Associations of self‐esteem and temperament traits to self‐ and teacher‐reported social status among classmates

Hintsanen, M., Alatupa, S., Pullmann, H., Hirstiö‐Snellman, P. & Keltikangas‐Järvinen, L. (2010). Associations of self‐esteem and temperament traits to self‐ and teacher‐reported social status among classmates. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 51, 488–494. The present study examined the validity of self‐ and teacher‐reported social status and its relations to self‐esteem and temperament in a geographically representative cohort of Finnish adolescents (N = 3941, mean age 15.1 years). High agreement was found between self‐ and teacher‐rated social status (r = 0.42). Different aspects of self‐esteem were differently related to social status. When other temperament and self‐esteem variables were included in the analyses, strongest predictor for self‐rated social status in both genders was social self‐esteem (p < 0.01) and for teacher‐rated social status general self‐esteem (p < 0.01). The strongest temperamental predictors of social status were lower inhibition in girls (p < 0.01, self‐ and teacher‐rated) and higher impulsivity (p < 0.01, self‐rated) and activity (p < 0.01, teacher‐rated) in boys. The present findings are consistent with the view that social functioning and peer relations are associated with individual differences in self‐concept and temperament dimensions.     

The Selfish Side of Self‐Control

Self‐control is a powerful tool that promotes goal pursuit by helping individuals curb personal desires, follow norms, and adopt rational thinking. In interdependent social contexts, the socially acceptable (i.e. normative) and rational approach to secure long‐term goals is prosocial behaviour. Consistent with that, much research associates self‐control with prosociality. The present research demonstrates that when norm salience is reduced (i.e. social relations are no longer interdependent), high self‐control leads to more selfish behaviour when it is economically rational. In three studies, participants were asked to allocate an endowment between themselves and another person (one‐round, zero‐sum version of the dictator game), facing a conflict between a socially normative and an economically rational approach. Across the studies, norm salience was manipulated [through manipulation of social context (private/public; Studies 1 and 2), measurement of social desirability (Studies 1 and 3), and measurement (Study 2) and manipulation (Study 3) of social power] such that some participants experienced low normative pressure. Findings showed that among individuals in a low normative pressure context, self‐control led to economically rational, yet selfish, behaviour. The findings highlight the role of self‐control in regulating behaviour so as to maximize situational adaptation. Copyright © 2014 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Struggling to be liked: The prospective effect of trait self‐control on social desirability and the moderating role of agreeableness

Drawing from the literature on the interpersonal functions of self‐control, we examined longitudinal associations between trait self‐control and social desirability, using a survey of the general population in the Netherlands. Trait self‐control at baseline was positively associated with social desirability at a follow‐up, even when controlling for prior levels of social desirability. That is, high self‐control contributed to individuals' tendency to give socially desirable responses in self‐reports. This effect was moderated by individual differences in agreeableness. Highly agreeable individuals were more likely to “use” their self‐regulatory resources to respond in a socially desirable manner, compared to less agreeable individuals, suggesting that individuals might use self‐regulatory resources in a way consistent with the motivational bases of their personality.     

The social regulation of affect and self‐esteem among opiate‐dependent adults

This study extends basic theory and research on the social regulation of affect and thought to opiate‐dependent adults. Inner‐city, opiate‐dependent adults rated the supportiveness of, and conflict with, each of four support providers, and rated affect and self‐esteem experienced with each. This permitted the isolation of trait‐like aspects of these constructs (i.e., stable across providers) from their socially influenced aspects (i.e., varied across providers). Affect and self‐esteem were strongly socially influenced and such influences were as strong as trait‐like individual differences. Providers who elicited unpleasant affect and low self‐esteem in recipients were viewed as unsupportive and as eliciting conflict. Findings were virtually identical to research on students, suggesting broadly generalizable social processes in the regulation of affect and thought.     

Personality goes a long way: The malleability of opposite‐sex physical attractiveness

This study tested the influence of personality information on judgments of physical attractiveness. Employing a within‐subject design, 56 female and 22 male college students rated attractiveness of opposite‐sex photos; participated in a distraction task; viewed each photo again, along with personality information (desirable, undesirable, none); and then rated the photos for physical attractiveness, desirability as a friend, and desirability as a dating partner. Personality information produced significant changes in ratings of physical attractiveness for attractive, neutral, and unattractive targets. The pattern of results is consistent with a model in which desirability of the target’s personality leads to greater desirability as a friend, leading to greater desirability as a dating partner, leading to the target being judged as more physically attractive.     

Correction for faking in self‐report personality tests

Faking is a common problem in testing with self‐report personality tests, especially in high‐stakes situations. A possible way to correct for it is statistical control on the basis of social desirability scales. Two such scales were developed and applied in the present paper. It was stressed that the statistical models of faking need to be adapted to different properties of the personality scales, since such scales correlate with faking to different extents. In four empirical studies of self‐report personality tests, correction for faking was investigated. One of the studies was experimental, and asked participants to fake or to be honest. In the other studies, job or school applicants were investigated. It was found that the approach to correct for effects of faking in self‐report personality tests advocated in the paper removed a large share of the effects, about 90%. It was found in one study that faking varied as a function of degree of how important the consequences of test results could be expected to be, more high‐stakes situations being associated with more faking. The latter finding is incompatible with the claim that social desirability scales measure a general personality trait. It is concluded that faking can be measured and that correction for faking, based on such measures, can be expected to remove about 90% of its effects.     

Estimating Religious Populations with the Network Scale‐Up Method: A Practical Alternative to Self‐Report

Getting accurate information on religious demographics from survey‐based self‐reports presents a difficult task, suffering from the biases of social desirability, personal safety concerns, and the ambiguous definitions of religious identity. The network scale‐up method (NSUM) is an estimation strategy based on the enumeration of social network ties. NSUM has recently been employed to estimate the sizes of hidden populations in criminology and public health, but it has not been utilized in the study of religion. In this study, we argue for the advantages of NSUM in overcoming the biases associated with self‐reports and lay out a practical guide for the scholars of religion to the design and calculation of NSUM. We use a recent survey of Chinese international students to illustrate the use of NSUM and estimate the percentage of Buddhists (4.3 percent) and Christians (8.6 percent) in this population. We recommend interested scholars to adopt NSUM for its reliability, easy implementation, and the affinity between the sociological perspective on religion and the socially‐oriented assumption of NSUM.     

Evaluating the Distorting Effects of Inattentive Responding and Social Desirability on Self‐Report Scales in Creativity and the Arts

Inattentiveness and social desirability might be particularly problematic for self‐report scales in creativity and arts research. Respondents who are inattentive or who present themselves favorably will score highly on scales that yield positively skewed distributions and that assess socially valued constructs, such as scales measuring creativity and arts knowledge. A total of 204 undergraduates completed an online survey with several self‐report measures (the Creative Achievement Questionnaire, the Biographical Inventory of Creative Behavior, and the Aesthetic Fluency Scale). Many metrics of inattentiveness were included, such as directed response items, self‐reported attentiveness, and scales to catch inconsistent and patterned responses. The Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding measured facets of social desirability. We found high rates of inattentive responding. A latent class analysis indicated that around 25% of the sample was potentially inattentive, and inattentive respondents received higher scores on the creativity and arts scales. Excluding problematic participants increased the effect sizes of interest, consistent with the coarsening effect of careless participants. Social desirability, in contrast, had essentially no relationship with the creativity and arts scales. These findings suggest that social desirability is probably less of a problem than researchers fear, but that inattentiveness is an underappreciated threat. Some practical guidelines are suggested.     

Double Rating as a Method to Encourage Candid Responses to Self‐Report Instruments1

This paper investigates the double‐rating method (DRM) as a way to reduce test takers' social desirability response set. This involves the introduction of a pre‐assessment task, in which respondents indicate how others would probably answer the test or survey questionnaire presented. Two studies conducted in Hong Kong and Canada evaluate the effectiveness of the DRM. Results show that social desirability responses obtained using this method are significantly less frequent than those obtained under a conventional instruction. The pre‐assessment task induces test takers to realize that other people will probably respond truthfully, and report some socially undesirable information. The test takers subsequently conform to this frankness in their own self‐report. The merits and limitations of this method are discussed.     

Social identity and personality processes: Non‐Aboriginal Australian identity and Neuroticism

There are ongoing debates both in personality psychology and social psychology on the causes and consequences of personality stability and change. Recent work on social roles suggests that as people change roles (e.g. employee to manager), different experiences and demands are internalised into one's self‐concept shaping identity and personality. In this paper, the emphasis moves beyond ‘roles’ to other group memberships (e.g. ethnicity) in shaping one's self‐view and self‐rated personality (e.g. Neuroticism). The results of two experiments demonstrated that the salience of a particular group membership (as a Non‐Aboriginal Australian) did significantly impact on Neuroticism. Such findings suggest that social identity processes may offer a hitherto neglected avenue for helping to explain personality (dis)continuity. Implications of these findings for both fields are discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Self‐Favoring Bias for Physical Activity in Middle‐Aged and Older Adults1

A self‐favoring bias for physical activity (PA) was examined in a community‐based sample of middle‐aged and older adults (N= 3,211). Participants' actual level of PA relative to peers was compared with their perceived PA relative to peers. It was estimated that 38% were realistic, 46% self‐favoring, and 16% other‐favoring in their perceptions. Among participants whose actual PA level was similar to peers, increasing age was associated with a self‐favoring bias. Among less and more physically active participants, however, age was not associated with this bias. Better self‐rated health and being male were also associated with a self‐favoring bias. These results suggest that a self‐favoring bias for PA exists in a significant proportion of middle‐aged and older adults, and it is more pronounced with increasing age, among those with better self‐rated health, and among men.     

Social Desirability and the Interpretation of Uncertainty Terms in Self‐Report Questions

Uncertainty terms (e.g., possible) are words that are not fixed and hence open to interpretation. This research examined the role of social desirability in how these words are interpreted in self‐report questions. Participants in Experiments 1 (N = 96; MTurk workers) and 2 (N = 96; college students) judged trait (N = 48) and behavior (N = 36) items endorsed by a hypothetical individual to be more likely if they were lower in social desirability. In Experiments 3 (N = 97) and 4 (N = 97) college student participants interpreted four different uncertainty terms (likely, possible, unlikely, and pretty sure) as indicating greater certainty when they referred to socially undesirable (relative to socially desirable) traits (N = 36) and behaviors (N = 24). These results suggest that participants may interpret self‐report items differently, depending on the social desirability of the content.Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social problem‐solving skills following childhood traumatic brain injury and its association with self‐regulation and social and behavioural functioning

This study examines social problem‐solving skills following childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI) and its association with self‐regulation, and social and behavioural functioning. Participants included 65 children with moderate to severe TBI and 65 children without TBI, all between 6 and 11 years of age. Social problem‐solving, self‐regulation, and social and behavioural functioning were assessed 2–5 years following injury. Children were administered a newly developed semi‐structured task to assess their solutions to hypothetical situations involving social problems or dilemmas. When compared with uninjured children, those with TBI suggested avoidant and aggressive solutions more often and assertive solutions less often in response to the hypothetical situations. Children's self‐regulatory skills, as measured by the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT), Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA‐Ch) and the Delay of Gratification Task (DGT), collectively accounted for significant variance in their solutions to social problems, such that better self‐regulation predicted more assertive solutions and fewer aggressive solutions. Assertive solutions were positively related to parent‐ and teacher‐rated social and behavioural outcomes, whereas aggressive solutions were negatively related to the outcomes. The difficulties in social problem‐solving skills demonstrated by children with TBI may help account for their poor social and behavioural functioning.     

Using the BIDR to Distinguish the Effects of Impression Management and Self‐Deception on the Criterion Validity of Personality Measures: A Meta‐Analysis

Although the use of personality tests for personnel selection has gained increasing acceptance, researchers have raised concerns that job applicants may distort their responses to inflate their scores. In the present meta‐analysis, we examined the effects of the two dimensions of social desirability, impression management and self‐deception, on the criterion validity of personality constructs using the balanced inventory of desirable responding (BIDR). The results indicate that impression management and self‐deception did not create spurious effects on the relationship between personality measures and performance, nor did they function as performance predictors. Moreover, removing the influence of impression management or self‐deception from personality measures did not substantially attenuate the criterion validity of personality variables. Implications of the results and directions for future research are also discussed.     

Making sense of positive self‐evaluations in China: The role of sociocultural change

Recent research points to Chinese people's elevated tendency to make positive self‐evaluations, despite the general claim that East Asians do not self‐enhance. We present three studies in support of a novel prediction that sociocultural change in China plays an important role in augmenting self‐enhancement. We operationalized self‐enhancement primarily in terms of the better‐than‐average effect (BTAE) and accounted for trait desirability or importance. We found that: (i) compared with Chinese Canadians, Chinese showed a stronger BTAE; (ii) within the Chinese, identification with contemporary Chinese culture uniquely predicted a stronger BTAE; and (iii) priming contemporary (vs. traditional) Chinese culture led to a stronger BTAE. Finally, we provided further evidence that motivation, in part, underlies the rising Chinese BTAE. We conclude by discussing the importance of both socioeconomic and cultural perspectives for understanding how and when of self‐enhancement in contemporary China and other societies undergoing social change.     

A Self‐Categorization Explanation for the Third‐Person Effect

Three studies tested a self‐categorization theory explanation for the third‐person effect. In Study 1 (N= 49) undergraduate students judged the influence of the National Enquirer, Wall Street Journal, and TV show Friends on themselves, relative to low‐ and high‐status outgroup members, and other undergraduate students. The profile of first‐ and third‐person perceptions was largely consistent with predictions, and the size of the third‐person effect decreased as perceived similarity to target others increased—but only for media that were normative for comparison others. Study 2 (N= 49) provided evidence for this process with different media and showed that the profile of first‐ and third‐person perceptions matched closely with perceived norms of media consumption—but not the social desirability of those media. Study 3 (N= 64) showed that the third‐person effect for the same media and target other shifts with the frame of reference in which the judgment is made. Taken together, the findings are consistent with self‐categorization theory and difficult to reconcile with other explanations.     

A Meta‐Analytic Multitrait Multirater Separation of Substance and Style in Social Desirability Scales

Though unlikely virtues scales have a long history in personality, clinical, and applied psychology for detecting socially desirable responding, using such social desirability (SD) scales has generally failed to improve the validity of personality measures. We examined whether this is because (a) response distortion itself has minimal impact on personality's validity, (b) SD scales are ineffective at assessing response distortion, or (c) SD scales are conflated with substantive trait variance. We compiled a meta‐analytic multitrait multimethod matrix consisting of multirater personality traits, SD scales, and performance outcomes. We examined the influence of trait factors and self‐report method factors on SD scales and performance. We found that self‐report method variance (a) was negatively related to performance, (b) would suppress personality‐performance relationships for self‐report measures, and (c) was (partially) assessed by SD scales. However, relative to the effects of self‐report method variance, SD scales are even more strongly influenced by Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and Agreeableness. It is not the case that SD scales are insensitive to inflated responding but that their susceptibility to personality trait variance likely outweighs their benefits. We discuss the implications of these results for using SD scales in research and practice.     

Good Enough for an Affair. Self‐Enhancement of Attractiveness,Interest in Potential Mates and Popularity as a Mate

Using data from the Berlin Speed Dating Study, we tested rival hypotheses concerning the effects of self‐enhancement of attractiveness on dating outcomes. Three hundred eighty‐two participants took part in one of the 17 speed‐dating sessions. After each speed‐dating interaction, participants indicated how interesting they found the respective person as a long‐term and short‐term partner. Using social relations analyses, we computed perceiver effects (being more or less choosy) and target effects (being rated as more or less interesting) of long‐term and short‐term partner ratings. Self‐enhancement was operationalized as the discrepancy between self‐rated attractiveness and four components of actual attractiveness (observer‐rated facial and vocal attractiveness, height and body mass index). Results indicated that self‐enhancers were less choosy with respect to their interest for short‐term partners, which was especially true for men, but more choosy with respect to long‐term partners. With regard to popularity as a mate, potential partners indicated that they found self‐enhancers more interesting as short‐term partners but not as long‐term partners. As self‐enhancement is a key component of narcissism, these results are consistent with findings that narcissists perceive many sexual affairs as an achievement, while preferring selected ‘trophy’ long‐term partners, and narcissists have a charming appeal for short‐term, but not lasting, social relationships. Copyright © 2015 European Association of Personality Psychology     

How personal resources predict work engagement and self‐rated performance among construction workers: A social cognitive perspective

Traditionally, research focussing on psychosocial factors in the construction industry has focused mainly on the negative aspects of health and on results such as occupational accidents. This study, however, focuses on the specific relationships among the different positive psychosocial factors shared by construction workers that could be responsible for occupational well‐being and outcomes such as performance. The main objective of this study was to test whether personal resources predict self‐rated job performance through job resources and work engagement. Following the predictions of Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory and the motivational process of the Job Demands‐Resources Model, we expect that the relationship between personal resources and performance will be fully mediated by job resources and work engagement. The sample consists of 228 construction workers. Structural equation modelling supports the research model. Personal resources (i.e. self‐efficacy, mental and emotional competences) play a predicting role in the perception of job resources (i.e. job control and supervisor social support), which in turn leads to work engagement and self‐rated performance. This study emphasises the crucial role that personal resources play in determining how people perceive job resources by determining the levels of work engagement and, hence, their self‐rated job performance. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.