Buffers items, insight, and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale.

The influence of buffer items on response to the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MC) was examined. Thirty-four college student subjects received MC questionnaires with intermixed extraversion and neuroticism items, while 35 others received separate MC and extraversion-neuroticism questionnaires. MC means under the two conditions differed nonsignificantly, and confidence interval estimation spoke against the likelihood of any appreciable buffer item effect. Little insight into the purpose of MC was exhibited--less than half that previously reported by Shrauger (1972)--nor was it related to the buffer item manipulation.