Authoritarianism in Policemen Who Are College Graduates and Non-College Police

Smith, Alexander B.; Locke, Bernard; Fenster, Abe

doi:10.2307/1142226

Cited by 39 publications

(17 citation statements)

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“…Roberg (1978) studied 118 officers, finding that officers with a college degree were less dogmatic and more open-minded. This research confirmed the results of Guller (1972) and Smith et al (1970). Guller found that policing students about to finish college were significantly less dogmatic and less punitively oriented than a comparable group of students about to begin college.…”

Section: College Education and Police Use Of Force Attitudessupporting

confidence: 85%

“…Of course, it is also possible that the new officer socialization process has such an important impact on officer attitudes that education has little impact regardless of time of degree completion (see Van Maanan 1975). In addition the "predisposition issue" raised by Weiner (1974) and others (e.g., see Hudzik 1978;Smith, Locke, and Fenster 1970) makes it important to examine the time of degree acquisition. It could be that officers who receive a college degree before they join the police force are different even before attending college, so a college degree is actually confounded with unmeasured pre-college characteristics.…”

Section: College Education: Time Of Degree Completion and Type Of Degreementioning

confidence: 99%

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The Impact of Higher Education on Police Officer Attitudes toward Abuse of Authority

Telep¹

2011

Journal of Criminal Justice Education

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This study examines whether the acquisition of a four-year college degree impacts police officer attitudes toward abuse of authority. This research also explores whether level of higher education and the timing of degree completion alter this potential attitudinal impact of a bachelor's degree. Using data from a nationally representative survey sample, the study finds that officers with a pre-service bachelor's degree hold attitudes that are less supportive of abuse of authority, although the effect is fairly small in magnitude. These effects remain regardless of when officers receive their degree and across varying levels of higher education (i.e., associate's degree, attending some college). These findings suggest that higher education has a beneficial impact related to police officer abuse of authority attitudes.

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Section: College Education and Police Use Of Force Attitudessupporting

confidence: 85%

Section: College Education: Time Of Degree Completion and Type Of Degreementioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Higher Education on Police Officer Attitudes toward Abuse of Authority

Telep¹

2011

Journal of Criminal Justice Education

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“…These officers are also generally more professional and ethical in their attitudes and behavior (Tyre and Braunstein 1992;Truxillo et al 1998). Other studies indicate that police officers with higher levels of education are less authoritarian than those with less formal education (Smith et al 1968;Smith et al 1970). Smith and Aamodt (1997) speculated that the benefits of a college education may not become apparent until paired with on-the-job experience, indicating that education is only one tool and should be used in conjunction with training and experience.…”

Section: Police Officers and Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behind the Blue Line: Investigating Police Officers’ Attitudes Toward Rape

Page

2007

J Police Crim Psych

132

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The current study contributes to what is known about police officers" attitudes toward rape. A survey was administered to 891 sworn police officers in two states in the southeastern United States. The surveys were designed to assess police officers" acceptance of rape myths. It was hypothesized that police officers would be accepting of rape myths, which are inherently misogynistic. Attitudes toward rape were expected to vary according to educational attainment and experience with rape investigations, such that higher levels of education and more experience with rape investigations would lead to the rejection of rape myths. There was a significant difference in the acceptance of rape myths with varying levels of educational attainment and experience with rape investigations. ARTICLEMen in American society are socialized to espouse "macho" beliefs and behavior. Connell (1987Connell ( , 1995Connell ( , 2002 refers to this as "hegemonic masculinity," an idealized form of masculinity, emphasizing dominance, aggression, heterosexuality and a lack of emotion. Hegemonic masculinity promotes, but does not determine behavior that supports the traditional gender order. Rather, it shapes one"s sense of reality and is modified to fit different situations (Messerschmidt 2000). In other words, hegemonic masculinity acts as a script for how men should behave and/or think in various situations.In conjunction with being socialized as male or female in the larger society, there is also a socialization process that occurs in police culture. Holdaway (1983) discussed police culture as

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“…In partial support of that position are a variety of studies seeming to document the influence of situational effects. Carlson et al (197 1) found command personnel in a traditional police department to be significantly more authoritarian than those in an "innovative" department; McNamara (summarized in Piliavin, 1973) observed increased F scale scores for recruits over their first year with the police department; Sterling (Note 1) noted that policemen became more assertive and less inclined to help others during their first 18 months on the job; Lefkowitz ( 1974) observed patrolmen, especially those assigned to field operations, to score higher on Dogmatism than either command personnel or those in other bureau assignments who are less exposed to the dangers and pressures of "the street"; Culler (1972) and Smith et al (1967Smith et al ( , 1968Smith et al ( , 1970 describe the "liberalizing" effect on police officers of college education.…”

Section: Trait Syndrome Zi: Authoritarianism Status Concerns and VImentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological Attributes of Policemen: A Review of Research and Opinion

Lefkowitz

1975

Journal of Social Issues

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This review focuses primarily on personality characteristics of policemen. The data substantiate, with some qualifications, the existence of a nonpathological “modal police personality.” Methodological weaknesses prevent, however, an assessment of the relative developmental contributions of predisposing self‐selection effects, socioeconomic class determinants, organizational selection and selective attrition, occupational socialization, and role‐specific behaviors.

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Authoritarianism in Policemen Who Are College Graduates and Non-College Police

Cited by 39 publications

References 1 publication

The Impact of Higher Education on Police Officer Attitudes toward Abuse of Authority

The Impact of Higher Education on Police Officer Attitudes toward Abuse of Authority

Behind the Blue Line: Investigating Police Officers’ Attitudes Toward Rape

Psychological Attributes of Policemen: A Review of Research and Opinion

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