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Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

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Racial differences in socially desirable responding in selection contexts: magnitude and consequences.

Nicole M Dudley¹, Lynn A McFarland, Scott A Goodman

¹Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA. jdudley@gmu.edu

Journal of Personality Assessment

|August 9, 2005

Summary

Racial differences exist on social desirability (SD) scales, with minorities scoring higher. This can unfairly impact minority selection in hiring and personality assessments, highlighting the need for careful SD scale use.

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Area of Science:

Psychology
Industrial-Organizational Psychology

Background:

Social desirability responding (SDR) can influence personality assessments.
Racial disparities in SDR may affect test outcomes and interpretations.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate racial differences in social desirability (SD) scale scores.
To examine the consequences of these differences on personality test validity and applicant selection.

Main Methods:

Two studies were conducted with job applicants (N=1,063) and incumbents (N=534).
Participants completed personality measures and an SD scale.

Main Results:

Whites consistently scored lower on SD scales than Black, Hispanic, and Asian participants.
Observed racial differences in SDR did not extend to personality measures.
Applying SD corrections did not alter personality test validity across racial groups.

Conclusions:

Racial differences in SDR can lead to unintended negative consequences in personnel selection and test score adjustments.
Researchers and practitioners must critically evaluate the use of SD scales due to potential disparate impacts.
Further examination of the construct validity of SD measures across diverse populations is warranted.