Fake It to Make It?

DALLAS, Sept. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Today's job-seekers face hot competition and a cold job market. But, are they more likely to stretch the truth to gain employment?

To find out, researchers compared the exaggeration rates of 3,003 2009 job-seekers with 3,859 job-seekers in 2006, when jobs were plentiful and unemployment was low. The researchers expected exaggeration rates to parallel the dramatic increase in competitive pressure faced by job-seekers fighting for the few jobs now available. But, what they found surprised them. Competition increased and so did exaggeration— but considerably less.

Researchers, George W. Dudley and Trelitha R. Bryant at Behavioral Sciences Research Press in Dallas, Texas, www.bsrpinc.com , and Dr. Jeff Tanner at Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business, compared exaggeration rates of applicants for sales positions in 2006 and 2009. Both groups completed SPQ*GOLD®, a well-established psychological test used globally to forecast customer-seeking activity in sales candidates and related positions. The SPQ has a robust means of spotting "too-good-to-be-true" exaggerators.  

Exaggeration rates were obtained from a cross section of U.S. sales applicants in 2006, when unemployment was 4.5%, and compared to rates in 2009, when unemployment reached 10%— and in some localities, was even higher. Key findings include:

• A few test-takers habitually exaggerate. Dudley & Goodson's earlier multi-nation study of 226,109 adults, found that 6.2% will over-state their abilities despite economic conditions or job availability.
• Of the 3,859 U.S. applicants in 2006, 44% (1,105 men/580 women) exaggerated enough to warrant careful verification.  
• The average U.S. exaggeration rate increased 5% in 2009. 49% of the 3,003 applicants in the sample (1,039 men/418 women) exaggerated enough to warrant caution. The increase roughly parallels the change in unemployment.    
• The exaggeration rate increased more for women than men suggesting that women may be experiencing more competitive pressure to find employment.
  • Exaggeration rates among women applicants went up 6%, from 41% in 2006 to 47% in 2009.  In comparison, men posted a 4% increase, from 45% in 2006 to 49% in 2009.

Tanner noted that, "a 44% exaggeration base rate for U.S. applicants is enough to caution any organization using pre-employment tests to verify results carefully. The 5% increase we found reflects the harsh reality of trying to gain employment when few organizations are hiring.  But, that increase, though theoretically 'significant,' is less than we expected given current economic conditions."

"I think most people try to be ethical," says Max Weisman, co-founder, with the late Mortimer J. Adler, of the Center for the Study of the Great Ideas, an organization that encourages the discussion of ethical and philosophical issues. "Granted, pressures today are intense and temptations great, but I think most people still try to live thoughtful, honorable lives. The core values people live by are not like the stock market. They don't rise and fall to the beat of commerce and industry."

Researcher Bryant thinks the results are encouraging. Sunday school teachers and university professors trying to promote ethical behavior in the workplace should take note. "Despite the headline-grabbing misdeeds of some individuals, the people trying to encourage us to think about the choices we make could be making a difference. If so, that's the real headline here. And, that's no exaggeration."

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George W. Dudley

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SOURCE Behavioral Sciences Research Press