PREDICTING POLICE OFFICER PERFORMANCE USING THE INWALD PERSONALITY-INVENTORY - AN ILLUSTRATION FROM APPALACHIA

Psychologists in rural areas are sometimes called on to assist in poli ce officer selection. In the present study, the Inwald Personality Inv entory (IPI) was used to predict police officers' performance; Ratings for 33 officers hired over 4 years, along with IPI scores, were teste d statistically. Four variables-elevated scores on the Driving Violati ons and Lack of Assertiveness scales and lowered scores on the Type A and Rigid Type scales-significantly predicted officers who were rated poorly or terminated. Although the specific findings may not generaliz e to other rural areas, this exploratory study suggests that the IPI m ay be useful in such evaluations.