๐Ÿ“œintro to political science review

Social desirability bias

Written by the Fiveable Content Team โ€ข Last updated September 2025
Written by the Fiveable Content Team โ€ข Last updated September 2025

Definition

Social desirability bias is the tendency of survey respondents to answer questions in a manner that will be viewed favorably by others, often leading to overreporting of "good" behavior or underreporting of "bad" behavior. This can skew the results of surveys and polls, especially on sensitive topics related to political participation and public opinion.

"Social desirability bias" also found in: