Social Desirability Bias

Synonyms

SDB

Definition

Originally developed by Alan Edwards, social desirability was seen as a systematic source of test bias that contaminated every test response (Edwards, 1957). It represented the effort of individuals to present them in a positive light. This need to “look good” compromised the validity of test items by minimizing the endorsement of negative qualities and maximizing endorsement of positive qualities. While Edwards developed measures that controlled for social desirability and many test developers have worked to remove its influence from a test (e.g., the k correction in the MMPI-2), more recent research has found that social desirability is not the bias it once was believed to be (Piedmont, McCrae, Riemann, & Angleitner, 2000). Rather, social desirability has been shown to represent substantive aspects of personality; individuals high on this dimension tend to be high on agreeableness and conscientiousness (see the Five Factor Model of Personality). Empirically...