Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

“Integrity testing” for personnel selection: An unsparing perspective

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Federal legislation (the Employee Polygraph Protection Act) adopted in 1988 prohibits virtually all private sector employers from requiring or requesting preemployment polygraph examinations for prospective employees. Since then, written integrity testing designed to reliably distinguish those prospective employees who may steal from the company from those who are far less likely to do so has been something of a growth industry. Indeed, the American Psychological Association has recently noted that honesty tests have demonstrated useful levels of validity as an employee selection measure. We provide an alternative perspective. We argue that, even under the most charitable of assumptions, the propensity of integrity tests to generate false positives (i.e., to identify prospective employees as potential thieves when, in fact, they are not) is unsuitably large. Thus, the integrity test as currently configured is largely without merit as a personnel selection device.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adler, T.: 1989, ‘Integrity Test Popularity Prompts Close Scrutiny’,APA Monitor 20(12), p. 7 (cited quote attributed to John Weintraub).

    Google Scholar 

  • APA Task Force on the Prediction of Dishonesty and Theft in Employment Setting: 1991,Questionnaires Used in the Prediction of Trustworthiness in Pre-Employment Selection Decisions: An APA Task Force Report.

  • Arnold, D. W.: 1989,The Reid Report's Lack of Adverse Impact.Research Memorandum #22 (Reid Psychological Systems, Chicago, IL).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ash, P.: 1971, ‘Screening Employment Applicants for Attitudes Toward Theft’,Journal of Applied Psychology 55, pp. 161–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ash, P.: 1987, ‘Honesty Test Scores, Biographical Data, and Delinquency Indicators’. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice, St. Louis, Missouri.

  • Ash, P.: 1988, ‘A Brief History of Honesty Testing’. Paper presented at the 1988 convention of the American Psychology Association, Atlanta, GA.

  • Bagus, K. K.: 1988, ‘Industry-Specific Affirmative Action Studies’,Stanton Survey Report (Stanton Corporation, Charlotte, NC).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bean, E: 1987, ‘More Firms Use Attitude Tests to Keep Thieves Off the Payroll’,Wall Street Journal 219 (4), p. 41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beardsley, T.: 1991. ‘Mind Reader: Do Personality Tests Pick Out Bad Apples?’,Scientific American 26(4), pp. 154–156.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beilenson, J.: 1990, ‘Applicant Screening Methods: Under Surveillance’,Personnel 67(12), pp. 3–4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ben-Shakhar, G., I. Lieblich, and M. Bar-Hillel: 1982, ‘An Evaluation of Polygrapher's Judgements: A Review from a Decision Theoretic Perspective’,Journal of Applied Psychology 67, pp. 701–713.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bergmann, T. J., D. H. Mundt, and E. J. Illgen: 1990, ‘The Evolution of Honesty Tests and Means for Their Evaluation’,Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal 3, pp. 215–223.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brett, A. S., M. Phillips, and J. F. Beary: 1986 (Mar 8), ‘Predictive Power of the Polygraph: Can the “Lie Detector” Really Detect Liars?’,Lancet, pp. 544, 547.

  • Bright, T. L. and C. J. Hollon: 1985, “State Regulation of the Polygraph Tests at the Workplace’,Personnel 62(2), pp. 50–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cherrington, D.: 1989,Validation of the Applicant Review: Analysis for Adverse Impact. Research Report (CHC Forecast Inc., Stanfordville, N.Y.).

    Google Scholar 

  • Churchill, G. A.: 1979, ‘A Paradigm for Developing Better Measures of Marketing Constructs’,Journal of Marketing Research 16, pp. 64–73.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham, M. R.: 1990, ‘Test-Taking Motivations and Outcomes on a Standardized Measure of On-the-Job Integrity’,Journal of Business and Psychology 4, pp. 119–127.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dawes, R. M.: 1962, ‘A Note On Base Rates and Psychometric Efficiency’,Journal of Consulting Psychology 26, pp. 422–424.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeAngelis, T.: 1991, ‘Honesty Tests Weight in With Improved Ratings’,APA Monitor 22(6), p. 7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duffy, J., S. P. Pepe, and B. Gross: 1987, ‘Big Brother in the Workplace: Privacy Rights Versus Employer Needs’,Industrial Relations Law Journal 9, pp. 30–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Employee Polygraph Protection Act: 1988, Public Law No. 100–347 1989 U.S. Code Cong. & Ad. News (102 Stat) 646.

  • Fuchsberg, G.: 1991 (Mar 5), ‘Attorney General in New York Urges Integrity Test Ban; Tool to Determine Honesty and Habits of Workers Called Unreliable, Unfair’,Wall Street Journal, p. 86.

  • Gorman, C.: 1989 (Jan 23), ‘Honestly, Can We Trust You? Barred From using Polygraphs, Employers Seek an Integrity Test’,Time, p. 44.

  • Hollinger, R. C. and J. P. Clark: 1983,Theft by Employees (D. C. Heath, Lexington, MA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hough, L. M., N. K. Eaton, M. D. Dunnette, J. D. Kamp, and R. A. McCloy: 1990, ‘Criterion-Related Validities of Personality Constructs and the Effects of Response Distortion On Those Validities’,Journal of Applied Psychology 75, pp. 581–595.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacoby, J.: 1978, ‘Consumer Research: A State or the Art Review’,Journal of Marketing 42, pp. 87–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johns, G.: 1991, ‘Substantive and Methodological Constraints on Behavior and Attitudes in Organizational Research’,Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 49, pp. 80–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, J. W., P. Ash, and C. Soto: 1990, ‘Employee Privacy Rights and Pre-Employment Honesty Test’,Employee Relations Law Journal 15(4), pp. 561–575.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleinmuntz, B. and J. J. Szucko: 1984, ‘Lie Detection in Ancient Times: A Call for Contemporary Scientific Study’,American Psychologist 39, pp. 766–776.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kpo, W. R. and W. G. Harris: 1986, ‘Generalizability of an Attitudinal-Behavioral Measure of Integrity’, Paper presented at the annual meeting of the New England Psychological Association, Boston.

  • Lipman, M. and W. R. McGraw: 1988, ‘Employee Theft: A $40 Billion Industry’,Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 498, pp. 57–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lippin, M., S. R. Mendelsohn, and D. P. Duffy: 1988, ‘Employee Medical and Honesty Testing’,Personnel 65(11), pp. 38–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lykken, D.: 1974, ‘Psychology and Lie Detector Industry’,American Psychologist 29, pp. 725–739.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, S. L. and W. Terris: 1991, ‘Predicting Infrequent Behavior: Clarifying the Impact on False-Positive Rates’,Journal of Applied Psychology 76, pp. 484–487.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDaniel, M. A. and J. W. Jones: 1986, ‘A Meta-Analysis of the Validity of the Employee Attitude Inventory Theft Scales’,Journal of Business and Psychology 2, pp. 327–345.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGough, R. and E. Brown: 1990 (Dec 11), ‘Thieves at Work: The Recession Looms. Do You Know Where Your Employees Are?’,Financial World, p. 18.

  • Meehl, P. E. and A. Rosen: 1955, ‘Antecedent Probability and the Efficiency of Psychometric Signs, Patterns for Cutting Scores’,Psychological Bulletin 52, pp. 194–216.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, T. R.: 1985, ‘An Evaluation of the Validity of Correlation Research Conducted in Organizations’,Academy of Management Review 10, pp. 192–205.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, R. W. and R. M. Stewart: 1989, ‘Evaluating Employee Integrity: Moral and Methodological Problems’,Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal 2, pp. 203–215.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moretti, D. M. and W. Terris: 1983,The Personnel Selection Inventory: A Predictive Validation (London House Inc., Park Ridge, IL).

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, K. R.: 1987, ‘Detecting Infrequent Deception’,Journal of Applied Psychology 72, pp. 611–614.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ones, D. S., C. Viswesvaran, and F. L. Schmidt: 1990, ‘Integrity Testing: Empirical Confirmations and Refutations Using Meta-Analysis’. Unpublished paper: College of Business Administration, University of Iowa (results reported in APA Task Force,Questionnaires used in the prediction of trustworthiness in pre-employment selection decisions: An A.P.A. Task Force Report).

  • Paulos, J. A.: 1990,Innumeracy (Vintage Books, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Personnel Decisions, Inc.: 1985,Development and Validation of PDI Employment Inventory (Personnel Decisions, Inc., Minneapolis, MN).

    Google Scholar 

  • Podsakoff, P. M. and D. R. Dalton: 1987, ‘Research Methodology in Organizational Studies’,Journal of Management 13, pp. 419–441.

    Google Scholar 

  • Psychological Science Agenda: 1991,APA Task Force Releases Final Report on Integrity Testing, Vol. 4(3), pp. 1, 6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenbaum, R. W.: 1976, ‘Predictability of Employee Theft Using Weighted Application Blank’,Journal of Applied Psychology 61, pp. 94–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, A. M. and P. R. Sackett: 1987, ‘Pre-Employment Honesty Testing: Fakeability, Reactions of Test Takers, and Company Image’,Journal of Business and Psychology 1, pp. 248–256.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sackett P. R., L. R. Burris, and C. Callahan: 1989, ‘Integrity Testing for Personnel Selection: An Update’,Personnel Psychology 42, pp. 491–528.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sackett P. R. and P. J. Decker: 1979, ‘Detection of Deception in the Employment Context: A Review and Critique’,Personnel Psychology 32, pp 487–506.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sackett P. R. and M. M. Harris: 1984, ‘Honesty Testing for Personnel Selection: A Review and Critique’,Personnel Psychology 37, pp. 221–245.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwab, D. P.: 1980, ‘Construct Validity in Organizational Behavior’, in B. M. Staw and L. L. Cummings (eds.),Research in Organizational Behavior (JAI Press, Greenwich, CT), pp. 3–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwenk, C. R. and D. R. Dalton: 1991, ‘The Changing Shape of Strategic Management Research’, in P. Shrivasta, A Huff, and J. Dutton (eds.),Advances in Strategic Management (JAI Press, Greenwich, CT), pp. 277–300.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solomon, D. S.: 1987, ‘Hotlines and Hefty Rewards: Retailers Step Up Efforts to Curb Employee Theft’,Wall Street Journal 210(37), p. 37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steiner, J. F.: 1990, ‘Honesty Testing’,Business Forum 15(2), p. 31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strand, A. L. and M. L. Strand: 1986,Validity, Reliability, Compliance, and Efficacy Studies of the T.A., A.I., E.S., D.A., and P.A.S.S. Surveys (Psychological Surveys Corporation, Oak Brook, IL).

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, R.: 1986, ‘A Positive Guide to Theft Deterrence’,Personnel Journal 85(3), pp. 36–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Terris, W.: 1985, ‘Attitudinal Correlates of Employee Integrity’,Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology 1, pp. 60–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Terris, W.: 1986,The Development and Validation of EPI-3 (London House Inc., Park Ridge, IL).

    Google Scholar 

  • Terris, W. and J. Jones: 1982, ‘Psychological Factors Related to Employee's Theft in the Convenience Store Industry’,Psychological Reports 51, pp. 1219–1238.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Congress: 1983,Scientific Validity of Polygraph Testing: A Research Review and Validation. Office of Technology Assessment (Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.).

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Congress: 1990,The Use of Integrity Tests for Pre-Employment Screening. Office of Technology Assessment (Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.).

    Google Scholar 

  • Venkataramanan, N. and J. Grant: 1986, ‘Construct Measurement in Organizational Strategy Research’,Academy of Management Review 11, pp. 71–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Werner, S. H., J. W. Jones, and B. D. Steffy: 1989, ‘The Relationship Between Intelligence, Honesty, and Theft Admissions’,Educational and Psychological Measurement 49, pp. 921–927.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Business, Indiana University, 47405, Blooming, IN, USA

    Dan R. Dalton & Michael B. Metzger

Authors
  1. Dan R. Dalton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Michael B. Metzger
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

Dan R. Dalton is the Dow Professor of Management and Director of Graduate Programs, Graduate School of Business, Indiana University. Formerly with General Telephone & Electronics (GT&E) for thirteen years. Widely published in business and psychology, his articles have appeared in theAcademy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Executive, Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Business Ethics, Business Ethics Quarterly, Journal of Law and Public Policy, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Business Strategy, Behavioral Science, andHuman Relations, as well as many others.

Michael B. Metzger is currently Professor of Business Law, Indiana University Graduate School of Business. Formerly Associate Dean for Academics and chair of the Business Law Department at I.U. He received his J.D. in 1969. Before entering academia he held a variety of positions, including Deputy Securities Commissioner, State of Indiana and Senior Legislative Analyst, Indiana Legislative Council. He also was in private practice in Indianapolis, Indiana with the firm of Baratz, Sosin, Jodka and Metzger. Widely published in legal and business and ethics journals, his work has appeared in theGeorgetown Law Journal theVanderbilt Law Review, theMinnesota Law Review, theEcology Law Quarterly, theBusiness Ethics Quarterly, and theSouthwestern Law Journal, as well as numerous others. Three times he has received theAmerican Business Law Journal's award for the best article of the year. He is a coauthor ofBusiness Law and the Regulatory Environment: Concepts and Cases (8th ed.), and is the winner of 12 awards for teaching at both undergraduate and graduate levels. He regularly addresses public and industry groups on business ethics issues.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Dalton, D.R., Metzger, M.B. “Integrity testing” for personnel selection: An unsparing perspective. J Bus Ethics 12, 147–156 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00871934

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00871934

Keywords

Search

Navigation