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Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Vol. 18, No. 4, 551-573 (2001)
DOI: 10.1177/0265407501184007

Socially Desirable Responding in Close Relationships: A Dual-Component Approach and Measure

Timothy J. Loving

Purdue University, tjloving{at}psych.purdue.edu

Christopher R. Agnew

Purdue University, agnew{at}psych.purdue.edu

Five studies were conducted to develop and validate a brief measure of socially desirable responding (SDR) for use in close relationships research, the Inventory of Desirable Responding in Relationships (IDRR). Specifically, a two-component measure of SDR was created to assess individuals' tendencies to: (i) deceive themselves, and (ii) deceive others regarding negative aspects of their close relationship. Study 1 employed exploratory factor analyses to isolate items that loaded on two factors, labeled Relationship Self-Deception (REL-SD) and Relationship Impression Management (REL-IM). Study 2 confirmed the factor structure obtained in Study 1 and provided evidence for a two-factor versus one-factor model of relationship SDR. Consistent with the hypotheses, Study 3 demonstrated that REL-IM scores are higher when generated in a public condition relative to an anonymous condition, whereas REL-SD scores remain unaffected by this manipulation. Consistent with the literature on the role of illusions in mental health, Study 4 demonstrated that REL-SD is associated with multiple indices of relationship health. Study 5 validated the scale on a sample of married adults and provided evidence of divergent validity. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.

Key Words: impression management • relationship idealization • response bias • self-deception


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