Socially Desirable Responding in Computerized Questionnaires: When Questionnaire Purpose Matters More Than the Mode 1

The impact of questionnaire purpose (job screening interview vs. consumer survey) and the impact of questionnaire mode (paper‐and‐pencil vs. computer) on multiple measures of socially desirable responding (SDR) were examined. Students ( N = 85) participated in experimental job screening (high SDR de...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of applied social psychology Vol. 32; no. 3; pp. 544 - 559
Main Authors Wilkerson, James M., Nagao, Dennis H., Martin, Christopher L.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published 01.03.2002
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Summary:The impact of questionnaire purpose (job screening interview vs. consumer survey) and the impact of questionnaire mode (paper‐and‐pencil vs. computer) on multiple measures of socially desirable responding (SDR) were examined. Students ( N = 85) participated in experimental job screening (high SDR demand) and consumer survey (low SDR demand) conditions. Dependent measures included the Marlowe‐Crowne Social Desirability Scale and the impression management subscale of the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding, Version 6. Significant questionnaire purpose effects suggest one possible, context‐related explanation for mixed SDR findings between earlier experiments. Mode effects were nonsignificant, adding further evidence of paper‐and‐pencil and computer equivalence with respect to SDR.
ISSN:0021-9029
1559-1816
DOI:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2002.tb00229.x