SEEING THEMSELVES AS OTHERS SEE THEM - SCOTTISH POLICE OFFICERS METAPERCEPTIONS OF PUBLIC-OPINION

This study used Hopkins et al.'s public attitudes questionnaire to inv estigate the metaperceptions of Scottish police officers (i.e. their p erceptions of how they are perceived by the general public), and compa red these to the actual responses of members of the public on the same instrument. It was found that the public were moderately favourable t owards the police, both in their attitudes towards the police and the law in general (Scale A) and in their stereotypes of police behaviour and demeanour (Scale B). The police had an accurate perception of this favourability in the context of Scale A, but were significantly optim istic about public response on Scale B. In addition, they significantl y underestimated the extent to which the public saw the two scales as related to one another. The results are discussed in terms of the fals e consensus bias, and in-group-out-group homogeneity.