Positive impression management and its influence on the Revised NEO Personality Inventory: a comparison of analog and differential prevalence group designs

Psychol Assess. 2003 Sep;15(3):333-9. doi: 10.1037/1040-3590.15.3.333.

Abstract

Participants (n = 22) completed the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R) as part of an authentic job application. Protocols produced by this group were compared with "analog" participants (n = 23) who completed the NEO PI-R under standard instructions and again under instructions designed to mimic the test-taking scenario of the job applicants (the "fake-good" condition). Participants completing the NEO PI-R under fake-good instructions and the job applicants scored lower on the Neuroticism and higher on the Extraversion scales than did the participants responding under standard instructions. Analog participants in the fake-good condition scored higher on the Extraversion and lower on the Agreeableness scales than did the job applicants. These results suggest that outcomes from analog designs are generalizable to real-world samples where response dissimulation is probable.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Bias
  • Deception*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Personality Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Personality Inventory / standards*
  • Prevalence
  • Social Desirability