Hacking Honesty Tests

by U.R. Source

Introduction

Written honesty and integrity tests are easy to beat once you understand the underlying principles, the manner in which the tests are constructed, and the mind set necessary to undergo the test.  You can beat the test and get that job.  The purpose of this article is to help insure that you have the knowledge and skills to beat the test.

There are numerous honesty and integrity tests on the market.  The two major honesty and integrity test publishers are Reid Report and London House Personnel Selection.  Some tests are comprised of true/false or yes/no questions, while others will give you a number of answers from which to choose or ask how strongly you agree or disagree with a statement.  Some of the test publishers are up front and label their tests for what they are, using such terms as "honesty" and "trustworthiness" in the test title.  Other test publishers hide the purpose of the test behind phrases such as "Inventory," "Profile," or "Survey."  Regardless of whether the publishers of these tests reveal the purpose of the test outright or attempt to use deception, you are about to learn how to beat them.

A review of the test questions will reveal the purpose behind any written honesty test.  If you are given a test while applying for employment and you see questions that deal with attitudes about theft or your past conduct in regard to theft, drug use, etc., then it is, in all probability, a written honesty or integrity test.  This is true regardless of what the test administrator states is the purpose of the test.  You may hear that the test is to give them insight into your general attitudes, or you may hear that it is a test to see if you are willing to be truthful.  Ignore what the administrator says about the purposes of the test.  Trust me - it is a written honesty or integrity test if the majority of test questions deal with theft, substance abuse, illegal acts, and so forth.  The real purpose of the test is to screen out individuals who make the wrong sort of admissions.  You will be told that if you try to trick or fool the test, your efforts will be discovered.  You are about to learn how to refrain from being one of those unfortunate people who flunk these tests, because you are about to learn the inside tricks you need to beat the test and not be discovered.

The Types of Questions

Written honesty and integrity tests are generally composed of three types of questions:

1.)  Neutral Questions, which do not enter into the honesty score, but are used to make sure that you can comprehend the test and are paying attention.

2.)  Control Questions, which are generally used to check if you are trying to fake the test.

3.)  The honest scale questions are what we are going to call "The Questions," which taken together give an honesty score.  For you to beat the written honesty tests, you need to be able to rapidly identify The Questions and the Control Questions.  Neutral Questions are not a concern, but we will go through examples so you can recognize them.

Neutral Questions

Neutral questions are used to help assure that your reading level is such that you can understand all the test questions and that you are paying attention to the test.  These questions are constructed such that there is only one correct answer and that answer should be obvious.  An example might be "Are you using a #2 pencil to mark your answers?"  Not all written honesty tests make use of these type of questions, but if you see a question like the #2 pencil question, don't get rattled because you now know what it is all about.

An Introduction to The Questions

The Questions that go to make up your honest scale score will be divided into several groups which try to ascertain:

1.)  How common do you think dishonest behavior is?

2.)  How often do you engage in dishonest behavior?

3.)  What do you do when you see dishonest behavior?

4.)  Do you have traits that are associated with dishonesty?

5.)  What do you think should be done to dishonest people?

6.)  How do you feel when you have done or been tempted to do something wrong?

All of these questions may be veiled to some degree and may be in the form of hypothetical questions.  A hypothetical question may ask "What would you do if you discovered your best friend at work was...?"  The veiled question may be worded in such a manner that it almost begs you to give the wrong answer.  An example might be "Many people now feel that first time thieves should be given another chance, do you agree?"  We will come back to The Questions later, but first you need to know about Control Questions and the Mind Set it takes to pass these tests.

Control Questions

The Control Questions (sometimes called a lie scale) are used in written honesty tests and are most often of the "faking good" variety.  Faking good controls are used to see if you are doing just that, i.e., trying to be such "a goody two-shoes" that it is obvious you are trying to beat the test.  It is of vital importance that you know about this type of question because if your faking good score is out of line then your test may be called invalid or worse.  Examples of faking good questions follow:

1.)  Have you ever lied to anybody during your life?

2.)  Do you feel that all babies are beautiful?

3.)  Have you ever done anything you felt bad or guilty about?

4.)  Have you ever done anything that made you fee! ashamed?

5.)  Did you ever break any rule?

6.)  Do you always do your best in everything you undertake?

7.)  Did you ever lie to your parents?

8.)  Do you agree with this statement: "I have never met a person I did not like."?

In general faking good questions are fairly obvious.  The first tip is that they seem almost too black and white, using words like always, never, and all.  They are often among the shortest questions on the test.  The real trick is to think in these terms: first pick the best, most honest, and most wonderful person you know.  This could be your mother, your minister, your priest, your rabbi, or Mother Teresa.  Then think of how they would answer the questions.

Next, think of the worst person you have ever known and how they would answer the questions.  If, you think about their answers and they agree, then bingo!  That is the correct answer.  As an example, let us compare Mother Teresa's answer about the above rules question (#5) with one by a guy I'll call Bill the Slasher.  I believe that Mother Teresa would admit she has broken rules and say that to do so is human.  Further, I suspect she has prayed about it and has gone to confessional.

Now Bill the Slasher is going to answer, "Yeah, I break rules all the time.  I'm good at it, just got unlucky a couple of times and got caught, so what?"  So the Control Question becomes obvious - it is a Control when the best and the worst have to answer it the same way.  Essentially, they both will admit to it or they both will deny it.  This brings us to the right Mind Set needed to beat the test.

The Correct Mind Set

Remember, you did not go into a job interview and request to take a bunch of tests.  You deserve every opportunity to do well by showing yourself in the best possible light.  If you were being interviewed and you were asked "Did you steal from your last job?", the correct "best light answer" is clearly to say "No."  Yet, hen people undergo a written honesty test, believe it or not, some will admit stealing from their last job.  And guess what this form of honesty gets them?  They blew it - they did not get hired.  The reason they blew it as because of Improper Mind Set.

In order to beat the test, you need Correct Mind Set.  People who pass written honesty tests have these general traits or at least they make the test scorer think they have them:

1.)  They do not steal - not even a dime off the floor.

2.)  They do not know or associate with people who steal, use drugs, or violate the law - not even a friend who snitched a Pepsi.

3.)  They believe that anybody doing anything wrong should be punished and punished hard.

4.)  They do not engage in thrill seeking behaviors.  Nor are they favorably impressed by people who engage in thrill seeking.  (No drinking in excess, no drugs period, no bungee cord jumping, and no racing on the forklift.)  They even like baseball over professional fights.

5.)  They follow the rules, expect others to do the same, and are in no way favorably impressed by rules violators.

6.)  They sleep well, they have a good appetite, they are not bothered by headaches or upset stomachs, and they seldom lose their tempers or grow tired.  They are generally happy and get along well with family, co-workers, and friends.

7.)  They are not tempted to do "bad things" nor do they spend any time thinking about bad things.  Indeed they do not even read true crime books nor watch such TV programs.

8.)  They feel responsible and in control and do not feel that destiny or fate has any detectable grip on their life.

9.)  When they have done anything wrong, they felt bad about it and accepted full responsibility.

10.)  They believe most people are honest, law abiding, abstain from drugs and too much alcohol, and generally follow all rules.

Got the general picture of the correct mind set?

The Wrong Mind Set

The wrong mind set comes to you when you read "In the last five years, what is the nearest dollar value of all the odds and ends you have taken from your jobs without a proper O.K.?"  The wrong mind set comes forward like a little demon and says, "Nobody will ever believe me if I answer nothing because everybody has taken something and I did take that..."  So that little demon wrong mind set says well I had better answer that lowest number they give (which may be between $10.00 and $25.00).  If you do this on a written honesty test, you have blown it.  These type of questions really come down to "Did you steal from your last job(s)?"  The theory behind these theft type questions is that if you have stolen anything your little demon bad mind set will say "Nobody will believe me if I say I never took anything.  After all, everybody has stolen something, so I'll pick the lowest dollar value."

Remember, the correct mind set is "I do not steal - not even a dime from the floor or a pencil or pen."

How To Tell If You've Got Correct Mind Set

Now let us take a look at one type of question - the theft question - from the views of Mother Teresa and Bill the Slasher.  We agree that with the Control questions, both of them are going to answer the same way.  Not so on The Questions.  Mother Teresa is going to say, "No, I have never stolen from my mission.  To do so would be to steal food from the starving.  I cannot imagine any person stealing from the starving."  Whereas Bill the Slasher is going to say, "I got that microwave, but only me and Jimmy know about it."  On these questions, your answers should be as close to Mother Teresa's and as far away from Bill's as possible.

When you read a question that asks how many people you know or think steal, lie, cheat, violate the law, or use drugs, remember Mother Teresa and Bill the Slasher are not going to answer these types of questions with the same answer.  As an example, "Do you think many people have ever taken change from work, even if it was just to get something to drink?"  The Correct Mind Set answer is "No," you do not know people who steal, you do not associate with people who steal, you have never really even spent any time thinking about anybody stealing, and no person in their right mind would ever tell you they had stolen anything.

This brings up another hint.  Any time you see the words "taken" or "borrowed" on a written honesty test, replace them in your own mind with "stolen," because that is what the test publisher is really asking.

The Questions: What You Will See and What You Will Answer

You will, in all probability, be asked questions as to what should happen to some individual who is caught stealing or borrowing money or merchandise.  In general, the more punitive your answers are, the better your test score will be.  Some of the questions may seem ridiculous.  As an example, you may see a hypothetical situation where a 19-year-old employee is found borrowing fifty cents, which he swears he intended to replace.  You would then be asked what should be done with this individual.  You may be given answers that range from "He should be told never to do it again" to "He should be fired and the police should be notified."  The answer that typically gets you the most points is the answer closest to "Take the S.O.B. out and hang him," which in this case is "Fire him and call the police."  The underlying theory is the more punitive you are the less of a theft risk you are.

There is a theory that people who tend to engage in thrill seeking behavior also may have more of a tendency to engage in deviancy in the workplace.  Whether or not you and I agree with this theory does not matter.  What matters is that some test publishers subscribe to this theory.  So when you see a question that asks you if you like to ride your Harley without a helmet or the like, take it from me - just say no.  If they ask you if you've ever gotten drunk, just say no.  "Do you like to do things on a dare?"  "No."  "Do you like to just take off without any planning and do your own thing on a whim?"  "No."

You will see questions which boil down to: "You are confronted with a silly or stupid rule at work, so is it O.K. to break it?"  Remember, employers like people who follow the rules and people who do well on written honesty tests generally obey the rules (or at least they say they do).  You may see questions that ask if it is possible to break work rules and still be an honest person.  The answer is no.

You may also see questions that ask whether you think most people purposefully break this or that rule on occasion.  These questions are based on a presumption that if you think most people do it, you are doing it too or you would like to hang around people who break the rules.  Remember the Correct Mind Set is you believe in the rules, you try to obey the rules, you've never spent any time thinking about breaking rules, and you do not hang around with rule breakers.  On those rare occasions you did goof a little bit, it really did get to you - right?

Questions may appear on your test that ask how well you sleep, if your stomach is often upset, or if you frequently have headaches.  They may ask if you have experienced difficulties with bosses or co-workers.  These type of questions rest on the theory that if you have a lot of symptoms of anxiety, then you may be more prone to being a bad employee.  These type of questions, which center on physical or emotional health, are less in favor with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) now in force.  But, if you do see them, remember you are a calm individual who is free of any reason to have worry or anxiety and the physical problems worries bring.  It does not matter whether your unemployment ran out, your wife left you, and your dog died.  It does not matter whether you have not slept well in a year and have to drink a bottle of pink stuff a day to keep your stomach in line.  The test sitting in front of you will not know unless you answer the incorrect way.  Only you know.  And you know what they are looking for, right?

You will see questions on most of the honesty tests which ask you if you have ever been tempted to do something.  Once again the demon may come forth.  You may start to think, "Well, everybody has gotten mad and been tempted to do that."  Before you answer these questions, play them by Mother Teresa and Bill the Slasher.  Some of these questions may be Controls and most will be The Questions.  If the question pertains to having been tempted to steal, break rules, violate the law, or engage in risk-taking behavior, then your answer should be no.

However, if the question pertains to being tempted to get mad, lose your temper, or the like, then I think Mother Teresa and Bill the Slasher would both answer yes.  Questions like "Have you ever been tempted to lose your temper?" are Controls.  On the Control Questions, one admits it - yes, I have been tempted, on one or more occasions, to lose my temper.  But on The Questions, one never admits it - no, I have never been tempted to steal.  A question may be "Did you ever get mad and then plan a way to get even?"  This is one of The Questions, because this question really is "Did you ever sit around trying to figure out how to break the law or some rule without getting into hot water?"  The answer is no!  We have the Correct Mind Set; we do not tell the test that we have ever spent time thinking about breaking the law, breaking rules, or trying to do people harm, even if some jerk did piss the hell out of us.

Questions will be present on the test which basically ask you how hard you are on yourself when you do something wrong or have simply done a goof-up.  The theory here is that if you are hard on yourself, then you will tend to stick by the straight and narrow.  This theory carries over into another group of questions.  You will also see hypothetical questions of what should be done to you if you did some imaginary wrong.  On these questions you should be hard on yourself and expect others to be punitive.  If you are asked what should be done to you if you took a dime off the floor and pocketed it - well you should be hung or whatever answer comes closest.  (Fired?  Sure.  Turned over to the police?  You bet.)  Would you ever be able to forgive yourself?  No.  Once again, does it really matter that you believe you should be cut a little slack?  No.  You are taking a test.  The theory also goes that if you believe that you should be punished, then you sure believe others should be.  And conversely, the theory is if you believe that you should be cut some slack, then you believe others should be as well.

You may see questions that ask whether a person should be cut some slack because of their circumstances in life.  An example might be "Do you believe that a person's addiction to a drug should be taken into account when they are sentenced for stealing?"  The correct Mind Set answer to all these type of questions is that the circumstances do not matter (i.e., hang them high).  Other questions of this type will involve a long-tenured employee, a young person, a person who has never done anything wrong before, and so forth.  Set your sympathetic side behind, because for the purposes of taking this test it is the little demon talking to you.  The theory here, in part, is that if you think that circumstances matter, you might be more able to rationalize a wrongful act.

You will absolutely see questions like "Do you feel most people cheat a little on their taxes?", "Do you believe most people have thought about breaking a rule for a friend?', "Do you believe most people have tried marijuana?", "Do you feel most people would take things without permission if there was no chance they would ever be caught?".  The people who do well on written honesty tests believe in the rules and laws (or say they do) and they believe the vast majority of people believe in and generally obey the rules.

So what are the correct answers - cheat on taxes?  No.  Thought about breaking rules?  No.  Done something illegal like smoke marijuana?  No.  Remember, you do not sit around reading the statistics published by the Department of Justice.  The Correct Mind Set is you simply know that you do not do these things, you do not know anybody who even talks about doing these things, and so you must presume these things are just not generally done.

Finally, there are what we will call the devil made me do it questions.  These questions center on preordained or outside factors being the reason people do bad deeds or refrain from them.  Examples are:

1.)  Do you believe it is part of being a human to be dishonest?

2.)  Is the biggest reason people do not steal because of the fear of going to jail?

3.)  Would you try marijuana if it was legalized?

These are easy questions now that you have the mind set down pat.  People who do well on these tests do not blame outside sources for their actions or lack of actions.  People dishonest - no way, I am honest and so is everybody I hang with.  Not steal because of jail - no, people don't steal because stealing is wrong.  Try marijuana - sounds like risk-taking, so what's the answer?  "Just say no."

Those After The Test Interviews

After you take a written honesty test, some employers follow up with an interview.  You may find some of the questions very leading.  "Mary, I see here that you have never stolen anything from an employer.  Does that mean not even a pen?"  Or you may hear "Joe, most people our age have tried marijuana, even the President.  Do you mean you never smoked marijuana?"  Remember the Correct Mind Set.  "No, I am not a thief, I do not steal from work."  "No, I never smoked marijuana and never intend to try it."  If you are the least bit tempted to change your answers, you will blow it.  If you say "Well, yes, I guess I tried marijuana, but I don't really smoke it," then the next question you may hear is "When was the last time?"  Or worse yet, "Do you have any problem with taking a drug test?"  Deny the little demon the option of destroying your chance at the job.  If you wish to do confessionals, now is not the time.

Conclusion

You now have the tools to beat the test.

Remember, the test is just paper with a bunch of questions on it.  Our culture is test crazy.  Many of us have bought into the myth that if it is a test then it has some power to "look inside our heads."  Written honesty and integrity tests are only as powerful as people allow them to be.  And you know better.

Remember, read the questions and ask yourself, "Is this a Control Question or is it one of The Questions?"  Remember Correct Mind Set.  Happy job hunting!