Using the multidimensional nominal response model to model faking in questionnaire data: The importance of item desirability characteristics

Faking in self-report personality questionnaires describes a deliberate response distortion aimed at presenting oneself in an overly favorable manner. Unless the influence of faking on item responses is taken into account, faking can harm multiple psychometric properties of a test. In the present article, we account for faking using an extension of the multidimensional nominal response model (MNRM), which is an item response theory (IRT) model that offers a flexible framework for modeling different kinds of response biases. Particularly, we investigated under which circumstances the MNRM can adequately adjust substantive trait scores and latent correlations for the influence of faking and examined the role of variation in the way item content is related to social desirability (i.e., item desirability characteristics) in facilitating the modeling of faking and counteracting its detrimental effects. Using a simulation, we found that the inclusion of a faking dimension in the model can overall improve the recovery of substantive trait person parameters and latent correlations between substantive traits, especially when the impact of faking in the data is high. Item desirability characteristics moderated the effect of modeling faking and were themselves associated with different levels of parameter recovery. In an empirical demonstration with N = 1070 test-takers, we also showed that the faking modeling approach in combination with different item desirability characteristics can prove successful in empirical questionnaire data. We end the article with a discussion of implications for psychological assessment.

Dominance Analysis of Bright and Dark Dispositional Predictors of Socially Desirable Responding

Although the role of so-called dark traits in the prediction of maladaptive behavior has seen a large increase in interest by researchers, the Big Five still maintain their ubiquity in the prediction of most behaviors. This study uses measures of the Dark Tetrad and the Big Five personality traits to predict a very specific form of maladaptive behavior: the impression management form of socially desirable responding. In regression-based dominance analysis, results suggest that not all of the Big Five nor the Dark Tetrad provide statistically significant incremental validity but as a block, the Big Five dominate the Dark Tetrad in the prediction of the purposeful misrepresentation of one's self to others on self-report inventories. More specifically, four of the Big Five as well as the traits of Machiavellianism and sadism from the Dark Tetrad are significant predictors of impression management.

Impression management in daily life: an experience sampling test for the expression of impression management as interpersonally oriented self-control

Impression management (IM) scales (often called lie or social desirability scales) have long been applied as validity scales in assessment processes. Recent developments have indicated that these scales measure a substantive personality predisposition and not response bias, but the nature of the disposition is disputable. According to the 'interpersonally oriented self-control' approach, IM is associated with high self-control exerted mainly in public social contexts to facilitate adaptation. Supported in laboratory settings, this approach has not been tested in real-life dynamics. In the present experience sampling study, participants reported 3 times a day (10 days) about their social condition (alone/'with others') and their level of self-control. Results revealed that IM was associated with stronger self-control when with other people than when alone. Comparable reactions to public social context were not found for self-deception enhancement, trait self-control, or agreeableness, marking this a unique aspect of IM. The findings further stress the need to reconsider the use of IM scales for validity purposes in assessment processes.

The Occupational Performance Assessment–Response Distortion (OPerA-RD) Scale

Abstract. The ubiquity and consequences of job performance evaluations necessitate accurate responding. This paper describes two studies designed to develop (Study 1) and provide initial validation (Study 2) for a new measure specifically designed to assist in this context: the Occupational Performance Assessment–Response Distortion (OPerA-RD) scale. This 20-item scale is contextualized to the workplace and was developed by identifying items that could detect over- and under-reporting of job performance by self- or other-report in four independent faking samples. Initial validation of the OPerA-RD was supported by expected differences between within-group faking and control conditions in subsequent samples, specifically over- and under-reporting of job performance by self- or other-reports. Implications for research and applied settings are discussed.

Social Desirability in Environmental Psychology Research: Three Meta-Analyses

That social desirability might be a confounder of people's survey responses regarding environmental actions has been discussed for a long time. To produce evidence for or against this assumption, we conducted meta-analyses of correlations between social desirability scales and self-reports of environmentally relevant behaviors, intentions, and (broadly defined) attitudes, based on data from 29 previously published papers. The pooled correlations with social desirability are generally small, ranging from 0.06 to 0.11 (0.08-0.13 when correcting for measurement error attenuation). However, our results do not lead to the conclusion that social desirability can be completely disregarded by environmental psychologists as a potential confounder. For example, we found evidence of substantial heterogeneity across studies, so the effect of social desirability may be more pronounced in specific cases. Continued attention to social desirability bias is needed to fully understand its possible subtle effects.

Social Desirability in Environmental Psychology Research: Three Meta-Analyses

That social desirability might be a confounder of people's survey responses regarding environmental actions has been discussed for a long time. To produce evidence for or against this assumption, we conducted meta-analyses of correlations between social desirability scales and self-reports of environmentally relevant behaviors, intentions, and (broadly defined) attitudes, based on data from 29 previously published papers. The pooled correlations with social desirability are generally small, ranging from 0.06 to 0.11 (0.08-0.13 when correcting for measurement error attenuation). However, our results do not lead to the conclusion that social desirability can be completely disregarded by environmental psychologists as a potential confounder. For example, we found evidence of substantial heterogeneity across studies, so the effect of social desirability may be more pronounced in specific cases. Continued attention to social desirability bias is needed to fully understand its possible subtle effects.

Self-deception, emotional neglect and workplace victimization

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to define workplace victimization as any behavior that impairs employees’ basic psychological needs and explores the mutually interactive association between trait self-deception; emotional neglect, especially by supervisors, and workplace victimization.

Design/methodology/approach

Workplace victimization is identified as a pervasive problem in organization. This paper zeroes in on self-deception and emotional neglect as two possible antecedents of workplace victimization, explores the genesis of the two concepts and analyzes their conceptual relationship with each other and with workplace victimization. Based on the conceptual analysis, it identifies the lack of intentionality as a common element in both constructs and identifies a set of possible frameworks linking self-deception, emotional neglect and workplace victimization for future research.

Findings

This paper explores four possible frameworks to model the expected association while advocating for investigation of these given models to check whether one has considerable expository success than other by either connecting or disassociating these two constructs.

Research limitations/implications

The amount of linkage between self-deception and emotional neglect at workplace is worth investigating, and this research paper presents several possible models that might help to focus and organize the future workplace investigations.

Practical implications

The current paper postulates that supervisors’ and subordinates’ ability to display appropriate leadership and follower behavior and interaction will be impaired if they are high in trait self-deception and have been the victim or perpetrators of emotional neglect.

Originality/value

In the workplace, self-deceptive individuals display behaviors such as conscientiousness, resilience, optimism and competitiveness that are considered characteristics of good employees and, hence, are more likely to be promoted to supervisory positions, where emotional neglect of others such as subordinates becomes more pertinent.

Do impression management and self-deception distort self-report measures with content of dynamic risk factors in offender samples? A meta-analytic review

Self-report measures provide an important source of information in correctional/forensic settings, yet at the same time the validity of that information is often questioned because self-reports are thought to be highly vulnerable to self-presentation biases. Primary studies in offender samples have provided mixed results with regard to the impact of socially desirable responding on self-reports. The main aim of the current study was therefore to investigate-via a meta-analytic review of published studies-the association between the two dimensions of socially desirable responding, impression management and self-deceptive enhancement, and self-report measures with content of dynamic risk factors using the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR) in offender samples. These self-report measures were significantly and negatively related with self-deception (r = -0.120, p < 0.001; k = 170 effect sizes) and impression management (r = -0.158, p < 0.001; k = 157 effect sizes), yet there was evidence of publication bias for the impression management effect with the trim and fill method indicating that the relation is probably even smaller (r = -0.07). The magnitude of the effect sizes was small. Moderation analyses suggested that type of dynamic risk factor (e.g., antisocial cognition versus antisocial personality), incentives, and publication year affected the relationship between impression management and self-report measures with content of dynamic risk factors, whereas sample size, setting (e.g., incarcerated, community), and publication year influenced the relation between self-deception and these self-report measures. The results indicate that the use of self-report measures to assess dynamic risk factors in correctional/forensic settings is not inevitably compromised by socially desirable responding, yet caution is warranted for some risk factors (antisocial personality traits), particularly when incentives are at play.

Social Desirability in Intimate Partner Violence and Relationship Satisfaction Reports: An Exploratory Analysis

The social desirability bias can be considered a two-dimensional construct, consisting of impression management and self-deception. Although social desirability is often considered a threat to the validity of intimate partner violence (IPV) reports, little is known about which dimension is most responsible for this distortion. Furthermore, it is unclear whether social desirability distorts the report of relationship satisfaction. In this study, two instruments that claim to measure social desirability are investigated on their ability to measure impression management and self-deception. Afterward, which dimension (if any) is responsible for a distortion in IPV and relationship satisfaction reports is examined. The survey consisted of the following measures: the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales for IPV, the Couples Satisfaction Index for relationship satisfaction and the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding, the Limited Disclosure Scale, and the Idealistic Distortion Scale for social desirability. The Limited Disclosure Scale was found to predominantly measure impression management. The Idealistic Distortion Scale did not measure social desirability well and appeared to be a bad measure for relationship satisfaction. Both the reports of IPV and relationship satisfaction were influenced by impression management, but not by self-deception. However, impression management and self-deception only accounted for a small portion of the variance in IPV and relationship satisfaction reports. These results indicate that the social desirability bias, when reporting IPV and relationship satisfaction, is a conscious process, but that its influence on IPV and relationship satisfaction reports might be overrated.

The General Factor of Personality Is Stronger and More Strongly Correlated With Cognitive Ability Under Instructed Faking

Abstract. A General Factor of Personality (GFP) can be derived by extracting one factor from a broad range of personality dimensions. Researchers are divided on whether the GFP represents social desirability or an evolved trait with survival value. The current paper tests a social desirability interpretation of the GFP by comparing one-factor models of the HEXACO under standard versus fake-good instructions (N = 185 undergraduates). Analyses include both principal components analyses (PCA) and a comparison of factorial invariance of a hierarchical one-factor model. Compared to standard instructions, fake-good instructions showed: (a) significantly higher correlations between domain scale scores for 10 of 15 cases; (b) significantly higher component loadings in the PCA; (c) significantly more variance explained by the GFP (in both principal components and invariance analyses); and (d) significantly higher correlations with a cognitive g factor derived from six indicators. Results support a social desirability interpretation of the GFP.

Rethinking Social Desirability Scales: From Impression Management to Interpersonally Oriented Self-Control

Social desirability (specifically, impression management) scales are widely used by researchers and practitioners to screen individuals who bias self-reports in a self-favoring manner. These scales also serve to identify individuals at risk for psychological and health problems. The present review explores the evidence with regard to the ability of these scales to achieve these objectives. In the first part of the review, I present six criteria to evaluate impression management scales and conclude that they are unsatisfactory as measures of response style. Next, I explore what individual differences in impression management scores actually do measure. I compare two approaches: a defensiveness approach, which argues that these scales measure defensiveness that stems from vulnerable self-esteem, and an adjustment approach, which suggests that impression management is associated with personal well-being and interpersonal adjustment. Data from a wide variety of fields including social behavior, affect and well-being, health, and job performance tend to favor the adjustment approach. Finally, I argue that scales measuring impression management should be redefined as measures of interpersonally oriented self-control that identify individuals who demonstrate high levels of self-control, especially in social contexts.

Socially Desirable Responding in Chinese University Students: Denial and Enhancement?

This study examined the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR) with one-, two-, three-, and four-dimensional models and tested the BIDR's discriminant validity with personality variables. A confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis of responses from 600 Chinese university students (314 men, 282 women, 4 missing; M age = 20.0 yr.) provided results indicating that the four-factor model fit the data best; i.e., self-deception and impression management split into denial and enhancement. The Denial and Enhancement subscales with personality variables show significant differences, confirming the four-factor model. The cultural differences as a possible reason for the split were discussed.

Cross-cultural differences in social desirability scales: Influence of cognitive ability

Orientation: The use of personality tests for selection and screening has been consistently criticised resulting from the risk of socially desirable responding amongst job applicants. Research purpose: This study examined the magnitude of culture and language group meanscore differences amongst job applicants and the moderating effect of race on the relationship between social desirability and cognitive ability. Motivation for the study: The influence of cognitive ability and potential race and ethnic group differences in social desirability scale scores, which can lead to disproportional selection ratios, has not been extensively researched in South Africa. Research design, approach and method: A quantitative, cross-sectional research design, based on secondary datasets obtained from the test publisher, was employed. The dataset consisted of 1640 job applicants across industry sectors. Main findings: Moderated multiple regression analyses revealed that the relationship between social desirability and general reasoning was moderated by culture and language, with group differences in social desirability being more pronounced at the low general reasoning level. This suggests that social desirability scales may be an ambiguous indicator of faking as the scales may indicate tendency to fake, but not the ability to fake, that is likely to be connected to the level of cognitive ability of the respondent.Practical/managerial implications: Individual differences in social desirability are not fully explained by cognitive ability as cultural differences also played a role. Responding in a certain manner, reflects a level of psychological sophistication that is informed by the level of education and socio-economic status. In relation to selection practice, this study provided evidence of the potentially adverse consequences of using social desirability scales to detect response distortion. Contribution/value-add: The exploration of cross-cultural differences in the application of social desirability scales and the influence of cognitive ability is seen as a major contribution, supported by possible explanations for the differences observed and recommendations regarding the practice of universal corrections and adjustments.

Neural correlates of self-deception and impression-management

Self-deception and impression-management comprise two types of deceptive, but generally socially acceptable behaviours, which are common in everyday life as well as being present in a number of psychiatric disorders. We sought to establish and dissociate the 'normal' brain substrates of self-deception and impression-management. Twenty healthy participants underwent fMRI scanning at 3T whilst completing the 'Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding' test under two conditions: 'fake good', giving the most desirable impression possible and 'fake bad' giving an undesirable impression. Impression-management scores were more malleable to manipulation via 'faking' than self-deception scores. Response times to self-deception questions and 'fake bad' instructions were significantly longer than to impression-management questions and 'fake good' instructions respectively. Self-deception and impression-management manipulation and 'faking bad' were associated with activation of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC). Impression-management manipulation was additionally associated with activation of left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and left posterior middle temporal gyrus. 'Faking bad' was additionally associated with activation of right vlPFC, left temporo-parietal junction and right cerebellum. There were no supra-threshold activations associated with 'faking good'. Our neuroimaging data suggest that manipulating self-deception and impression-management and more specifically 'faking bad' engages a common network comprising mPFC and left vlPFC. Shorter response times and lack of dissociable neural activations suggests that 'faking good', particularly when it comes to impression-management, may be our most practiced 'default' mode.

The self-regulation model of sexual offending: intermediate outcomes and posttreatment recidivism

The self-regulation model (SRM) is a nine-phase, four-pathway offense process model designed specifically for sexual offenders that is now being applied to the treatment of this group in many settings and jurisdictions. In the present prospective study, we evaluated the validity and utility of the SRM in a sample of 275 adult male sexual offenders treated within the Correctional Service of Canada. Results indicated that participation in treatment resulted in moderate to large sized improvements from pretreatment to posttreatment on a dynamic risk assessment measure and several self-reported treatment targets. These changes were, in some cases, differentially associated with self-regulation pathways, suggesting that offense pathway is a clinically relevant variable when evaluating treatment change and in conceptualizing sexual offender treatment. In terms of outcome, individuals following the approach pathways, particularly the approach-automatic pathway, demonstrated higher failure rates than individuals following avoidant pathways. However, many of these differences were less pronounced when taking risk for recidivism into account. Implications of these findings for the effective assessment and rehabilitation of sexual offenders are discussed.

Rethinking Trait Conceptions of Social Desirability Scales

Numerous researchers have noted that, instead of response sets or styles, most social desirability scales seem to measure personality traits instead. In two studies, we investigated the substantive interpretation of the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding in terms of the HEXACO model of personality. Because of its focus on honesty and integrity, the Impression Management (IM) scale was hypothesized to be mainly related to HEXACO Honesty-Humility. In the main study among 1,106 students and well-acquainted others (friends, family, or partners), positive self–other agreement correlations were found for both IM ( r = .45) and Self-Deceptive Enhancement (SDE; r = .34), supporting a trait conception of IM and SDE. In both self- and other ratings, the most important predictors of SDE were (low) Emotionality, Extraversion, and Conscientiousness. IM was associated with Conscientiousness and Agreeableness, but Honesty-Humility was by far its most important predictor. In a subsample ( n = 465), Honesty-Humility and IM were unrelated to GPA.

A longitudinal investigation of egoistic and moralistic self-enhancement

This study used a 3-wave longitudinal design to investigate stability and change of egoistic and moralistic self-enhancement. Participants (n = 195) were followed for 6 years, from late adolescence (age 15) to emerging adulthood (age 21). A significant degree of rank-order stability was found that reveals a reasonable continuity in the individuals' relative standing on measures of egoistic and moralistic self-enhancement. Latent growth curve analysis was used to track the developmental trajectories of the examined constructs. Findings revealed that egoistic self-enhancement is stable from 15 to 21 years, whereas moralistic self-enhancement slightly decreases during the same developmental period. Cross-lagged models were used to examine the reciprocal relations between self-enhancement and the Big Five personality traits. No prospective effects were found between the constructs, which develop independently from late adolescence to young adulthood, showing only synchronous associations. Implications for personality research and assessment are discussed.

Erfassung von Self-Handicapping im Lern- und Leistungsbereich

Zusammenfassung. Die Angst, in anstehenden Prüfungssituationen zu scheitern, wird von vielen Studierenden als selbstwertbedrohlich erlebt. In solchen Situationen muss der Lernende einen Weg finden, seinen Selbstwert zu regulieren bzw. vor weiteren Bedrohungen zu schützen. Eine häufig angewandte Regulationsstrategie ist Self-Handicapping. Hierbei verschafft sich der Lernende vor einer wichtigen Prüfung ein Handicap (z.B. wenig Schlaf in der Nacht vor der Klausur), welches er im Falle eines tatsächlichen Misserfolgs als Begründung hierfür heranziehen kann. Da habituelles Self-Handicapping mit negativen Folgen wie z.B. schlechten Leistungen assoziiert ist, ist es notwendig, über ein diagnostisches Instrument zu verfügen, anhand dessen die habituelle Tendenz eines Lerners zum Self-Handicapping ermittelt werden kann. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde eine deutsche Adaptation der Academic Self-Handicapping Scale ( Urdan, Midgley & Anderman, 1998 ) verschiedenen Stichproben von Studierenden vorgelegt. Es ergaben sich insgesamt erwartungskonforme Zusammenhänge der Self-Handicapping Skala mit konstruktnahen Kriterien wie dem allgemeinen Selbstwert, kognitiven und motivationalen Lernstrategien sowie universitären Leistungen.

Vividness of visual imagery and social desirable responding: correlations of the vividness of visual imagery questionnaire with the balanced inventory of desirable responding and the Marlowe-Crowne scale

Correlational research investigating the relationship between scores on self-report imagery questionnaires and measures of social desirable responding has shown only a weak association. However, researchers have argued that this research may have underestimated the size of the relationship because it relied primarily on the Marlowe-Crowne scale (MC; Crowne & Marlowe, Journal of Consulting Psychology, 24, 349-354, 1960), which loads primarily on the least relevant form of social desirable responding for this particular context, the moralistic bias. Here we report the analysis of data correlating the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ; Marks, Journal of Mental Imagery, 19, 153-166, 1973) with the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR; Paulhus, 2002) and the MC scale under anonymous testing conditions. The VVIQ correlated significantly with the Self-Deceptive Enhancement (SDE) and Agency Management (AM) BIDR subscales and with the MC. The largest correlation was with SDE. The ability of SDE to predict VVIQ scores was not significantly enhanced by adding either AM or MC. Correlations between the VVIQ and BIDR egoistic scales were larger when the BIDR was continuously rather than dichotomously scored. This analysis indicates that the relationship between self-reported imagery and social desirable responding is likely to be stronger than previously thought.

Influence of social desirability on age differences in self-reports of mood and personality

ABSTRACT Increased age has been found to be associated with differences in affect and personality that have been interpreted in terms of better emotional regulation and increased maturity. However, these findings have largely been based on self-report data, and the primary goal of the current research was to investigate the hypothesis that age-related differences in affect and in certain desirable personality traits might, at least partially, reflect age differences in social desirability. As expected, increased age was associated with lower levels of negative affect and Neuroticism and higher levels of positive affect, life satisfaction, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness, and scores on the social desirability scale were positively related to age and to desirable self-report characteristics but negatively related to undesirable self-report characteristics. Importantly, controlling for the variance in the social desirability measure resulted in less positive age trends in both types of self-report measures.

Detecting Social Desirability Bias Using Factor Mixture Models

Based on the conceptualization that social desirable bias (SDB) is a discrete event resulting from an interaction between a scale's items, the testing situation, and the respondent's latent trait on a social desirability factor, we present a method that makes use of factor mixture models to identify which examinees are most likely to provide biased responses, which items elicit the most socially desirable responses, and which external variables predict SDB. Problems associated with the common use of correlation coefficients based on scales' total scores to diagnose SDB and partial correlations to correct for SDB are discussed. The method is demonstrated with an analysis of SDB in the Attitude toward Interprofessional Service-Learning scale with a sample of students from health-related fields.

Test-Taking Motivation and Personality Test Validity

In this study we assessed whether the predictive validity of personality scores is stronger when respondent test-taking motivation (TTM) is higher rather than lower. Results from a field sample comprising 269 employees provided evidence for this moderation effect for one trait, Steadfastness. However, for Conscientiousness, valid criterion prediction was only obtained at low levels of TTM. Thus, it appears that TTM relates to the criterion validity of personality testing differently depending on the personality trait assessed. Overall, these and additional findings regarding the nomological net of TTM suggest that it is a unique construct that may have significant implications when personality assessment is used in personnel selection.

The Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR): a factor analysis

A confirmatory factor analysis of the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding based on a sample of 683 Chinese undergraduate and graduate students did not support the 2-factor (Paulhus) or 3-factor (Paulhus & Reid) models reported for Canadian samples. A follow-up principal components factor analysis yielded four factors, suggesting that both items on self-deception and impression management were split into enhancement and denial and that the structure of the inventory might vary across nations or cultures.

A Cross-Nations, Cross-Cultures, and Cross-Conditions Analysis on the Equivalence of the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding

This article examines measurement equivalence of the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR) across two nations (the United States and Singapore), two cultural values (horizontal individualism and horizontal collectivism) and two motivational conditions (standard and faking). One sample of undergraduate students from each country ( N Singapore = 158, N United States = 166) participated in this study, and a within-subject experimental design is used. Specifically, at Time 1, participants were simply asked to respond to the BIDR and the INDCOL (standard condition). At Time 2, the participants were instructed to engage in social desirability (faking condition). Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses are used to evaluate the equivalence of the BIDR. The authors found support for the equivalence of the BIDR across the two cultural values. However, there is weaker support for the equivalence of the BIDR across the two countries and the two motivational conditions. The implications of these findings are discussed.