An Experiment in Contingent Valuation and Social Desirability

Abstract

Social desirability (SD) represents the problem of subjects responding with social norms rather than individual values. This paper briefly surveys the SD literature and considers its relevance for contingent valuation (CV) studies. In an empirical study, undergraduate students were administered the Mariowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, as well as CV questions. High SD scores were hypothesized to imply a greater likelihood of offering a protest reason for a zero bid and to increase bids for socially desirable commodities. While all hypotheses were not supported, the empirical results suggest that SD can influence CV responses and should not be dismissed prematurely.

Keeping up appearances: Motivations for socially desirable responding in contingent valuation interviews

“…These results -at least partly -contrast the findings of Laughland et al (1994). Those authors did not detect any direct relationship between need for social approval as assessed by the Marlowe-Crowne Scale and WTP statements.…”

“…The only study to our knowledge that employed this approach was done by Laughland et al (1994). The hypothesis that respondents with higher need for social approval as measured by the MarloweCrowne social desirability scale (Crowne and Marlowe, 1960) have a significantly higher WTP for socially desirable goods, such as improved food safety and landscape preservation, is not clearly supported by their data.…”

“…If the self-deceptive exaggerations are part of this subjective worldview, they form the basis for that individual's preferences and are thus part of his utility. Laughland et al (1994) hold that while self-deception, since it is believed by the respondent, also influences market decisions, impression management arises out of the interview situation and is thus without economic significance. Consequently, the present study deals with the assessment of the latter component of SDR only.…”

Social context, financial stakes and hypothetical bias: an induced value referendum experiment

“…3 Laughland et al (1994) provide a review of social desirability literature in the context of CV methods. SD implies that subjects are responding in compliance with social norms rather than reporting their individual values (Laughland et al, 1994). Provision of many environmental public goods (e.g.…”

Prospective analysis for community participation in trypanosomosis control in The Gambia

“…However, information about the ability of individual farmers or communities to take up tsetse control measures is limited (Laughland et al, 1994;Swallow and Woudyalew, 1994;Kamuanga et al, 2001) and has not taken cognisance of demand patterns and schemes to promote community or farmer participation. Intuitively, the provision of tsetse control techniques would not exclude the use of trypanocidal drugs, and recent studies carried out in The Gambia (Mugalla, 2000;Kamuanga et al, 2004) showed this to be true.…”