Pre-Employment Psychological Testing of Police Officers: The MMPI and the IPI as Predictors of Performance

Abstract

There are strong and compelling reasons for the careful selection of police officers, and careful assessment of candidates includes psychological assessment. The most commonly used instruments include the MMPI, MMPI-2 and the IPI. To assess the relative relationship of validity findings for the respective tests, 18 studies, which empirically related test findings to later police functioning, were reviewed in this study. The findings indicated both MMPI versions and the IPI provide modest correlations and effect size relationships to police behaviour (rs = 0.17 and 0.28, respectively). In addition, the IPI scores provided significantly higher findings along these lines. There continues to be a need for additional studies, as these results are based on only 18 studies, but the findings to date indicate better prediction of police job performance with the IPI. These results argue for increased use of the IPI, at times in combination with the MMPI-2, with increased attention to the normative samples and with increased assessment of the police, academy and corrections populations.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bartol

C. R.

(1991). Predictive validation of the MMPI for small-town police officers who fail. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 22(2), 127–132.

Beutler

L. E.

Storm

Kirkish

Scogin

Gaines

J. A.

(1985). Parameters in the prediction of police officer performance. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 16(2), 324–335.

Blum

(1964). Police selection. Springfield, IL: Thomas.

Bonsignore v City of New York, 521 F Supp 394 (SD NY, 1981), aff'd, 683 F 2d 635 (2d Cir 1982).

Brewster

Stoloff

M. L.

(1999). Using the good cop/bad cop profile with the MMPI-2. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 14(2), 29–34.

Clark v City of Chicago, 595 F Supp 482 (ND IL, 1984).

Colarelli

J. J.

Siegel

(1964). A method of police personnel selection. Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology and Police Science, 55, 287–289.

Conte v Horcher, 365 NE 2d 567 (IL App, 1977).

Costello

R. M.

Schoenfeld

L. S.

Kobos

(1982). Police applicant screening: An analogue study. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 38(1), 216–221.

10.

Coutts

L. M.

(1990). Police hiring and promotion: Methods and outcomes. Canadian Police College Journal, 14(2), 98–121.

11.

Dahlstrom

W. G.

Welsh

G. S.

(1960). An MMPI handbook: A guide to use in clinical practice and research. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota.

12.

Friedman

(1968). Magnitude of experimental effect and a table for its rapid estimation. Psychological Bulletin, 70, 245–251.

13.

Gettinger

(1981, March). Psychological testing of recruits can screen out the real turkeys. Police Chief, 29–40.

14.

Graham

J. R.

(1987). The MMPI: A practical guide. New York, NY: Oxford.

15.

Graham

J. R.

(2000). MMPI-2: Assessing personality and psychopathology. New York, NY: Oxford.

16.

Hargrave

G. E.

Hiatt

(1987). Law enforcement selection with the interview, MMPI, and CPI: A study of reliability and validity. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 15(2), 110–117.

17.

Hartman

B. J.

(1987). Psychological screening of law enforcement candidates. American Journal of Forensic Psychology, 5(1), 5–10.

18.

Hiatt

Hargrave

G. E.

(1988). MMPI profiles of problem peace officers. Journal of Personality Assessment, 52(4), 772–731.

19.

Hibler

N. S.

Kurke

M. I.

(1995). Ensuring personal reliability through selection and training. In Kurke

M. I.

Scrivner

E. M.

(Eds.), Police Psychology into the 21st Century. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

20.

Hooke

J. F.

Krauss

H. H.

(1971). Personality characteristics of successful police sergeant candidates. Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology and Police Science, 62, 104–106.

21.

Inwald

R. E.

(1983) Issues and guidelines for mental health professionals conducting pre-employment psychological screening programs in law enforcement agencies. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice.

22.

Inwald

R. E.

(1987). Use of psychologists for selecting and training police. In More

H. W.

Unsinger

P. C.

(Eds.), Police Managerial Use of Psychology and Psychologists (pp. 107–139). Springfield, IL: Thomas.

23.

Inwald

R. E.

Brockwell

A. L.

(1991). Predicting the performance of government security personnel with the IPI and MMPI. Journal of Personality Assessment, 56(3), 522–535.

24.

Inwald

R. E.

Knatz

H. F.

Shusman

E. J.

(1983). Inwald Personality Inventory Manual. New York: Hilson Research.

25.

Inwald

R. E.

Shusman

E. J.

(1984a). Personality and performance sex differences of law enforcement officer recruits. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 12(3), 339–347.

26.

Inwald

R. E.

Shusman

E. J.

(1984b). The IPI and MMPI as predictors of academy performance for police recruits. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 12(1), 1–11.

27.

Knatz

H. F.

Inwald

R. E.

Brockwell

A. L.

Tran

L. N.

(1992). IPI and MMPI predictions of counterproductive job behaviors by racial group. Journal of Business and Psychology, 7(2), 189–201.

28.

Lawrence

(1984). Police stress and personality factors: A conceptual model. Journal of Criminal Justice, 12(3), 247–263.

29.

McKenna v Fargo, 451 F Supp 1355 (D NJ, 1978), aff'd, 601 F 2d 575 (1979).

30.

Meier

R. D.

Farmer

R. E.

Maxwell

(1987). Psychological screening of police candidates: Current perspectives. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 15(3), 210–215.

31.

Moriarty

A. R.

(1989, February). Police psychological screening: The third generation. The Police Chief, 36–39.

32.

Mufson

D. W.

Mufson

M. A.

(1998). Predicting police officer performance using the Inwald Personality Inventory: An illustration from Appalachia. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 29(1), 59–62.

33.

National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals (1973). Report on the police. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.

34.

Nowicki

(1966). A study of the personality characteristics of successful policemen. Police, 11, 39–41.

35.

Ostrov

Cavanaugh

J. L.

Jr. (1987). Validation of police officer recruit candidates' self-reported drug use. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 32(2), 496–502.

36.

President's Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice. (1967). Challenge of crime in a free society. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.

37.

Rankin

J. H.

(1957). Psychiatric screening of police selection recruits. Public Personnel Review, 18, 191–196.

38.

Reinke

(1977). Selection through assessment center. Washington, DC: Police Foundation Publications.

39.

Reiser

Gieger

S. P.

(1984). Police officer as victim. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 15(3), 315–323.

40.

Scogin

Schumacher

Gardner

Chaplin

(1995). Predictive validity of psychological testing in law enforcement settings. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 26(1), 68–71.

41.

Scogin

Schumacher

Howland

McGee

(1989, August). The predictive validity of psychological testing and peer evaluations in law enforcement settings. Paper presented at the 94th American Psychological Association Convention, New Orleans, LA.

42.

Shusman

E. J.

(1987). A redundancy analysis for the Inwald Personality Inventory and the MMPI. Journal of Personality Assessment, 51(3), 433–440.

43.

Shusman

E. J.

Inwald

R. E.

(1991a). A longitudinal validation study of correctional officer job performance as predicted by the IPI and MMPI. Journal of Criminal Justice, 19, 173–180.

44.

Shusman

E. J.

Inwald

R. E.

(1991b). Predictive validity of the Inwald Personality Inventory. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 18(4), 419–426.

45.

Shusman

E. J.

Inwald

R. E.

Knatz

H. F.

(1987). A cross-validation study of police recruit performance as predicted by the IPI and MMPI. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 15(2), 162–169.

46.

Shusman

E. J.

Inwald

R. E.

Landa

(1984). Correction officer job performance as predicted by the IPI and MMPI: A validation and cross-validation study. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 11(3), 309–329.

47.

Stratton

J. G.

(1984). Police Passages. Manhattan Beach: Glennon.

48.

Tannehill

Janeksela

G. M.

(1984). Role and task analysis: An effective tool for manpower development and curriculum development in law enforcement education. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 12(1), 19–26.

49.

Topp

B. W.

Kardash

C. A.

(1986). Personality, achievement, and attrition: Validation in a multiple-jurisdiction police academy. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 14(3), 234–241.

50.

Weiss

W. U.

Serafino

Willson

Sarsany

Felton

(1999). Use of the MMPI-2 and the Inwald Personality Inventory to identify the personality characteristics of dropouts from a state police academy. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 14(1), 38–42.

51.

Wright

B. S.

Doerner

W. G.

Speir

J. C.

(1990). Pre-employment psychological testing as a predictor of police performance during an FTO program. American Journal of Police, 9(4), 65–84.