This study examined differences in levels of suggestibility with regard to gender and three personality characteristics (self-esteem, self-monitoring, and social desirability) and how these differences apply to matters of eyewitness testimony. A total of 70 undergraduates (37 male, 33 female) completed a memory task followed by three personality inventories (the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Self-Monitoring Scale, and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale) and then a questionnaire relating to the memory task. The dependent variable was number wrong for factual vs. leading questions. More leading questions were answered incorrectly than factual which was a significant difference. A repeated measures ANOVA revealed no overall gender differences in levels of suggestibility, but there were significant differences found independent of gender. There was a significant difference in the number wrong when compared to different levels of self-esteem. Those highest in self-esteem answered the most factual questions correctly and the most leading incorrectly. Data also show gender differences found with regard to the personality variables tested. Females high in self-monitoring got fewer wrong than males, and males medium and high on social desirability got many more wrong than females medium and high in social desirability.
","abstract_html":"<p>This study examined differences in levels of suggestibility with regard to gender and three personality characteristics (self-esteem, self-monitoring, and social desirability) and how these differences apply to matters of eyewitness testimony. A total of 70 undergraduates (37 male, 33 female) completed a memory task followed by three personality inventories (the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Self-Monitoring Scale, and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale) and then a questionnaire relating to the memory task. The dependent variable was number wrong for factual vs. leading questions. More leading questions were answered incorrectly than factual which was a significant difference. A repeated measures ANOVA revealed no overall gender differences in levels of suggestibility, but there were significant differences found independent of gender. There was a significant difference in the number wrong when compared to different levels of self-esteem. Those highest in self-esteem answered the most factual questions correctly and the most leading incorrectly. Data also show gender differences found with regard to the personality variables tested. Females high in self-monitoring got fewer wrong than males, and males medium and high on social desirability got many more wrong than females medium and high in social desirability.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Godino, Tara"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A. in Mental Health Counseling and Applied Psychology","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Gaer, Eleanor"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2009,"date_issued":"2009-05-05T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2009-05-05T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:13:27Z","subjects":["Eyewitness identification; Sex differences (Psychology)","Counseling Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/619","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Gaer, Eleanor"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Godino, Tara"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-03-17T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A. in Mental Health Counseling and Applied Psychology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Eyewitness identification; Sex differences (Psychology)","Counseling Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/619"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This study examined differences in levels of suggestibility with regard to gender and three personality characteristics (self-esteem, self-monitoring, and social desirability) and how these differences apply to matters of eyewitness testimony. A total of 70 undergraduates (37 male, 33 female) completed a memory task followed by three personality inventories (the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Self-Monitoring Scale, and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale) and then a questionnaire relating to the memory task. The dependent variable was number wrong for factual vs. leading questions. More leading questions were answered incorrectly than factual which was a significant difference. A repeated measures ANOVA revealed no overall gender differences in levels of suggestibility, but there were significant differences found independent of gender. There was a significant difference in the number wrong when compared to different levels of self-esteem. Those highest in self-esteem answered the most factual questions correctly and the most leading incorrectly. Data also show gender differences found with regard to the personality variables tested. Females high in self-monitoring got fewer wrong than males, and males medium and high on social desirability got many more wrong than females medium and high in social desirability.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Gender differences in levels of suggestibility"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Gaer, Eleanor"],"dc:creator":["Godino, Tara"],"dc:date.available":["2016-03-17T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This study examined differences in levels of suggestibility with regard to gender and three personality characteristics (self-esteem, self-monitoring, and social desirability) and how these differences apply to matters of eyewitness testimony. A total of 70 undergraduates (37 male, 33 female) completed a memory task followed by three personality inventories (the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Self-Monitoring Scale, and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale) and then a questionnaire relating to the memory task. The dependent variable was number wrong for factual vs. leading questions. More leading questions were answered incorrectly than factual which was a significant difference. A repeated measures ANOVA revealed no overall gender differences in levels of suggestibility, but there were significant differences found independent of gender. There was a significant difference in the number wrong when compared to different levels of self-esteem. Those highest in self-esteem answered the most factual questions correctly and the most leading incorrectly. Data also show gender differences found with regard to the personality variables tested. Females high in self-monitoring got fewer wrong than males, and males medium and high on social desirability got many more wrong than females medium and high in social desirability.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/619"],"dc:subject":["Eyewitness identification; Sex differences (Psychology)","Counseling Psychology"],"dc:title":["Gender differences in levels of suggestibility"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A. in Mental Health Counseling and Applied Psychology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:13:27Z"}