Response Certainly, Conscienciousness, and Self-concept Clarity as antecedents of Acquiescence: A prediction model

Abstract

The present research focuses on the development of a prediction model for Acquiescent Responding based on three individual-differences predictors: Response Certainty, Conscientiousness and Self-Concept Clarity. According to Gilbert’s Dual-Process Theory (1991), Acquiescent Responding emerges when a respondent go rapidly through the reconsideration stage. The variables used to predict Acquiescent Responding are supposed to be related with this stage. The prediction model, which is assessed on a sample of 403 undergraduate students, has to deal with four main obstacles: a) how to obtain "clean measures” of acquiescence, b) how to obtain acquiescence-free content measures, c) how to determine error-free relations from fallible scores, and d) how to determine the relative importance of each predictor. The present proposal addresses these problems. Results suggest that the three chosen variables are significant predictors of Acquiescent Responding