An exploration of social desirability within the white Afrikaans-speaking group / Tarina Kemp
Year: 2013
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Orientation: South Africa’s society can be seen as highly diversified, with linguistic and cultural differences. This diversity has long been a challenge for psychologists using personality measures. Furthermore, social desirability affects the truthfulness of personality measures, as people may present themselves in a more positive light to gain social approval. Research purpose: The purpose of the study is to explore social desirability within the white Afrikaans group (WAG). Motivation for the study: To gain better understanding of how social desirability is understood in the WAG. The South African Personality Inventory project will incorporate the findings (together with other language and cultural social desirability studies), to develop a unified South African social desirability instrument. Research design, approach and method: A qualitative design from a phenomenological approach was used to collect data from the WAG (N = 60). A combined convenience and quota non-probability sampling method was used to study adult white Afrikaans-speaking people. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and content analysis was utilised to evaluate the data. Main findings: Six main themes were identified, which the white Afrikaans-speaking group perceive as socially desirable and undesirable, and feature they will exhibit in order to make a positive impression on others. The six main themes are facilitating, gender-based, intellectopenness, interpersonal relatedness, intrapersonal relatedness and value-based themes. Practical/Managerial implications: From the accumulated data the assumption that can be made is that people, in reasonable terms, demonstrate a need to make a favourable impression on others. If meeting someone for the first time, the need to leave a favourable impression on the person will be intrinsically driven by one’s need for social acceptance. Contribution/Value add: Broad understanding of how social desirability is perceived by the white Afrikaans-speaking group, as well as what impression management tactics they will exhibit when seeking to make a favourable impression.
Author: Tarina Kemp
Language: English
Field: Decision Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: National Research Foundation
OpenAlex ID: W173296531