De invloed van situatie en conditie op de beantwoording van vragenlijsten

Samenvatting

The effect of two situations was investigated: a research situation where the r's were university students and a selection situation where r's were applicants. Both situations had two conditions: (1) experimental condition in which the questionnaires were presented as experimental instruments in process of construction, and (2) test condition in which the questionnaires were presented as important personality tests. The dependent variables were measured by the prestatie motivatie test (achievement motivation test), a personality inventory of multiple choice type of items, measuring three personality traits: the achievement motive, debilitating anxiety, and facilitating anxiety. A translated and revised form of the Marlowe and Crowne social desirability scale was presented. The data were analyzed according a two squared variance analysis design, with situation and condition as independent variables and the four personality scales as dependent variables in four subsequent analyses. The r's in the selection situation presented themselves as more socially desirable than the r's in the research situation and more achievement motivated. The situations in which the questionnaires were responded to had a stronger effect on the answers than the experimental conditions. The selection situation had a strong effect on the tendency to present oneself as a social desirable, a weaker effect on the achievement motive, and no significant effect on debilitating and facilitating anxiety. A non- linear effect of the selection situation could be demonstrated; r's with a strong tendency to present themselves as a social desirable showed higher achievement motive scores than r's with a weak social desirability tendency. 4 tables. Modified AA