2024 Volume 66 Issue 2 Pages 149-161
Faking behavior has been examined by various methods and procedures, but without consistent conclusions. This study explores the measurement of faking based on traditional social desirability scales. Under both instructed faking-good and honest contexts, the response distortion was assessed by measures of the Big Five personality traits and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Classification tests and diagnostic analyses were conducted. The majority of suspected fakers flagged by the detection scale had little dependence with those identified by the amount of faking. The diagnostic accuracy and regression model estimates did not support the use of social desirability scales for detecting faking. These findings indicate that social desirability scales are not capable of precisely capturing faking-related changes, although they indicate, to a certain extent, the level of faking. Interpreting these scales as indicators of faking should be approached with caution. Using multiple social desirability scales along with modern model-based methods is recommended.
