Personality assessment in police psychology : a 21st century perspective

In recent years, personality assessment by professional psychologists has taken on an increasingly important role in the field of police work. Most importantly, personality assessment instruments have been utilized in the pre-employment psychological screening of police officer candidates. This psychological screening takes place at the end of the hiring process to ensure that candidates do not have personality characteristics or existing psychopathology that would interfere with their job performance. Personality assessment is also used for other applications in police psychology. These applications include fitness-for-duty evaluations (FFDEs) and second opinion evaluations of officers who challenge hiring decisions. Moreover, police psychologists are involved in a considerable amount of research in order to determine which tests and scales are most appropriate for evaluations. The present volume is divided into four parts to cover the relevant issues in personality assessment for police work. Part I provides an introduction and the basic principles of personality assessment in police psychology. Part II focuses on the major assessment instruments used in police psychology. These include the MMPI-2, the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI), the Inwald Personality Inventory (IPI) and Hilson Tests, the M-PULSE Inventory, pre-offer integrity instruments, and the Rorschach Comprehensive System. Part III examines multiple issues in personality assessment research in the field of police psychology. Part IV covers applications of personality assessment in police psychology. These applications include pre-employment evaluations, fitness for duty evaluations, conditional second opinion psychological evaluations of candidates, using multiple sources of information when conducting mandatory or required evaluations, and the politics of personality assessment in police agencies. This unique and comprehensive text is designed for psychologists who are actively working in the field of law enforcement, including psychologists in both applied and research/academic settings. PERSONALITY ASSESSMENTINPOLICE PSYCHOLOGY 2 CONTENTS 16 Chapter 1 A BRIEF HISTORY OF PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT IN POLICE PSYCHOLOGY 24 Chapter 2 FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES IN POLICE PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT 48 Chapter 3 USING THE MMPI-2 IN POLICE PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT 78 Chapter 4 THE USE OF THE PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT INVENTORY IN POLICE AND SECURITY PERSONNEL SELECTION 91 Chapter 5 USE OF THE INWALD PERSONALITY INVENTORY, HILSON TESTS, AND INWALD SURVEYS FOR SELECTION, “FITNESS-FOR-DUTY” ASSESSMENT, AND RELATIONSHIP COUNSELING 110 Chapter 6 THE USE OF THE M-PULSE INVENTORY IN LAW ENFORCEMENT SELECTION 151 Chapter 7 PRE-OFFER POLICE INTEGRITY TESTING: SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION AND PROFESSIONAL ISSUES 178 Chapter 8 USING THE RORSCHACH COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM IN POLICE PSYCHOLOGY 207 Chapter 9 PREDICTING LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER PERFORMANCE WITH PERSONALITY INVENTORIES 248 Chapter 10 EFFECT SIZES IN POLICE PSYCHOLOGY PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT RESEARCH: A PRIMER 279 Chapter 11 THE FUTURE OF PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT RESEARCH IN POLICE PSYCHOLOGY: WHAT’S NEXT AND WHAT DO WE NEED? 298 Chapter 12 PROCEDURAL CONSIDERATIONS IN SECURITY PERSONNEL SELECTION 318 Chapter 13 ISSUES IN THE LAW ENFORCEMENT FITNESS-FOR-DUTY EVALUATION* 336 Chapter 14 CONDITIONAL SECOND OPINION PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT CANDIDATES 352 Chapter 15 USING MULTIPLE SOURCES OF INFORMATION WHEN CONDUCTING MANDATORY OR REQUIRED POLICE PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATIONS 366 Chapter 16 THE POLITICS OF PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT IN POLICE AGENCIES 381 INDEX 392