Social Desirability and Honesty
Running Head: Social Desirability and Honesty
Can Social Desirability Tests Predict Cheating?
Robert Morris University
Casey Abbott
Dr. Tina Kooser
Writing Assignment #1
March 2, 2011
Abstract
Social desirability is a relatively new concept to the world of psychology. Over the years this idea has gained increasing support and has been established as a credible framework for psychological research. Over the past few decades, a great deal of research has been compiled on this idea and its relation to honesty and integrity. These studies use surveys to draw conclusions about possible psychological and inherent characteristics associated with cheating in school. However, this study will use a real life scenario coupled with the Crowne-Marlowe Social desirability test (a world leading reliable test in the matter) to determine if a correlation between the two exists.
Can Social Desirability Tests Predict Cheating? Social desirability is a relatively new concept to the world of psychology. Over the years this idea has gained increasing support and has been established as a credible framework for psychological research. In 1960, Crowne and Marlowe succeeded in identifying and investigating behaviors that individuals exhibit toward others in an attempt to make a good impression. They established that these behaviors are an attempt to positively portray oneself using exaggeration and denial; “They attempted to extract these behaviors from extant personality inventories” (Moss, 2008). Crowne and Marlowe introduced a scale to determine the extent to which people alter their image to more closely fit social norms or enhance others perception of them. In this study, the Crowne-Marlowe Social Desirability Test will be used to predict the likelihood that a student will cheat on an exam. A controlled experiment will be conducted using two groups of students, both high school and college undergraduate. The goal of the experiment is to identify students who
Can Social Desirability Tests Predict Cheating?
Robert Morris University
Casey Abbott
Dr. Tina Kooser
Writing Assignment #1
March 2, 2011
Abstract
Social desirability is a relatively new concept to the world of psychology. Over the years this idea has gained increasing support and has been established as a credible framework for psychological research. Over the past few decades, a great deal of research has been compiled on this idea and its relation to honesty and integrity. These studies use surveys to draw conclusions about possible psychological and inherent characteristics associated with cheating in school. However, this study will use a real life scenario coupled with the Crowne-Marlowe Social desirability test (a world leading reliable test in the matter) to determine if a correlation between the two exists.
Can Social Desirability Tests Predict Cheating? Social desirability is a relatively new concept to the world of psychology. Over the years this idea has gained increasing support and has been established as a credible framework for psychological research. In 1960, Crowne and Marlowe succeeded in identifying and investigating behaviors that individuals exhibit toward others in an attempt to make a good impression. They established that these behaviors are an attempt to positively portray oneself using exaggeration and denial; “They attempted to extract these behaviors from extant personality inventories” (Moss, 2008). Crowne and Marlowe introduced a scale to determine the extent to which people alter their image to more closely fit social norms or enhance others perception of them. In this study, the Crowne-Marlowe Social Desirability Test will be used to predict the likelihood that a student will cheat on an exam. A controlled experiment will be conducted using two groups of students, both high school and college undergraduate. The goal of the experiment is to identify students who
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