Socially desirable response sets: The impact of country culture

Abstract

The present research explores differences in social-desirability response bias across cultures. Results indicate a significant difference in response bias between Western and Eastern subjects that may be attributed to differences in the dominant cultural dimensions of the subject's country of origin. Additional analysis reveals surprising results regarding the measurement-scale properties themselves. The unexpected findings raise concerns about the cross-cultural generalizability of the Marlowe–Crowne Social Desirability scale. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.