Social desirability in measures of subjective well-being: a systematic evaluation.
The present investigation addressed the problem of a social desirability response bias in measures of psychological well-being. Data on 150 people, between the ages of 50 and 82, yielded high correlations between three measures of well-being (the MUNSH, the LSI-Z, and the PGC) and the Edwards Social Desirability Scale, but only moderate ones between well-being scales and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Part correlations between well-being measures and an external criterion of happiness, controlling for social desirability, failed to improve on the zero-order criterion/well-being relationship. Controlling for social desirability, therefore, does not enhance the construct validity of well-being scales. These and related results suggest that the high zero-order correlations between measures of well-being and the Edwards scale are more readily attributed to content similarity between the Edwards scale and measures of well-being than to a social desirability response bias in well-being measures.
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards; D011581:Psychological Tests / Q000592:standards*; D012928:Social Desirability