Historical Overview of Conceptualizations of Socially Desirable Responding in Personality Questionnaires

摘要

Given the fact that people can distort their responses in personality questionnaires, and research shows that they usually do, socially desirable responding represents an important practical research issue that has been present for decades. Researchers generally agree that socially desirable responding can be described as a tendency of giving overly positive descriptions of one's own traits which are adjusted with social norms and standards. However, there is the debate, which has been going on since the mid-20th century, on whether it is a measurement error which contaminates the validity of personality questionnaires or the individual differences in personality. In order to understand the results of previous researches, it is necessary to know the approach within which researchers created a particular conceptualization and particular instruments for measuring socially desirable responding. However, the literature lacks a systematic review which includes a comprehensive overview of all the conceptualizations. Hence, this review aims to examine gradual changes in the definition and methodology of research on socially desirable responding, which played a key role in forming contemporary models of socially desirable responding. The review ends with a conclusion of the overview of previous research, guidelines for future research and practical implications.