Effects of Perceived Selection Ratio on personality test faking

Researchers have not investigated the degree to which perceived selection ratio may affect faking on personality inventories. In this study, 2 personality inventories that differed in item subtlety were administered to 150 undergraduate students. Half of the students were administered a personality inventory with more obvious items (n = 75) and half of the students were administered a personality inventory with more subtle items (n = 75). For each personality inventory, 25 students were randomly assigned to each of the following experimental conditions which included financial incentives to mirror the real-world motivational processes underlying desire for the job: (1) low perceived selection ratio; (2) moderate perceived selection ratio; and (3) high perceived selection ratio. Results showed no statistically significant mean differences between personality scale scores across levels of perceived selection ratios for each personality inventory.