A Reliability Generalization Study of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale

Abstract

A reliability generalization (RG) study was conducted for the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MCSDS). The MCSDS is the most commonly used tool designed to assess social desirability bias (SDB). Several short forms, consisting of items from the original 33-item version, are in use by researchers investigating the potential for SDB in responses to other scales. These forms have been used to measure a wide array of populations. Using a mixed-effects model analysis, the predicted score reliability for male adolescents was.53 and the reliability for men’sresponseswaslower than that for women’s. Suggestions are made concerning the necessity for further psychometric evaluations of the MCSDS.