Chapter 2: Police and Investigative psychology

Question 1

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Answer 1

A federal law that guarantees equal opportunities for individuals with disabilities in state and local governments services, public accommodations, employment, transportation, and telecommunications

Question 2

Community-oriented policing (COP)

Answer 2

An approach whereby citizens and police work as partners to prevent crime and improve the community

Question 3

Concurrent validity

Answer 3

In psychological testing, validity measured by comparing one test with another, already established one

Question 4

Critical incidents

Answer 4

Emergencies and disasters that are nonroutine and unanticipated

Question 5

Early intervention system (EIS)

Answer 5

Also called an early warning system, this is a program that helps identify psychological and performance problems in law enforcement officers early and provide them with support services

Question 6

Excessive force

Answer 6

Refers to situations in law enforcement where the level of force exceeds the level considered justifiable under the circumstances

Question 7

External stress

Answer 7

Stress that is outside of one’s daily tasks. In the law enforcement context, they include frustrations with the courts, the prosecutor’s office, the criminal process, the correctional system, the media, and the public attitudes toward policing

Question 8

Face (or content) validity

Answer 8

Refers not to what a psychological test actually measures, but to what it superficially appears to measure

Question 9

Fitness-for-duty evaluations (FFDEs)

Answer 9

Assessments conducted to determine the psychological ability of law enforcement officers to perform their essential job functions, particularly after experiencing a major stressful event

Question 10

Job analysis

Answer 10

Identification and analysis of the skills, abilities, knowledge, and psychological characteristics that are needed to do a job

Question 11

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Revised (MMPI-2)

Answer 11

Self-administered personality inventory used in numerous contexts, including law enforcement screening

Question 12

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Revised-Restructured Form (MMPI-R-RF)

Answer 12

Self-report personality inventory used in clincial practice, especially in the selection of law enforcement and public safety personnel. Although the inventory uses many questions from the MMPI-2, researchers have developed its own norms and clinical scales

Question 13

Organizational stress

Answer 13

Refers to the emotional and stressful effects that the policies and practices of the police department have on the individual officer

Question 14

Personal stress

Answer 14

Stress related to marital relationships, health problems, addictions, peer group pressures, feelings of helplessness and depression, and lack of achievement

Question 15

Police culture

Answer 15

A set of behaviours and attitudes that are presumed to be characteristics of individuals involved in law enforcement work, such as suspicion, toughness, and protectiveness of other law enforcement officiers

Question 16

Post-shooting traumatic reaction (PSTR)

Answer 16

Represents a collection of emotions and psychological response patterns that may occur after a law enforcement officer shoots a person in the line of duty

Question 17

Predictive validity

Answer 17

The extent to which a test predicts a person’s subsequent performance on the dimensions and tasks the test is designed to measure

Question 18

Pre-employment psychological screening

Answer 18

The psychological evaluation that is conducted prior to a conditional offer of employment

Question 19

Screening-in procedures

Answer 19

Intended to identify those attributes (almost invariably personality) that distinguish one candidate over another as being potentially a more effective police officer

Question 20

Screening-out procedures

Answer 20

Designed to eliminate those law enforcement applicants who demonstrate significant signs of psychopathology or emotional instability or who lack the basic ability or mental acuity to perform the job in a safe and responsible manner

Question 21

Shooter bias

Answer 21

Refers to an implicit racial bias among some law enforcement officers to shoot Black juveniles or adults