Development of a self-presentation tactics scale

Abstract

Previous personality measures examining individuals' propensity to engage in self-presentation (e.g. self-monitoring, social desirability) often dealt only with positive forms of self-presentation and have not measured individuals' proclivity to use specific self-presentation tactics. In order to overcome these problems, 4 studies were carried out to (a) develop a self-presentation tactics scale (SPT) measuring individual differences in proclivity for using 12 self-presentation tactics, (b) examine the dimensions of self-presentation and (c) to examine gender differences in self-presentation behavior. The results of the 4 studies indicate that the SPT is internally consistent, consistent across time and that the SPT shows adequate discriminant validity. Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrate that self-presentation consists of two distinct components: defensive and assertive tactics, and that these two general types of tactics are significantly correlated. Additionally, males are more likely than females to use assertive self-presentation tactics. The potential utility of the self-presentation tactics scale for future research on self-presentational behavior is discussed.