DTIC ADA242480: White Collar Criminality: A Prediction Model

300 Pages·8.1 MB·English

by  Defense Technical Information Center

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FINAL TECHNICAL REPORT
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RESEARCH GRANT NO: N00014-90-J-4072
MODIFICATION NO: P00001
S.O. CODE: N62271
DISBURSING CODE: N00179
AGO CODE: N63374
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CAGE CODE: 1A199
GRANTEE: Iowa State University
204 Beardshear Hall
Ames, IA 50011
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:
Judith M. Collins, Ph.D.
Current Address of Principal Investigator:
College of Business Administration
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS at LITTLE ROCK
2801 South University
Little, Rock, Arkansas 72204
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White collar criminality: A prediction model
by
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Judith M. Collins
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An Abstract of
IA
Dissertation Submitted to the
Graduate Faculty in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Approved:
In Charge of Major ork
For/the ajor Department
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-for the Graduate College
Iowa State University f, *.
Ames, Iowa
1991 250
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White collar criminality: A prediction model
Judith M. Collins
In charge of major work: Paul M. Muchinsky
From the Department of Psychology
Iowa State University
A prediction model for the purpose of maximally
differentiating potential white collar offenders from
non-offenders was developed and validated.
The problems today in the selection of personnel for
white collar positions are three-fold: the costs of white
collar crime are on the increase, the applicant pool for
white collar positions is on the decrease, and potential
job incumbents often have little or no credit history or
past work records from which assessments of risk are
typically made.
An essential personnel selection function, therefore,
for the hiring of job applicants into sensitive white
collar positions is the identification of individuals who
may be prone to engage in financially irresponsible acts.
Responses to five self-report instruments by 365
incarcerated white collar offenders and 344 white collar
employees holding positions of authority addressed the
relationships between three factors: behavioral tendencies
of the individuals, their perceptions of personal and work-
related situations, and behaviors in past situations.
Forty-nine scales were reduced to 15 scales to form a
discrimination function for purposes of classification.
The function correctly classified 89.35% of the
nonoffenders, and 90.41% of the offenders. Further
analyses, based upon the results of the 15 scale
discriminant analysis, identified a six factor discriminant
model which correctly classified 87.96% of the non -
offenders and 85.84% of the offenders. Cross-validation
using a hold-out sample provided evidence for the stability
of the weights in the above analyses as well as for an
analysis using only male subjects. Base rate issues were
addressed. For all of the models, the same two global
constructs were identified under which were subsumed the 15
scales (or dimensions) and six scales (or dimensions) of
the discriminant functions: extra-curricular activity and
social conscientiousness.
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White collar criminality: A prediction model
by
Judith M. Collins
A Dissertation Submitted to the
Graduate Faculty in Partial Fulfillment of the
I
Requirements for the Degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
j
Major: Psychology
Approved:
I~
For/the MajfDpartment
__
For the Graduate College
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa
1991
Copyright © Judith M. Collins, 1991. All rights reserved.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Page
jINTRODUCTION..............................................
1
Objective.............................................. 1
IThe
Definition of White Collar Crime................... 2
jThe
Problem............................................ 5
Theories of White Collar Crime......................... 7
Sociological Perspectives........................... 8
Sutherland's Differential Association .......... 8
IReckless's
Containment Theory................... 10
IHirschi
and Gottfredson's General Theory .......11
Psychological Perspectives......................... 13
IThe
Criminal Personality....................... 14
The Latent Trait Approach....................... 15
IBiopsychosocial
Theory............................. 17
Wilson and Herrnstein's Comprehensive Theory ...... 19
Fishbein's Biological Model........................ 20
jMETHOD...................................................
22
subjects.............................................. 22
*Measures.............................................. 27
The Irritability Scale............................. 28
The California Psychological Inventory ........... 29
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Page
IThe
Biographical Questionnaire..................... 31
The PDI Employment Inventory....................... 32
IProbscore...........................................
34
STUDY ONE................................................. 35
Introduction........................................... 35
jStatistical
Analyses.................................. 46
Results................................................ 47
IDiscussion.............................................
48
conclusions............................................ 56
STUDY TWO................................................. 58
Introduction........................................... 58
The Individual's Traits............................ 63
IThe
Individual's Behavior in Past Situations ......68
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The Individual's Perceptions of Personal and
Work-related Situations......................... 72
jStatistical
Analyses.................................. 76
Level One: Selection of Variables................. 76
ILevel
Two: The Prediction Model................... 80
ILevel
Three: The Classification Analysis.......... 87
Level Four: Cross-validation...................... 90
IResults...............................................
93
ILevel
One: Selection of Variables................. 93
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Level Two: The Prediction Model .................. 96
Level Three: The Classification Analysis ....... 100
Level Four: The Cross-validation ................ 102
Discussion ......................................... 104
Base Rate Considerations ......................... 117
Conclusions ........................................ 120
STUDY THREE ........................................... 122
Introduction ........................................ 122
Statistical Results ................................. 123
Discussion .......................................... 124
Conclusion .......................................... 126
STUDY FOUR ....... ..................................1.2.7.
Introduction ........................................ 127
Statistical Results ................................. 127
Discussion and Conclusion ........................... 128
OVERALL SUMMARY ....................................... 129
LIMITATIONS ........................................... 130
FUTURE RESEARCH ....................................... 135
REFERENCES ............................................ 171
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................... 200
APPENDIX A. JOB DESCRIPTIONS OF WORKPLACE SAMPLE ..... 203
APPENDIX B. GENERAL INFORMATION STATEMENT ............ 208
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APPENDIX C. INFORMED CONSENT STATEMENT FOR PRISON
SAMPLE ................................. 212
APPENDIX D. INFORMED CONSENT STATEMENT FOR WORKPLACE
SAMPLE ................................. 214
APPENDIX E. DEBRIEFING STATEMENT ...................... 216
APPENDIX F. THE IRRITABILITY SCALE .................... 218
APPENDIX G. THE CALIFORNIA PSYCHOLOGICAL INVENTORY:
SCALE TITLES AND DESCRIPTIONS .......... 224
APPENDIX H. THE CALIFORNIA PSYCHOLOGICAL INVENTORY:
SCALE ABBREVIATIONS .................... 234
APPENDIX I. BIODATA QUESTIONNAIRE (MALES):
SCALE DESCRIPTIONS ..................... 237
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APPENDIX J. BIODATA QUESTIONNAIRE (FEMALES):
SCALE DESCRIPTIONS ..................... 241
APPENDIX Ka. THE GENERAL BIODATA QUESTIONNAIRE (GBQ)
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SCALE DESCRIPTIONS ..................... 246
APPENDIX Kb.. GENERAL BIODATA QUESTIONNAIRE (GBQ) ...... 250
APPENDIX L. THE PDI EMPLOYMENT INVENTORY:
ITEM EXAMPLES ...........................2 79
APPENDIX M. THE PROBSCOR QUESTIONNAIRE ................ 281
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APPENDIX N. FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION FOR DISCRIMINANT
SCORES FOR PRISON SAMPLE ............... 283
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APPENDIX 0. FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION FOR DISCRIMINANT
SCORES FOR WORKPLACE SAMPLE ........... 285
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LIST OF TABLES
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Page
Table 1. Federal Prison Locations and Test Dates .... 137
Table 2. Crimes Committed and Number of Offenders ...139
Table 3. Workplace Organizations, Numbers of
Employees, and Dates of Testing .......... 141
Table 4. Educational Levels for Non-offenders and
Offenders ................................ 143
Table 5. Means, Standard Deviations, and t-scores
for Study One hypotheses ................. 144
Table 6. d values for 43 Scales ..................... 145
Table 7. T-test of Multiplicative Model for
Study One ................................ 148
ITable
8. Reliabilities, Means, Standard Deviations,
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and t-scores for Non-offenders and
Offenders ................................. 149
Table 9. Stepdisc variables selected ................ 155
Table 10. Means, Standard Deviations, and t-scores
for 15 Scales of the Model ............... 157
Table 11. Total Sample Statistics and Correlations
for the Discriminating Variables ......... 159
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Table 12. Standardized Canonical Weights and Total
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Structure Coefficients ................... 160
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