Detection of Faking Responses in the Big Five Personality Inventory

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Corresponding Author, Department of psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Ira

Abstract
Objective: The aim of the present study was to identify faking responses in the Big Five personality inventory. In this study, data were collected by administering the NEO-FF short form personality inventory to students of Allameh Tabataba'i University.
Methods: 748 participants in two instructed (n = 366) and honest (n = 382) groups completed the research questionnaire. In this study, the participants were randomly assigned to two groups: those who responded honestly and those with instructed responses.
Results: The findings, by examining the differences in class means, the composition of the main groups, the selection threshold graphs, and the probability of confirming the answer choices by class, identified most dimensions of the two classes of samples as simulated and honest groups.
Conclusion: Finally, it can be said that over the past 10 years, research on identifying faking responses has attracted considerable attention in assessments areas; however, there seems to be a relative lack of empirical studies in evaluating faking responses, apart from limited applications in simulation studies, that can accurately explain how to identify, describe and correct individual inconsistencies. Additionally, despite a few initial reports in this area, patterns of individual inconsistency are rarely reported in official reports for large-scale educational screenings such as national employment tests and psychological assessments. Therefore, statistical methods such as item response theory and factor analysis can be used to identify faking responses in employment or psychological assessment with specific goals.
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