Someone has been stealing from the company, and suspicion has fallen on Elizabeth. Her supervisors have evidence against her, and their suspicions are rightly compounded by the fact that she
A) is not one of the company's better workers.
B) has a tendency to be abusive toward coworkers.
C) lacks education and is therefore more likely to steal.
D) comes from a background where stealing is common.
E) works as a cashier, a job likely to be associated with theft.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Elizabeth may lack education and come from a troubled background, but that makes her no more likely to engage in counterproductive behavior that someone who grew up in a mansion and went to an Ivy League school. As for the fact that she is a cashier, while that clearly gives her ready access to cash, counterproductive behavior is relevant to any job. Nor is her poor performance as a worker necessarily a strike against her, because there is a weak negative correlation between task performance and counterproductive behavior. Her abusive behavior, however, is a clue that she might be the company thief: there is evidence that people who engage in one form of counterproductive behavior also engage in others-in other words, such behaviors tend to represent a pattern of behavior rather than isolated incidents.

Someone Has Been Stealing from the Company, and Suspicion Has