Marlowe Crowne Research Articles

Social desirability scores are associated with higher morning cortisol levels in firefighters

Objective: To examine the association of social desirability (SD) responding (“defensiveness”) and cortisol levels. Methods: Marlowe–Crowne SD scores and morning salivary cortisol were measured in firefighters. Results: SD scores were associated with higher cortisol levels ( r=.28) in 60 firefighters under age 45, but not in 25 older firefighters (or the combined sample). Conclusion: The results are consistent not only with SD scores being an indicator of coarctation of experience as a coping mechanism, but also (at least for younger persons) perhaps a risk factor for the psychobiological dysfunctions associated with chronic elevations of cortisol.

Ambulatory blood pressure in women: Family history of hypertension and personality

The presence of certain personality traits in individuals with a strong family history of hypertension was expected to increase ambulatory blood pressure (BP) in healthy working women. Ambulatory BP was recorded on two work and two off work days during waking and sleeping hours in healthy nurses, 24-50 years of age, with varying parental history: Two hypertensive parents (n = 14); one hypertensive parent (n = 77); two normotensive parents (n = 112). BP during wake and sleep was potentiated in subjects with two hypertensive parents. Assessments were made of hostility (Cook-Medley Hostility Scale), defensiveness (Marlowe Crowne Social Desirability Scale), anxiety (Spielberger Trait Anxiety Inventory) and anger-out (Spielberger Anger Expression Scale). The offspring of two-parent hypertensive families who were hostile, defensive, anxious or did not express anger had elevated ambulatory BP, which was highest during work days. Preventive measures are particularly important for individuals with the combination of certain personality traits and a strong family history of hypertension, who may themselves be at risk for the development of hypertension.

A psychometric evaluation of the General Decision-Making Style Inventory

Abstract The psychometric characteristics of Scott and Bruce’s [Scott, S. G., & Bruce, R. A. (1995). Decision making style: The development and assessment of a new measure. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 55(5), 818–831] General Decision-Making Style (GDMS) measure were examined using a sample of 223 management undergraduates from eight classes. Participants also completed the Marlowe–Crowne Social Desirability scale and several classes completed the values scale [Fitzsimmons, G., Macnab, D., & Casserly, C. (1985). Technical manual for the Life Roles Inventory Values Scale and the Salience Inventory. Edmonton, Alberta: PsiCan Consulting] or the Conflict-Management Styles inventory [Flynn, R., & Elloy, D. (1987). Conflict management. National Institute for Dispute Resolution. Washington, DC. Working paper]. Overall, results from the item and scale analyses support the construct validity of this new measure. Further validation work is recommended; for example, applying the GDMS in cross-cultural settings.

The role of personality in the development and perpetuation of chronic fatigue syndrome

Objectives: Qualitative evidence suggests that personality may have special relevance to the predisposition, precipitation and perpetuation of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). This study compares three dimensions of personality — perfectionism, self-esteem, and emotional control in the personality profiles of CFS patients ( N=44) and a control group ( N=44) without a history of CFS, matched for age and gender. Methods: Participants were assessed on the MPS [Frost RO, Marten P, Lahart C, Rosenblate R. The dimensions of perfectionism. Cognit Ther Res 1990;14:449–468.]; the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale [Rosenberg M. Society and the Adolescent Self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ Press, 1965.]; the Courtauld Emotional Scale [Watson M, Greer S. Development of a questionnaire measure of emotional control. J Psychosom Res 1983;27:299–305.] and the Marlowe–Crowne Social Desirability Scale [Crowne DP, Marlowe D. A new scale of social desirability independent of psychopathology. J Consult Psychol 1960;24:349–354.]. Results: Analyses revealed that the CFS group reported higher levels than the control group on the Total Perfectionism score and Doubts about Actions and the Concern over Mistakes subscales. Furthermore, the CFS group also reported lower self-esteem than the control group. No difference between the two groups was found on the dimensions of emotional control and social desirability response bias. Conclusion: A developmental model of CFS, which considers the predisposing, precipitating, and perpetuating factors that may account for the course of the disorder irrespective of etiology, is proposed. In the context of the results, recommendations for practice and future research are discussed.

Social desirability and self-reported weight and height.

The present study examines the relationship between the desire to conform to perceived societal norms and the misreporting of weight and height. Self-reported and measured weights and heights for 56 young, healthy non-obese volunteers were assessed and compared to scores on the Marlowe Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MCSDS). Discrepancies between actual and self-reported weights for females were directly related to actual weight (r = 0.66, P<0.0001). The same was not true for males (r = 0.03). Height was significantly overreported, regardless of gender (P<0.004). Most importantly, for females, MCSDS scores were significantly correlated with the discrepancy between actual and self-reported weights after statistically adjusting for differences in actual weight (r = 0.51, P<0.0001). Results suggest that the misreporting of weight among young, non-obese women may be directly influenced by the desire to conform to perceived societal norms.

Socially desirable response sets: The impact of country culture

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.

Socially desirable response sets: The impact of country culture

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.

Repressed anger and patterns of cardiovascular, self-report and behavioral responses: Effects of harassment

We hypothesized that anger repressors would show discrepancies between self-reported anger and cardiovascular and behavioral responses only during harassment. Subjects (N=102) were assigned randomly to condition. In the nonharassment condition, subjects told stories about eight Thematic Apperception Test cards without any harassment. In the harassment condition, subjects told four stories without harassment, and then told four more stories with harassment. Words connoting aggressive behavior and angry/hostile affect were coded from story content. Subjects were classified into low anger expressor, anger repressor, high anger expressor, and defensive anger expressor categories based on median splits of the Anger-Out Subscale and Marlowe–Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Results showed that harassed anger repressors reported anger comparable to that of low anger expressors but less than high expressors, whereas their heart rate (HR) reactivity was comparable to high expressors, but greater than low anger expressors. Increases in anger words did not distinguish repressors from other groups. Repressed anger may represent a distinct anger management style characterized by a discrepancy between acknowledged anger and cardiovascular reactivity—effects that become fully manifest only during interpersonal provocation.

Defensive hostility and cardiovascular responses to stress in young men

The relationship between hostility, defensiveness and cardiovascular reactivity to stress was evaluated in a laboratory study. A total of 46 men aged 18-45 years with extreme scores on the Cook–Medley Hostility (Ho) and the Marlowe–Crowne Social Desirability (MC) scales, were recruited to create four groups: Defensive Hostile (DH: high Ho, high MC), Nondefensive Hostile (NDH: high Ho, low MC), Nonhostile Defensive (NHD: low Ho, high MC) and Nonhostile Nondefensive (NHND: low Ho, low MC). After a resting baseline, three stressors were administered: the cold pressor task, a public speech task and an anger recall task. Both DHs and NDHs displayed elevated baseline systolic blood pressures in comparison to others. DH and NHND men in comparison to NDH men exhibited increased diastolic blood pressure reactivity on the cold pressor task. There were no significant differences in reactivity between groups during the mental stressors. To summarize, the positive association between hostility and resting blood pressure supports previous research on the association between hostility and the development of coronary artery disease. Further, the current laboratory study and other laboratory studies (in contrast to field studies) do not provide strong evidence to suggest that DHs in comparison to others may be at increased risk for developing coronary artery disease.

Repressive/defensive coping, endogenous opioids and health: how a life so perfect can make you sick

Hyperactivity of endogenous opioid systems has been postulated to mediate the associations between defensive/repressive coping styles, enhanced stress responsivity, and reduced immunocompetence. Study 1 examined whether repressive/defensive coping would be associated with greater sensitivity to opioid antagonism. Judgments of the painfulness of ascending series of electrocutaneous stimulation applied to the forearm were determined before and after the administration of naloxone and placebo in 38 men and 42 women. All subjects were healthy with a mean age of 32.9 years. Naloxone (10 mg i.v.) and placebo were administered in double-blind fashion and counterbalanced. Subjects were classified as High- and Low-defensive and repressive copers on the basis of scores on the Marlowe—Crowne Social Desirability Scale and the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding, respectively. High Self-Deception was associated with naloxone-induced hyperalgesia, whereas no effects of naloxone on pain ratings were observed in low-Self-Deceptive subjects. In Study 2, resting plasma β-endorphin levels were found to be positively correlated with defensiveness in men ( n = 26), but not women ( n = 44). Study 3 examined 82 healthy subjects (mean age = 28.7 years). β-Endorphin/defensiveness correlations were found to be greater following, compared to prior to, electrical nociceptive stimulation in men ( n = 49), but unrelated in women ( n = 33). These findings are consistent with the hypothesized endorphinergic dysregulation associated with repressive/defensive coping styles and are discussed in terms of the immuno-regulatory implications of such a dysregulation.

Repressive and defensive coping styles predict resting plasma endorphin levels in the elderly

Jamner, L.D., Schwartz, G.E., 1986, Psychosom. Med. 48, 211–223, have proposed that repressive and defensive coping are associated with greater central endogenous opioid activity. They reasoned that high-defensive (HD) participants’ attenuated distress, increased pain tolerances, attenuated somatic symptomatology, and accentuated reports of positive emotions are consistent with actions of centrally active opioid peptides. The present study assessed plasma β-endorphin (END) levels, Marlowe–Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MCSD), and Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (TMAS) scores in men ( n=6) and women ( n=20) between the ages of 59 and 79. Contrary to predictions, HD had lower plasma endorphin levels than did low-defensive (LD) participants. Raw MCSD scores correlated negatively with endorphin levels. Findings were significant for women only, which may have been due to the small sample of men. The results are discussed as they related to the hypothesis that defensiveness involves alteration of central opioid systems.

Defensiveness and essential hypertension

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between essential hypertension and defensiveness. Fifty normotensive and 74 hypertensive subjects completed the State–Trait Personality Inventory (STPI) and State–Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI) to assess perceived anger and anxiety, and the Marlowe–Crowne Scale of Social Desirability as an indicator of defensiveness. Hypertensive and normotensive groups did not differ in their scores on the anger, anger expression, and anxiety scales. In contrast, Marlowe–Crowne scores were higher in the hypertensive group (18.1±5.5 vs. 15.4±5.1) ( p=0.006). Stepwise logistic regression that included age, gender, BMI, and Marlowe–Crowne scores (dichotomized at 18) showed that a high Marlowe–Crowne score was associated with a relative risk of 3.63 (CI 1.49–8.83) of being hypertensive, independent of age, gender, and BMI. Anger and anxiety scores did not predict hypertensive status and did not affect the relationship between Marlowe–Crowne score and hypertensive status. We conclude that defensiveness is more closely related to essential hypertension than is self-reported anger or anxiety. Better understanding of conscious and unconscious mechanisms of defensiveness are likely to be important in clarifying the link between emotions and hypertension.

Positive perceptions of parental caring are associated with reduced psychiatric and somatic symptoms.

In a previous 35-year follow-up investigation to the Harvard Mastery of Stress Study, positive ratings of parental caring obtained in healthy male college students were found to be predictive of substantially reduced disease incidence (including cardiovascular disease, ulcers, and alcoholism) in mid-life. The present cross-sectional study examined the relationship between perceptions of parental caring, current psychiatric and somatic symptoms, and defensiveness, in a University of Arizona sample of females and males. The Harvard Parental Caring Scale (HPCS), the SCL90R, and the Marlowe-Crowne (MC) scale (a measure of defensiveness) were administered to 398 students at the University of Arizona. Cronbach alphas were .83 for HPCS ratings of mothers and .88 for fathers. High HPCS ratings were associated with reduced symptoms reports in both females and males (p < .00002). Ratings of HPCS showed a small correlation with defensiveness (r = .141). The relationship between HPCS and symptoms was strongest in the least defensive subjects. Positive perceptions of love and caring from parents, typically the most important source of social support for children, are associated with reduced psychiatric and somatic symptoms. Defensiveness may play a protective role psychologically (but not necessarily physiologically) in reducing the conscious awareness of symptoms accompanying low perceptions of parental love and caring.

Influences of Survey Instrument Format and Social Desirability on the Reliability of Self-Reported High Risk Sexual Behavior

This study examined instrument-related and respondent-related self-presentation effects on the reliability of HTV sexual risk self-reports. Sixty-five men who have sex with men (MSM) were randomly assigned to assessment conditions differing only on the format for questions about their sexual behavior. For Group 1, the instrument tested responses to items directly addressing the issue of unsafe sex; men reported absolute frequencies of sexual activities engaged in “with” and “without a condom.” For Group 2, questions were framed more positively with respect to condom use; participants were instructed to report total number of intercourse occasions, and then indicate on a scale the relative frequency (percentage) of times “condoms were used.” It was anticipated that Group 1 participants would feel more inhibited about reporting episodes of unprotected sex, particularly unprotected anal intercourse (UAI). The Marlowe–Crowne scale was used to control for general tendencies toward socially desirable responding within the sample. Results confirmed that men in Group 1 tended to report lower rates (percents) of UAI, and that, among participants with higher frequencies of anal intercourse, this difference was statistically significant. Weighted least squares regression analysis showed that hypothesized indicators of measurement error—assessment group and social desirability—together accounted for more than half of the explained variance in percent UAI. The findings suggest that HIV prevention researchers need to give higher priority to methodological issues involved in the data collection process. Also, more research is needed on the implications of socially desirable responding for the reliability of self-reports of HIV sexual risk behavior.

Self and informant ratings of SCID‐II personality disorder items for nonreferred college women: Effects of item and participant characteristics

Examined the relationship between self- and informant-ratings on Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R Personality Disorders (SCID-II) items. Seventy-five female undergraduate student volunteers and their roommates also completed the Brief Symptom Inventory, Rubin's Liking Scale, and the Marlowe–Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Self-rating scores on personality disorder items were significantly higher than informant-ratings on five personality disorder scales. Participants and informants endorsed more personality disorder items rated higher on social desirability. No relationship was found between subjectivity of personality disorder scales and differences between self- and informant-ratings. Participants with higher needs for positive self-presentation rated themselves lower on nine personality disorder scales. A higher level of liking for roommates was associated with lower informant ratings for six personality disorder scales. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 53: 523–533, 1997.

Observer versus Field Memories in Repressive, Low Anxious, and Obsessive-Compulsive Subjects

The tendency to see one's self in autobiographical memories (“Observer” memories) has been reported for experiences that are emotional or involve self-awareness. Repressors, who avoid thinking about emotional experiences, should have fewer observer memories, whereas obsessive-compulsives should have more. College students were asked to recall specific events (e.g., giving a public performance), and the point of view of the memory. Repressors (who had low Manifest Anxiety and high Marlowe Crowne scores) reported fewer observer memories than did low anxious subjects (who scored low on both inventories), and were not different from a high anxious group. This pattern was replicated in a second experiment, which also found that subjects with high Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive scores had more observer memories than those with low scores. Repressors and obsessive-compulsives did not differ consistently either in their frequency of observer memories or their personality profiles.

Neuroticism and defensive responding

This study explored the relationship between responses to the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) Neuroticism Scale (N) and defensive responding. The EPI and the Marlowe Crowne Social Desirability Scale (SD) were administered to 157 college students. Repressors (REP), characterized by defensive responding, were defined by median splits on N and SD as low N and high SD. As predicted, REPs scored lower on N than truly low anxious subjects, low N and low SD. Also consistent with expectation, there were significantly fewer defensive high anxious subjects, high N and high SD. The first of these findings replicates Plante and Schwartz (1990). The second is consistent with Weinberger, Schwartz and Davidson (1979). A low correlation was found between extraversion and SD while the correlation between the EPI Lie Scale and SD was high enough to suggest some similarity ( r = 0.33, P < 0.001) but low enough to indicate that it would not be a suitable replacement for SD in detecting defensive responding on N.

Defensive and repressive coping styles: Self-presentation, leisure activities, and assessment

The purpose of this study was to (1) extend previous research demonstrating the positive self-presentation styles of defensive and repressive subjects; (2) investigate the types and amounts of exercise and hobby activities as possible coping mechanisms among repressors; and (3) compare the Marlowe-Crowne (MC) and the EPI Lie (L) scales as measures of defensiveness. Personality, life stress, exercise, and hobby questionnaires were administered to 110 male college students. A structured telephone interview was also conducted to assess the reliability of their exercise and hobby self-report information and to further refine the assessment of these variables. Overall, the results support the notion that defensiveness and repression are associated with positive self-presentation styles and with types and amount of time spent in leisure activities. The results support the notion that the MC scale and L scale should not be used interchangeably to assess defensiveness. It is hypothesized that the MC and L scales measure different levels and aspects of defensiveness. Directions for future research are discussed.

Defensive coping and blood pressure reactivity in medical patients.

Two defensive coping styles, denial of illness and repressive coping, were studied in two groups of medical patients whose blood pressure (BP) was measured during a stress interview. Denial of illness was measured using the Levine Denial of Illness Scale (LDIS), and repressive coping was measured using a combination of the Marlowe-Crowne (MC) Social Desirability Scale and the SCL-90R anxiety subscale (ANX). Consistent with our prior research indicating that LDIS was associated with adaptive outcomes in the short run, high deniers manifested reduced systolic BP reactivity compared to low deniers. Although not related to repressive coping, systolic BP reactivity was correlated positively with MC and ANX separately. The results demonstrate that LDIS and MC measure different types of defensive coping. Current theories of the MC scale suggest two possible interpretations of the MC findings, one that focuses on avoidant coping and the second on attentional coping in high MC scorers.

Social desirability in the bedroom: Role of approval motivation in sexual relationships

One-hundred and twelve unmarried participants completed a questionnaire that examined the relationship between gender and approval motivation (assessed by the Marlowe—Crowne Social Desirability Scale) and college students' stereotypes of and experiences with power in sexual encounters. Regardless of approval motivation, students described men as using power predominantly to have sex and women as using power predominantly to avoid having sex. However, interactions between need for approval and gender suggested that high-need-approval women might be having more experiences with sex and power in the bedroom than high-need-approval men. These results are discussed in light of Elkind's hypothesis that adolescent behavior conforms to an imaginary audience of peers and the Crowne-Marlowe model of approval motivation.