Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
9-2010
Abstract
Reference-group effects (discovered in cross-cultural settings) occur when responses to self-report items are based not on respondents’ absolute level of a construct but rather on their level relative to a salient comparison group. In this article, we examine the impact of reference-group effects on the assessment of self-reported personality and attitudes. Two studies illustrate that a reference-group effect can be induced by small changes to instruction sets, changes that mirror the instruction sets of commonly used measures of personality. Scales that specified different reference groups showed substantial reductions in criterion-related validities for academic performance, self-reported counterproductive behaviors, and self-reported health outcomes relative to reference-group-free versions of those scales.
Keywords
Personality, attitudes, measurement, human behavior
Discipline
Organizational Behavior and Theory
Research Areas
Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources
Publication
Journal of Personality Assessment
Volume
92
Issue
5
First Page
390
Last Page
399
ISSN
0022-3891
Identifier
10.1080/00223891.2010.497393
Publisher
Taylor and Francis
Citation
Crede, Marcus; BASHSHUR, Michael Ramsay; and Niehorster, Sarah.
Reference group effects in the measurement of personality and attitudes. (2010). Journal of Personality Assessment. 92, (5), 390-399.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/3136
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2010.497393