“Teen Boys Losing Virginity Earlier And Earlier, Report Teen Boys” — The Onion, 2014, 1:53 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8NDCJY5DW4

A satirical example of how social desirability bias manifests in sex research. Briefly described, this occurs when individuals lie in order to appear better, cooler, or more desirable than they actually are. We know that men commonly inflate their lifetime number of sexual partners since masculine norms emphasize sexual prowess. This bias can also be seen in self-report surveys regarding other sexual attributes (frequency of sex and organ size, for example). While comical, this brief video hints at the consequences of getting exaggerated information—when we have an erroneous understanding of a phenomenon, we may take ineffective or even harmful actions (overloading youth with sexual information, buying ill-fitting condoms, etc). Social desirability is certainly not limited to the area of sex either. People generally over-report good behaviors (e.g., exercising, charitable giving, time spent reading) and under-report bad behaviors (e.g., substance use, speeding, time spent watching television).