Designed a research project to test the hypothesis that high I Q Ss could successfully fake good scores on the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI), whereas low IQ Ss could not. From a pool of 113 college undergraduates, Ss who scored f 1 SD from the mean on a group IQ test were chosen as the high and low IQ groups. Prior to administration of the POI, Ss in both groups were assigned either to a standard administration group or a "fake good" group. Results failed to support the hypothesis. Both high and low IQ Ss who were instructed to fake a good score actually scored lower on the average than did their counterparts in the standard administration. These results support the general claim that the POI is highly resistant to faking.
The Personal Orientation Inventory (POI) (Shostrom, 1963) is a self-report inventory which purportedly measures Maslow's concept of self-actualization. Many studies have investigated the effects of response dissimulation on the POI. Braun and LaFaro (1969) found that Ss given instructions to make a good impression and to answer as a well adjusted individual might, tended to lower their scores. However, Ss given instructions on self-actualizing principles were able to raise their scores relative to a standard administration of the POI. The authors concluded that "unless subjects have special information about the POI and self-actualization, the inventory shows an unexpected resistance to faking." Foulds and Warehime (1971) also found that attempts by undergraduate students to fake good did not produce self-actualizing profiles. Further, Shostrom (1974) reported a study by Knapp in which beginning psychology students who were asked to respond as though they were applying for a job and wanted to make a good impression tended to have depressed profiles. Goldman and Olczak (1976) found that both naive Ss and Ss with knowledge of actualized principles could lower POI scores, while only knowledgeable Ss could raise scores when directed to do so. Finally, Knapp, Cardenas, and Michael (1978) reported that a Spanish edition of the POI also showed high resistance to faking. Knapp (1976) concluded that the POI incorporated two lie profiles, which can serve to detect faking. He asserts that one profile is the result of attempts to present a favorable impression without specific knowledge of selfactualization constructions. This profile results in elevated self-regard subscores, lowered self-acceptance and existentiality scores, and an overall depressed profile. The other is an overall hyperelevated profile characteristic of the fake-good attempts of individuals who are familiar with self-actualizing concepts.
However, results of several studies, before and since Knapp's (1976) review of the POI literature, are inconclusive relative to faking on the POI. Hix and Hensley (1978) reported that college students and air force personnel were able to raise and lower their scores when asked to fake their responses accordingly. Further, these individuals had little knowledge of self-actualizing principles. Prescott, Cavatta, and Rollins (1977) also found that new counseling students were able to raise their scores after they had been given a fake-good instruction set. However, the authors attributed this ability to in- creased knowledge of Maslow's theories possessed by this group of students, even though that fact had not been established. Schoell (1979) used a 2 X 2 factorial design to assess the effects of fake good/fake bad instructions and high/low knowledge of actualizing