Page 1 of 13
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 05
May 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 1
Unraveling Honesty and Social Desirability as Markers of Life Satisfaction:
A Study on Lawyers.
Ankita Budhiraja,* Punam Midha**
*Research Scholar, **Professor
Department of Psychology, MDU, Rohtak
Abstract
In the public life, lawyer has been a conspicuous figure, a prominent person whose fidelity
towards his/her profession can’t be ignored. Though he/she carries conscience into his/her own
life yet he/she is considered as unreliable and dishonest. So this profession is regarded as a
devoid of moral superiority. With all these impressions in mind, the current study was designed
to explore the level of honesty and social desirability among lawyers. Further honesty and social
desirability were explored as markers of life satisfaction. A purposive sample of 150 lawyers
both male and female aged 30 to 60 years was drawn from district court, Punjab & Haryana High
Court, and Delhi High Court. For measuring their honesty Ashton and Lee’s (2009) HEXACO
PI-R inventory, for social desirability Gerbasi and Strahan’s, (1972) social desirability scale
were used and for life satisfaction Diener, Emmons, Larsen & Griffin’s (1985) Satisfaction with
life scale were used . Descriptive, correlational and regression analyses were computed. The
findings revealed the above average level of honesty, average level in social desirability & slight
satisfaction with life. Further it was found that honesty was significantly positively correlated
with life satisfaction. On the contrary social desirability was found negatively related with life
satisfaction. Hence honesty emerged as predictor of life satisfaction. The current findings have
the implications that honesty is the major resource for one’s satisfaction with life
Keywords: Unraveling, Honesty, Social desirability, Markers, Life satisfaction, Lawyers
Page 2 of 13
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 05
May 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 2
Legal profession is a high calling profession, embedded with the concept of “justice”. A “fair
soul” is supposed to be inherited in this profession. As lawyer / public prosecutor/ judge has to
be fair by showing his/ her preference to goodness over his/her personal desires and needs.
Despite the self control over their natural needs they are also capable of controlling over their
impulsiveness resulting in exhibiting courage and bravery (i.e. masculinity) which are the
indicators of “wisdom”. Thus such a person is a wise man-a fair human, who is infact
paradoxically the one, who is well aware that he/she can never be quite fair and also never will
be. It is due to this cognitive dissonance which makes him/her fair one, because fairness is
his/her life goal and moral commitment. In this way the person in the legal profession such as
lawyers/ prosecutors/ judge have integrity in terms of Honesty, ethical behavior, persistence,
active listening, self control or dependability (O’Net, 2015; Preiss, Mejzlikova, Ruda, Kramsky
and Pitakova, 2015). There are mainly three approaches such as virtue(character based),
deontological (principle based), and utilitarian (consequence based) reasoning to explain the
phenomenon of honesty- where virtue based ethics are based on Aristotle’s concept of qualities
of personal character which are necessary for leading a life of excellence. While deontological
approach focuses upon Kant’s philosophy that there is universal rule which everybody has to
follow. In other words, lying is never permissible irrespective of the consequences (Svara, 2015).
In contrast utilitarian approach based on Betham(2001) and Mill’s(1993) perspectives that is an
action is judged to be acceptable depending upon the consequences of its actions. In this way
lawyer’s behavior is justifiable on the basis of utilitarian perspective. Therefore a person such a
profession maintains the honour and dignity of the legal profession by securing an amicable
spirit through compassion, confidence, and cooperation and by fair dealings with the clients. In
this way as per Maslow (1970) such people have experienced the fulfillment of growth
motivation i.e. needs for self esteem and self actualization thus through seeking the highest levels
of personal growth and self expressions which can be seen through universal holistic thinking,
Page 3 of 13
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 05
May 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 3
undistorted perceptions of reality, superior awareness of truth, service orientation, highly
democratic and desire for the good of others. These characteristics as mentioned above are just
contrary to the prevalent myth about lawyers. That “lawyers” as a class are dishonest”. They are
generally described as manipulative, abusive and egoistical. Further it has been reported that
bar leaders are generally obsessed with money making, a strong need for power, and an
uncompromising drive to win. Such selfish lawyers experience the distress that comes with loss
of conscience, intrinsic valuing and integrity resulting in a compulsion for more work, more
money, and excessive alcohol or other addictive tendencies (Kriger,2005). Such so called profile
may be explained on the basis of Maslow’s theory hierarchy, which emphasized that satisfaction
in deficiency motivation i.e. lower needs viz needs for security, belongingness and gaining
respect generally depend upon influencing other people and obtaining limited resources from the
environment. Thus such people are therefore unlikely to manifest the same level of ethics and
morality as others who are psychologically more mature.
Recently it has been reported that intrinsic motivation which focuses upon self directed action.
which link fundamental life purpose hence higher humanistic needs leading to a state of
satisfaction . Conversely extrinsic motivation is directed towards external rewards (viz. money,
popularity, honors) and related to Maslow’s lower needs (Maslow, 1968) results in frustration
(Sheldon and Kasser, 2001).
Social desirability is an another important substantive trait of personality which refers to an
individual’s tendency to respond in a more socially desirable manner in certain situations
(Richman, Weisband, Kiesler, & Drasgow, 1999). There are two dimensions of social
desirability viz (1) self deception and (2) impression management. Self deception refers to an
unconscious tendency to see oneself in a favorable light (both by promoting one’s positive
qualities & disavowing negative qualities) whereas impression management is a conscious self –
presentation tailored to external audience. Previous studies have revealed that lawyers have
