The social desirability effect in personality assessment of drink driving offenders

Background Driving under the influence of alcohol represents one of the main driving crimes and a risk to road safety and public health. In Portugal, if there are well-founded doubts about the psychological fitness to drive, the competent authority may determine a psychological assessment. The present study analyses the results in the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire - Revised (EPQ-R) in a sample with driving crimes under the influence of alcohol. Methods A sample of 76 male drivers (mean age around 43 years; age range = 26–60) underwent to a psychological assessment in the Mobility and Transports Institute, due to an official record of driving with a blood alcohol level of 1.2 g/l or more. The assessment included the EPQ-R, which examines three dimensions of personality - Psychoticism (P), Extroversion (E) and Neuroticism (N) and a Lie/Social Desirability scale (L). Results Drivers have committed around 3 crimes (range: 1–7) for drink driving in the past 10 years. Mean N (P < 0.001) and P (P < 0.001) scores were significantly lower, and mean L score (P < 0.001) was significantly higher compared to the Portuguese normative data of EPQ-R (783 men, ages between 16 and 60 years). Mean E score (P = 0.16) was not statistically different from the normative E score. Conclusions The social desirability (proneness for lying or faking good) had a significant influence on EPQ-R results, favouring dimensions that assess psychopathological functioning (N, P). Although this questionnaire is an objective method to assess personality in different normative contexts, its suitability has proved to be limited in drink driving offenders.

PERCEIVING OWN AND OTHERS BEHAVIOUR: AN EXPLORATION IN SOCIAL PERCEPTION

The paper reports the findings of a study conducted to find differences in self-perception with perception of others in order to identify a culturally sensitive method to explore social reality. The instruments measured how respondents rate themselves or others on several negative and positive descriptions of thoughts and behaviours. A sample of 100 respondents from diverse background in India rated predominantly positive and negative description of beliefs, values and preferences twice -- first for the people residing around them and then for themselves. They also rated themselves on a scale of social desirability. The findings confirmed that they attributed negative cognitions (beliefs, values and preferences) to the others more than themselves but attributed predominantly positive beliefs, values and preferences to themselves. The social desirability orientation was significantly related to respondents’ self but not to others’ perception. The findings thus suggested the use of informants rather than respondents in social research especially on sensitive issues such as ethical and moral behaviour.Keywords: Social Research; Social Desirability Effect; Response Bias; Informants Method.

MEDINDO ASSUNTOS SOCIALMENTE SENSÍVEIS: O USO DO EXPERIMENTO DE LISTA E POLÍTICAS DE AÇÃO AFIRMATIVA

ResumoA opinião pública sobre as ações afirmativas não é consensual, especialmente entre os brancos. Em um desenho experimental de pesquisa, as cotas raciais são estudadas na Universidade de Brasília (UnB) e na Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG). A técnica utilizada é conhecida como experimento de lista, a qual consiste essencialmente de um experimento embutido em um survey convencional. O delineamento experimental garante a privacidade necessária para os respondentes se sentirem livres para darem respostas honestas, evitando o efeito chamado de desejabilidade social. Os resultados mostram que a teoria do autointeresse não tem efeitos sobre as atitudes raciais, e o efeito de desejabilidade social é muito forte entre os estudantes brancos. Palavras-chave: Experimentos; Experimento de lista; Opinião Pública; Metodologia de Pesquisa. ResumenLa opinión pública sobre las acciones afirmativas no es consensual, especialmente entre los blancos. Aquí, en un diseño experimental, las cuotas raciales son estudiadas en la Universidad de Brasilia (UnB) y en la Universidad Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG). La técnica empleada es conocida como experimento de lista que es esencialmente un experimento dentro de un estudio convencional. El diseño experimental garantiza la privacidad de los encuestados que se sienten libres para dar respuestas honestas, evitando el efecto de deseabilidad social. Los resultados muestran que la teoría de la auto-interés no tiene efectos sobre las actitudes raciales, y el efecto de deseabilidad social es muy fuerte entre los estudiantes blancos. Palabras clave: Experimentos; Experimento de lista; Opinión Pública; Metodología de la Investigación. AbstractPublic opinion on affirmative actions is not consensual, especially among whites. Here in an experimental design the racial quotas are studied at the University of Brasilia (UnB) and University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). The technique employed is known as the list-experiment, which consists essentially of an experiment embedded in a conventional survey. The experimental design ensures privacy for respondents to feel free to give honest answers, avoiding the social desirability effect. The results show that the self-interest theory has no effects on the racial attitudes, and the social desirability effect is very strong among the white students.Keywords: Experiments; List-experiment; Public Opinion; Research Methodology.

Pro-Environmental Purchasing Behaviour during the economic crisis

Purpose – Examination of Pro-Environmental Purchasing Behaviour (PPB) and its potential components. Investigation of the number and the size of relevant consumer segments. Determining the factors able to describe the segment of frequent pro-environmental purchasers. This paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Investigation of PPB as a total multi-item variable. Disclosure of the PPB components. Examination of the Purchase component and disclosure of its clusters. Focus on the cluster of frequent purchasers. Estimation of the demographic, attitudinal and psychographic variables able to describe and predict these consumers. Findings – Two components of PPB were found, namely Conservation (high consumer engagement in this) and Purchase (low consumer engagement in this). Inside the Purchase component of PPB three clusters were found, indicating, respectively, low, average and relatively high consumers’ involvement. Consumers in Cluster 3 (frequent pro-environmental purchasers) are fewer than in the past. They were found to be negatively influenced by environmental unconcern attitudes and Materialism, while they were positively affected by locus of control over politics and Universalism. Research limitations/implications – No demographic profile of frequent purchasers. Geographical area limited (a potential) generalisation of results. Social desirability effect. Future research with reference to evolutions in pro-environmental post-purchasing or non-purchasing behaviours during the years of economic crisis. Practical implications – Fewer consumers would buy ecological products if these were not comparable enough with the conventional products in terms of price and efficacy. Originality/value – First effort to explore the impact of the economic crisis on PPB in Greece. Encompassed new categories of ecological products. Revealed two components inside PPB (Purchase and Conservation) as well as number and size of consumer segments inside the Purchase component. Formulation of a partial profile of the frequent pro-environmental purchasers. Impact of Universalism on PPB was for the first time examined.

MEASURING SELF-STABILITY: A METHODOLOGICAL NOTE

This paper brings together three major measures of the concept of self-stability, namely, the discrepancy measure, the syndromatic measure, and the longitudinal measure, and assesses their relative strengths as well as weaknesses. It is found that the discrepancy measure is incompatible with the conceptual definition of self-stability. For the remaining two, the syndromatic measure is very likely to be contaminated by social desirability effect, whereas the longitudinal measure fails to take into consideration the fluctuation during the interim between test occasions. It is suggested that the longitudinal measure may be used to check the degree of social desirability effect of the syndromatic measure.