Understanding the underestimation of self-report weight: The roles of narcissism and accountability.
Self-reported height and weight is widely used to calculate Body Mass Index (BMI) and yet little is known about factors that affect accuracy. This study investigated the motivational characteristics-narcissism and social desirability-that influence the accuracy of self-reported weight and how they i...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2024-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0312691 |
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| author | Menna Price Laura Douglas Erica G Hepper Laura L Wilkinson |
| author_facet | Menna Price Laura Douglas Erica G Hepper Laura L Wilkinson |
| author_sort | Menna Price |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Self-reported height and weight is widely used to calculate Body Mass Index (BMI) and yet little is known about factors that affect accuracy. This study investigated the motivational characteristics-narcissism and social desirability-that influence the accuracy of self-reported weight and how they interact with accountability (telling participants that their weight will be verified). A two-way between-subjects design was used (accountable vs not accountable) with motivational moderators (narcissism and social desirability). Participants (N = 80; Mean Age = 34.63; 58.8% Female) were randomly allocated to accountable (told that their weight would be verified in a follow-up lab session) or not-accountable (no information given) conditions. In Session 1, participants self-reported motivational (social desirability and narcissism) and anthropometric (height and weight) measures online. In Session 2 (24 hours later), objective measures of height and weight were taken in the lab. There was a significant interaction between condition and maladaptive narcissism level. Being told that weight would be later verified improved accuracy of self-reported weight, but only for those low in maladaptive narcissism. Accountability improves the accuracy of self-report weight data, but not for individuals high in narcissism. Though based on a modest sample, these findings suggest that the under-estimation of self- report weight serves a self-protective function and maladaptive narcissism may be a useful covariate to include in research using self-report weight estimates. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-46baa43737e844b4b9f347b3a569890e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj-art-46baa43737e844b4b9f347b3a569890e2024-12-06T05:31:15ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032024-01-011912e031269110.1371/journal.pone.0312691Understanding the underestimation of self-report weight: The roles of narcissism and accountability.Menna PriceLaura DouglasErica G HepperLaura L WilkinsonSelf-reported height and weight is widely used to calculate Body Mass Index (BMI) and yet little is known about factors that affect accuracy. This study investigated the motivational characteristics-narcissism and social desirability-that influence the accuracy of self-reported weight and how they interact with accountability (telling participants that their weight will be verified). A two-way between-subjects design was used (accountable vs not accountable) with motivational moderators (narcissism and social desirability). Participants (N = 80; Mean Age = 34.63; 58.8% Female) were randomly allocated to accountable (told that their weight would be verified in a follow-up lab session) or not-accountable (no information given) conditions. In Session 1, participants self-reported motivational (social desirability and narcissism) and anthropometric (height and weight) measures online. In Session 2 (24 hours later), objective measures of height and weight were taken in the lab. There was a significant interaction between condition and maladaptive narcissism level. Being told that weight would be later verified improved accuracy of self-reported weight, but only for those low in maladaptive narcissism. Accountability improves the accuracy of self-report weight data, but not for individuals high in narcissism. Though based on a modest sample, these findings suggest that the under-estimation of self- report weight serves a self-protective function and maladaptive narcissism may be a useful covariate to include in research using self-report weight estimates.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0312691 |
| spellingShingle | Menna Price Laura Douglas Erica G Hepper Laura L Wilkinson Understanding the underestimation of self-report weight: The roles of narcissism and accountability. PLoS ONE |
| title | Understanding the underestimation of self-report weight: The roles of narcissism and accountability. |
| title_full | Understanding the underestimation of self-report weight: The roles of narcissism and accountability. |
| title_fullStr | Understanding the underestimation of self-report weight: The roles of narcissism and accountability. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Understanding the underestimation of self-report weight: The roles of narcissism and accountability. |
| title_short | Understanding the underestimation of self-report weight: The roles of narcissism and accountability. |
| title_sort | understanding the underestimation of self report weight the roles of narcissism and accountability |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0312691 |
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