How honesty testing works

How honesty testing works

Journal of Criminal Justice, Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 259-262, 1997 Copyright © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in the USA. All rights reserved 0047-2352...

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Journal of Criminal Justice, Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 259-262, 1997 Copyright © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in the USA. All rights reserved 0047-2352/97 $17.00 + .00

Pergamon

PII S0047-2352(97)00010-X

CURRENT PUBLICATIONS ABSTRACTS

Keith P. McCullough

How Honesty Testing Works by John B. Miner and Michael H. Capps Quorum Books (P.O. Box 5007, Westport, Connecticut 06881-5007), 1996, 200 pp., hardcover--S59.95. With the demise of the polygraph following the passage of the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, honesty testing has come to be seen as an alternative approach. It has, however, become the subject of considerable controversy, some legal enactments, a barrage of union opposition, and a great deal of employer interest. Miner and Capps provide an understanding of the tools necessary to help human resource managers make decisions regarding the use of honesty testing. Generic testing instruments are assessed, and all statistical and mathematical concepts are presented with explanations. Honesty tests are defined as written tests that are intended to provide an indication of a person's honesty or likelihood for disruptive or counterproductive behavior on the job. The tests may include questions asking for confessions of illegal or disapproved activities, attitudes toward illegal or disapproved behavior, self-reports on a person's personality, and/or reactions to hypothetical scenarios. Honesty tests are used to evaluate job applicants or current employees who are usually lower level, but may be in a position to steal money or products. They are important because

of the damage that can be done to a company by employee theft, drug and alcohol problems, production deviance, and violence. Some of the alternatives to honesty testing include: polygraph testing, use of which is restricted by the Polygraph Protection Act of 1988; reference checking, which may be difficult as companies are becoming less willing to provide information about former employees; drug testing, which only covers drugs and not other problems such as theft; biographical information supplied in applications, which can be in a discriminatory fashion and may be irrelevant to honesty; interviewing, which adds cost and depends on the skill of the interviewer; and personality testing, which may test the subject on many areas not related to honesty as well as testing for honesty. Each of these approaches may be helpful in evaluating new employees. The authors recommend using several different approaches, including honesty testing. There have been several investigations into the validity of various honesty testing instruments. The authors cite their own studies and other peer-reviewed sources in claiming that honesty tests, using currently available designs, exhibit evidence of validity. The authors present the views of several reviewers of various honesty testing instruments and, while they agree that a specific honesty test may lack validity, claim that the results of validity studies are "generally positive" (62). There are several aspects to test reliability

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Current Publications Abstracts

and validity, which need to be examined before the test is used. To evaluate an honesty test an examiner should ascertain the method used to develop the test, the changes made to the test questions and weights, the factor structure of the test, the availability of verification scales for applicants who answer according to social desirability, the degree of reluctance of prior applicants toward taking the test, the professional qualifications of those who created the test, and the information published about the test in the literature. The test users should determine for themselves what the minimum acceptable test score should be relative to labor availability, false positive rate, and potential for harm. They also need to ensure that the test administrators are properly trained and when, during the application process, the honesty test is administered. Because of the possibility of a false positive result, test takers should never be told that they did not get the job because of a failed honesty test. Although test publishers advertise that their products do not discriminate against protected groups, referencing studies comparing mean scores in different groups, test users should be aware that the subgroup norming proscription in the Civil Rights Act of 1991 may need to be taken into account if the test has adverse impact on nonprotected groups. Test users should inquire if the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has concluded that the test has or does not have a discriminatory impact on protected individuals, ensure that the test is valid based on business necessity, and pay attention to legal developments related to this issue. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) also has affected certain types of honesty testing. For example, drug tests are allowed by the ADA, but questions about prescription drugs are prohibited according to the EEOC Compliance Manual. Background checks and workers' compensation inquiries could reveal a disability, and inferences could be drawn if the employer knew this before making the hiring decision. The authors advise that tests such as these be performed after making a conditional job offer. The disabilities most likely to be revealed by honesty testing are various mental disorders, including drug and alcohol addiction. Knowledge of these

disorders is unavailable to the employer until a conditional offer is made. After the conditional job offer is made, it can be withdrawn "because you have found out about a disability which would, in fact, interfere with effective performance of crucial job functions" (125). The authors conclude the book with a discussion about how honesty tests are sold, including American Psychological Association comments on the exaggerated claims made by some publishers, and with speculation about the future of honesty testing, comparing the development of honesty testing with the development of polygraph testing. The authors also include an appendix describing the development and validation of a specific honesty test.

Resolution of Prison Riots: Strategies and Policies by Bert Useem, Camille Graham Camp, and George M. Camp Oxford University Press (198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016), 1996, 223 pp., hardcover--$39.95. This book contains accounts of eight prison riots, including the conditions that precipitated the disturbances, the course of events during the disturbances, and the recovery of the corrections facility afterwards. These riots are divided into four protracted riots (lasting more than one day) and four contracted riots. The authors explore conflict management issues, negotiations, use of force, and strategies used by the administration before, during, and after the riots. In each case the authors map the prison area, describe the administration decisions made before the riot, and list some of the warning signs before the riot. The authors detail the beginning of the riot, the treatment of the hostages, the response of the media, the negotiation strategies, the resolution of the riot, and the aftermath. The first protracted riot covered was the United States Penitentiary, Atlanta riot of November 23-December 4, 1987. The authors