Personality Traits and Police Officers

Paper Summary:

The writer of this paper examines the various social situations and experiences encountered, in the area of law enforcement, which influence and mold the personalities of police officers. This paper delves into the long-standing personality theory that dictates which particular traits are patterned within an individual's personality. The writer of this paper explores and details the shared personality traits evident among police officers, including their desire to help others, as well as the need for respect and dignity normally associated with the profession. This paper discusses the relevant published research, which states that certain individuals choose a career in law enforcement for a variety of reasons, including: Job security, wages and benefits as well as a clear career path.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Review and Discussion
General Concepts of Police Personality
Nature versus Nurture: Socialization and On-The-Job Experiences
Men Police Officers: Status, Gender and Personality
Conclusion
References

From the Paper:

"Based on the status model of personality, there is a distinct "pecking order" in place in virtually all police departments across the country that helps initiate newcomers to the profession into the field; new recruits to the force will ignore this hierarchy at their peril. According to Gerber, the high-status officer in each partnership type will be perceived as having more instrumentally oriented (dominating and instrumental) traits and the low-status officer will be viewed as having more expressive traits. In addition, the status model predicts that officers' perceptions of their personality traits will be affected by group status-the overall status of their partnership in relation to other kinds of partnerships. In her review of Gerber's analysis, Monago suggests that this study showed that sex category and work experience played instrumental roles in personality adjustments."

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