Return to Enterprise Table of Contents ARE YOU HONEST? BE CAREFUL HOW YOU ANSWER Psychobabble...or effective screening tool? For decades, both job-seekers and employees have taken a variety of honesty tests, which are supposed to measure workers' trustworthiness and on-the-job performance. To most test-takers and certain critics, the exams are a silly, if not undecipherable, rite of passage. Some employers, however, view the tests as reasonable gauges of integrity and make the exams part of a job applicant's profile. One such test, the Stanton Survey (offered by Pinkerton Services Group), is based on psychological research dating back to the 1960s. As described by its creators, it uses 83 questions (mostly answered yes or no, with a few multiple-choice queries) to glean insight into a test-taker's past and future deviant behavior. What's on the test? Enterprise Online has selected 10 Stanton Survey questions for posting online. Though Pinkerton officials declined to reveal the "correct" answers, the following items should give a basic sense of what honesty tests are about. Do you agree with this statement: "Some of my friends are a little honest but I do not put them down."? Would you return money to a store if a clerk gave you too much change? Is it all right to bend company rules as long as it does not become a habit? Is it all right for employees to use a sick day for reasons other than illness? Have you ever hurt anyone's feelings? Do you always finish what you start? Did you ever help a friend by letting him/her have your employee discount without a supervisor's approval? Would most employees steal if they would not get caught? When there are no opportunities to advance in a company, do employees turn to stealing? Is it fun to see how much your supervisor will let you get away with? Edited by Dennis Berman Return to main story

Updated Dec. 12, 1997 by bwwebmaster
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