A private bank in Lucknow asks job applicants to fill in a printed form of 150 statements. The form states that it is meant to know the applicant's personality. The HR psychologist later finds a pattern. For 'I never lose my temper', most applicants ticked 'Yes'. For 'I often feel jealous of others', most ticked 'No'. On almost every item that could show anger, envy or carelessness, the answers were marked in the way that would please the bank, even where such answers are rarely true of anyone.
Which tendency do the applicants show, and which feature of the method gives rise to it?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Social desirability, because in a direct technique the person knows her/his personality is being assessed
Option (1) Social desirability, because in a direct technique the person knows her/his personality is being assessed — Correct. Social desirability is the tendency to endorse items in a way that looks good. It arises in direct techniques, where the person knows her/his personality is being assessed, becomes self-conscious and hides private feelings. The applicants deny anger and envy to please the bank.
Option (2) Acquiescence, because in a direct technique the person knows her/his personality is being assessed — Incorrect. Acquiescence is the tendency to agree with items whatever their content, often by saying 'yes'. The applicants ticked 'No' on the jealousy item, so they were not just agreeing; their answers follow what looks good.
Option (3) Social desirability, because an unstructured stimulus lets the person project her/his hidden needs — Incorrect. The tendency is right but the cause is wrong. An unstructured stimulus is the basis of projective techniques, used to reach unconscious motives. A printed form of 150 statements is a structured self-report measure.
Option (4) Acquiescence, because an unstructured stimulus lets the person project her/his hidden needs — Incorrect. Both parts fail. The 'No' answers rule out a habit of agreeing, and projection on to an unstructured stimulus belongs to projective techniques.
NCERT (2026-27): “Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire … “The techniques of personality assessment described so far are known as direct techniques, because they tend to rely on information directly obtained from the person who clearly knows that her/his personality is being assessed. In these situations, people generally become self-conscious and hesitate to share their private feelings, thoughts, and motivations. When they do so, they often do it in a socially desirable manner.” |