We conducted an experiment embedded in a large, nationally representative Internet survey, thus combining the strong internal validity of the experiment with a level of external validity not often obtained in experimental studies in social psychology. The Internet format has two pertinent advantages over a telephone or face-to-face survey. First, the visual presentation and self-administration of the Internet survey closely mimics the way a newspaper article would be encountered in real life. The presentation is visual, and participants may read and re-read the article at their own pace. Second, the Internet format provides a high level of anonymity, thereby reducing the risk of social desirability bias.
