Date of Graduation

Spring 2012

Degree

Master of Science in Psychology

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Donald Fischer

Abstract

The assessment of integrity and character is of interest, especially in the wake of a seemingly endless litany of scandals involving criminal conduct by those in leadership positions in both corporate and governmental organizations. This study examined the criterion-related validity of some new integrity measures that are based upon the Implicit Association Test by using a temptation paradigm to elicit relevant criterion behavior (breaking or following rules and lying or telling the truth). The results indicate that (1) the implicit measures do not correlate with established explicit integrity measures and (2) the implicit measures have incremental predictive validity for the criterion behavior (breaking or following rules and lying or telling the truth). The results replicate some earlier findings and provide additional support for the implicit measures' potential as a tool for managing risks related to character failure in organizations.

Keywords

workplace, integrity, character, implicit association test, organizational citizenship behavior, counterproductive work behavior, implicit cognition, employee stealing, trustworthiness

Subject Categories

Psychology

Copyright

© Phillip Steven Thompson

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