Date
8-29-2024
Department
Helms School of Government
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Criminal Justice (PhD)
Chair
Kristin Ford
Keywords
personality, empathy, conscientiousness, education, time in service
Disciplines
Philosophy
Recommended Citation
Claiborne, Courtney A., "An Investigation of Law Enforcement Officer Background and Personality: A Study of the Effects of Education and Time in Service on Personality Characteristics" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5926.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5926
Abstract
Within the last ten years, the actions of law enforcement officers have received increased attention, particularly in events involving disproportionate use of force. However, researchers and individuals should not generalize all law enforcement officers based on these incidents. In other words, the actions of law enforcement officers in these incidents should not be used as a basis to predetermine the actions of all law enforcement officers. Therefore, examining law enforcement officers' personalities and backgrounds is one way to understand individual police officers better. Through an exploratory research study, the researcher was able to examine the effect education and time in service have on the personality characteristics of police officers. For this study, the researcher focused primarily on the personality traits, empathy and conscientiousness. The hypothesis for the study was that highly educated, experienced officers would have higher levels of empathy and conscientiousness. The researcher gathered data for the study from 15 different Virginia police departments. The researcher asked participants to complete the Interpersonal Reactivity Index and the Unfolding Five Factor Model Inventory Conscientiousness Scale. The researcher measured empathy through the Interpersonal Reactivity Index and conscientiousness through the Unfolding Five Factor Model Inventory. The researcher ran four one-way ANOVAs to analyze if empathy and conscientiousness were affected by education and time in service. The researcher also conducted two two-way ANOVAs to study the combined effect of education and time in service on empathy and conscientiousness. The effect size was determined through eta and partial eta squared. Overall, empathy and conscientiousness are essential parts of personality and being a law enforcement officer.
