Acquiescence ('yea-saying') can seriously harm the validity of self-report questionnaire data. Towards a better understanding of why some individuals and groups acquiesce more strongly than others do, we developed a unified conceptual framework of acquiescent responding. Our framework posits that acquiescent responding is a joint function of respondent characteristics (e.g. age, education, values), situational/survey characteristics (e.g., interview privacy, respondents' interest), and cultural characteristics (e.g., social norms, economic development). The framework posits two putative mechanisms through which these characteristics may relate to acquiescence: cognitive processing capacities and deferential communication styles. Multilevel analyses using data from 60 heterogeneous countries from the World Values Survey (N = 90,347) support our framework's proposition that acquiescence is a joint function of respondent, situational, and cultural characteristics. Acquiescence was higher among respondents who were older (over 55 years old), less educated, who valued deference (i.e., conformity and tradition), and, unexpectedly, were male. Interview privacy corresponded to lower acquiescence, but this association was small and vanished after including respondent characteristics. Unexpectedly, acquiescence was higher in interviewees who showed a stronger interest in the interview. Finally, acquiescence was considerably higher in countries with stronger social norms of deference. We discuss implications of these findings for the validity of research based on self-report data and delineate how our framework can guide future inquiries into acquiescent responding.

The Social Desirability-Gamma Short Scale-the English-language adaptation of the Kurzskala Soziale Erwünschtheit-Gamma (KSE-G)-measures two aspects of the Gamma factor of socially desirable responding (SDR): exaggerating positive qualities (PQ+) and minimizing negative qualities (NQ−). The items of the German-language source version were translated into English using the TRAPD approach. Our empirical validation shows that the reliability and validity coefficients of the English adaptation are comparable to those of the German source instrument. Moreover, the results of measurement invariance testing suggest metric measurement invariance of the scale for the United Kingdom and Germany, thus implying comparability of correlations based on the latent factors across the two countries.

The “Values in Action” (VIA) framework is currently the most prominent approach to conceptualizing human character. VIA posits 24 character strengths that are purportedly valued across cultures and promote the well-being of both individuals and communities. However, unresolved limitations in the assessment of these character strengths continue to hamper theoretical progress in research on human character based on the VIA framework. Here we sought to lay a new foundation for ad-vanced assessment of strengths by refining and extensively validating an existing open-science inventory from the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP). Using data from a U.S. community sample and four quota samples from the United Kingdom and Germany, we investigated whether valid, cross-culturally comparable, and economical assessment of the VIA character strengths is possible with the IPIP. Experts selected suitable items with the aim to obtain 24 balanced-keyed short scales. Different experts then translated these items to German. Through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, we established essential unidimensionality and well-fitting measure-ment models for each scale. All scales achieved at least partial scalar invariance across languages. Reliability estimates were satisfactory. Extensive analyses of the strengths’ nomological network placed character strengths between Big Five personality traits and basic human values, confirming that VIA strengths emphasize self-transcendence rather than self-enhancement. With few excep-tions, the 24 character strengths scales were sufficiently distinct from the Big Five, and many showed incremental predictive validity, also for “good life” criteria. The 96-item inventory “IPIP-VIA-R” offers a sound and fully open-science approach to future research on character strengths.

The Values in Action (VIA) framework maps 24 character strengths onto six more abstract virtues through a theoretical classification. However, compared to other individual difference constructs, there is little consensus about the factor-analytic structure of the VIA trait space. Applying Horn’s parallel analysis, Goldberg’s Bass-ackwards approach, and cross-country congruency analysis, we scrutinize the factor-analytic solutions-hierarchy of the 24 VIA strengths with the aim to identify one or more useful global levels of abstraction (akin to the Big Five, HEXACO/Big Six, or personality metatraits). We assessed the 24 character strengths with the psychometrically refined IPIP-VIA-R inventory in two large and heterogeneous samples from Germany and the UK (total N ≈ 2,000). Results suggested that three global dimensions suffice to capture the essence of character strengths: Level III recovered more than 50% of the total variation of the 24 character strengths in well-interpretable, global/general, cross-culturally replicable dimensions. We provisionally labeled them positivity, dependability, and mastery. Their superordinate Level-II-dimensions were reminiscent of the “Big Two” personality metatraits Dynamism and Social Self-Regulation. Our results advance the understanding of the VIA character trait space and may serve as a basis for developing scales to assess these global dimensions.

Abstract. Self-control – that is, the ability to control impulses, emotions, or actions in order to achieve goals – is associated with a broad range of positive life outcomes, such as educational attainment and health. The present study describes the development and validation of a four-item self-control scale in English, French, German, Japanese, Polish, and Spanish. We used a sample comprising 973 survey respondents from the United States to select the scale items, and a sample comprising 5,557 respondents from six countries to validate the short scale. Results suggest that with just four items, self-control can be measured in a valid, partially scalar invariant, and time-efficient way, and can be adjusted for acquiescence.