PSYC 2400 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Polygraph, Psychopathology, Assessment Centre
9 Nov 2015
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Document Summary
Selection of appropriate police officers is not a new task. Within the early twentieth century, psychologists have been involved in police selection and recommendations. One of the earliest examples, lewis terman used the stanford-binet intelligence test to assist with police selection in california in 1917. Terman tested the intelligence of 30 police and firefighter applicants, which led him to recommend a minimum iq score of 80 for future applicants. Following, attempts were made to implement personality tests to predict police performance in the mid-twentieth century. By the mid-1950s, psychological and psychiatric screen procedures of police applicants became a standard part of the selection procedure in several major police forces in the us. Key changes have involved the adoption of higher educational requirements for police officers and the introduction of formal tests to assess the cognitive abilities and personality features of applicants.
