Exerted from page 104 International Journal of Management Vol. 6 No. 1 March 1989

Like the polygraph exam, the paper-and-pencil honesty test is finding increasing use in the pre-employment screening practices of numerous business organizations as an alternative to the polygraph. The paper-and-pencil honesty tests have the advantage of being less costly to administer on an individual basis. Moreover, as there are still few clear' cut legal restrictions on the use of written exams, they have been used in a growing number of states (in the US), restricting the use of pre-employment polygraph testing

The paper- and- pencil test is designed to evaluate the examinee's attitudes toward theft and other illegal activities, generally utilizing a multi-item scale and weighted responses to specific questions. Test questions, for example, might inquire into the examinee's attitudes toward theft and other illegal activities. Test questions, for example. might inquire into the examinee's opinions regarding the frequency and extent of theft in society (What percentage of people take more than $1.00 per week from their employer?"), punishment for theft ("Should a person be fired if caught stealing $5.00?"), ease of theft ("How easy would it be for a dishonest person to steal from an employer?"), likelihood of detection (" What percentage of employee thieves are ever caught?'), and personal honesty compared to other people, how honest are you?").

As with the polygraph however, the validity and reliability of paper-and-pencil honesty tests have also been criticized by those who doubt that such tests can effectively measure something like integrity.

There have, as yet been no conclusive scientific studies confirming the validity of paper- and- pencil honesty tests.

Studies have also attempted to correlate honesty test results with how honest a person is or is not. But, can the results still be flawed - is the person going to answer they way they should answer or the way give a response that the tester wants to hear.

What do you think about honesty tests? Should they be used to determine whether a person should or should not be hired by a company? When formulating your response, consider the following -

Most companies state that the tests are used to help them determine who to hire, the test scores do not have an impact on the final decision.

How else can an employer find out if an employee is trustworthy and can be relied on.

Sister Mary, a teaching Nun, applied for a job in the local bookstore but did not get the job because she recorded the lowest score ever seen by this company.

A lady who had previously worked for Sobey's in Nova Scotia, was applying to return to the company after maternity leave. Sobey's did not hire her because she failed the honesty test. She had been employed at the bakery, and when asked if she ever thought about taking a cookie when it first comes out of the over. She responded that she did, because they smell so good; but had in fact never acted upon this - she never took a cookie. She did not get the job since it was determined that she had thought of stealing from the grocery store.