Abstract

DOMINGUEZ ESPINOSA, Alejandra del Carmen et al. Social Desirability Reconsidered: More than Distortion, the Need for Social Approval. Acta de investigación psicol [online]. 2012, vol.2, n.3, pp.808-824. ISSN 2007-4719.

Social desirability has been conceptualized through many years as a tendency to present oneself in a very fashionable picture. The aim of the present study is to demonstrate that social desirability is a substantive measure of a personality trait that reflects a need for social approval (NSA), rather than an individual response bias. A total sample of 1,235 participants of general population from the Federal District, Michoacan and Coahuila States was recruited, 56% were women, with a mean age of 28 years. Twelve scales were chosen from the extensive scientific literature of social desirability to prove convergence and divergence association to the current topic of need for social approval. Over-claiming, honesty, self-esteem, an self- monitoring scales were associated with the two dimension of Positive and Negative- NSA. The nomological network was identified between the variables of interest and the criterion variables. Both, positive and negative dimension of NSA clearly differentiate from Over-claiming and self-monitoring. Finally, agreeableness, emotional regulation, religious orientation and self-control are good predictors of both types of NSA.

Keywords : Social desirability; Need for Social Approval; Over-claiming; Honesty; Self-Monitoring.