Detecting faking on a personality instrument using appropriateness measurement

Abstract

Research has demonstrated that people can and often do consciously manipulate scores on personality tests. Test constructors have responded by using social desirability and lying scales in order to identify dishonest respondents. Unfortunately, these approaches have had limited success. This study evaluated the use of appropriateness measurement for identifying dishonest respondents. A dataset was analyzed in which respondents were instructed either to answer honestly or to fake good. The item response theory approach classified a higher number of faking respondents at low rates of misclassification of honest respondents (false positives) than did a social desirability scale. At higher false positive rates, the social desirability approach did slightly better. Implications for operational testing and suggestions for further research are provided. Index terms: appropriateness measurement, detecting faking, item response theory, lying scales, person fit, personality measurement.