THE DUAL NATURE OF THE EPQ LIE SCALE AMONG COLLEGE-STUDENTS IN ENGLAND

Two distinct components are identified in the EPQ lie scale. Component A is found both to correlate negatively with psychoticism and with extraversion and to record higher scores among women. These findings are consistent with the theories that component A functions as an index of socially conforming behaviour, that women tend to adopt more socially conforming behaviour than men and that lower scorers on the extraversion and psychoticism scales condition more readily into socially conforming behaviour. Component B is found to correlate with neither extraversion nor psychoticism and to be unrelated to gender. These findings are consistent with the view that component B functions as a purer index of lying or faking good. These findings, based on a sample of 212 college students in England, now deserve replication among other age groups and in other cultural contexts. © 1991.