to which consumers believe they can use the information correctly (2) whether the
conclusions they draw from the information are factually correct, and (3) whether they over- or underestimate the probability associated with events or decisions that the disclosure describes.
Which question respondents see (5a – 5c) depends on which form they are assigned to view.

5a. Which overdraft option would you choose?
a. I do not want Ficus Bank to authorize and pay overdrafts on my ATM and everyday debit
card transactions.
b. I want Ficus Bank to authorize and pay overdrafts on my ATM and everyday debit card
transactions.

5b. Do you have to report this forgiven loan balance as income?

a. Definitely yes
b. Definitely no
c. It depends on the amount forgiven and my other income

5c. Which do you think is the most likely tax consequence of the forgiven loan balance?
a. The forgiven loan balance will require you to pay more income taxes
b. The forgiven loan will require you to pay less income taxes

c. The forgiven loan balance will not affect your income taxes
d. The forgiven loan balance is a gift subject to the gift tax

6. How confident do you feel about your choice? [for each condition]
a. Not at all confident
b. Somewhat confident
c. Very confident

Note: Which question respondents see (7a – 7c) depends on which form they are assigned to view.

7a. What would you do in response to this form?
a. Allow Ficus Bank to authorize and pay overdrafts on my ATM and everyday debit card
transactions
b. Don’t allow Ficus Bank to authorize and pay overdrafts on my ATM and everyday debit card
transactions

7b. What would you do about the debt?
a.
b.
c.
d.

Pay statement in full
Do nothing
Call to arrange a payment plan
Other: [fill in the blank]

7c. Which loan repayment plan would you choose?
a. Fixed repayment
b. Graduated repayment
c. Pay as you earn (PAYE)

8. How confident do you feel about your choice? [for each condition]
a. Not at all confident
b. Somewhat confident
c. Very confident

9. How well do you understand this information?

o

I did not
understand it at all

o

I understood it
a little

o

I understood it
fairly well

o

I understood it
completely

10. Are you confident in your knowledge of what can happen when [varies by condition]

o

o

o

o

Not at all
confident

A little confident

Somewhat
confident

Very confident

PreQ: Imagine you are in this situation, and you have just received this [notice].
11. How relevant is [this/the information above] to you? [to others?]
o
Not relevant
to me at all

o
A little relevant
to me

o
Somewhat
relevant to me

o
Quite relevant
to me

o
Very relevant
to me

o
Not important
to me at all

o
A little important
to me

o
Somewhat
important to me

o
Quite important
to me

o
Very important
to me

o
It matters quite a
lot

o
It matters very
much

12. How important or unimportant is this information to you, specifically? [to others?]

13. How much does this information matter to you?
o
It doesn’t matter
at all

o
It matters a little

o
It matters
somewhat

14. How helpful is this information for making a decision about [decision ]? **
o
Not helpful at all

o
A little
helpful

o
Pretty helpful

o
Very helpful

15. How applicable is this information to your situation? [to another average person’s
situation? To others?]
o

o

It isn’t applicable A little applicable
at all to me
to me

o

o

o

Somewhat
Quite applicable to Very applicable to
applicable to me
me
me

16. How hard or easy is it to apply this information to your own situation? [to most people’s
situation?]
o
Very hard to apply
to me

o
Kind of hard to
apply to me

o

o

o
o
Somewhat easy to Very easy to apply
apply to me
to me

17. How would you rate the information about [varies by condition]?
o

o

o

Harmful

Beneficial

Note: Which question respondents see (18a – 18d) depends on which form they are assigned to view.

18a. Based on the above statement, and under standard overdraft practices, how likely do
you think it is that the bank would let a debit card transaction go through that would
overdraw your account?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

Very unlikely
Somewhat unlikely
Fifty-fifty
Somewhat likely
Very likely

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

Very unlikely
Somewhat unlikely
Fifty-fifty
Somewhat likely
Very likely

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

Very unlikely
Somewhat unlikely
Fifty-fifty
Somewhat likely
Very likely

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

Very unlikely
Somewhat unlikely
Fifty-fifty
Somewhat likely
Very likely

18b. Based on the above statement, about how likely do you think a debt like this would
appear on your credit report?

18c. Because of this forgiven loan balance, how likely is is that you would have to do
something different on your taxes this year?

18d. Based on [information varies], how likely is it that [uncertain event varies by
condition]?

19. How common is it for [event varies] to happen?
a. Very uncommon
b. Somewhat uncommon
c. It depends

d. Somewhat common
e. Very common

20. How confident do you feel about that answer?
a. Not at all confident
b. Somewhat confident
c. Very confident

Mechanisms

Note: Mechanisms are potential reasons for observing the outcomes of the study. The measures below
will be used to test different reasons that may explain the findings, such as consumers’ perceptions of the
information, which can help us to interpret the findings with an awareness of conditions in which they may
or may not apply.

1. How hard or easy was this information to read?
o
Very hard to read

o

o

o

o
Very easy
to read

2. How much did you like reading this information?
o
Did not like at all

o
Liked it a little

o
Somewhat liked it

o
Quite liked it

o
Very much liked it

o
Not
at all

o
A little

o
Somewhat

o
Quite

o
Very

o
I trust it a little

o
I somewhat trust it

o
I trust it a little

o
I somewhat trust it

o
I trust it
completely

3. How attractive was the layout of the information?

4. How much do you trust this information?
o
I don’t trust it at
all

5. How trustworthy is the provider of this information?
o
I don’t trust it at
all

o
I trust it
completely

6. Does the provider of this information care about your interests?

o
o
o
o
No, the provider No, the provider Yes, the provider Yes, the provider
doesn’t care about doesn’t care much cares somewhat cares a lot about
my interests at all about my interests about my interests
my interests

7. Rate the expertise of the source of this information about [information varies] using the
scales provided. Was the source…
o
Not at all
knowledgeable
about xxx

o
A little
knowledgeable
about xxx

o
o
Definitely NOT an Probably NOT an
expert
expert

o
Somewhat
knowledgeable
about xxx
o
Probably
an expert

o
Very
knowledgeable
about xxx
o
Definitely
an expert

PreQ: How does this language make you feel? [show language here]
8. Certain

a. Not at all certain
b. Somewhat certain or sure
c. Very certain or sure

9. Frustrated or annoyed

d. Not at all frustrated or annoyed
e. Somewhat frustrated or annoyed
f. Very frustrated or annoyed

10. Confident

g. Not at all confident
h. Somewhat confident
i. Very confident

11. Knowledgeable or aware

j. Not at all knowledgeable or aware
k. Somewhat knowledgeable or aware
l. Very knowledgeable or aware

12. Anxious or worried

a. Not at all anxious or worried
b. Somewhat anxious or worried
c. Very anxious or worried

13. Informed

a. Not at all informed
b. Somewhat informed
c. Very informed

14. Confused
a. Not at all confused
b. Somewhat confused
c. Very confused

15. Suspicious or wary

a. Not at all suspicious or wary
b. Somewhat suspicious or wary
c. Very suspicious or wary
16. Categorization task: A measure of perceptions of information
Measurement from: Rosch. E. (1975). Cognitive representations of semantic categories. Journal of
Experimental Psychology: Genera,. 104(3), 192-233.

Controls and moderators

Note: Control variables will help clarify the impact of vagueness by allowing us to account for differences
that might be due to individual differences across consumers, such as in their expectations for financial
institutions, their preferences for types of information, their comfort with uncertainty, and their financial
knowledge. These factors may change the impact of vagueness. For example, vagueness may lead to
changes in risk perception only for consumers who are highly risk averse.

1. Would you say this information is common knowledge?
o
Definitely yes

o
Probably yes

o
Not sure

o
Probably not

o
Definitely not

2. If you got this form from another company, to what extent would it have the same
information?
o
Not at all

o
Only a little

o
Somewhat

o
Very much so

o
Not at all

o
Only a little

o
Somewhat

o
Very much so

3. If you got this form from another company, to what extent would it LOOK the same?

4. Did the company provide you with this information because…
Yes

No

…it’s boilerplate (included for
everyone)?
… they had to (it’s legally
required)?
… it was important
… they wanted to protect
themselves?
…they wanted to help you
make a decision?
....you may want it for
reference?

5. Preferences for types of information: an established measurement that poses a series of
questions about how individuals would describe their preferences for information

Measurement from: Cacioppo, J. T., Petty, R. E., & Feng Kao, C. (1984). The efficient assessment of
need for cognition. Journal of personality assessment, 48(3), 306-307.
6. Comfort with uncertainty: an established measurement that poses a series of questions about
how individuals would describe their preferences related to uncertainty

Measurement from: McLain, D. L. (2009). Evidence of the Properties of an Ambiguity Tolerance
Measure: The Multiple Stimulus Types Ambiguity Tolerance Scale–II (MSTAT–II). Psychological
reports, 105(3), 975-988.
8. Financial knowledge: adapted from an established scale that measures confidence in
knowledge by dropping questions that do not relate to finances.

Measurement from: Bruine de Bruin, W., Parker, A.M., & Fischhoff, B. (2007). Individual
differences in Adult Decision-Making Competence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92,
938-956.
9. Risk aversion: Suppose you were offered several possible lotteries, but you could choose
only one. In each lottery, outcomes A and B are equally likely. Which one of these five
lotteries would you prefer?

Lottery 1
Lottery 2
Lottery 3
Lottery 4
Lottery 5

Outcome A
50% chance
Get $42
Get $34
Get $26
Get $18
Get $10

Outcome B
50% chance
Lose $6
Lose $2
Get $2
Get $6
Get $10

10. Risk aversion: An established measure in which particpants complete a task to measure their
risk aversion

Measurement from: Lejuez, C. W., Read, J. P., Kahler, C. W., Richards, J. B., Ramsey, S. E., Stuart, G. L.,
et al. (2002). Evaluation of a behavioral measure of risk-taking: The Balloon Analogue Risk Task
(BART). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 8(2), 75-84. doi: 10.1037/1076-898X.8.2.75
11. What is your sex?

a. Male
b. Female

12. What is your age?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

Younger than 25
25–34
35–44
45–54
55–61
62 and older

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

Less than high school degree
High school degree or GED
Some college, no degree
Associate’s degree or technical/vocational degree
Bachelor’s degree
Graduate or Professional degree (for example, MA, MSW, MD, JD, PhD)

13. What is your highest level of education?

14. Are you of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin?
a. Yes
b. No

15. What is your race? Mark all that apply
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

White
Black or African American
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

16. Is English your preferred language?
a. Yes
b. No

17. Do you have a spouse or partner you share finances with?
a. Yes
b. No

18. Which of the following best describes your current work status?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

Work full time
Work part time
Retired
Unemployed, temporarily laid off ,or on leave
Not working for pay for some other reason (homemaker, student, disabled, etc.)

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

Less than $25,000
$25,000 to $44,999
$45,000 to $74,999
$75,000 to $124,999
$125,000 or more

19. What is your annual household income?