The Effects of Coaching and Speeding on Big Five and Impression Management Scale Scores

Abstract

We examined the effects of coaching and speeding on personality scale scores in a faking context (N = 192). A completely crossed 2 × 2 experimental design was used in which instructions (no coaching or coaching) and speeding (with or without a time limit) were manipulated. No statistically significant effects on scale scores were evidenced for speeding. Coaching participants significantly elevated scores (average d = .76) for each of the Big Five personality factors but did not significantly elevate the scores on the Impression Management scale (d = .06). Cognitive ability was significantly positively related to impression management for uncoached participants but not for coached participants. An exploratory simulation suggests that coaching would have an effect on who would be selected for a job.

Notes

¹Race was coded as either “majority member (e.g., Caucasian)” or “visible minority (e.g., Black)”.

^aThe Wonderlic Personnel Test manual (Wonderlic, 1992) reports test–retest coefficients of .82 to .94.

²The coaching effect sizes in d score form were (a) Extraversion (d = .97), (b) Agreeableness (d = .75), (c) Conscientiousness (d =.48), (d) Neuroticism (d = .67), (e)Opennessto Experience (d = .91), and(f) ImpressionManagement(d = .06).

³The general cognitive ability variable was centered for purposes of the regression equation but left in its original metric for plotting purposes for ease of interpretation.

^† p < .10.

*p < .05.

**p < .01.

**p < .01.

⁴We conducted exploratory analyses based on a reviewer suggestion in which we examined the main effects and interacts of General Cognitive Ability, Coaching, and Speeding on all Big Five personality factors. None of the interactions were statistically significant.