The effects of different response option orders on survey responses have been studied extensively. The typical research design involves examining the differences in response characteristics between conditions with the same item stems and response option orders that differ in valence--either incrementally arranged (e.g., strongly disagree to…

Previous research has found the effects of acquiescence to be generally consistent across item "aggregates" within a single survey (i.e., essential tau-equivalence), but it is unknown whether this phenomenon is consistent at the" individual item" level. This article evaluated the often assumed but inadequately tested…

The NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) is often used in field-based research and clinical studies as it is designed to measure the same personality dimensions as the longer NEO Personality Inventory in a shorter time frame. In this study, the authors examined the reliability and structural validity of the NEO-FFI scores at the item level in a…

A major stumbling block for emotional intelligence (EI) research has been the lack of adequate evidence for discriminant validity. In a sample of 280 dyads, self- and peer-reports of EI and Big Five personality traits were used to confirm an a priori four-factor model for the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS) and a five-factor…

Explored the utility and meaning of the imaginary audience phenomenon in 2 studies involving 207 and 101college students. Results show that the Imaginary Audience Scale (D. Elkind and R. Bowen, 1979) meets conventional standards of validity and reliability, and that imaginary audience behavior is related to social anxiety, the self, and…

The potential importance of suppressor variables in the personality domain was studied in classifying white-collar criminals with a validation sample of 435 prisoners and a cross-validation sample of 214. Results suggest that suppressor variables can increase prediction and may contribute to knowledge and theory development. (SLD)