research methods and police psychology Flashcards

1
Q

what are the two types of independent variables in forensic psychology research?

A
  • estimator variables (present at the time of crime and cannot be changed)
  • system variables (may be manipulated to increase the effectiveness of procedures)
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2
Q

what are the most common research designs in forensic psychology?

A

correlational and experimental

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3
Q

when is the use of deception acceptable in research?

A
  • when it poses a minimum risk to participants
  • when there is a post-experiment debriefing
  • when sharing the real purpose of the experiment will invalidate the results
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4
Q

name some of the clinical assessments used in research

A
  • self-report
  • interviews
  • standardized tests
  • projective tests
  • behavioral observation
  • psychophysiological tests
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5
Q

what elements are unique to police culture/law enforcement?

A
  • hostile and often dangerous work environment
  • legitimate power to create, display, and maintain authority over the public
  • values control, authority, solidarity, and isolation
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6
Q

what are the 4 categories of common tasks performed by police psychologists?

A
  • assessment
  • intervention
  • operational support
  • consulting and research
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7
Q

explain screening out procedures in police selection

A
  • try to eliminate the candidates who demonstrate psychopathology and emotional instability, or cannot perform the job in a safe manner
  • usually when you don’t have a lot of applicants to begin with
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8
Q

explain the screening-in procedures in police selection

A
  • identify those attributes that distinguish one candidate as being potentially more effective than another
  • used when there are many candidates
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9
Q

what are the two main stages of the development of police selection instruments?

A
  • the job analysis stage
  • the construction and validation stage
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10
Q

explain the job analysis stage of the dev of police selection instruments

A
  • identifying KSAs (knowledge, skills, and abilities) that make a good police officer
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11
Q

what are common problems with KSAs

A
  • need to update frequently bc valuable skills needed will change over time
  • no consensus on what the core KSAs should be
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12
Q

what is the validation measure that is the most important for police selection instruments?

A

predictive validity (is there a relationship between scores obtained from selection instruments and measures of actual job performance)

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13
Q

what are some of the instruments used in the construction and validation stage?

A
  • selection interview
  • psychological tests
  • assessment centres
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14
Q

what are the types of psychological tests used in police selection?

A
  • cognitive ability tests
  • personality tests (MMPI-2 and Inwald Personality Inventory)
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15
Q

what is the use of an assessment centre in police selection?

A
  • simulations of real-life policing tasks to observe the behaviour of the applicants
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16
Q

what is police discretion?

A

the freedom that a police officer has to decide what should be done in a given situation

17
Q

why is police discretion necessary?

A
  • it is impossible to establish laws that adequately encompass all the possible situations an officer can encounter, and therefore, a degree of discretion is inevitable
18
Q

how must discretion be exercised for it to be advantageous?

A

in a non-discriminatory manner

19
Q

what are the factors that influence police discretion?

A
  • seriousness of the crime
  • strength of the evidence
  • the victim asks for an arrest to be made
  • the victim and offender are strangers to each other
  • the suspect is rude to the officer
20
Q

what are the four areas where discretion is commonly used?

A
  • youth offenders
  • offenders with mental illness
  • domestic violence
  • use of force situations
21
Q

what are some alternatives to arrests for youth offenders?

A
  • formal warning
  • community referral
  • family conferences
  • resolution conference
22
Q

what is a resolution conference (youth offenders)

A
  • involves the offender n their family, the victim n their family, n the police
  • come up with a plan to
    • compensate the victim
    • penalize the youth
    • provide support to the youth’s family
    • establish a monitoring scheme to ensure
      compliance with the program
23
Q

what are some alternatives to arrests for people with mental health issues?

A
  • mental hospital or informal fix
24
Q

what are some alternatives to arrests for domestic violence cases?

A
  • community referral, separation
25
how is a use-of-force model useful for police discretion?
it helps officers choose the appropriate intervention option based on the subject's behavior and the totality of the situation
26
what are some of the sources of police stress?
- intra-organizational (excessive paperwork) - inter-organizational (lack of cooperation btwn different agencies) - occupational (human suffering) - criminal justice (unfavorable court decisions) - public (distorted press accounts)
27
what are some of the consequences of police stress?
- physical health problems - psychological and personal problems - job performance problems