Social Desirability Response Set Research Articles

AI-Enhanced GraphoText Analysis for Tracking Counselling Therapy Progress: Integrating Multimodal Graphology and Machine Learning

Despite the robustness of existing instruments, routine manual observation in psychotherapy faces significant challenges, including lack of time, labour, high implementation costs, and potential biases such as response bias and social desirability. This study proposes a dynamic assessment approach using machine learning and multimodal features extracted from handwriting, incorporating graphology-based and content-based features. The integration of content-based and graphology-based features involves combining text and handwriting features with the Support Vector Machine (SVM) using the Radial Basis Function Kernel (RBF). The results show that this approach achieves an impressive accuracy rate of 86.25%. The proposed framework not only improves psychotherapeutic practise, but also offers new insights into human cognition and emotional dynamics by revealing intricate patterns in handwriting. This advance facilitates data-driven decision-making, improves the quality of patient care, and overcomes challenges associated with manual monitoring, including social desirability bias and response set bias. This research paves the way for innovative methods at the interface of mental health and technology, and promises a more objective and efficient approach to monitoring the progress of psychotherapy.

Impulse Control Disorders in Dopamine Agonist-Treated Hyperprolactinemia: Prevalence and Risk Factors.

There are growing reports of dopamine agonist (DA)-induced impulse control disorders (ICDs) in hyperprolactinemic patients. However, the magnitude of this risk and predictive factors remain uncertain. To determine ICD prevalence and risk factors in DA-treated hyperprolactinemic patients compared to community controls. Multicenter cross-sectional analysis of 113 patients and 99 healthy controls. Participants completed a neuropsychological questionnaire consisting of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS21), Questionnaire for Impulsive-Compulsive Disorders in Parkinson's Disease (QUIP-S), Hypersexual Behavior Inventory (HBI), Hypersexual Behavior Consequences Scale and Social Desirability Response Set Scale. Demographic and clinical data were collated to determine ICD risk factors. Patients testing positive for an ICD were offered a semistructured psychological interview. Patients were more likely than controls to test positive by QUIP-S for any ICD (61.1 vs 42.4%, P = .01), hypersexuality (22.1 vs 8.1%, P = .009), compulsive buying (15.9 vs 6.1%, P = .041) and punding (18.6 vs 6.1%, P = 0.012), and by HBI for hypersexuality (8.0 vs 0.0%, P = 0.004). Independent risk factors were male sex (odds ratio [OR] 13.85), eugonadism (OR 7.85), Hardy's tumor score and psychiatric comorbidity (OR 6.86) for hypersexuality, and age (OR 0.95) for compulsive buying. DASS21 subset scores were higher in patients vs controls and in patients with vs without different ICDs. Only 19/51 (37.3%) interviewed patients were aware of the relationship between DAs and ICDs before the study. DA therapy poses a high, previously underestimated risk of ICDs, especially in the form of hypersexuality in eugonadal men.

Irish norms for the SCORE‐15 and 28 from a national telephone survey

In this study a 29‐item version of the systemic clinical outcome and routine evaluation (SCORE), which contained all items from the SCORE‐15 and SCORE‐28, was used to develop norms for both the 15 and the 28 versions of the SCORE from the same sample. In a random digit dialling telephone survey, a stratified national random sample of 403 adults living in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland completed the SCORE and brief measures of family and personal adjustment. Using receiver operating characteristic curve analyses, cut‐off points for the SCORE‐28 and 15 were found to identify families of children with significant emotional and behavioural problems. We also established 90th percentile points and percentages of cases falling above each scale point for both versions of the SCORE. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that, for both versions of the SCORE, the data fit the three factor solutions found in previous studies. The SCORE scales also had significant correlations with measures of family, parental and child adjustment, and negligible correlations with socioeconomic variables and social desirability response set.

Validation of a 28‐item version of the Systemic Clinical Outcome and Routine Evaluation in an Irish context: the SCORE‐28

This article describes the development, in an Irish context, of a three‐factor, twenty‐eight‐item version of the Systemic Clinical Outcome and Routine Evaluation (SCORE) questionnaire for assessing progress in family therapy. The forty‐ item version of the SCORE was administered to over 700 Irish participants including non‐clinical adolescents and young adults, families attending family therapy, and parents of young people with physical and intellectual disabilities and cystic fibrosis. For validation purposes, data were also collected using brief measures of family and personal adjustment. A twenty‐eight‐item version of the SCORE (the SCORE‐28) containing three factor scales that assess family strengths, difficulties and communication was identified through exploratory principal components analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the factor structure of the SCORE‐28 was stable. The SCORE‐28 and its three factor scales were shown to have excellent internal consistency reliability, satisfactory test‐retest reliability and construct validity. The SCORE‐28 scales correlated highly with the General Functioning Scale of the Family Assessment Device, and moderately with the Global Assessment of Relational Functioning Scale, the Kansas Marital and Parenting Satisfaction Scales, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Mental Health Inventory – 5, and the total problems scale of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Correlational analyses also showed that the SCORE‐28 scales were not strongly associated with demographic characteristics or social desirability response set. The SCORE‐28 may routinely be administered to literate family members aged over 12 years before and after family therapy to evaluate therapy outcome.

No Evidence that Social Desirability Response Set Explains the General Factor of Personality and Its Affective Correlates

In two studies, the General Factor of Personality (GFP) remained intact after controlling for the Lie scale from the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, despite the Lie Scale showing significant correlations with the GFP defining traits. In Study 1, a re-analysis of 29 self-ratings from 322 pairs of twins (644 individuals) yielded a GFP both before and after controlling for social desirability. In Study 2, four measures of affect in 133 university students loaded on a GFP both before and after controlling for social desirability such that those high on the GFP were high in self-esteem and positive affect and low in depression and negative affect. These results join those from other studies failing to find evidence that the GFP is merely an artifact of evaluative bias.

Health and Wellbeing through Work and Retirement Transitions in Mature Age: Understanding Pre—Post and Retrospective Measures of Change

The capacity to measure change is essential in examining successful adaptation to ageing. Few studies measuring change have compared findings using pre-post approaches (employing difference scores) with those from retrospective approaches (employing self-ratings). Where this has occurred, differences have been attributed either to ceiling and floor effects or to the operation of social comparison (Choi, 2002, 2003). Our study compared pre-post and retrospective measures of change in health, health behaviors, and wellbeing over periods of 1 and 3 years among retirees. Retrospective measures were found to be more positive than pre-post measures. This discrepancy was associated with floor and ceiling effects and with a robust self-image, but not with recency, social comparison, or social desirability response sets. Pre-post difference scores have limitations as indicators of change, particularly where ceiling effects operate. A retrospective perception of improvement, combined with deterioration in scores, may result from successful psychological adaptation as people grow older.

The magnitude of client and therapist working alliance ratings.

Researchers studying the working alliance frequently comment that clients and therapists tend to rate the alliance highly. The authors conducted this study to determine the accuracy of these comments by examining of the magnitude of adult client and therapist working alliance ratings in 63 refereed articles published between 1990 and 2007. The authors wondered if clients and therapists generally tend to use just the higher points of rating scales for measures of working alliance. The 63 articles used 9 different measures of the working alliance and provided working alliance ratings by 6,441 clients and 6,359 therapists. Results indicate that clients tend to use only the top 20% of rating points and therapists tend to use only the top 30% of rating points on alliance measures. Implications of the findings include the possibility that clients and therapists do not differentiate among lower rating points on the scales, tend to rate the alliance according to a social desirability or dissonance-reducing response set, or provide ratings that accurately reflect the alliance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Cross-cultural reliability and validity of the Multidimensional Neglectful Behavior Scale Adult Recall Short Form

Objective To provide data on the cross-cultural reliability of the Adult Recall Short Form of the Multidimensional Neglectful Behavior Scale (MNBS), and also illustrative validity evidence. The MNBS includes items on four aspects of neglectful behavior: cognitive, emotional, physical, and supervisory. Method The data were obtained by questionnaires completed by a convenience sample of 7179 students at 33 universities in 17 countries. Results The alpha coefficient of internal consistency for the entire sample was .72. By site, the coefficients ranged from one site with .55–12 sites in the .60–.69 range, and 20 sites with alpha of .70 or higher. The validity of the scale was indicated by low confounding with social desirability response set in all 33 cultural contexts, and by the results of construct validly analyses which controlled for physical maltreatment found that students who were victims of neglectful behavior as a child were more likely than other students to have physically assaulted a dating partner in the previous 12 months. Conclusions Although the results are from a relatively privileged sample, they revealed high rates of neglectful behavior and are sufficiently promising to encourage use of the Adult Recall Short Form of the MNBS in a variety of cultural settings.

Social desirability and relations between goal orientations and competitive trait anxiety in young athletes

Objectives To examine the impact of a social desirability response set on relations between goal orientation and performance anxiety in youth sports. Design Correlational field design. Method Data assessing goal orientation, performance anxiety, and social desirability were obtained from male ( n=106) and female ( n=75) adolescent athletes (M age=12.1 years; SD=1.3 years). Results Female athletes reported significantly higher levels of task orientation and lower levels of ego orientation and concentration disruption, than males. As predicted, ego orientation was positively correlated with all indices of performance anxiety in males and females. Task orientation was negatively associated with all indices of performance anxiety in males but only concentration disruption in females. Social desirability was negatively related to ego orientation in males and females, and positively related to task orientation in females, but not males. Performance anxiety was negatively related to social desirability in females, but not males. Controlling for social desirability attenuated the observed relations between goal orientations and performance anxiety in females, but not males. Conclusions These results suggest the importance of incorporating measures of social desirability when studying psychosocial variables with either positive or negative connotations. Our results suggest that social desirability may contribute to relations between goal orientation and anxiety in athletes, particularly females.

Factorial complexity and validity of the Sahin–Francis Attitude toward Islam Scale among Pakistani university students

English‐speaking Pakistani university students responded to the Sahin–Francis Attitude toward Islam Scale, along with other religious measures and a social desirability scale. This scale was multidimensional. Correlations with religious measures confirmed its validity and were not explained by a social desirability response set. These data identified the Sahin–Francis Scale as a useful measure for studying Muslim attitudes within an Islamic society.

The Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire: Some unfinished business

This article gauges the extent to which items and sum scores of the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ) are contaminated with social desirability response set (SDR), and the extent to which that contamination results in biased findings. Special validity coefficients are introduced for that purpose. Although the SDR confound was quite substantial across all items (with one exception), it is argued on the basis of the size of the introduced validity coefficients and other, logical considerations that paradoxically the confound had minimally distorting effects in estimating the BPAQ models selected for probing the extent of bias.

Expressed Readiness of Australian Schoolchildren to Act as Bystanders in Support of Children who are Being Bullied

Promoting interventive action on the part of student bystanders witnessing peer victimisation is currently seen as a promising way of reducing bullying in schools. A video depicting bullying in the presence of bystanders was viewed by late primary (n = 200) and early secondary school students (n = 200). Some 43% of the students indicated that they were likely to help the victim. Questionnaires were employed to assess student attitudes towards victims, beliefs about the expectations of parents, friends, and teachers, perceived self‐efficacy, and social desirability response set. Multiple regression analysis identified as significant predictors of expressed intention to intervene: attending primary school, having rarely or never bullied others, having (reportedly) previously intervened, positive attitude to victims, and believing that parents and friends (but not teachers) expected them to act to support victims. Implications for action to reduce bullying in schools are discussed.

Cross-Cultural Reliability and Validity of the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales: A Study of University Student Dating Couples in 17 Nations

Although the original Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS) have been successfully used in many countries, no studies have been published on the cross-cultural reliability and validity of the revised instrument (CTS2). This study is intended to provide some of the needed psychometric information. It reports reliability and examples of validity evidence for the five CTS2 (physical assault, physical injury, psychological aggression, sexual coercion, and negotiation) to measure these aspects of the dating relationships of 7,179 students at 33 universities in 17 countries. The results show high alpha coefficients of internal consistency and low confounding with social desirability response set. Examples indicating the construct validity of the CTS2 Physical Assault and Injury Scales are also presented. Although the data refer to dating relationships of university students, the results are sufficiently promising to encourage use of the CTS2 in a variety of cultural settings.

Does Enrollment Diversity Improve University Education?

Debate over the value of admissions policies designed to increase racial diversity at American colleges and universities has relied on surveys of students, and sometimes faculty and administrators, which are designed to measure educational environments and intergroup relations. This article evaluates the role of survey research in supporting the diversity model—the argument that increased racial diversity in college enrollment both enriches the educational experience for students of all racial and ethnic backgrounds and also improves relations between students of different races. We found that much of the supporting data suffers from methodological defects, which range from poor item formulation to interpretive problems linked to selective recall and social desirability response set. We utilized a more indirect approach that asked members of the university community non‐controversial questions about their perceptions and experiences, and then correlated their responses with an independent empirical measure of diversity. Data were obtained from a 1999–2000 survey of a structured random sample of over 4,000 US students, faculty, and administrators, and from the National Center for Education Statistics. When student, faculty, and administrators; evaluations of the educational and racial atmosphere were correlated with the percentage of minority students enrolled at a college or university, the predicted positive associations of educational benefits and inter‐racial understanding failed to appear. Thus, the findings failed to support the argument that enrollment diversity improves the education and racial milieu at American colleges and universities. Our study also raises questions about survey instruments and designs that affect inferences about respondents' beliefs and behavior.

A higher-order model of ecological values and its relationship to personality

Questionnaire batteries attempting to quantify ecological attitudes measure first-order factors, each investigator employing his own battery and each battery yielding factors specific to itself. The history of factor-analytic studies of personality demonstrates the severe limitations of this approach and the advantages of higher-order factors. We present a theory encapsulating ecological attitude-sets in two orthogonal higher-order factors: Utilisation (UT) and Preservation (PRE); and relate these to Eysenck's personality factors of Psychoticism (P), Extraversion (E) and Neuroticism (N) and to the associated “fake good” (L) Scale quantifying social desirability response set. Results (corrected for social desirability) are as expected: high P-scorers tend to favour an anthropocentric approach to the environment, high N-scorers a biocentric one. E is unrelated to the ecology factors. The “fake good” (L) component of PRE is strikingly high, while UT is essentially uncontaminated. L permeates responses to varying degrees throughout the questionnaire, demonstrating the necessity of including a measure of social desirability response set in ecological questionnaire batteries. Relationships with Attitude Theory are discussed.

A scale for measuring students' anti-intellectualism.

Two studies were conducted which report the development and testing of the Student Anti-Intellectualism Scale, designed as a measure of anti-intellectual attitudes in students enrolled in higher education. The first study analyzed an initial 25-item scale to assess internal consistency and factorial structure. The second study examining a final version of the scale was conducted to test reliability and factorial structure, in addition to assessing evidence of construct validity. The second study also assessed temporal stability and social desirability response set. The studies indicated the scale had a fundamentally unidimensional structure and considerable internal consistency and also provided support for the validity of the anti-intellectualism constrict. Anti-intellectualism is discussed in the context of personality theory, and suggestions are offered with reference to establishing anti-intellectualism as a trait relative to the five-factor model of personality.

Double Rating as a Method to Encourage Candid Responses to Self‐Report Instruments1

This paper investigates the double‐rating method (DRM) as a way to reduce test takers' social desirability response set. This involves the introduction of a pre‐assessment task, in which respondents indicate how others would probably answer the test or survey questionnaire presented. Two studies conducted in Hong Kong and Canada evaluate the effectiveness of the DRM. Results show that social desirability responses obtained using this method are significantly less frequent than those obtained under a conventional instruction. The pre‐assessment task induces test takers to realize that other people will probably respond truthfully, and report some socially undesirable information. The test takers subsequently conform to this frankness in their own self‐report. The merits and limitations of this method are discussed.

Masking effects of social desirability response set on relations between psychosocial factors and sport injuries: A methodological note

Social desirability has long been viewed as a potential source of error variance in self-report measures. We suggest that social desirability (whether in the form of impression management or self-deception) has the capacity to mask relations between psychosocial variables and sport-related outcome or criterion measures that are not measured by selfreport. To illustrate what can occur, we present data from a longitudinal study in which life stress and psychological coping skills were studied as predictors of behaviorally-defined athletic injuries. When data from the entire sample of 352 athletes were analyzed, virtually no injury variance was accounted for by life stress, psychological coping skills, or their interaction. In contrast, deletion from the sample of athletes with high social desirability response set scores resulted in significant predictive relations involving both life stress and coping skills, as well as a significant moderator effect for coping skills. We propose that social desirability masking effects can significantly increase the likelihood of Type II errors in sports medicine research that involves self-report measures, and that social desirability responding needs to be controlled or minimized.

Eysenck personality inventory: impulsivity/neuroticism and social desirability response set.

The Hindi version of the Eysenck Personality Inventory and the Trait scale of the Hindi version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were administered to 945 female Indian students (M age = 20.4 yr., SD = 1.4) to study the personalities of those scoring low and high on the Lie scale, and the association of Lie scale scores in the intercorrelation between Impulsivity and Neuroticism under no motivation to fake good. The group with low scores on the Lie scale had lower scores on Impulsivity and higher scores on Neuroticism and Trait Anxiety than a group scoring high on the Lie scale. No association of Lie scale scores was observed with scores on Extraversion. Lie scale scores were differentially associated with scores on Impulsivity and Neuroticism. The need to consider the Lie scale in addition to other scales in studies of personality is emphasised.

The Influence of Social Desirability on Learning Process Questionnaires: A Neglected Possibility?

The Biggs' Learning Process Questionnaire and a short version of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale were administered to 83 male and 79 female Hong Kong 12- to 13-year-old secondary school students. Moderate, statistically significant correlations were found between a tendency to respond in a socially desirable way and surface and achieving strategy scales. These correlations differed for males and females. The results suggest that the validity of the learning process questionnaire may be threatened by the social desirability response set. In particular, research focusing on cross-cultural comparisons and gender differences in approaches to learning may need to consider the implications of this possible source of invalidity.