RESPONSES OF IRISH AND ITALIANS OF TWO SOCIAL CLASSES ON THE MARLOWE-CROWNE SOCIAL DESIRABILITY SCALE.

The article presents a study on the responses of Irish and Italians of two social classes on the Marlowe-Crowne social desirability scale. A total of 100 male patients were selected from the surgical wards of the Bronx Veterans Administration Hospital and the Brooklyn Veterans Administration Hospital. The patients consisted of four groups of 25 subjects: namely, (a) lower-middle class Irish, (b) lower-middle class Italians, (c) lower class Irish, and (d) lower class Italians. The results of this research clearly indicate that Irish and Italian subjects in America from lower-middle and lower classes responded similarly on the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. The findings of the study are in agreement with previous evaluations of the social desirability phenomenon among different cultural and subcultural groups. It should be noted that the stability of the social desirability factor has been consistently established, even though past studies employed different methodological approaches. The similarity of Social Desirability scores among Irish and Italian subjects is especially noteworthy when it is realized that past investigations found numerous personality and behavioral differences between individuals from these two ethnic groups.