Use of the MMPI-2 to predict the employment continuation and performance ratings of recently hired police officers

The MMPI-2 is one of the most frequently employed instruments for the selection of police officers. Serafino and Serafino (1997) collected data which involved information about employment continuation and ratings by supervisors of 32 police officers who had recently been hired and who had been given the MMPI-2 during the hiring process. In this study, the Paranoia Obvious (Pa) and Paranoia Subtle (Ps) scales proved to be the significant. Pa Subtle correlated with removal whereas Pa Obvious correlated with rating. Higher scores on Pa Subtle correlated significantly with being removed from the job, whereas low scores on the Pa Obvious correlated with higher ratings of performance by supervisors. Discussion of the results involved the fact that Subtle Pa scores would suggest paranoid tendencies not easily detected during the interview. Since most high Pa Obvious individuals would have been eliminated in the hiring process, expression of this tendency was at a low level after being hired but if present resulted in low ratings. Significant predictors were noted to be very much a function of the type of criterion variable employed in the study.     

Does the stereotypical personality reported for the male police officer fit that of the female police officer

This research, using the content, validity and clinical scales found in the MMPI-2, investigates the differences in the psychological makeup of male versus female police recruits. The research design involves testing of police recruits on the first day of their academy experience. The literature on the police personality suggest that there exists a stereotype for male officers, a finding replicated in this study. The findings of this research also suggest that female officers do not generally fit the stereotype found in the study of male officers. An earlier version of this paper was present at the 1996 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, March 12–16, 1996, Las Vegas, Nevada.