The behavioral variable employment-related motivational distortion (EMD) was defined and measured. In Study 1, a sample of 250 undergraduates completed the California Psychological Inventory (CPI), Form 434, on two separate occasions in which they responded (a) honestly and (b) as if applying for a job they valued. Four different change measures indexed participants' response changes between the two conditions on a CPIbased scale measuring counterproductivity (CPI-Cp). A composite of these four measures provided an EMD criterion, which enabled the development, in Study 2, of a 56-item CPI-based EMD predictor scale. On the basis of eight samples comprising a total N of 2,074, internal consistency and test-retest reliability estimates for the CPI-EMD scale ranged between .72 and .86. Correlations with NEO PI-R domain and facet scales provided construct information about EMD. In Study 3, CPI-Cp scale scores adjusted for EMD manifested (a) reliability ranging from .71 to .87 over eight samples and (b) somewhat different correlations than for the unadjusted scale with Big Five personality scales. In addition, some evidence was found for gains in criterion correlations with EMD adjustments.