The structure of honesty: Factor analysis of the reid report

The present study conducted principal component factor analyses of the Reid Report honesty test using two large (N=1281, N=3071) samples of applicants for employment. The results, which replicated across samples, strongly supported the existence of four major factors involved in the Reid Report measure of employee honesty. The Self-Punitiveness factor of the Reid Report contains items in which individuals indicate the extent to which they hold themselves to high standards of conduct. The Other-Punitiveness factor involves questions in which individuals indicate whether they are relatively harsh towards other people who commit crimes or act dishonestly. The Self-Projection factor of the Reid Report incorporates items in which individuals admit or deny that they have personal fantasies about dishonest behavior, such as taking company merchandise home with them. Finally, on the Other-Projection factor, respondents indicate the extent to which they see dishonest intentions or behaviors in others. Such results suggest a basis for more detailed assessments of a person's honesty than is provided merely by a single overall honesty score.This study was initiated while Dr. Ash was affiliated with Reid Psychological Systems, and was completed after he moved to London House, Inc. An earlier version of this study was presented by Dr. Ash at the Second Annual Conference of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Atlanta, April, 1987. The authors are grateful for the cooperation of Reid Psychological Systems in providing the data used in the present study, and to David Arnold and Paul Brooks for their comments on an earlier draft.