A school counsellor gives Kabir, a Class XII student, a self-report questionnaire that measures his locus of control. For each statement he must tick either 'Agree' or 'Disagree'. While scoring, the counsellor finds that Kabir has ticked 'Agree' for almost every statement. He agreed with 'My success depends mostly on my own effort' and also with 'My success depends mostly on luck'. When asked, Kabir says he ticked quickly and did not read most of the statements closely.
Which problem of self-report measures does Kabir's way of responding show?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Acquiescence
Option (1) Social desirability — Incorrect. Social desirability is the tendency to endorse items in a <strong>socially desirable manner</strong>, to look good. Kabir agreed even with two opposite statements, so he was not picking answers to build a good image.
Option (2) Halo effect — Incorrect. The halo effect is an error in rating scales: a rater judges a person on the basis of one good or bad quality. Kabir is answering about himself.
Option (3) Acquiescence — Correct. Acquiescence is the tendency to <strong>agree with items irrespective of their contents</strong>, often by saying 'yes'. Kabir agreed with statements that contradict each other without reading them, which makes the result less reliable.
Option (4) Extreme response bias — Incorrect. Extreme response bias is also a rating-scale error, in which a rater keeps to the extreme ends of the scale. Kabir's form had only two choices, and his fault is agreeing with almost everything.
NCERT (2026-27): “Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire … |