Understanding Faking Behavior Through the Lens of Motivation: An Application of VIE Theory

Abstract

This article proposes a conceptual framework to explain faking behavior on self-report personality inventories. Unlike prior conceptualizations, this framework is simultaneously parsimonious yet inclusive. The theory posits that all determinants of faking behavior occur through valence, instrumentality, expectancy, or ability to fake. We review the faking literature to show how the multitude of factors found to influence faking can be concisely modeled within our framework. We intend for this theory to serve as a guide for future research on faking behavior, and we encourage researchers to explore and adopt the framework in the interest of enabling a more theoretically satisfying approach to the study of faking.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank the special issue guest editors, Richard L. Griffith and Mitchell H. Peterson, for spearheading this important initiative and providing excellent feedback and comments.

Notes

¹This antecedent was previously linked to instrumentality in our own prior work (Ellingson, 2011). We thank the editors for the insightful observation that integrity and other moral codes of behavior may instead operate via valence.

²This antecedent was previously linked to valence in our own prior work (Ellingson, 2011). We again thank the editors for the insightful observation that marketability may instead function via instrumentality.