Effect of Source, Class, Dogmatism and Time on Attitude Change of Police Academy Recruits

• NCJ Number: 80462
• Author(s): K L Matice
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 161 pages
• Sale Source: UMI Dissertation Services; Not Available Through National Institute of Justice/NCJRS Document Loan Program
• Publication Type: Thesis/Dissertation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. University of Missouri - St. Louis, Graduate School doctoral dissertation

Annotation

The investigation tested the hypothesis that a psychology instructor will have less credibility and therefore cause less change in police academy recruits than will a police academy instructor.

Abstract

Subjects were 184 recruits making up 5 consecutive classes at the Greater St. Louis Police Academy. Each of the first four classes were exposed to a special treatment, while the fifth class, used as a control, was not. Subjects were exposed to an audio visual tape depicting academy recruits intervening in a family disturbance situation. They then indicated their attitudes on an attitude scale and showed how they would intervene on a behavioral intention scale. Recruits were then shown either a psychologist, police officer, or combined expert tape. The script for these tapes was identical. The major findings were that no effects for source occurred in classes 1-3, therefore demonstrating no source credibility differences. Differences did emerge for dogmatism, indicating that low dogmatic recruits were consistently closer to the source position over all three time periods than the high dogmatic recruits. Tables, figures, study instruments, and about 100 references are provided. (Author summary modified)