Morality Play or Playing Morality?: Intrinsic Religious Orientation and Socially Desirable Responding

Abstract

The link between intrinsic religious orientation and socially desirable responding suggests that religiously devout individuals are concerned with maintaining a positive self-image in their own eyes (self-deception) and in others' (impression management). Measures of socially desirable responding may, however, penalize intrinsically religious persons for accurate self-reports of conscientiousness. Seventy-four undergraduates completed measures of religious orientation and socially desirable responding, then made either a negative or a positive self-disclosure. Socially desirable responding was again measured. Intrinsic religious orientation was positively correlated with self-deception change in the Negative Disclosure condition. This finding, in combination with corroborative behavioral evidence among high Intrinsic scorers, appeared consistent with a self-protective interpretation, rather than a content bias interpretation, of the intrinsic religious orientation/socially desirable responding relationship.