Socially Desirable Responding in Organizational Behavior: A Reconception

Socially desirable responding (SDR) refers to presenting oneself favorably regarding current social norms and standards. While SDR has concerned organizational researchers as a contaminant in self-assessment, it is argued here that such a presumption is inappropriate and that SDR may represent content variance in some settings. Further, a two-component model of SDR as self-deception and impression management is presented. One or both components of SDR may be related conceptually to the variable of interest such that indiscriminate control of SDR removes the predictive power of a measure. Implications of this reconception are considered for measuring and controlling SDR in organizational research. The distinction between self-deception and impression management is used to clarify a number of theoretical issues.