Self-Report Distortions (Including Faking, Lying, Malingering, Social Desirability)

Introduction

Self-report inventories are among the most commonly used methods of psychological assessment. Their validity depends largely on the cooperation of test-takers, who are generally instructed to read items carefully and provide honest responses. When test-takers provide inaccurate information, the results of the inventory may be invalid. Several types of response distortion, also known as response sets, response biases, or test-taking attitudes, have been recognized, and many multiscale inventories of personality and psychopathology include one or more validity scales designed to detect them. The accuracy of these validity scales in identifying response distortions has been widely studied. This entry reviews types of response distortions and methods for their detection.

Types of Response Distortion

Negative impression management, also described as overreporting of symptoms, malingering, or faking bad, is a ...

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