Abstract
In the August 1993 issue ofJournal of Applied Psychology, Deniz Ones, Vish Viswesvaran, and Frank Schmidt published a monograph on the validity of integrity tests as revealed by meta-analysis. They concluded that integrity tests have substantial and generalizable predictive validity for criteria of both overall job performance and counterproductive behaviors on the job (e.g., disciplinary problems, absenteeism, rule breaking, violence on the job, theft, etc.). During the Fall of 1992, the authors sent a preprint of this study to David Lykken of the University of Minnesota, stimulating the exchange of letters that is reproduced here. The doubts, concerns, and feelings about integrity tests expressed by Professor Lykken are likely to be shared by others. The responses by Professors Schmidt, Ones, and Viswesvaran attempt to show that these worries are unfounded.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Psychological Association. (1992). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct.American Psychologist, 47, 1597–1611.
Goldberg, L. R., Grenier, J. R., Guion, R. M., Sechrest, L. B., & Wing, H. (1991). Questionnaires used in the prediction of trustworthiness and preemployment selection decisions. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Lykken, D. T. (Unpublished Manuscript). Honesty Testing: An Environmental Impact Assessment. Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis: MN.
Ones, D. S.; Viswesvaran, C.; & Schmidt, F. L. (1993). Comprehensive Meta-Analysis of Integrity Test Validities: Findings and Implications for Personnel Selection and Theories of Job Performance. Monograph.Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 679–703.
U.S. Congressional Office of Technology Assessment. (1990). The use of integrity tests for pre-employment screening (Report No. OTA-SET-442). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ones, D.S., Schmidt, F.L., Viswesvaran, C. et al. Controversies over integrity testing: Two viewpoints. J Bus Psychol 10, 487–501 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02251783
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02251783