Items neutralization of satisfaction with life scale as a tool for controlling social desirability

• Grant number: 18/08874-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: April 01, 2018
• End date: August 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Fundamentals and Assessments in Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Ricardo Primi
• Grantee: João Paulo Araújo Lessa
• Host Institution: Universidade São Francisco (USF). Campus Campinas. Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The understanding of life satisfaction has expanded, since many countries monitor it as a good socioeconomic indicator, using it as an intervention in public policies. However, SWLS items appear to be susceptible to response styles, such as acquiescence and social desirability. Such response styles interfere in the psychometric properties of the scale, affecting directly its evidences of validity, reliability estimates, as well as standardization characteristics. Thus, the objectives of this study are to demonstrate the degree of social desirability present in the ESV and to reduce the impact caused by acquiescence and social desirability. The first study will investigate the social desirability present in the Life Satisfaction Scale items and neutralize them. The second will seek evidence of validity of the Life Satisfaction Scale after the neutralization of its items, through correlation with a scale of evaluation of social desirability and through an exploratory factorial analysis, in a model that allows adjusting the structure for acquiescence. In total, 250 participants will compose the research, 50 for the first study and 200 for the second. It is expected, with neutralization of ESV, to reduce the predicted variance by social desirability in the neutralized ESV format, as well as to estimate appropriate scores for correction by acquiescence. (AU)