Acquiescent Responding in Self-Reports: Cognitive Style or Social Concern? ☆ ☆☆ ★

Abstract This study tested for the generality and personality correlates of acquiescent responding. Sixty-five undergraduate respondents answered the Jackson Personality Inventory (JPI) and Paulhus' (1991) Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding. The 15 scales of the JPI each yielded independent acquiescence scores and trait scores. The 15 acquiescent scores were positively intercorrelated and showed one general factor in a factor analysis. Factor scores on this acquiescence factor were related to cognitive simplicity, rigid mental organization, and intolerance of alternatives, but not to socially desirable responding or other social concerns. These results imply that acquiescence is more of a cognitive style than a social response.

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