A dishonesty attitude assessment measures a candidate's behavioral tendency toward deception, misrepresentation, and taking unearned advantage in workplace situations. In our Behavioral Assessments, this is scored through the Dishonesty trait, one of five dimensions within the Integrity & Attitude section. It is predictive, not accusatory: it measures a pattern that forecasts how someone is likely to behave in situations where honesty carries a personal cost.

A score above 25 is the fixed threshold established in the Discovered Assessments manual. Above this point, integrity-related problems are consistently predictable in the workplace. It does not mean the candidate has done something dishonest. It means the behavioral pattern that tends to produce integrity failures is present and should be validated before proceeding with the hire.

A background check surfaces documented history: criminal records, employment verification, and similar information. A dishonesty attitude assessment measures a behavioral tendency that predicts future conduct, including in situations where no record yet exists. The two tools serve different purposes. For high-trust roles, both are valuable and complement each other.

Candidates naturally try to present themselves as honest. However, the Dishonesty trait is measured across multiple questions throughout the assessment, making it harder to maintain a consistently accurate but favorable pattern than in a direct interview. Additionally, the Reliability Indicators in the report are specifically designed to flag when responses appear inconsistent or overly favorable, which itself can be a meaningful signal.

First, review the I&A Average and the other four trait scores. A score above 25 with an otherwise positive profile still warrants direct reference contact specifically focused on integrity: ask supervisors directly about accuracy, transparency, and any situations where the candidate's account of events differed from what others observed. Do not proceed in high-trust roles without completing this step.

Not automatically. A score above 25 requires follow-up, not automatic disqualification. Context matters: the specific role, the strength of references, and whether other traits are also elevated all factor into the decision. However, for roles involving financial access, client trust, or limited oversight, a high Dishonesty score alongside other elevated traits represents a risk that is difficult to justify in most hiring situations.

For individual contributor, administrative, operations, and frontline roles, use the IC Behavioral Assessment. For sales, leadership, and management roles, use the SL Behavioral Assessment. Both provide full five-trait scoring. For high-volume hiring where you need a faster integrity screen, IntegrityFirst or the Positivity & Integrity assessment are shorter alternatives.