Journal of Police and Criminal Ps.
vchologv,Volume 13, Number 1
DOES THE S T E R E O T Y P I C A L P E R S O N A L I T Y
R E P O R T E D FOR THE M A L E POLICE O F F I C E R
FIT T H A T OF THE F E M A L E POLICE O F F I C E R
Larry A. Gould, Ph.D.
Northern Arizona University
Steve Funk, Ph.D.
Northern Arizona University
7his research, using the content, validi O, and clinical scales found m the At?vlPI-2, investigates
the differences m the psychological makeup of male versus female po#ce recruits. The research
desig?! involves testing of police recruits on the first day of their academy experience. The
#terature on the police personality suggests that there exists a stereotype for male ofjTcer~, a
finding replicated in this study. The findings of this research also suggest that female officers do
not generally)qt the stereotype found m the study of male officers.
INTRODUCTION
This research uses an interdisciplinary approach to determine whether there exists a
complex of attitudes that comprise an identifiable and distinctive "police personality" in entry level
police officers. The current trend toward developing community-oriented or problem-solving
policing requires that administrators understand how their officers develop. The cynical, alienated
and indifferent officer is not likely to support community policing programs and, in some cases,
might even create roadblocks (Gould, 1995) . Community policing requires that officers have
interpersonal skills, an attribute that many police officers bring to policing but tend to lose after
exposure to the policing environment. To facilitate community policing, it is vital to have a clear
understanding of the personality which police officers bring to policing, and of the processes by
which that personality develops during the policing experience.
This paper investigates differences between the scores of police recruits and the normative
samples used in the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2). What makes this
research different from previous research (Carpenter and Raza, 1987) is that particular attention
is paid to the separate analysis of the data by gender.
The research findings presented in this paper are part of a larger research project in which
four questions will be addressed: (1) whether a complex of attitudes that could be called a "police
personality" exists, and if so, whether these attitudes are (2) brought to policing by new recruits,
(3) occur as a result of the policing experience, or (4) are a result of an interaction between
experience and prior attitudes. In other words, is there an identifiable and distinctive "police
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Journal of Police and Criminal P~choloKv, Volume 13, Number 1
personality" which is descriptive of most police officers? And if so, is that distinct personality a
pre-existing characteristic of the people who choose to become police officers, an effect of the
experience of police work, or a product of a combination of prior attitudes and the environmental
effects of policing? The importance of these questions lies in the current trends toward a
community or problem-solving approach to policing
Psychological testing has been used for a number of years in law enforcement to screen
out ill-suited candidates. Screening candidates is assumed to benefit law enforcement agencies in
two ways (Cortina, Doherty, Schmitt and Smith, 1992; Inwald, 1988; and Hargrave and Hiatt,
1987). First, psychological testing can identify those persons who may be more likely to use
excessive force on the job (Corinta, et al., 1992; Inwald & Shusman, 1984). Second,
psychological testing can save agency resources by eliminating early in the application process
those candidates likely to fail during either their training or probationary periods. While the use of
the various psychological tests in screening has been helpful in candidate selection, it has also
allowed researchers to compare police scores to those of standardized samples and, over time, has
proven the consistency of said findings.
The present study differs from previous research in two important ways. First of all,
gender is analyzed separately. And secondly, this project uses the MMPI-2 rather than the MMPI.
"[he purpose of this study is to compare, by gender, the scores of members of a police academy to
those of the standardization samples for the MMPI-2.
There are three major theoretical approaches to the question of the possible existence of
an identifiable police personality and the manner in which it may develop. The first approach
explains cynical, bigoted, indifferent, authoritarian, and/or brutal behavior on the part of police
officers by positing that policing attracts individuals who already possess these qualities (Balch,
1992; Smith, Visher & Davidson, 1984). The adherents to this view suggest that the "power of
the badge" attracts those individuals seeking power, having a poor self-image, and/or having
hidden agendas. In sum, the power of the job attracts this type of person, and the job itself then
accentuates those negative attributes already possessed by the individual.
The second approach views police departments as organic social systems created by and
composed of human beings. They are microcosms of the society at large and provide a socio-
cultural milieu in which people interact with and influence one another as they pursue common
goals and objectives (More, 1992). The individual police officer is the fundamental subsystem
around which the police organization is built. Individuals consist of interdependent physiological
and psychosocial systems that work in concert with environmental factors to produce distinctive
behavior. The dynamic interdependence between the police officer and the environmental factors
(the public and the department) helps to account for the complexity of the behavior of the officer
(Cortina, et aL, 1992). According to this approach, the officer brings an already existing set of
attitudes to the job. However, it is the interaction between the police officer and the environment
that generates the observed behavior of the officer.
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