NCJ Number
85898
Date Published
1981
Length
17 pages
Annotation
Any consideration of the relative merits of various psychological testing selection procedures for correctional guards is premature, pending the articulation of precise, objective behavioral criteria which would define what the correctional officer actually does.
Abstract
Overall, the literature specific to the selection of correctional personnel is not of sufficient quality or quantity to encourage drawing any conclusions about the efficacy of psychological testing in the selection process. While psychological tests have been used in research with correctional officers, these reports have focused on personality characteristics or traits of successful and unsuccessful officers without addressing the selection issue. The most basic assumption underlying the advocacy of psychological testing as a screening device for the selection of correctional guards is that such tests can predict subsequent violent behavior by the applicant; however, even with more extensive information on subjects than is generally available for correctional guard candidates, clinicians cannot predict violence within an acceptable range. Further, selection errors resulting from testing can result in the rejection of candidates who might have performed well in an occupation where few skilled persons are available or in the accepting of a candidate who might cause serious damage to a correctional program. Suitability of the norms for the population under consideration also poses an additional problem. The selection task has not been made easier by the apparent lack of any precise articulation of the qualities or attributes likely to make certain kinds of persons better or worse correctional officers than others. A more comprehensive understanding of the institutional and occupational realities of the correctional officer's working world is needed. Twenty-eight references are listed.