__________ is a tendency of the subject to agree with the items/questions irrespective of their content.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Acquiescence
Option (1) Social desirability — Incorrect. It is the other main problem of self-report measures: the respondent endorses items in a socially desirable manner, giving the answer that looks good. The answer depends on the content of the item, which is the opposite of agreeing irrespective of content.
Option (2) Agreeableness — Incorrect. It is one of the Big Five personality factors: people high on it are helpful, co-operative, friendly, caring and nurturing. It is a trait a test measures, not a habit of answering ‘yes’ to items.
Option (3) Authoritarianism — Incorrect. It is one of the specific dimensions of personality that some self-report tests try to assess, like locus of control or optimism. It is the thing measured, not a bias in the way items are answered.
Option (4) Acquiescence — Correct. It is the tendency of the subject to agree with items irrespective of their contents, often seen as saying ‘yes’ to items. Like social desirability, it makes the assessment of personality less reliable.
Note: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2023 on 31-05-2023 (Slot 3) and 23-06-2023 (Slot 3), and in CUET (UG) 2025 on 16-05-2025 (Slot 1).
NCERT (2025-26): “Self-report Measures … Apart from the few popular tests which use self-report technique which have been described above, there are several others that try to assess specific dimensions of personality (e.g., authoritarianism, locus of control, optimism, etc.). As you proceed further with your study of psychology, you will come to know more about them. The self-report measures suffer from a number of problems. Social desirability is one of them. It is a tendency on the part of the respondent to endorse items in a socially desirable manner. Acquiescence is another one. It is a tendency of the subject to agree with items/questions irrespective of their contents. It often appears in the form of saying ‘yes’ to items. These tendencies render the assessment of personality less reliable.…” |