SELF-KNOWLEDGE AND SOCIAL DESIRABILITY OF PERSONALITY-TRAITS

Research into the self-concept has shown that self-knowledge is affect ed by factors such as trait desirability, trait vagueness, and self-va riability. Among these, social desirability appears to play a prominen t role. In a multidimensional view of the self, however, several studi es indicate that in special conditions people show adequate self-knowl edge in a specific personality dimensions. The present study tests thi s with respect to extraversion and anxiety predisposition on a sample of 160 late adolescents. The main results confirm the prominent influe nce of social desirability, but they also provide support for the hypo thesis of the specificity of self-perception. Despite a common pattern , the effects of desirability appeared, to some extent, to be less str ong for anxiety than for extraversion. Several possible interpretation s of this finding are discussed. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.