A self-report approach to screening police candidates' aggressive tendencies

Frank Joseph Gallo, University of Rhode Island

This dissertation was scanned from microfilm. To report any image quality issues, please contact the URI library at digitalcommons-group@uri.edu as we may be able to fix the problem. The copyright in this dissertation belongs to the author.

Abstract

This paper introduces the concepts of labeling (detection of aggression severity) and provocation (response to directed aggression) as meaningful dimensions for evaluating police candidates' patterns of aggressive tendencies. The evaluation uses candidates' judgments on instances of suspect behaviors during hypothetical arrest situations. Findings showed that candidates agreed on an ordered continua of behavior severity, alpha = 0.99. One was able to predict very well candidates' provocation tendencies from knowing their labeling tendencies and vice versa, r2 = 0.76. Labeling and provocation tendencies were related to other established measures of aggression (e.g., Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire, 1992). I discuss potential applications of candidates' labeling and provocation tendencies for use in police training sessions and employment evaluations.