Guilt-proneness is a marker of integrity and employment suitability

•The five-item guilt proneness scale (GP-5) is a brief measure of character.•Law enforcement job candidates completed the GP-5 and other selection measures.•Job candidates with low GP-5 scores were deemed less suitable for employment.•Low GP-5 scores were associated with greater counterproductive tendencies.•The GP-5 may prove useful for pre-employment integrity assessment.

Guilt-proneness (GP) is an individual difference characterized by a tendency to feel bad about committing transgressions. We investigated how law enforcement job candidates' guilt-proneness relates to their employment suitability, history of employment and legal problems, and counterproductive tendencies. By demonstrating relationships between GP and variables important for personnel selection and organizational functioning, this work highlights the potential utility of measuring this trait in applied settings where researchers and/or practitioners wish to gauge the integrity of respondents with a personality-based test. In light of its ability to predict employment suitability and counterproductive tendencies, the five-item guilt-proneness scale (GP-5) may prove to be a useful measure for pre-employment integrity assessment for public safety occupations, as well as other occupations where honesty and accountability are everyday concerns.