Faking of a scored life history blank as a function of criterion objectivity

Abstract

This study investigated the role of the criterion in determining the transparency of a scoring key. When college students (N = 55) were instructed to fake a life history questionnaire, they were able to do so, but a scoring key empirically derived from a subjective criterion of creativity (ratings) was more transparent than one based upon an objective criterion (patent disclosures). It also appeared that prior exposure to the questionnaire facilitated faking on the former key more than on the latter. Also investigated was the possibility that the difference in transparency was attributable to the subjective key having been biased by a fallacious stereotype. To evaluate this possibility, recruiting interviewers (N = 79) filled out the questionnaire as they thought a creative scientist would. As expected, they selected a greater proportion of the item choices thought to be associated with creativity than of those actually demonstrated to be correlated with creative output. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)