Development of a self-presentation tactics scale

Previous personality measures examining individuals' propensity to engage i n self-presentation (e.g. self-monitoring, social desirability) often dealt only with positive forms of self-presentation and have not measured indivi duals' proclivity to use specific self-presentation tactics. In order to ov ercome these problems, 4 studies were carried out to (a) develop a self-pre sentation tactics scale (SPT) measuring individual differences in proclivit y for using 12 self-presentation tactics, (b) examine the dimensions of sel f-presentation and (c) to examine gender differences in self-presentation b ehavior. The results of the 4 studies indicate that the SPT is internally c onsistent, consistent across time and that the SPT shows adequate discrimin ant validity. Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrate that self-presentati on consists of two distinct components: defensive and assertive tactics, an d that these two general types of tactics are significantly correlated. Add itionally, males are more likely than females to use assertive self-present ation tactics. The potential utility of the self-presentation tactics scale for future research on self-presentational behavior is discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.