Integrity testing definition

Integrity testing, which may also go by the name honesty testing, is a pre-employment screening practice that attempts to predict the future potential of counterproductive workplace behaviours.

Integrity testing tends to come in two flavours: overt tests and personality-based tests. Overt tests asks questions on past behaviour, actions and outcomes and attitudes towards counterproductive workplace behaviours. Personality-based tests map out the applicant’s personality and look for traits or tendencies that correlate with negative behaviour in the workplace.

Integrity testing became more popular in the 1980s, particularly in the United States when the use of polygraphs to screen employees was banned with the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 (EPPA).

Critics of honesty testing say that it is unethical to not hire someone simply because they show a predisposition towards a particular course of action, and that the personality tests used to test for these traits are inherently flawed.