Chapter 2: Police Psychology Flashcards
police selection procedures
a set of procedures used by the police to either screen out undesirable candidates or select desirable candidates
history of police selection
Psychologists have been involved in police selection since the early 20th century
Lewis Terman
used the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test to assist with police selection in California in 1917. He tested 30 police and firefighter applicants and recommended a minimum IQ score of 80 for future applicants
police selection in the 1950s
By the mid-1950s, the psychological screening procedure of police applicants became part of the standard process
common U.S. police selection procedures today (in order of prevalence)
- background checks
- medical exams
- seleciton interviews
- personality tests
- drug tests
- physical agility tests
- polygraph tests
- recommendation letters
- cognitive ability tests
stages of developing police selection instruments
job analysis & construction and validation
job analysis
- A procedure for identifying knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that make a good police officer
- This can be done using a range of techniques
problems with job analyses
- The KSAs of a good police officer may not be stable over time, which makes it difficult to determine what the selection procedures could actually be testing
- Different types of police officers will be characterized by different KSAs
- Individuals may disagree over which KSAs are important (ex. police constables rank humour highly when asked about important police qualities, but senior officers do not rank humour highly)
predictive validity
the extent to which scores on a test (ex. Cognitive ability test) predicts scores on some other measure (ex. Supervisor ratings of police performance)
how can you determine a selection instrument’s predictive validity?
using a correlation coefficient
interpreting correlation coefficients
Correlation coefficients indicate the strength and direction of the relationship between the scores on the selection instrument and the ratings of job performance
problems with the validation stage
- Different trends can emerge based on what measure of performance is used
- Ratings by different individuals can contradict each other
selection interview
an interview used by the police to determine the extent to which an applicant possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities deemed important for the job
format of police selection interviews
The interviewer has a preset list of questions that are asked of each applicant, ensuring a more objective basis for comparison
interviews and job performance
Research suggests that interviews can sometimes predict job performance but not always
Annell et al., 2015 interviews and job performance study
studied how well three types of interviews predicted performance, satisfaction, occupational retention, and health across three different settings and found that the largest coefficient was 0.10 (not very significant)
what types of interviews are more likely to predict future job performance?
structured interviews
psychological tests
- Some tests measure cognitive abilities while others measure personality
- Some tests are specific to police selection, but others are more broad
cognitive ability tests
procedures for measuring verbal, mathematical, memory, and reasoning skills
example of a cognitive ability test
the RCMP Police Aptitude Test
RCMP Police Aptitude Test
consists of multiple-choice questions designed to evaluate an applicant’s aptitude for police work
cognitive ability tests and job performance
- Cognitive ability tests for police selection tend to be better at predicting performance during police academy training compared to future on-the-job performance
- This may be because personality variables play a larger role in determining job success
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
an assessment instrument for identifying people with psychopathological problems
what is the most commonly used psychological test in police agencies?
the MMPI
MMPI and job performance
The MMPI is associated with significant but relatively low validity coefficients, especially when the tests are being used to predict problematic police behaviours
Selborn et al., 2007 MMPI vs. MMPI-2 and job performance
found that the MMPI-2 performed significantly better than the MMPI for predicting items such as internal affairs complaints and termination
Weiss et al., 2013 MMPI and problematic police behaviour study
found that the lie scale, which assesses the degree to which the test taker is faking good, was a significant predictor of problematic police behaviour
why might the MMPI have low predictive validity?
because it was not developed as a police selection instrument
Inwald Personality Inventory (IPI)
an assessment instrument used to identify police applicants who are suitable for police work by measuring their personality attributes and behaviour patterns
predictive validity of the IPI
The IPI is slightly more predictive of police officer performance than the MMPI
assessment centre
a facility in which the behaviour of police applicants can be observed in many situations by multiple observers
situational test
a simulation of a real-world policing task
predictive validity of situational tests
Situational tests have modest levels of predictive validity
stress in policing
policing is one of the most stressful occupations
who is negatively impacted by police stress?
police officers, their families, and the organizations they work for
occupational stress
stressors related to the job itself
organizational stressors
stressors related to organizational issues
what form of stress affects officers the most?
organizational stress, especially intra-organizational stressors
5 main sources of police stress
- intra-organizational stressors
- inter-organizational stressors
- occupational stressors
- criminal justice system stressors
- public stressors
example of an intra-organizational stressor
excessive paperwork: the need for duplicate forms of every police transaction is often questioned
example of an inter-organizational stressor
jurisdictional isolationism: there is often an unfortunate lack of cooperation between neighbouring jurisdictions and sometimes an unhealthy competitive relationship exists
example of an occupational stressor
human suffering: officers are constantly exposed to the inequities and brutalities of life
example of a criminal justice system stressor
unfavourable court decisions: many court decisions are viewed by officers as unfairly increasing the difficulty of police work
example of a public stressor
distorted press accounts: reports of incidents are often inaccurate and perceived as derogatory by officers, whether or not the inaccuracy is intentional
what are the 10 highest-ranked police stressors among Ontario police officers (in order)?
- the feeling that different rules apply to different people
- fatigure
- feeling like you always have to prove yourself to the organization
- inconsistent leadership style
- dealing with the court system
- bureaucratic red tap
- not enough time available to spend with friends and family
- shift work
- finding time to stay
- perceived pressure to volunteer free time
work-life balance in policing
Police officers in Canada experience tremendous difficulty balancing their work and home life
physical health problems of police officers
- Constant exposure to stressful events can result in the chronic activation of the body’s stress response to the point where physiological breakdown occurs
- Police officers are more likely to die young, experience digestive disorders, die due to cancer, and develop cardiovascular disease than the rest of the population
- But, it is unclear if this is due to lifestyle habits or stress
3 major consequences of police stress
- physical health problems
- psychological and personal problems
- job performance problems
psychological and personal problems of police officers
- Exposure to stressful events can lead to depression, PTSD, drug and alcohol abuse, marital problems, and suicide
- The findings in this area are contradictory
job performance problems and police officers
- Often as a direct result of physical and psychological problems, job performance decreases
- This can take many forms
- ex. A U.K. study found that police officers are taking more sick days each year
resiliency training
- Training delivered to police officers to improve their ability to effectively adapt to stress and adversity
- A preventative strategy
- Focuses on facilitating mental preparedness
Arnetz et al., 2013 efficacy of resiliency training study
resiliency training results in improved job performance in critical incident simulations and improved stress reactions relative to the control group
psychological debriefing
- A psychologically oriented intervention delivered to police officers following exposure to an event that resulted in psychological distress and impairment of normal functioning
- A management strategy
- Focuses on social support and the venting of emotions through discussion, while facilitators educate participants about stress responses and coping mechanisms in an attempt to restore adaptive functioning
efficacy of psychological debriefing
- It is unclear if it actually works
- Contrasting results can be attributed to the various forms of psychological debriefing that have been examined in these studies
goal of psychological debriefing
to mitigate emotional distress and prevent long-term psychopathology
what is the primary selection instrument used within an assessment centre?
the situational test
