Value priorities, impression management and self-deceptive enhancement: Once again, much substance and a little bit of style

The connection between self-reported personal values and socially desirable responding in social psychology has been backed up by little empirical evidence. This study expands upon the pioneering work carried out by Schwartz and colleagues by analyzing the relationship between values and social desirability through the use of different self-report measures of values and by considering the multidimensional nature of social desirability. The study involved 224 Italian respondents (63.4% female, mean age = 22.39, SD = 2.47) who completed a questionnaire. Results confirmed Schwartz et al.’s previous findings supporting the substantive hypothesis. Specifically, impression management was more related to values highlighting the importance of social harmony (i.e., conservation and self-transcendence) rather than to those characterized by a personal focus (i.e., openness to change and self-enhancement). However, a different pattern of connection was found for self-deceptive enhancement. This study addresses how to deal with social desirability in research into personal values.