The Psychological Assessment of Police Candidates
CLIFTON RHEAD M.D.1,
ARNOLD ABRAMS PH.D.2,
HARRY TROSMAN M.D.3, , and
PHILIP MARGOLIS M.D.4
1 Clinical assistant professor, department of psychiatry, University of Illinois
2 Associate professor, department of psychology, DePaul University, Chicago, Ill.
3 Associate professor, department of psychiatry, University of Chicago
4 Professor, department of psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
The authors describe a technique for assessing police department candidates based on projective tests and an interview. They conclude that success or failure in a law enforcement career is not determined by unconscious conflict or the nature of the ego defenses alone, but is strongly influenced by the degree to which the ego has remained undistorted in response to those conflicts.
