Well-adjusted individuals are highly judgeable in that their personalities tend to be seen more accurately than the personalities of less adjusted individuals (Colvin, 1993a, 1993b; Human & Biesanz, 2011a). The mechanisms behind this effect, however, are not well understood. How does adjustment facilitate judgeability? In the present video-perceptions study, we examined potential mechanisms through which adjustment could promote judgeability at 3 stages of the Realistic Accuracy Model (RAM; Funder, 1995): (a) cue relevance, (b) cue availability, and (c) cue detection. We found that well-adjusted individuals were more judgeable because they provided more relevant cues: Specifically, well-adjusted individuals behaved more in line with their distinctive personalities, which in turn led them to be seen more accurately. In contrast, neither cue availability nor detection could sufficiently account for the link between adjustment and judgeability. In sum, well-adjusted individuals are more judgeable because to their own selves, they are true.
We used text analysis software to examine the linguistic features of the speech of 21 psychopathic and 45 other offenders during the interview part of a Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (PCL-R) assessment. Regression analysis was run on the linguistic categories to determine which were the best predictors of psychopathy scores. Relative to the other offenders, psychopaths used more disfluencies (“you know”) and personal pronouns, made fewer references to other people (e.g., personal names, family), and were also less emotionally expressive. In particular, a low frequency of anxiety-related words and a more frequent use of personal pronouns were the most significant predictors of PCL-R scores and accounted for 25% of the variance. These findings for the first time afford a unique glimpse into the language produced during the PCL-R assessment interview. In addition to enhancing our understanding of psychopathic speech, these results may provide interviewers additional insights relevant to the assessment and therapeutic process.
Interpersonal perceptions that included an individual scoring highly on one of the Dark Tetrad traits differed in important ways from interactions among individuals with more benevolent personalities. Notably, despite the similarities between the Dark Tetrad, traits had unique associations with interpersonal perceptions.
Public safety personnel (PSP), including police officers, often work in high-stress environments that expose them to potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTE). As a result, PSP are at a higher risk than most other occupational roles for the development of new or worsening mental health concerns, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder, general or social anxiety disorder, and substance use disorders (Carleton et al., Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 63(1):54–64, 2018; Haugen et al., Journal of Psychiatric Research 94:218–229, 2017; Velazquez and Hernandez, Policing: An International Journal 42(4):711–724, 2019). Given these higher rates, research examining how to support the mental health of individuals in these occupations and how to improve our understanding of mental health help-seeking beliefs is critical. Consequently, the overall objective of the current study was to examine predictors of help-seeking attitudes among a group of police officers, while accounting for the effects of gender, years of employment, type of training experience, and mental health status (i.e. presence of mental illness, perceived resilience) on mental health-related help-seeking behaviours. A total of 112 police officers in a mid-sized law enforcement organization in Ontario, Canada, completed an online survey as part of a larger study exploring their mental health. Results indicate that years of experience and mental health training may improve attitudes toward seeking help for mental health. Our discussion offers suggestions for law enforcement organizations to consider to encourage their members to seek help for mental health difficulties.
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