Chapter 2: Police and Investigative psychology Flashcards
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
A federal law that guarantees equal opportunities for individuals with disabilities in state and local governments services, public accommodations, employment, transportation, and telecommunications
Community-oriented policing (COP)
An approach whereby citizens and police work as partners to prevent crime and improve the community
Concurrent validity
In psychological testing, validity measured by comparing one test with another, already established one
Critical incidents
Emergencies and disasters that are nonroutine and unanticipated
Early intervention system (EIS)
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
Excessive force
Refers to situations in law enforcement where the level of force exceeds the level considered justifiable under the circumstances
External stress
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
Face (or content) validity
Refers not to what a psychological test actually measures, but to what it superficially appears to measure
Fitness-for-duty evaluations (FFDEs)
Assessments conducted to determine the psychological ability of law enforcement officers to perform their essential job functions, particularly after experiencing a major stressful event
Job analysis
Identification and analysis of the skills, abilities, knowledge, and psychological characteristics that are needed to do a job
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Revised (MMPI-2)
Self-administered personality inventory used in numerous contexts, including law enforcement screening
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Revised-Restructured Form (MMPI-R-RF)
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
Organizational stress
Refers to the emotional and stressful effects that the policies and practices of the police department have on the individual officer
Personal stress
Stress related to marital relationships, health problems, addictions, peer group pressures, feelings of helplessness and depression, and lack of achievement
Police culture
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
Post-shooting traumatic reaction (PSTR)
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
Predictive validity
The extent to which a test predicts a person’s subsequent performance on the dimensions and tasks the test is designed to measure
Pre-employment psychological screening
The psychological evaluation that is conducted prior to a conditional offer of employment
Screening-in procedures
Intended to identify those attributes (almost invariably personality) that distinguish one candidate over another as being potentially a more effective police officer
Screening-out procedures
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
Shooter bias
Refers to an implicit racial bias among some law enforcement officers to shoot Black juveniles or adults
