Individual-psychological features of law enforcement officers with different professional experience and professional profile

Abstract

The study of professionally significant individual-psychological features of employees of law enforcement units in relation to the leading type of activity, including taking into account professional experience, is an actual scientific and practical issue. The identification of the requirements of the profile activity imposed on the employee, the assessment of different-level individual-psychological qualities allows to draw a conclusion about the effectiveness and suitability of the employee for the profession. The professional experience of employees of law enforcement agencies significantly affects the features of stress response, decision-making, motives for official activity, and the state of maladjustment. The study aims to identification of individual-psychological characteristics of law enforcement officers with different profiles and professional experience. 179 male law enforcement officers (average age - 30,2±6,2 years, average professional experience - 7,5±6,1 years) were examined. The employees were divided into 3 groups, depending on the type of professional activity. Group 1 consisted of employees of the security profile (n=67), group 2 - of the communicative-informational profile (n=46), group 3 - of the inspector-communication profile (n=66). The subjects were further divided into subgroups with professional experience up to 9 years inclusive and with experience of 10 or more years. The methodological complex includes: Self-control questionnaire; Behavior Activation and Inhibition questionnaire; Test Technology of Psychosemantic Analysis - Semantic Analysis of Activity (Noss I.N., 2009); Test Problem Situation Analysis (Noss I.N., 2009); a modification of the S. Rosenzweig Frustration Toleration Test (Noss I.N., Ignatkin V.N., 1997). The employees of the security profile were distinguished by the predominance of intropunitive reactions and fixation on the obstacle when assessing the conflict from their own position, high physical activity. Individuals of the communicative-informational profile were distinguished by impunitive reactions, fixation on self-defense and satisfaction of needs, high inhibition of behavior to negative stimuli, high activation of behavior, and high efficiency of resolving problem situations when assessing the conflict from an external position. Persons of the inspector-communication profile were distinguished by high rates of extrapunitive reactions in the whole, unrestrained affect of irritation, preference for simple tasks, low inhibition of behavior. The classification in a group of the security profile with high professional experience contribute: a preference for simple tasks, high activation to promote; in the group of communicative-informational and inspector-communication profile - high activation of achieving the goal. The generalized group of law enforcement officers with 10 years or more of experience in assessing the conflict from their own position was distinguished by the severity of extrapunitive reactions and fixation on the obstacle and on self-defense, the predominance of unrestrained affect of irritation, preference for simple tasks, low inhibition of behavior to negative stimuli. The results obtained allow us to conclude that there are differences in the psychological profile of law enforcement officers with different types of official activities and work experience. The profile of employees of communication-information activities was more consistent with the universal personal and professional qualities required for employees of law enforcement agencies in terms of psychophysiological qualities. Least consistent with a universal professional requirements officers of inspector-communication activities, which was reflected in low capacity for learning, reducing the effectiveness of problem-solving, emotional instability. With an increase in the length of professional experience, there is a predominance of externally blaming response strategies and low self-control.