Why Forced-Choice and Likert Items Provide the Same Information on Personality, Including Social Desirability

Abstract

The forced-choice response format is often considered superior to the standard Likert-type format for controlling social desirability in personality inventories. We performed simulations and found that the trait information based on the two formats converges when the number of items is high and forced-choice items are mixed with regard to positively and negatively keyed items. Given that forced-choice items extract the same personality information as Likert-type items do, including socially desirable responding, other means are needed to counteract social desirability. We propose using evaluatively neutralized items in personality measurement, as they can counteract social desirability regardless of response format.