The moderating effects of sample type as evidence of the effects of faking on personality scale correlations and factor structure

Motivational differences as a function of sample type (applicants versus incumbents) have frequently been suspected of causing meaningful differences in the psychometric properties of personality inventories due to the effects of faking. In this quantitative review, correlations among the Big Five personality constructs were estimated and sample type was examined as a potential moderator of the personality construct inter-correlations. The resulting subgroup meta-analytic correlation matrices were factor-analyzed, and the second order factor solutions for job incumbents and job applicants were compared. Results of the meta-analyses indicate frequent, but small moderating effects. The second order factor analyses indicated that the observed moderation had little effect on the congruence of factor loadings. Together, the results are consistent with the position that faking is of little practical consequence in selection settings.