Original studyPsychreg Journal of Psychology, 2018Read the paper →
Police forces want to recruit officers who will cope with danger, stress and difficult people, and many use personality tests to help choose them. Getting that choice wrong can be costly for forces and the public alike. A review argues that the science behind these tests still has serious gaps after more than a century of use.
A researcher at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Canada traced the history of personality testing in police recruitment. The review appears in Psychreg Journal of Psychology. It draws on classic and modern theories of personality rather than new data.
Police officers carry out a wide range of tasks, from gathering evidence and interviewing suspects to handling property crime, violence, organised crime and terrorism. Each task may call for different skills. Placing the right officer in the right role can cut costs and improve the service.
Personality tests measure lasting traits, such as how calm, outgoing or careful a person tends to be. Job analysis is the process of setting out exactly what a job involves and which abilities it requires.
The review identifies three main problems. First, much of the research lacks a sound theoretical framework. Second, the personality traits being measured often do not match the tasks police officers actually perform. Third, many of the measurement tools are poor.
The review notes that personality psychology has developed a great deal since the early 20th century. The arrival of the Five Factor Model, which describes personality in terms of five broad traits, renewed interest in whether personality matters for success at work. Police psychology has followed these trends.
To fix the problems, the review calls for research built on clear theory and valid measures, and for tests matched to specific police tasks. It suggests that forces employ psychologists directly. Working inside a force would let them observe officers on the job, improve hiring decisions and carry out more realistic research.
The review has clear limits. It is a single author’s analysis of past research and theory, and it does not test any new approach. The proposed solutions still need to be tried in real police forces.
Personality testing is widely used in recruitment across many professions. This review argues that in policing, closer cooperation between forces and psychologists could help pick the right people for each role.
