Are country level prevalences of rule violations associated with knowledge overclaiming among students?

A New Approach to Desirable Responding: Multidimensional Item Response Model of Overclaiming Data

A variety of approaches have been presented for assessing desirable responding in self-report measures. Among them, the overclaiming technique asks respondents to rate their familiarity with a large set of real and nonexistent items (foils). The application of signal detection formulas to the endorsement rates of real items and foils yields indices of (a) knowledge accuracy and (b) knowledge bias. This overclaiming technique reflects both cognitive ability and personality. Here, we develop an alternative measurement model based on multidimensional item response theory (MIRT). We report three studies demonstrating this new model's capacity to analyze overclaiming data. First, a simulation study illustrates that MIRT and signal detection theory yield comparable indices of accuracy and bias-although MIRT provides important additional information. Two empirical examples-one based on mathematical terms and one based on Chinese idioms-are then elaborated. Together, they demonstrate the utility of this new approach for group comparisons and item selection. The implications of this research are illustrated and discussed.

Children overclaim more knowledge than adults do, but for different reasons

Overclaiming is the phenomenon whereby people claim more knowledge of a topic than they actually have. In adults, this behavior is related to the extent to which they consider themselves an expert on that topic and may be related to impression management. We investigated the emergence of this phenomenon by developing a child-friendly overclaiming questionnaire (OCQ)-the Child-OCQ. We measured the tendency of children (5-10 years of age old; N = 94) to claim knowledge of items that did not exist for a variety of topics (places, characters, animals, food, and musical instruments). We also examined the relationship between children's overclaiming of knowledge and their self-perceived liking of, and expertise in, the topics. To validate our scale, an adult sample (N = 51) completed both the Child-OCQ and a standardized adult OCQ, the OCQ-150, showing similar overclaiming patterns on both measures. Although overclaiming behaviors decreased throughout childhood, even children as old as 10 years were not adult-like and were more likely to overclaim knowledge than adults. In addition, we did not find strong evidence that children's perceived expertise on a topic influenced their tendency to overclaim knowledge, suggesting that the mechanisms behind the overclaiming phenomenon are different in children and do not reflect impression management until later during adolescence or adulthood.

Self-enhancement and cross-cultural adjustment: overclaiming in a global mobility context

Purpose

This study aimed to test Early and Ang’s (2003) proposition that self-enhancement hinders successful cross-cultural adjustment. The literature on self-enhancement is reviewed, and the overclaiming technique as an unobtrusive measure of self-enhancement is introduced for use in global mobility contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the overclaiming technique, an international-cultural overclaiming test was developed. Expatriates in Singapore stated their familiarity with international-cultural knowledge items, with some of them being foil items, and rated their cross-cultural (general, interaction, work) adjustment. Supervisors rated the expatriates on their work adjustment and performance.

Findings

Overclaiming was not related to self-rated cross-cultural adjustment. However, overclaiming was negatively related to supervisor rated work adjustment and performance. Additionally, the results showed that international-cultural knowledge accuracy was positively related to self-rated general adjustment and to supervisor rated work adjustment and performance.

Research limitations/implications

The small sample size with a majority of expatriate teachers from international schools in the sample makes it necessary for the results to be replicated with larger and more varied expatriate samples.

Practical implications

While further validation is needed, this research indicates that the overclaiming technique could be a valuable tool for assessing self-enhancement in candidates for expatriate positions in order to gauge potential cross-cultural (mal)adjustment, as perceived by others.

Originality/value

This study was (likely) the first study that has applied the overclaiming technique in a global mobility context. An international-cultural knowledge overclaiming test is provided to academic researchers for future use.

Enhancing the Cross-Cultural Comparability of Self-Reports Using the Overclaiming Technique: An Analysis of Accuracy and Exaggeration in 64 Cultures

The overclaiming technique (OCT) is a novel way of measuring how socially desirable responding influences survey responses. It has the potential to enhance the cross-cultural comparability of survey data. It allows the identification of respondents’ knowledge accuracy and exaggeration by comparing their assessments of familiarity with existing and nonexisting concepts in a particular field of knowledge. We aim to compare the response patterns of countries and world regions based on their OCT accuracy and exaggeration-index values and validate these OCT scores using external variables. We also introduce a general model for the categorization of respondents based on their OCT indices values. We use the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012 data from 64 countries ( N = 275,904). We found considerable differences in response patterns across world regions: high accuracy values in East Asia, low accuracy values in Southern and Central America, high exaggeration values in Southern Europe, and low exaggeration values in Western Europe. Furthermore, we show that familiarity with math concepts changes substantially after adjustment using the OCT. The correlation between unadjusted math familiarity and math test scores is weak and nonsignificant (.13) whereas after adjustment the correlation becomes strong and significant (.66). Concerning other indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP), public expenditure in education, and Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), before adjustment the correlation is negative and even significant for CPI (–.11, –.22, and –.45) whereas after adjustment the correlation becomes, though nonsignificant, positive (.05, .19, and .07). We also discuss the OCT in the context of other methods indicative of culturally preferred scale usage.

Undesirable Effects of Goal Setting on Perceived Fairness, Commitment, and Unethical Behavior

Abstract. The positive effects of goal setting on motivation and performance are among the most established findings of industrial–organizational psychology. Accordingly, goal setting is a common management technique. Lately, however, potential negative effects of goal-setting, for example, on unethical behavior, are increasingly being discussed. This research replicates and extends a laboratory experiment conducted in the United States. In one of three goal conditions (do-your-best goals, consistently high goals, increasingly high goals), 101 participants worked on a search task in five rounds. Half of them (transparency yes/no) were informed at the outset about goal development. We did not find the expected effects on unethical behavior but medium-to-large effects on subjective variables: Perceived fairness of goals and goal commitment were least favorable in the increasing-goal condition, particularly in later goal rounds. Results indicate that when designing goal-setting interventions, organizations may consider potential undesirable long-term effects.