title: Study Protocol on Intentional Distortion in Personality Assessment: Relationship with Test Format, Culture, and Cognitive Ability.
abstract: Self-report personality questionnaires, traditionally offered in a graded-scale format, are widely used in high-stakes contexts such as job selection. However, job applicants may intentionally distort their answers when filling in these questionnaires, undermining the validity of the test results. Forced-choice questionnaires are allegedly more resistant to intentional distortion compared to graded-scale questionnaires, but they generate ipsative data. Ipsativity violates the assumptions of classical test theory, distorting the reliability and construct validity of the scales, and producing interdependencies among the scores. This limitation is overcome in the current study by using the recently developed Thurstonian item response theory model. As online testing in job selection contexts is increasing, the focus will be on the impact of intentional distortion on personality questionnaire data collected online. The present study intends to examine the effect of three different variables on intentional distortion: (a) test format (graded-scale versus forced-choice); (b) culture, as data will be collected in three countries differing in their attitudes toward intentional distortion (the United Kingdom, Serbia, and Turkey); and (c) cognitive ability, as a possible predictor of the ability to choose the more desirable responses. Furthermore, we aim to integrate the findings using a comprehensive model of intentional distortion. In the Anticipated Results section, three main aspects are considered: (a) the limitations of the manipulation, theoretical approach, and analyses employed; (b) practical implications for job selection and for personality assessment in a broader sense; and
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven (University of Leuven) Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Eline
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Van Geert
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Istanbul Bilgi University Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Altan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Orhon
authors.affiliation: ScienceForWork Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Iulia A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Cioca
authors.affiliation: Formerly affiliated with Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Coimbra Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mamede
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Philosophy, University of Novi Sad Novi Sad, Serbia.
authors.forename: Slobodan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Golušin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Barbora
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hubená
authors.affiliation: Chair of Psychometric Models and Applications, Department of Social Psychology and Methodology, Faculty of Psychology, Autonomous University of Madrid Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Morillo
keywords: Thurstonian IRT; cross-cultural comparison; faking; forced-choice; ipsativity; personality assessment; personnel selection