Detection of Conscious Deception Using the Child Abuse Potential Inventory Lie Scale

Abstract

Two studies were conducted to provide data on the construct validity of the Child Abuse Potential Inventory lie scale. In Study One, 187 male and female undergraduate students were administered either the Child Abuse Potential Inventory, the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, or the Unlikely Virtues Scale. Three instructional sets were provided: respond honestly, distort responses in a positive manner, and distort responses in a negative manner. Each scale successfully discriminated between subjects in the honest and faking good conditions. Only the Marlowe-Crowne scale discriminated subjects in the faking bad condition through their low scores. No gender differences were observed as a function of instructional set or test employed. In Study Two, 31 male and female parents were given the CAP-Inventory under the same instructional sets provided in Study One. The findings for the parent group, the population the CAP-Inventory was designed to be employed with, replicated the results found in Study One.