Can faking be measured with dedicated validity scales? Within Subject Trifactor Mixture Modeling applied to BIDR responses

A sample of 516 participants responded to the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR) under answer honest and instructed faking conditions in a within-subjects design. We analyse these data with a novel application of trifactor modeling that models the two substantive factors measured by the BIDR – Self-Deceptive Enhancement (SDE) and Impression Management (IM), condition-related common factors and item specific factors. The model permits examination of invariance and change within subjects across conditions. Participants were able to significantly increase their SDE and IM in the instructed faking condition relative to the honest response condition. Mixture modeling confirmed the existence of a theoretical two-class solution comprised of approximately two thirds of ‘compliers’ and one third of ‘non-compliers’. Factor scores had good determinacy and correlations with observed scores were near unity for continuous scoring, supporting observed score interpretations of BIDR scales in high stakes settings. Correlations were somewhat lower for the dichotomous scoring protocol. Overall, results show that the BIDR scales function similarly as measures of socially desirable functioning in low and high stakes conditions. We discuss conditions under which we expect these results will and will not generalise to other validity scales

Self-other differences in student drinking norms research: the role of impression management, self-deception and measurement methodology

Background: Data-driven student drinking norms interventions are based on reported normative overestimation of the extent and approval of an average student’s drinking. Self-reported differences between personal and perceived normative drinking behaviors and attitudes are taken at face value as evidence of actual levels of overestimation. This study investigates whether commonly used data collection methods and socially desirable responding may inadvertently impede establishing 'objective' drinking norms. Methods: UK students [N=421; 69% female; Mean age 20.22 years (SD = 2.5)] were randomly assigned to one of three versions of a drinking norms questionnaire: The standard multi-target questionnaire assessed respondents' drinking attitudes and behaviors (frequency of consumption, heavy drinking, units on a typical occasion) as well as drinking attitudes and behaviors for an ‘average student’. Two deconstructed versions of this questionnaire assessed identical behaviors and attitudes for participants themselves or an 'average student'. The Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding was also administered. Results: Students who answered questions about themselves and peers reported more extreme perceived drinking attitudes for the average student compared with those reporting solely on the ‘average student’. Personal and perceived reports of drinking behaviors did not differ between multi- and single-target versions of the questionnaire. Among those who completed the multi-target questionnaire, after controlling for demographics and weekly drinking, socially desirable responding was related positively with the magnitude of difference between students’ own reported behaviors/attitudes and those perceived for the average student. Conclusions: Standard methodological practices and socially desirable responding may be sources of bias in peer norm overestimation research

The Content of Several Measures of Social Desirability

The question of whether to remove socially desirable responding (SDR) variance from self-report personality inventories, or to treat it as a facet of personality, has been the center of a debate spanning the last 25 years (Furnham, 1986). Recently, this controversy again came to the forefront of the literature via an exchange between a group of researchers (Block, 1990; Edwards, 1990; Nicholson & Hogan, 1990; Walsh, 1990). The essence of this debate is whether the correlation between a SDR scale and a personality scale indicated that the personality scale is contaminated by SDR bias, or if it merely indicates that there is content overlap between the two types of scales

Socially desirable responding: The psychometric properties of the Icelandic version of the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding

Efst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinnBalanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR) er eitt mest notaða mælitækið á félagslega æskilegri svörun. Það samanstendur af tveimur undirkvörðum, sjálfsblekkingu (SB) og ímyndarstjórnun (ÍS), sem innihalda hvor um sig 20 fullyrðingar sem svarað er á sjö punkta kvarða (1=Ekki satt, 4=Að einhverju leyti satt, 7=Mjög satt). Tilgangur þessarar rannsóknar var að þýða BIDR kvarðann og kanna próffræðilega eiginleika íslenskrar útgáfu BIDR með staðfestandi þáttagreiningu og ígrunduðum viðtölum (e. cognitive interviews with probing). Í fyrri fasa rannsóknarinnar (N=321) er þýðingarferlinu og próffræðilegum eiginleikum lýst. Niðurstöður bentu til þess að meðaltöl og fylgni milli undirkvarða væru sambærileg þeim sem finnast í erlendum rannsóknum og áreiðanleiki mælitækisins væri viðunandi. Niðurstöður úr staðfestandi þáttagreiningu voru einnig sambærilegar þeim sem fengist hafa í erlendum rannsóknum, þó fram hafi komið vandamál sem tengjast vissum atriðum kvarðans. Í seinni fasa rannsóknarinnar var fjallað um niðurstöður viðtala (N=20) þar sem farið var ítarlega í íslenska þýðingu kvarðans. Niðurstöður þeirrar rannsóknar bentu til þess að ekki væru til staðar alvarleg vandamál varðandi þýðingu kvarðans.The Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR) is one of the most commonly used measures of socially desirable responding. It consists of two scales, Self-Deceptive Enhancement (SDE) and Impression Management (IM), containing 20 statements each, answered on a 7-point scale (1=Not true, 4=Somewhat true, 7=Very true). The purpose of this paper was to translate the BIDR to Icelandic and examine the psychometric properties of the Icelandic translation using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and cognitive interviews with probing. The first phase of the study (N=321) focuses on the translation process and the psychometric properties of the BIDR. The results indicated that the means, intercorrelation between the two scales, and CFA results are comparable to those found in previous studies and the reliability is acceptable, although the results indicated certain items were problematic. In the second phase of the study (N=20) cognitive interviews with probing were used in order to identify potential problems with regards to the translation. The results suggest the Icelandic translation is adequate

Dispositional Source of Job Satisfaction: The Role of Self-Deception

Despite providing strong indication that there is a dispositional source of job satisfaction, past research has not fully addressed the cardinal questions of how--or what--dispositions influence job satisfaction. This study suggests that self-deception may serve as an important psychological variable that partly explicates the dispositional source of job satisfaction. Using three sources of data obtained from a sample of university employees, our results indicated that employees who tend to engage in self-deception indeed experienced more satisfaction in their lives and with their jobs. Results also suggested that the relationship between subjective wellbeing and job satisfaction is reciprocal. All these findings were observed in a model including a significant link from affective disposition to subjective well-being. The results suggest that dispositional variables such as self-deception are important explanations of the dispositional source of job satisfaction

A direct test of socially desirable responding in contingent valuation interviews

--environmental valuation,contingent valuation method,socially desirable responding,loss aversion,reforestation

Kinematic Equations for Front Motion and Spiral-Wave Nucleation

We present a new set of kinematic equations for front motion in bistable media. The equations extend earlier kinematic approaches by coupling the front curvature with the order parameter associated with a parity breaking front bifurcation. In addition to naturally describing the core region of rotating spiral waves the equations can be be used to study the nucleation of spiral-wave pairs along uniformly propagating fronts. The analysis of spiral-wave nucleation reduces to the simpler problem of droplet, or domain, nucleation in one space dimension.Comment: 8 pages. Aric Hagberg: http://cnls.lanl.gov/~aric; Ehud Meron: http://www.bgu.ac.il/BIDR/research/staff/meron.htm

Social desirability and self-reported driving behaviours: Should we be worried?

Original article can be found at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/13698478 Copyright Elsevier Ltd.There is widespread use of self-report measures of driving behaviour in the traffic psychology literature, despite the frequent criticism that such measures are subject to social desirability bias. However, no research has yet investigated the more recently developed measures of driving anxiety and avoidance behaviour for socially desirable responding. Furthermore, relatively little research has investigated the issue of socially desirable responding on self-reported driver behaviour in general, and that which does exist has several shortcomings. The present study used a repeated measures design to assess the effect of social desirability on a measure of driving avoidance, the Driving and Riding Avoidance Scale (DRAS), and the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ). A sample of 228 undergraduate students completed the DRAS, DBQ and a measure of socially desirable responding in class, which constituted a public place, and then again 2 months later in the privacy of their homes. None of the DBQ items were significantly different across the two locations. However, two of the DRAS general avoidance items were higher in the public setting, perhaps demonstrating the effect of socially desirable responding on driving avoidance due to environmental or practical concern. Nevertheless, overall it appears as though the DRAS and DBQ are not particularly vulnerable to socially desirable responding, although further well-designed research on the effects of such bias on these and other self-report measures of driving behaviour should be undertaken.Peer reviewe

The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) : development and UK validation

Background There is increasing international interest in the concept of mental well-being and its contribution to all aspects of human life. Demand for instruments to monitor mental well-being at a population level and evaluate mental health promotion initiatives is growing. This article describes the development and validation of a new scale, comprised only of positively worded items relating to different aspects of positive mental health: the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS). Methods WEMWBS was developed by an expert panel drawing on current academic literature, qualitative research with focus groups, and psychometric testing of an existing scale. It was validated on a student and representative population sample. Content validity was assessed by reviewing the frequency of complete responses and the distribution of responses to each item. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the hypothesis that the scale measured a single construct. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Criterion validity was explored in terms of correlations between WEMWBS and other scales and by testing whether the scale discriminated between population groups in line with pre-specified hypotheses. Test-retest reliability was assessed at one week using intra-class correlation coefficients. Susceptibility to bias was measured using the Balanced Inventory of Desired Responding. Results WEMWBS showed good content validity. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the single factor hypothesis. A Cronbach's alpha score of 0.89 (student sample) and 0.91 (population sample) suggests some item redundancy in the scale. WEMWBS showed high correlations with other mental health and well-being scales and lower correlations with scales measuring overall health. Its distribution was near normal and the scale did not show ceiling effects in a population sample. It discriminated between population groups in a way that is largely consistent with the results of other population surveys. Test-retest reliability at one week was high (0.83). Social desirability bias was lower or similar to that of other comparable scales. Conclusion WEMWBS is a measure of mental well-being focusing entirely on positive aspects of mental health. As a short and psychometrically robust scale, with no ceiling effects in a population sample, it offers promise as a tool for monitoring mental well-being at a population level. Whilst WEMWBS should appeal to those evaluating mental health promotion initiatives, it is important that the scale's sensitivity to change is established before it is recommended in this context