ABSTRACT
Social desirability is the most often studied response bias in social and behavioral science questionnaires, suggesting that, when participants complete questionnaires, they provide answers that make them “look good” (Paulhus, 1991, p. 17). Social desirability (SD) bias is the tendency of research participants “to respond to test items in such a way as to present themselves in socially acceptable terms in order to gain the approval of others” (King & Bruner, 2000, p. 81). Because of SD bias, participants often over-report socially desirably behaviors and under-report socially undesirable behaviors (Raghubir & Menon, 1996). Besides self-reported behaviors, SD also affects measurement of attitudes and personality traits. Social desirability distorts measurement in susceptible people (Crowne & Marlowe, 1960; Edwards, 1953; Furnham, 1986; Linehan & Nielsen, 1981; Nevid, 1983). It can “attenuate, inflate, or moderate variable relationships” (Fisher & Katz, 2000, p. 105).
