Criterion validity is maintained when items are evaluatively neutralized: Evidence from a full scale FFM-inventory

The original version and an evaluatively neutralized version (with items rephrased to reduce popularity) of a personality inventory were compared. The results revealed A) Similar criterion validity across three different sets of self-rated behaviors, B) Stronger relations to the rated social desirability of criteria for the original version, and C) Less correlation between factors for the neutralized version (replicating Bäckström, Björklund & Larsson, 2009). We take the results to indicate that evaluative neutralization is a viable technique for reducing social desirability in self-ratings. Implications for test construction are discussed.