Impression Management and Self-Deceptive Enhancement among Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White Navy Recruits

As part of a larger investigation of response effects on organizational surveys, the present study compared the responses of Hispanic and non-Hispanic U.S. Navy recruits on the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding BIDR. The inventory contains two measures of socially desirable responding impression management, the deliberate tendency to over-report desirable behaviors and under-report undesirable ones and self-deceptive enhancement, the tendency to give overly positive but honest self-reports. Results showed that Hispanic recruits had significantly higher scores than non-Hispanic Whites on impression management however, the two groups did not differ on self-deceptive enhancement. These findings suggest that Hispanics may be more likely than non-Hispanic Whites to present a positive picture of themselves to others, but they do not differ from non-Hispanic Whites on the amount of positive self-deceptive enhancement they engage in. The results were interpreted with reference to the Hispanic cultural value of simpatia.