Fakability of the Adorno F-Scale

Abstract

Under fake good, fake bad, and neutral testing instructions, 186 college undergraduates demonstrated ability to fake bad on the Adorno F-scale, though the lack of significant difference between scores made under fake good and neutral instruction sets casts doubt on Ss' ability to fake good on the authoritarianism measure. No scoring differences appeared for the scores projected onto hypothesized members of either the lower, middle, or upper classes under the three sets of test instructions, though under all 3 instructional sets Ss consistently attributed the highest scores to members of the middle class, while in 2 of 3 cases the second highest scores were projected onto upper class members. The inconclusive results suggest further research be directed toward the resolution of the problem of fakability of the Adorno F-scale. To this end, it is suggested that efforts be systematic and replicate design and measures used in earlier studies.