Are they all the same? : norwegian police officers' personality characteristics and tactics of conflict resolution

Abstract

The issue of whether police officers possess certain personality characteristics that make them unique has been the subject of an extensive line of research. Several researchers have found evidence of a 'police personality', while other researchers have failed to detect personality differences between the police and the public. Making the picture even more complex, some researchers have found that officers differ from each other in terms of job performance, and that actual personality differences predict such variations. This study therefore examines personality differences between the police and the public by using the Big Five taxonomy of personality. It also explores differences in officers' job performance, using preferences for ways of resolving conflict situations as the job performance criterion. The study found support for the existence of a police personality. It also found differences in terms of preferences for conflict resolution tactics. Personality was only weakly related to such differences.