Social Desirability Bias

Allen L. Edwards of the University of Washington introduced the concept to psychology in 1953, demonstrating that the judged social desirability of a personality trait strongly predicted whether respondents would endorse it. His 1957 book The Social Desirability Variable in Personality Assessment and Research established it as a central concern in psychometrics. Douglas Marlowe and David Crowne later built on Edwards's foundation, publishing the widely used Marlowe–Crowne Social Desirability Scale in 1960.