1. The psychoanalytic theory tells us that a large part of human behaviour is governed by unconscious motives. 2. Direct methods of personality assessment cannot uncover the unconscious part of our behaviour. 3. Hence - they fail to provide us with a real picture of an individual's personality. 4. These problems can be overcome by using indirect methods of assessment. 5. Social desirability is a tendency on the part of the respondent to endorse items in a socially desirable manner.