The DOI matches its Crossref record, with a small difference in title or year; 222 of the 222 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Rethinking Social Desirability Scales: From Impression Management to Interpersonally Oriented Self-Control
Abstract
Social desirability (specifically, impression management) scales are widely used by researchers and practitioners to screen individuals who bias self-reports in a self-favoring manner. These scales also serve to identify individuals at risk for psychological and health problems. The present review explores the evidence with regard to the ability of these scales to achieve these objectives. In the first part of the review, I present six criteria to evaluate impression management scales and conclude that they are unsatisfactory as measures of response style. Next, I explore what individual differences in impression management scores actually do measure. I compare two approaches: a defensiveness approach, which argues that these scales measure defensiveness that stems from vulnerable self-esteem, and an adjustment approach, which suggests that impression management is associated with personal well-being and interpersonal adjustment. Data from a wide variety of fields including social behavior, affect and well-being, health, and job performance tend to favor the adjustment approach. Finally, I argue that scales measuring impression management should be redefined as measures of interpersonally oriented self-control that identify individuals who demonstrate high levels of self-control, especially in social contexts.
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“Moreover, there is overwhelming evidence that impression management scales do not tap defensiveness but a very different construct, which has been recently labeled interpersonally oriented self-control (IOSC).”
From The Adaptive Calibration Model of stress responsivity (2011) · cites this paper as Uziel, 2010
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“However, subsequent research has shown that “repressive” individuals do in fact experience lower levels of negative emotion, and – contrary to predictions – do not incur increased health risks (reviewed in Uziel, 2010).”
From The Adaptive Calibration Model of stress responsivity (2011) · cites this paper as Uziel, 2010
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Metadata
- Authors
- Uziel, L.
- Affiliations
- Bar-Ilan University (IL)
- Corresponding author
- Uziel, Liad
- ORCID
- Uziel, Liad
- Venue
- Perspectives on Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2010-05
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 243-262
- ISSN
- 1745-6916 (ISSN-L)
- 1745-6924
- OpenAlex
- W2113634081
- Cited by
- 348
- References
- 207
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 44 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 22 · 2017: 29 · 2016: 24 · 2015: 33 · 2014: 22 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 17
- FWCI
- 1.83
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Perspectives on Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Psychological Testing and Assessment
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
- Keywords
- social desirability, impression management, self-report bias, response styles, defensiveness, self-esteem, interpersonal adjustment, well-being, self-control, scale evaluation, employee performance
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