Desirable Responding

What it measures

A multiple-item scale measuring desirable responding.

Response format

7-point Likert scale

Scale items

• My first impressions of people usually turn out to be right.(r)
• It would be hard for me to break any of my bad habits.
• I don’t care to know what other people really think of me.
• I have not always been honest with myself.(r)
• I always know why I like things.
• When my emotions are aroused, it biases my thinking.(r)
• Once I’ve made up my mind, other people can seldom change my opinion.
• I am not a safe driver when I exceed the speed limit.(r)
• I am fully in control of my own fate.
• It’s hard for me to shut off a disturbing thought.(r)
• I never regret my decisions.
• I sometimes lose out on things because I can’t make up my mind soon enough.(r)
• The reason I vote is because my vote can make a difference.
• My parents were not always fair when they punished me.(r)
• I am a completely rational person.
• I rarely appreciate criticism.(r)
• I am very confident of my judgments.
• I have sometimes doubted my ability as a lover.(r)
• It’s all right with me if some people happen to dislike me.
• I don’t always know the reasons why I do the things I do.(r)
• I sometimes tell lies if I have to.(r)
• I never cover up my mistakes.
• There have been occasions when I have taken advantage of someone.(r)
• I never swear.
• I sometimes try to get even rather than forgive and forget.(r)
• I always obey laws, even if I’m unlikely to get caught.
• I have said something bag about a friend behind his or her back.(r)
• When I hear people talking privately, I avoid listening.
• I have received too much change from a salesperson without telling him or her.(r)
• I always declare everything at customs.
• When I was young I sometimes stole things.(r)
• I have never dropped litter on the street.
• I sometimes drive faster than the speed limit.(r)
• I never read sexy books or magazines.
• I have done things that I don’t tell other people about.(r)
• I never take things that don’t belong to me.
• I have taken sick-leave from work or school even though I wasn’t really sick.(r)
• I have never damaged a library book or store merchandise without reporting it.
• I have some pretty awful habits.(r)
• I don’t gossip about other’s people’s business.
• The first twenty items are intended to measure self- deceptive positivity and the last twenty items measure impression management. The response format used by

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Factor analytic procedures were used to support the scale's structural validity.

Citation

Bearden, William O., David M. Hardesty, and Randall L. Rose (2001), “Consumer Self Confidence: Refinements in Conceptualization and Measurement,” Journal of Consumer Research, 28 (June), 121-134.

Keywords