Acquiescence and social desirability as item response determinants: An IRT-based study with the Marlowe–Crowne and the EPQ Lie scales

The present study aims to shed some light on an old controversy about the joint impact of acquiescence and social desirability on item responses. There are two main hypotheses: (a) of the two biases, social desirability is by far the prime determinant, and (b) acquiescence operates in all sorts of items, including those impacted by social desirability. A new methodology is harnessed to assess these hypotheses in an empirical study based on two well known social desirability scales: the Marlowe–Crowne social desirability scale and the Lie scale of Eysenck’s questionnaires. In both scales, the results suggest that even items which primarily measure social desirability can also be impacted to some extent by acquiescence.