Deck 2: Police and Public Safety Psychology

Question 1

Imagine you are a psychologist who has been asked to complete a fitness-for-duty evaluation. What is the first step you would take?

A) assess whether the officer is fit to return to duty
B) conduct a job analysis
C) determine the officer's physical fitness level
D) establish departmental credibility

Answer 1

conduct a job analysis

Question 2

A psychologist who participates in the selection and training of hostage negotiation teams is conducting a ______ evaluation.

A) fitness-for-duty
B) critical incident
C) special unit
D) deadly force assessment

Answer 2

special unit

Question 3

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission divides disability inquiries into two stages. These stages are ______.

A) medical and psychological
B) performance-related and health-related
C) pre-offer of employment and post offer
D) accommodating and holding

Answer 3

pre-offer of employment and post offer

Question 4

Who owns a law enforcement fitness-for-duty evaluation report?

A) the evaluating psychologist
B) the Federal Bureau of Investigation
C) the agency that requested the report
D) the chief of the police department

Question 5

Which question could a police agency legally ask a candidate during the pre-offer stage of employment?

A) How long have you suffered from depression?
B) Do you have a physical or mental disability?
C) How would you handle a situation involving a suicidal citizen?
D) Do you require a wheelchair for long distances?

Question 6

The first full-time in-house psychologist was ______.

A) Martin Reiser
B) Kim Rossmo
C) Stephen Chandler
D) Louis Terman

Question 7

All of the following are included in Aumiller and Corey's domains of practice except ______.

A) augmentation
B) intervention
C) operational support
D) organizational consultation

Question 8

The screening procedure that assumes that there are traits, habits, reactions, and attitudes that distinguish outstanding from satisfactory police performance is called ______.

A) screening-in
B) screening-out
C) reasonable accommodation
D) natural selection

Question 9

The systematic procedure for identifying the skills, abilities, knowledge, and psychological characteristics that are needed to do public safety work successfully is referred to as ______.

A) law enforcement screening
B) job analysis
C) preemployment screening
D) comprehensive skills analysis

Question 10

Officer Ludden is a 36-year-old father of twin girls who is called to the scene of an auto accident in which a drunk driver has killed a 4-year-old girl. Despite his anger and sadness, Officer Ludden stoically informs the child's father that his daughter has died. The officer is likely experiencing ______.

A) emotional dissonance
B) cognitive subterfuge
C) external stress disorder
D) expressionless displacement

Question 11

Which test has been found to be the most valid for the selection of law enforcement personnel?

A) the IPI
B) the CPI
C) the MMPI-2
D) the 16-PF

Question 12

Which statement best summarizes how law enforcement has changed during the past 20 years?

A) Agencies have become more specialized.
B) Officers are committing suicide at higher rates.
C) Agencies have become more accepting of the use of deadly force.
D) Officers are less receptive to mental health intervention.

Question 13

The rules, attitudes, beliefs, and practices that are thought to be accepted among law enforcement officers as an occupational group are known as ______.

A) operational support
B) police culture
C) candidate screening
D) psychological assessment

Question 14

Which source of stress would be considered an external stressor?

A) excessive shift work
B) negative police-citizen interactions
C) exposure to death
D) substance abuse

Question 15

Why is it so difficult to predict success or failure in law enforcement work?

A) There are no standards for psychological testing.
B) Many law enforcement applicants have mental disorders.
C) Law enforcement activities are broad and heterogeneous.
D) Much of the work requires specific immeasurable personality traits.

Question 16

Which type of occupational stressor is often the most prevalent and frustrating for law enforcement personnel?

A) task-related stressors
B) personal stressors
C) external stressors
D) organizational stressors

Question 17

CISD stands for ______.

A) Correctional Institution Standardized Development
B) Criminal Inmate Stress Disorder
C) Canadian Institute for Stress Disorders
D) Critical Incident Stress Debriefing

Question 18

Family therapy is to ______ as crisis negotiation is to ______.

A) consulting; assessment
B) operational support; intervention
C) assessment; consulting
D) intervention; operational support

Question 19

Compared to officers with only a high school diploma, officers with some college education have been shown to ______.

A) make better officers
B) have better communication skills
C) deal more effectively with adolescents
D) respond more effectively to crisis situations

Question 20

Who typically requests a fitness-for-duty evaluation?

A) a police psychologist
B) the department head
C) a family member of the officer
D) the officer

Question 21

Which category of hostage taker often requires the involvement of federal officials and is considered the most difficult for police officers?

A) political terrorists
B) individuals who have committed a crime
C) individuals with mental disorders
D) prisoners

Question 22

Which program is often considered a form of racial/ethnic profiling?

A) Stop and Frisk
B) Critical Incident Stress Debriefing
C) Community-Oriented Policing
D) Peer Counseling

Question 23

Psychologists in the 20th century provided service to police agencies primarily in what area?

A) stress management
B) hostage negotiation training
C) family counseling
D) cognitive and aptitude testing

Question 24

Which of the following statements about diversity in law enforcement is correct?

A) Ethnic minorities are less well represented than women in law enforcement.
B) Women now comprise nearly one-third of all police officers nationwide.
C) The ethnic and racial makeup of a police department rarely reflects the makeup of the community it serves.
D) Non-Caucasian police officers make up under 5% of all police officers in most urban areas.

Question 25

Excessive force is defined as ______.

A) a level of force that exceeds what is justifiable under the circumstances
B) any illegal behavior demonstrated by an individual officer
C) a pattern of unacceptable behavior inherent in a law enforcement agency
D) the discharge of weapons outside the line of duty

Question 26

What is the goal of an FFDE?

A) to determine whether an officer is likely to use excessive force
B) to determine whether an officer is corrupt
C) to determine whether an officer has a mental disorder that would affect his or her job performance
D) to determine whether an officer can perform the basic duties required for the job

Question 27

As a group, female officers are more likely than men to ______.

A) be motivated toward financial rewards of law enforcement
B) become involved in incidents of excessive force
C) work in small and rural departments
D) possess better communication skills

Question 28

Which statement is correct about post-shooting traumatic reactions?

A) Most officers will experience shooting a person in the line of duty at some time in their careers.
B) Most officers experience a marital separation or divorce after a shooting incident.
C) The majority of large police agencies deny the existence of post-shooting traumatic reactions.
D) The topic of post-shooting traumatic reactions has not been adequately studied.

Question 29

Tragedies, death, serious injuries, and life-threatening situations that police officers encounter are called ______.

A) target effects
B) critical incidents
C) dynamic calculus
D) fear-of-failure events

Question 30

Research suggest that the overwhelming reason for most police suicides appears to be ______.

A) financial problems
B) reactions to critical incidents
C) easy access to weapons
D) difficulties in intimate partner relationships

Question 31

Which of the following was a key finding of the National Institute of Justice's 1999 report on police use of force?

A) Police force is prevalent in large U.S. cities.
B) Police engage in force infrequently.
C) Police force escalates quickly.
D) Police often take out their internal rage on available suspects.

Question 32

Selection, intervention, and post-intervention monitoring are the three basic phases of ______.

A) early warning systems
B) police corruption
C) hostage negotiation
D) job analysis

Question 33

Early warning systems are used to identify ______.

A) female officers at risk for sexual harassment
B) potential problem behaviors in officers
C) suspects who are vulnerable to coercion
D) officers who are insensitive to diversity issues

Question 34

The majority of all hostage situations ______.

A) are relationship-driven
B) end in death of the hostage taker
C) end in death of the hostage negotiator
D) are politically motivated

Question 35

What are the three phases of crisis negotiation?

A) internal, external, and post-crisis
B) buildup, acute, and resolution
C) pre-incident, intra-incident, and post-incident
D) organizational, task-related, and external

Question 36

Which statement is the most accurate?

A) Psychological evaluations of potential law enforcement officers are required by the U.S. Constitution.
B) Psychological evaluations of potential law enforcement officers are required in the majority of states.
C) Psychological evaluations cannot be required if a law enforcement candidate refuses to participate.
D) Psychological evaluations of potential law enforcement candidates have no validity.

Question 37

Research has shown that when considering mental health services, many police officers prefer to work with ______.

A) competent mental health professionals who are not officers
B) officers who have received training in critical incidents stress debriefing
C) peer counselors who understand the cycle of violence
D) same-gender professionals

Question 38

A critical incident is characterized by an unanticipated and ______ event.

A) nonroutine
B) violent
C) confusing
D) heroic

Question 39

Boredom and exposure to violent situations are examples of ______ stressors.

A) occupational
B) external
C) personal
D) task-related

Question 40

A 1992 study of police corruption by the Defense Personnel Security Research Center found that the single best predictor of corruption was ______.

A) a history of intimate partner violence
B) a pattern of violence that begins later in life
C) misconduct early in the career
D) immature and/or irresponsible behavior

Question 41

Research shows that compared to other occupational groups, police officers have one of the highest suicide rates in the United States.

Question 42

Most law enforcement officers complete their career without ever firing a weapon in the line of duty.

Question 43

A hostage situation is synonymous with a barricade situation.

Question 44

The use of psychologists in crisis negotiation is decreasing.

Question 45

Understanding the police culture is critical to effective police psychology.

Question 46

Some police agencies implicitly encourage the use of excessive force within their ranks.

Question 47

At the post-offer/pre-hire stage, a police department may make direct inquiries about disabilities.

Question 48

If a psychological measure contains a sufficient number of items that are related to the work performed by law enforcement, it is said to have ______ validity.

A) true
B) predictive
C) concurrent
D) face

Question 49

All of the following are considered critical traits for successful police officers except ______.

A) good judgment
B) physical strength
C) interpersonal skills
D) decision-making skills

Question 50

The strongest reason for police suicide involves post-shooting traumatic reactions.

Question 51

Research shows that the most effective police officers are physically strong.

Question 52

All police agencies have the same style, purpose, and mission.

Question 53

The MMPI-2 was originally designed to measure psychopathology and behavioral disorders.

Question 54

Which type of validity is the most desirable yet most difficult to achieve?

A) true validity
B) predictive validity
C) face validity
D) content validity

Question 55

Schedule changes and salary disputes are examples of organizational stressors.

Question 56

Typically, the smaller the police department, the more specified the police duties.

Question 57

Face validity is synonymous with ______ validity.

A) true
B) predictive
C) concurrent
D) content

Question 58

The most common psychological problem experienced by officers after a serious critical incident is ______.

A) post-traumatic stress disorder
B) chronic fatigue
C) Munchausen syndrome by proxy
D) substance abuse

Question 59

Which of the following statements about screening-out and screening-in is correct?

A) Psychologists have been more successful at screening out undesirable candidates than at identifying desirable candidates.
B) Psychology is making little progress at identifying desirable candidates for law enforcement positions.
C) No psychological measures are available for use in screening in candidates.
D) Police psychologists have found it a great challenge to eliminate unsuitable candidates than to identify suitable candidates.

Question 60

On July 31, 2013, police and public safety psychology was officially recognized by the American Psychological Association as a professional specialty.

Question 61

Identify two critical incidents that a police officer may encounter. Explain how a police psychologist may be helpful to a law enforcement agency during these times.

Question 62

Choose one of the commonly used inventories in police screening. Describe the instrument, including what the test measures and what we know about its validity.

Question 63

Compare and contrast screening-out and screening-in.

Question 64

Define early warning systems. What does research tell us about their effectiveness?

Question 65

Why is it important for a police psychologist to be familiar with the Americans with Disabilities Act?

Question 66

Discuss the factors that may contribute to the lack of women in law enforcement.

Question 67

Describe three factors that make police work especially stressful when compared to other occupations. Include the category that each stressor falls under in your answer.

Question 68

Describe Scrivner's profiles of officers who are prone to excessive force complaints. What are the limitations of the study?

Question 69

Name four police psychology organizations.

Question 70

At its worst, police bias leads to excessive or fatal force.

Question 71

The available research suggests that suicide rates for law enforcement personnel are lower than that of the general population. What may explain this difference?