Social desirability scale values of locus of control scale items

Summaiy: Three groups of subjects rated each item in Rotter's I-E Scale for its social desirability value. Social desirability scale values (SDSV) of paired items were compared with one another. Results indicated that paired items are not sufficiently similar in their SDSVs, thus enabling subjects to respond on the basis of social desirability. All three groups rated internal items as being significantly more socially desirable than external items. The correlations between the SDSV ratings of the three groups were highly significant. The results indicate that the scale, as it is currently used, is seriously deficient.     

A Scoring Scheme for the TAT and other Verbal Projective Techniques

Summaiy: Three groups of subjects rated each item in Rotter's I-E Scale for its social desirability value. Social desirability scale values (SDSV) of paired items were compared with one another. Results indicated that paired items are not sufficiently similar in their SDSVs, thus enabling subjects to respond on the basis of social desirability. All three groups rated internal items as being significantly more socially desirable than external items. The correlations between the SDSV ratings of the three groups were highly significant. The results indicate that the scale, as it is currently used, is seriously deficient.     

The Compatibility of Personality and Social Identity Processes: The Effect of Gender Identity on Neuroticism

In an experimental study (N = 186), we examined the effect of identity (gender versus personal) on participants' self‐rated neuroticism and estimates of mean neuroticism for men and women. Self‐rated neuroticism was measured before and after the identity salience manipulation. Following self‐categorization theory, we predicted that identity salience would affect levels of self‐rated neuroticism and the estimates (perceptions) of mean neuroticism for each sex. From a personality perspective, we expected substantial correlations between pre‐manipulation and post‐manipulation neuroticism scores in both identity conditions. The relation between participants' self‐rated neuroticism and their estimates of mean neuroticism for their own sex was also examined. The effect of identity salience was unclear with regard to self‐rated neuroticism levels, whereas the manipulation had apparent effects on estimated mean neuroticism levels for men and women. Also, self‐rated neuroticism was found to predict estimates of mean neuroticism for men and women in the gender, but not personal, identity condition. Finally, in line with a personality perspective, the relative positions in self‐rated neuroticism were highly stable in both conditions. The findings indicate a compatibility of self‐categorization theory and personality perspectives and suggest that both are valuable to understand the changeability and stability of the self. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

A Factor Analysis Of Individual Social Desirability Scale Values

The factorial structure of individual judgments of social desirability scale value (SDSV) was studied by factor analyzing a 112 (college students) by 100 (MMPI items) data matrix of individual judgments of SDSV in two ways. One analysis was factoring by item (R technique) while the second analysis was factoring by subject (Q technique). A large general SD factor appeared when subject intercorrelations were factored, but no such general factor was identified when item intercorrelations were factored. Evidence was also presented that the large general SD factor was highly correlated with mean or normative SDSVs.     

The process of responding to personality items: Inconsistent responses to repeated presentation of identical items

A promising approach to understanding the processes involved when subjects respond to personality items is provided by the investigation of the causes of inconsistent responses when subjects answer the same item on two occasions. Among these causes are the properties of the item. Previous item research focused almost exclusively on properties which are not highly specific to the item, such as endorsement rate (ER) and social desirability scale value (SDSV). Although past studies found that items with ‘extreme’ SDSVs and/or ERs elicit fewer inconsistencies, these studies ignored more item-specific properties such as item content and item ambiguity. The present study demonstrates that contrary results regarding consistency may be obtained when more item-specific properties are taken into consideration. These results are interpreted as evidence that certain kinds of item content can increase the indecision and conflict that characterize some subjects' response processes.     

Sex differences in social representations of aggression: Men justify,women excuse?

Women tend to hold an expressive social representation of aggression (as a loss of self‐control) while men tend to hold an instrumental representation (as a means of imposing control over others). Because expressive beliefs correspond to excuses and instrumental beliefs to justifications, it may be a sex difference in moral acceptability of aggression that informs social representation. Participants completed the Expagg questionnaire with reference to an episode of same‐sex or cross‐sex physical aggression and rated the moral acceptability of their behaviour. Women scored higher on Expagg (specifically lower than men on the instrumental scale) but there was no effect of target sex or participant‐by‐target interaction. Contrary to expectation, women rated their own aggression as more acceptable than did men and hence this could not explain their lower levels of instrumentality relative to men. Aggr. Behav. 29:128–133, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Similarities and Differences in the Functions of Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury (NSSI) and Sex as Self‐Injury (SASI)

Differences and similarities were studied in the functions of two different self‐injurious behaviors (SIB): nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) and sex as self‐injury (SASI). Based on type of SIB reported, adolescents were classified in one of three groups: NSSI only (n = 910), SASI only (n = 41), and both NSSI and SASI (n = 76). There was support for functional equivalence in the two forms of SIB, with automatic functions being most commonly endorsed in all three groups. There were also functional differences, with adolescents in the SASI only group reporting more social influence functions than those with NSSI only. Adolescents reporting both NSSI and SASI endorsed the highest number of functions for both behaviors. Clinical implications are discussed, emphasizing the need for emotion regulation skills.     

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.     

Differential Determinants of Young Adult Substance Use and High‐Risk Sexual Behavior1

This investigation evaluated how personality traits, self‐efficacy, and outcome expectancies differentially relate to young adult substance use and high‐risk sex. Experiments I (N= 481) and 2 (N= 73) report the development of a new questionnaire to assess self‐efficacy for substance use and sexual behavior. Experiment 3 (N= 375) tested self‐efficacy, outcome expectancies, and trait measures of social conformity and sensation seeking as correlates of substance use and high‐risk sex. Using structural equation modeling, cross‐sectional analyses revealed that positive outcome expectancies had the largest association with substance use, whereas self‐efficacy had the largest association with sexual behavior. Further, personality traits were related to substance use and sexual behavior indirectly through outcome expectancies, with social conformity also having a direct effect on behavior. When examined longitudinally, past alcohol and drug use served as the final pathway by which expectancies and personality impacted substance use, whereas past behavior, self‐efficacy, and social conformity all contributed to high‐risk sex. Results support the utility of different models for explaining, and possibly preventing, young adult substance use and high‐risk sex.     

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 effects of health frame and target relevance in appearance social comparisons

Social comparison powerfully influences on appearance self‐evaluations, but previous research has not examined the combined impact of target frame and relevance on appearance comparison outcomes. The present study examined the effect of target relevance and health frame in body‐ideal images on self‐evaluations in a mixed‐gender university‐based sample from the United States (N = 176; 58% female). Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions in which they viewed a body‐ideal image of a same‐sex target that varied in target relevance (peer or model) and health frame (extreme behaviors described as being healthy or unhealthy). We did not find evidence that comparisons with models or peers are different in their effects. And, consistent with hypotheses, the health frame of a comparison target’s eating and exercise behaviors influenced how participants perceived themselves and their health. Participants were more likely to take health advice from the target described as healthy, and felt better about their own health when comparing to healthy targets. We also found gender differences such that men were more satisfied with their physical health but women were more satisfied with their appearance. Overall, this research supports the importance of addressing peer comparisons and health literacy in body image interventions, which has long‐term implications for the prevention of eating and exercise pathology.     

What Is Engagement? Proactivity as the Missing Link in the HEXACO Model of Personality

We tested the hypothesis that proactivity represents the engagement vector in the HEXACO model of personality. Questionnaire data were obtained in five studies, three of which consisted (mostly) of students: Study 1 (N = 188, M_age = 20.0, 89.4% women), Study 3 (N = 315, M_age = 20.4, 80.6% women), and Study 4 (N = 309 self‐ratings, M_age = 20.0, 78.3% women; N = 307 other‐ratings, M_age = 24.5, 62.2% women). Participants in the other two studies came from an ISO‐certified representative community panel: Study 2 (N = 525, M_age = 51.2, 52.0% women) and Study 5 (N = 736, M_age = 42.2, 48.0% women). Proactive Personality and Proactivity were positively related to Extraversion, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience, but only weakly related or unrelated to Honesty‐Humility, Emotionality, and Agreeableness, supporting the alignment of Proactive Personality/Proactivity with the hypothesized HEXACO engagement vector. Additionally, Proactivity explained incremental variance in self‐rated job performance on top of the HEXACO facets that were most closely associated with Proactive Personality/Proactivity, that is, Social Boldness (an Extraversion facet), Diligence (a Conscientiousness facet), and Creativity (an Openness to Experience facet), but not in entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship. Proactivity is the missing engagement link in the HEXACO model of personality. The results are discussed in light of higher‐order factors (e.g., general factor of personality and Alpha and Beta) of personality and bandwidth‐fidelity controversies.     

The mere presence of opposite-sex others on judgments of sexual and romantic desirability: opposite effects for men and women

Men's and women's mate preferences impose on each a unique set of adaptive problems that must be solved when judging the desirability of prospective mates. One potentially revealing source of information about an individual's desirability as a romantic partner is contained in the decisions made by same-sex others. The present studies predicted that men's and women's desirability assessments would be affected in opposite ways when target persons were depicted with members of the target's opposite sex. Study 1 (N = 847) documented that women rated men more desirable when shown surrounded by women than when shown alone or with other men (a desirability enhancement effect). In sharp contrast, men rated women less desirable when shown surrounded by men than when shown alone or with women (a desirability diminution effect) . Study 2 (N = 627) demonstrated similar sexually divergent effects for estimates of the desirability of same-sex competitors.     

Social skills and sex‐role functioning in borderline personality disorder: relationship to self‐mutilating behavior

This study compared the social skills functioning and sex role affiliation of female inpatients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder who engaged in self‐mutilating behavior (n?=?30) with female patients with borderline personality disorder who did not engage in such behavior (n?=?18). Patients with borderline personality disorder who engaged in self‐mutilating behavior were found to have relatively poorer skills in communicating non‐verbal emotional information to others and in receiving and interpreting such information from others. In terms of sex role orientation, patients who engaged in self‐mutilating behavior were significantly more likely than non‐mutilators to be typed as undifferentiated using the Bem Sex Role Inventory. These participants were less likely to identify with either masculine or feminine sex roles. Patients who did not self‐mutilate were found to be significantly more likely than those who did self‐mutilate to identify with the masculine sex role.     

Blurring the Dichotomy of Good and Evil: The Idiosyncratic Helping Strategies Associated with Unmitigated‐Agentic and Unmitigated‐Communal Personalities

We theorized that unmitigated‐agentic personality constructs (UAPs)—prioritizing 'getting ahead’ over 'getting along’—and unmitigated‐communal personality constructs (UCPs)—prioritizing getting along over getting ahead—are associated with distinct affect‐regulatory helping strategies. In Study 1 (N = 179), UAPs, on average, related to greater negative‐affect versus positive‐affect induction helping tactics. In two experiments, UAPs, on average, related to a greater likelihood of selecting anger‐inducing versus love‐inducing or sadness‐inducing songs to help a target overcome a breakup (Study 2; N = 313) and greater selection of anger‐inducing and hubris‐inducing messages versus authentic‐pride‐inducing and love‐inducing messages to help a teammate struggling in a game (Study 3; N = 246). UCPs manifested the opposite patterns. Generally, these associations corresponded with helping‐strategy utility beliefs and were robust to moderators of helping target (self or other; Study 2) or altruistic versus selfish motives (Study 3). Study 4 (N = 205) provided some evidence of ecological validity in contexts of recalled everyday helping. Associations between personality constructs and relative helping strategies were about moderate in size (rs ~ .20) across these four studies. Findings suggest that UAPs are associated with helping strategies believed to promote ‘contemptuous’ self‐enhancement relative to ‘innocuous’ self‐enhancement and self‐transcendence, and vice versa for UCPs. © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Academic career intention beyond the PhD: can the theory of planned behavior explain gender differences?

Are women less interested in becoming professors than men? We applied the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to investigate the intention to pursue an academic career. Postdocs who recently finished their PhD at a German university participated in an online survey (N = 380, mean age: 33; 45% women). Women reported lower academic career intentions (d = 0.40); TPB variables (attitude, subjective norm, self‐efficacy) explained 87% of this gender difference. At an 8 month follow‐up, we found no gender difference in the intention to continue in an academic career among the postdocs who were still working in academia (n = 129). Addressing TPB constructs early in women's academic careers could encourage them to remain in academia and strive for a professorship.     

Not as Different as We Want to Be: Attitudinally Consistent Trait Desirability Leads to Exaggerated Associations Between Personality and Sociopolitical Attitudes

Research connecting sociopolitical attitudes to personality typically relies exclusively on self‐report measures of personality. A recently discovered mechanism of bias in self‐reports highlights a particular challenge for this approach. Specifically, individuals tend to report exaggerated levels of a trait to the extent that they view that trait as desirable. In a community sample of 443 participants, differences in sociopolitical attitudes were associated with differences in the extent to which individuals provided biased self‐reports for a given trait (relative to trait levels indicated by peer‐report or an objective measure) as well as differences in views of the desirability of that trait. Further, the tendency to misrepresent traits in a manner consistent with one's sociopolitical attitudes was mediated by differences in views of trait desirability. Thus, although meaningful personality differences exist among those with differing sociopolitical attitudes, those differences may not be as large as people with opposing sociopolitical attitudes might like them to be.     

Socially Optimized Learning in a Virtual Environment: Reducing Risky Sexual Behavior Among Men Who Have Sex With Men

A socially optimized learning approach, which integrates diverse theoretical perspectives, places men who have sex with men (MSM) in an interactive virtual environment designed to simulate the emotional, interpersonal, and contextual narrative of an actual sexual encounter while challenging and changing MSM's more automatic patterns of risky responses. MSM assume a character's identity and are scaffolded in their decision‐making and relearning process by supportive, and often humorous, peer coaches who encourage situated learning of self‐regulatory and behavioral skills, and tailor and frame their responses to be responsive to the men's behavioral choices. In a longitudinal design, participants were randomly assigned to receive either an interactive video (IAV) intervention with peer counseling or to a peer‐counseling‐alone control. Compared to the counseling alone, men who also received the IAV reduced risky anal sex behaviors and increased protected anal sex behaviors.     

A Critical Test of Self‐Enhancement,Exposure, and Self‐Categorization Explanations for First‐ and Third‐Person Perceptions

The third‐person perception is the tendency for people to believe that others are more influenced by media content than themselves (W. P. Davison, 1983 ). The current study provides a critical test of self‐enhancement, exposure, and self‐categorization explanations for first‐ (i.e., self more influenced than others) and third‐person perceptions. Male and female participants (N = 323) judged the extent to which pornography elicited“aroused and excited” (i.e., male normative) versus“repulsed and offended” (i.e., female normative) reactions in themselves relative to average men and women. Men perceived an average woman to be more repulsed and offended by pornography than themselves, and women perceived an average man to be more aroused and excited than themselves (i.e., large third‐person perceptions). Further, men perceived themselves to be more aroused and excited by pornography than an average woman (independent of the degree to which pornography was judged as antisocial), and women perceived themselves to be more repulsed and offended than an average man (i.e., large first‐person perceptions). There were relatively small effects for same sex comparisons independent of norm. The pattern and magnitude of first‐ and third‐person perceptions are consistent with self‐categorization theory, irreconcilable with the exposure hypothesis, and difficult to reconcile with the self‐enhancement explanation.