Many of the personality traits that predict crime in men don't appear to apply to women, according to a recent study. Additionally, men and women have different motivations for committing financial crime, said industrial and organizational psychologist Judith Collins, the study's co-author. She advocates personality testing of prospective executives to weed out potential crooks.
Many companies now conduct financial background checks.
And 67 percent of the 600 fraud examiners responding to a 1998 survey by the organization said fraud has gotten worse in the last five years. It befuddles me. Collins compared differences in these variables between the two groups of women, as well as the findings from this study against previous research involving male white-collar criminals. Studies of men correlate criminal behavior with lack of empathy, diminished self-control and being socialized to defy societal norms of behavior. But not necessarily in women, Collins found.