Acquiescence in personality questionnaires: Relevance, domain specificity, and stability

Acquiescence, which is defined as agreeing to items regardless of content, is a well-known bias in self-report instruments. This paper investigates the relevance, domain specificity, and the stability of acquiescence in personality questionnaires. Data from two large samples representative for the German (N = 1999) and for the Austrian adult population (N = 3266) were investigated with structural equation models. In both studies respondents answered, besides others, a short Big Five inventory. The three core findings are: (1) acquiescence systematically affects the variance of personality items and biases the association with other variables, (2) acquiescence is consistent across different question types, and (3) acquiescence in personality items is moderately stable over time. Implications for research and the application of personality questionnaires are discussed.