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Is social desirability associated with self-reported physical activity?
Robert W Motl1, Edward McAuley, Christine DiStefano
1Department of Kinesiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 906 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801-3895, USA. robmotl@uiuc.edu
Preventive Medicine
|April 27, 2005
Summary
Social desirability minimally influences self-reported physical activity in young adults. While some weak correlations exist, social desirability bias appears to have little impact on exercise questionnaire results.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Science
- Psychology
- Sports Science
Background:
- Physical activity is often overreported due to social desirability bias.
- This study investigates the impact of social desirability on physical activity self-reports.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the influence of social desirability on self-report measures of physical activity.
- To assess the correlation between social desirability scales and physical activity questionnaires.
Main Methods:
- 782 college students completed the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (L-scale), Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (SDS), Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire (GLTEQ), and Stanford Usual Activity Questionnaire.
- Statistical analyses were performed to determine correlations between social desirability measures and physical activity measures.
Main Results:
- The Lie scale showed no significant correlation with physical activity measures.
- The Social Desirability Scale had weak, but statistically significant, correlations with physical activity measures.
- Social desirability scales did not influence the correlation between the two physical activity measures.
Conclusions:
- There is minimal evidence that social desirability influences self-reported physical activity in young adults.
- The findings suggest that common self-report measures for physical activity are relatively robust against social desirability bias in this population.