Intellectual Ability Correlates of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale

Abstract

The hypothesis that the Marlowe-Crowne Scale would be negatively related to a variety of intellectual ability measures was investigated in a sample of college students. As predicted, MC scores were negatively correlated with measures of intelligence (Quick Test), associational ability (Remote Associates Test), and academic achievement (course grades). These results suggest that the vulnerable self-esteem and defensiveness traditionally ascribed to high versus low MC scorers may at least in part, reflect a history of poorer performance in intellectual and academically related activities.