Validity of an Honesty Test in Predicting Theft Among Convenience Store Employees

One approach that companies have for attacking the problem of employee theft is preemployment screening. Various integrity tests purport to measure different constructs, among them antisocial tendencies and honesty. However, integrity-honesty tests have come under increasing scrutiny concerning their validity. The validity of such tests is investigated using data provided on 111 convenience store employees who had taken the Personnel Selection Inventory test or the Station Employee Application Inventory test as job applicants. It was found that the scores on an honesty test successfully predicted detectable theft. No significant differences on the tests emerged as a function of race, gender, or age.