A Meta-Analysis of the Faking Resistance of Forced-Choice Personality Inventories

Front Psychol. 2021 Sep 29:12:732241. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.732241. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

This study presents a comprehensive meta-analysis on the faking resistance of forced-choice (FC) inventories. The results showed that (1) FC inventories show resistance to faking behavior; (2) the magnitude of faking is higher in experimental contexts than in real-life selection processes, suggesting that the effects of faking may be, in part, a laboratory phenomenon; and (3) quasi-ipsative FC inventories are more resistant to faking than the other FC formats. Smaller effect sizes were found for conscientiousness when the quasi-ipsative format was used (δ = 0.49 vs. δ = 1.27 for ipsative formats). Also, the effect sizes were smaller for the applicant samples than for the experimental samples. Finally, the contributions and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Keywords: Big Five; faking; forced-choice inventories; hiring decisions; meta-analysis; personnel selection.

Publication types

  • Systematic Review