Faking in Personality Assessments

Abstract

This critical synthesis of previous chapters defines faking as a set of behaviours motivated by a desire to present a deceptive impression. It is suggested that approximately one in four test-takers substantially distort their scores under high-stakes conditions, and that these “faked” scores are inaccurate measures of an individual’s personality. Theory and research from previous chapters are distilled into eight recommendations: (a) social desirability scales should not be used to detect or correct faking, (b) scores identified as “faked” should not be excluded but rather lead to re-testing or a cautious interpretation, (c) practitioners should focus on preventing rather than identifying faking, (d) personality assessment should “screen out” rather than “screen in”, (e) neutralizing item desirability should be part of test development, (f) models of test-taking motivation should be developed, (g) process models of faking should be developed, and (h) lab studies should be replicated in the field.

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