The Social Desirability Variable in Organizational Research: An Alternative Explanation for Reported Findings

BECAUSE QUESTIONNAIRES ARE QUITE PREVALENT IN MANAGEMENT RESEARCH, AWARENESS OF THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL DESIRABILITY IS CRITICAL. DATA ON MEASURES OF CONFLICT BEHAVIOR ARE PRESENTED TO ILLUSTRATE TWO POTENTIAL SPURIOUS EFFECTS - ELEVATION OF MEANS AND MISLEADING CORRELATIONS. THE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT RESEARCHERS SHOULD PAY MORE ATTENTION TO THE SOCIAL DESIRABILITY VARIABLE, ITS POSSIBLE BIASING EFFECTS, AND ITS CANDIDACY AS AN ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATION FOR THEIR FINDINGS. IN PARTICULAR, CORRELATIONS BETWEEN SOCIALLY DESIRABLE VARIABLES AND HIGH RATINGS FOR SOCIALLY DESIRABLE ITEMS SHOULD BE DISCOUNTED. THE DESIRABILITY OF OBTAINING OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER OBJECTIVE MEASURES IS EMPHASIZED. TABLES. REFERENCES.