Transitioning from recruit to officer: An investigation of how stress appraisal and coping influence work engagement

This study investigated stress, coping, and work engagement among Portuguese police officers while undergoing academy training and then 1 year later, when on duty. It was hypothesized that stress appraisal and coping preferences predicted engagement. Additionally, in order to test a full cross‐lagged prediction model, it was hypothesized that stress, coping, and engagement in recruits predicted these variables later when working as police officers. Structural equation modeling was used to test the research hypotheses. Results suggest that coping and stress appraisals do not seem to be strong predictors of work engagement among recruits and police officers on duty. With the exception of self‐blame, that seems to be a strong predictor of work engagement among police officers on duty. These results highlight the need to investigate other potential variables such as working conditions that may better explain work engagement. Considering the positive influence of engagement on health, wellbeing, and performance of police recruits and officers future applied and theoretical implications are discussed.     

The role of visual imagery in the enhanced cognitive interview: guided questioning techniques and individual differences

The cognitive interview utilises mnemonics and other techniques to facilitate obtaining information from victims and witnesses. Research has indicated superior recall to standard police interviews. However, there has been minimal research regarding the role of individual differences. One area that has generated spirited theoretical debate is imagery ability, as guided imagery questioning is an important part of the enhanced cognitive interview. Imagery is also arguably an integral part of several mnemonics employed in the technique. The present study investigated the role of individual differences in imagery ability, as well as the effect of explicit instructions to image, on recall performance. Participants completed the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ), witnessed a film of a simulated crime, and were interviewed using the cognitive interview or a structured interview. While recall in the cognitive interview was superior, VVIQ scores had little relationship with recall of information. Further, recall elicited by guided imagery differed only minimally from that obtained using standard questioning in the structured interview. These results suggested that the relaxation and rapport building common to questioning in both interview conditions may evoke spontaneous imagery that is comparable to explicit instructions to image, regardless of individuals' inherent imagery ability. Future directions are discussed, including research focused on individual differences and a practical emphasis on context reinstatement and social facilitative techniques. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

研究性访谈及其应用现状和展望

在科学研究中,研究性访谈作为一种定性研究方法得到了广泛的应用,然而这种定性方法在当前的研究领域中并没有受到足够的重视。本文立足于研究性访谈这种重要的研究方法,着重讨论三个问题：一是研究性访谈的概念、分类和程序;二是目前关于研究性访谈的方法论研究;最后对研究性访谈的应用和发展进行了评价和展望。作者认为结构因素可能是影响访谈效度的主要因素;而信度与结构化、标准化、主试培训等因素有关;社会背景和访谈情境的交互作用将成为未来访谈研究的新趋势;研究性访谈在我国的应用存在一定的文化适应问题,并有待加强和科学化。     

Control and legacy as functions of perceived criticality in major incidents

This paper outlines a model that captures the experiences of 28 Senior Officers who have managed some of the most significant police incidents in the UK in the past 5 years. The process for capturing the model rests on ‘pragmatic psychology’ (Fishman, 1999; Alison, West & Goodwill, 2003), a paradigm that recognizes practitioners' experiences as a central component of research and policy development. We utilized a set of connected electronic notebooks to enable each critical incident manager to log their experiences and views of the case that they managed. As each individual logs this information, it is simultaneously distributed to all participants. Thus, information is rapidly shared, stimulating further thought and discussion. Following the initial knowledge‐sharing phase, participants reorder the material into themed categories that can then be scored against specific criteria (in this case ‘impact’ and ‘ease’). This session revealed that senior officers consider a combination of two co‐occurring issues as most significant in defining the ‘criticality’ of the incident: (i) how direct an impact the facet has on the enquiry at hand; and (ii) whether that issue will influence how the service will be judged (by the community, the victims and the media). These issues were perceived as the most complex and difficult to deal with. We argue that this perception is a joint function of perceived lack of control alongside the belief that judgment and blame regarding the incident will ultimately reside with them as managers. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Train‐the‐trainer: Methodology to learn the cognitive interview

Research has indicated that police may not receive enough training in interviewing cooperative witnesses, specifically in use of the cognitive interview (CI). Practically, for the CI to be effective in real‐world investigations, police investigators must be trained by law enforcement trainers. We conducted a three‐phase experiment to examine the feasibility of training experienced law enforcement trainers who would then train others to conduct the CI. We instructed Federal Bureau of Investigation and local law enforcement trainers about the CI (Phase I); law enforcement trainers from both agencies (n = 4, 100% male, mean age = 50 years) instructed university students (n = 25, 59% female, mean age = 21 years) to conduct either the CI or a standard law enforcement interview (Phase II); the student interviewers then interviewed other student witnesses (n = 50, 73% female, mean age = 22 years), who had watched a simulated crime (phase III). Compared with standard training, interviews conducted by those trained by CI‐trained instructors contained more information and at a higher accuracy rate and with fewer suggestive questions.     

Career assessment and creativity: potential complementarity or a contradiction in terms?

ABSTRACT

In this research we investigated whether creativity and career assessment are a contradiction in terms or whether, through creative thinking, their potential complementarity in career guidance and counselling can be realised. The research demonstrates the creative application of the systemic Integrative Structured Interview (ISI) for the Self-Directed Search (SDS) with a South African female mid-life career changer. Results indicated that the ISI positions clients as storytellers who create rich systemic stories about their quantitative SDS scores. The constructs of story telling are evident throughout an interview about quantitative scores; the scores become unifying themes across the stories. In sum, the ISI can assist mid-life career changers to make meaning of their career transition; and by embedding career assessment in a systemic story telling process creativity is evidenced as a multilayered process.     

The vocational ID – connecting life design counselling and personality systems interaction theory

ABSTRACT

We introduce the Vocational ID that integrates linguistic and visual representations of a career counselling client’s self. Based upon findings from the Life Design paradigm [Savickas, M. L., Nota, L., Rossier, J., Dauwalder, J.-P., Duarte, M. E., Guichard, J.,?…?van Vianen, A. E. M. (2009). Life designing: A paradigm for career construction in the twenty-first century. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 75(3), 239–250. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2009.04.004] and the Personality Systems Interaction theory [Kuhl, J. (2000b). The volitional basis of personality systems interaction theory: Applications in learning and treatment contexts. International Journal of Educational Research, 33(7–8), 665–703. doi:10.1016/S0883-0355(00)00045-8], the Vocational ID facilitates working on clients' vocational identity. In this article, we present the theoretical framework, its practical applications, and a case study.     

The Holland Code of Members of the National Organization for Human Services: A Preliminary Study of Human Services Professionals

This study determined the Holland code of members of the National Organization for Human Services. The authors used the O*NET Interest Profiler–Short Form to find that a sample of 355 human services professionals had a Holland code of Social Artistic, with Investigative, Enterprising, and Conventional codes significantly lower than Artisitc. Demographic differences were not found based on gender, whether participants identified human services as their primary field, or whether they had formal education in human services. Slight differences based on age were noted. Results will be used to advocate for inclusion of “human services professional” in the Standard Occupational Classification system.     

Trauma-Informed Police Responses to Rape Victims

ABSTRACT

Rape victims can benefit from trauma-informed approaches when reporting rape to police. Police interviewing skill can prevent survivor re-victimization while eliciting useful crime statements. However, rape myth acceptance and police culture may pose obstacles to a trauma-informed approach. Client empowerment, demystification, trigger reduction, and expressed concern for victim safety can be implemented by police agencies. Interdisciplinary collaboration, combating sexual harassment, gender balancing, emotional debriefing of officers, accountability to victims, new reporting methods, and advanced training protocols are elements of a trauma-informed approach.