The Development and Initial Validation of the Self-Presentational Defensiveness Scale

Informed by psychoanalytic, humanistic, and cybernetic perspectives on defensive functioning, the present work established the psychometric structure and initial validation of the 10-item Self-Presentational Defensiveness Scale (SPDS). Across four studies (total N = 1,634), we assessed the item-level observability of the initial 20-item SPDS (Study 1), explored the psychometric structure of the initial SPDS in two separate samples (Studies 2 and 3), and established the psychometric properties of the final 10-item SPDS (Study 4), along with preliminary evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. The SPDS demonstrated (a) item content that was rated as more observable compared to other commonly used measures of defensive functioning, (b) a robust substantive self-presentational defensiveness factor, (c) measurement invariance across gender (i.e., male and female) and measurement type (i.e., self and informant ratings), (d) substantial self-other agreement (i.e., r = .42), and (e) appropriate correlations with theoretically related constructs (e.g., neuroticism). These results demonstrate the reliability and initial validity of the SPDS and suggest that self-presentational defensiveness reflects a lack of personal accountability when confronted with negative self-relevant stimuli.