For scientific as well as clinical use of the CDI, measurement bias with respect to gender and age should be accounted for.

Summary: Self-report questionnaires are susceptible to social desirability, and applicants can adapt their answers to job requirements. To combat social-desirable responding, subjects are asked to answer spontaneously and not think too long about their answer. Hofstee (1996) faces this problem in a different way by proposing to ask the applicant to answer accountably, in other words, to prove answers through future behavior. In the first study 46 subjects filled in the Big Five under the spontaneous and accountability conditions. Contrary to expectations, there was a small but significant effect. If subjects were asked to give answers they would have to account for, they scored higher on conscientiousness and emotional stability. In the second study subjects filled in the Big Five for two jobs differing in the extent to which the applicant has to manage people or systems. In line with expectations, there was an effect of autonomy but contrary to expectations not of conscientiousness and extroversion. The practical consequences of the accountability instruction for the validity of personality questionnaires and of job types for norms are discussed.

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