NCJ Number
151367
Journal
Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology Volume: 9 Issue: 2 Dated: (October 1993) Pages: 9-19
Date Published
1993
Length
11 pages
Annotation
Sixty male and 126 female university students took part in a study designed to determine the effects of the use of profanity by the police and the receiver's perceptions of credibility of the police officer.
Abstract
Participants viewed a brief videotaped reenactment of a male or female police officer making a routine traffic stop of a motorist for a minor traffic violation. Independent variables were the gender of the police officer and the type of profanity. The profanity was mild and was not accompanied by nonverbal behavior. The dependent variable was the perceived credibility of the police officer. Findings indicated that when any police officer used any type of profanity, the police officer was perceived to be less friendly, less just, and less fair than when not using such profanity. Participants also perceived various types of profanity as differing in their offensiveness; sexual profanity was the most offensive and religious profanity was the least offensive. However, generalizations concerning the effects of profanity observed in this study are limited. Tables and 22 references