Police applicant response bias on the California Psychological Inventory.

Positive response bias is common under the high demand conditions of personnel selection. This study investigated positive response bias on the California Psychological Inventory (CPI)-434 by police officer applicants as scored by the CPI-434-Police and Public Safety Report. Police officer applicants completed the CPI-434 under high and then again under low demand conditions. The high demand condition was represented by the CPI administration as part of the preemployment psychological evaluation. The low demand condition was represented by a CPI administration with no contingencies approximately 4 months later during the police academy. Demand effects were illustrated by comparing applicant scores (within-subject) under high versus low demand conditions on CPI-Police and Public Safety Report (CPI-PPSR) prediction equations and CPI scales. Significant demand effects were observed on 23 of 46 comparisons. Modest support for the construct validity of the Good Impression (Gi) scale and somewhat less for the Fake Good Index as measures of positive response bias were observed. Response bias potential impact on police officer performance predictions was discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Stakeholder perceptions and scientific evidence linking wildfire mitigation treatments to societal outcomes.

A number of watershed partnerships have emerged in the western US to address the impacts of wildfire through investing in wildfire mitigation activities. To motivate collective action and design effective risk mitigation programs, these stakeholders draw on evidence linking wildfire mitigation to outcomes of interest. To advance knowledge in this area, we 1) assessed the strength of existing scientific evidence linking wildfire mitigation treatments with societal outcomes and 2) measured the importance of this evidence to watershed partnerships in the western US. To address objective one, we created a systematic evidence map to identify the most common wildfire mitigation treatment and societal outcome relationships reported. From the more than 100 studies examined, we found that the most commonly studied linkages were related to the impacts of thinning on infrastructure and timber. To answer objective two, we surveyed 38 professionals affiliated with organizations involved in eight watershed partnerships in the western US. We asked about the relative importance and strength of evidence linking wildfire treatments to societal outcomes for their watershed partnership, and used this information to create an importance-strength analysis and gap analysis. We found that most linkages were considered important to these organizations, and that the biggest gap identified was for evidence linking mulching to water quality or quantity outcomes. Forest and wildfire specialists perceived a larger need for additional evidence generation than other professional groups. Jointly, the results from this study point to areas of evidence generation important for watershed partnerships and other organizations involved in wildfire mitigation, and suggest a need to more thoroughly disseminate information about existing evidence to this new group of stakeholders investing in wildfire risk mitigation.

Predicting Postprobationary Job Performance of Police Officers Using CPI and MMPI-2-RF Test Data Obtained During Preemployment Psychological Screening.

We examined associations between prehire California Psychological Inventory (CPI) and prorated Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) scores (calculated from MMPI profiles) and supervisor ratings for a sample of 143 male police officers. Substantive scale scores in this sample were meaningfully lower than those obtained by the tests' normative samples in the case of the MMPI-2-RF and meaningfully higher in the case of the CPI (indicating less psychological dysfunction). Test scores from both instruments showed substantial range restriction, consistent with those produced by members of the police candidate comparison groups (Corey & Ben-Porath, 2014 ; Roberts & Johnson, 2001 ). After applying a statistical correction for range restriction, we found a number of meaningful associations between both CPI and MMPI-2-RF substantive scale scores and supervisor ratings. For the MMPI-2-RF, findings for scales from the emotional dysfunction and interpersonal functioning domains of the test were particularly strong. For the CPI, findings for scales indicating conformity with social norms, integrity, and tolerance were strong, as were the findings for an index indicating risk of termination. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that MMPI-2-RF and CPI scores complement each other, accounting for incremental variance in the prediction of job-related variables over and above each other. Implications of these findings for assessment science and practice are discussed.