Industrial-organizational psychology and the police.

Abstract

Research data and professional opinion on police and police organisations are reviewed from the perspectives of industrial-organizational psychology. These conclusions appear justified: (a) Security and social needs and the need for a structured leadership environment are significant aspects of occupational choice; (b) police report somewhat lower job satisfaction than other occupational groups; (c) the directive, paramilitary command structure of most police departments coincides with police officers' preferences for that leadership style but masks their considerable discretionary powers; (d) the practice of police personnel administration includes few adequate measures of individual performance or organizational effectiveness; (e) both positive and negative consequences of college education for police officers have 'been observed; (/) the validation of selection tests and other predictors is the most active area of personnel research and represents a movement away from the less empirical"screening out" of the "unfit" on a priori standards; (g) many of those validation studies are methodologically flawed and do not culminate in practical selection procedures that may be implemented; and (h) the origins of modal police personality attributes have not been specified adequately although they are usually ascribed to organizational socialization. Suggestions are made for future research in this field.

Personnel Selection and Classification Systems

“…Selection studies have been reported for predicting computer programmer training and job success (85), attrition from the Navy (262), and levels of performance in such publicly visible occupations as police officer (203) and fi refi ghter (39). Recent studies of Army generals (92), business executives (190), office clerical personnel (l08), and ROTC students (181) confi rmed once more the usefulness of peer ratings in predicting later job performance criteria.…”

The Three Rs of Academic Achievement: Reading, ’Riting, and Racism

“…There are at least two empirical studies that speak to the power of socialization within HE jobs. Carlson and Sutton (1974) found that police recruits became more authoritarian as they progressed through the police academy, and Teahan (1975) found that White police officers became more anti-Black as they proceeded through the police academy (for other socialization effects of police work, see Butler & Cochrane, 1977;Carlson & Sutton, 1975;Hazer & Alvares, 1981;Lefkowitz, 1977;McGahan, 1984;Sutton & Carlson, 1977;Teahan, Adams, & Podany, 1980;Van-Maanen, 1975 In this study, we will further explore the issue of congr uen ce bet ween a nt iega lit aria n beliefs an d HE/HA-social roles within the university environment.…”

Occupational Therapists: Personality and Job Performance

“…From an absolute stand point, this is not a large percentage of variance. Although there are no directly comparable studies in the health care field, Lefkowitz (20) found that 30 percent of the performance variance of police officers could be attributed to personality variables. Given the typical selection ratio in occupational therapy programs, in conjunction with aptitude, achievement, and background predictors, the use of personality variables as predictors would lead to a substantial increase in selection efficiency.…”