Cops. You either love ‘em or you hate ‘em. But has society painted them with too broad of a brush? Are all New York City cops tough-talking and all tiny town cops patriarchal heroes?A recent study by Springfield College decided it was time to put all the stereotypes to rest.
They surveyed 830 randomly selected cops using The Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire Scale to get to the bottom of things.
- The majority of those surveyed categorized themselves as a “Typical Cop” with qualities like self-discipline, social boldness, extroverted and emotionally tough.
- Traffic officers and deputies shared many characteristics such as high energy, dominance, independence, spontaneity, socially flexible and free from anxiety-related behaviors.
- Previous research has used the MMPI as a test to determine psychological characteristics of police officers, and it was suggested that the MMPI was the most commonly used psychological test of law enforcement officials and that research on psychological assessment of police officers is so mixed that it may even be questionable to advance generalizations about possible discriminating characteristics.
- A similar study found a wide variety of behaviors between police officers from different departments. The interpersonal skills of community college law enforcement officials were rated higher than major university and inner-city police officers.
- Police officers as a group tend be more homogenous than other career groups. They tend to be cheerful and outgoing with a strong interest in practical matters.
- Female participants were also found to be more likely to present a good impression of themselves, to be less depressed, to be more psychologically mature, more assertive and more aware of the needs of others as compared to the normative population data.
Does this list sound like a comprehensive rundown of you or someone you know? It may be time for a Criminal Justice career!
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