Verified Document

Psychological Testing Term Paper

Psychological Testing

Law enforcement interrogation techniques have a high potential for error because criminals are motivated to give false information to the police. An effective training program can help to reduce the potential for error by teaching officers how to conduct interrogation techniques properly, and by helping officers select the most appropriate techniques to use with a given subject. Selection of an optimal technique greatly improves the chances of learning useful information from a subject, and reduces error rates. Commonly used methods include good cop/bad cop, pride and ego down and the Reid technique. It is important to be able to select the optimal technique and implement it correctly to reduce errors.

A number of techniques are effective for gaining information from a subject during interrogation, however some techniques work better with certain types of subjects than others. Good cop/bad cop works well with young or inexperienced subjects who are easily intimidated and still seeking the approval of authority figures. Pride and ego down can be effective in situations where a subject is likely to be proud of his criminal activity; by attacking his ego, he can be induced to brag about crimes in order to redeem himself. The Reid technique is somewhat controversial, as it can be error-prone. The major component of the technique is to lead a subject in to a confession by presenting the subject with a series of choices, where the less morally objectionable choice leads toward a confession.

Officers must be taught to determine what technique is appropriate for a given situation and to implement it properly. Selection of the correct interrogation technique reduces the probability of error greatly. It is also important that officers be given substantial opportunity for practice in order to perfect their techniques. The use of skilled practice subjects to simulate difficult or unusual interrogations will help to reduce the likelihood of errors in real interrogations.

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Psychological Testing
Words: 989 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

Psychological Testing When one hears the phrase "psychological testing" one might be inclined to think of a test to determine one's mental health, a test that could tell someone whether she or he was crazy or not. But psychological testing is hardly so clear-cut, nor does it deal with the highly subjective subject of sanity. Psychological tests instead measure a range of qualities and potentials, including one's aptitude for various kinds

Psychological Testing
Words: 1884 Length: 6 Document Type: Term Paper

Psychological Testing. Teachers must test. It is one method of evaluating progress and determining individual student needs. More than two hundred and fifty million standardized tests are administered each year to forty four million students who attend American elementary and secondary schools (Ysseldyke et al. 1992). Testing is only part of the broader conception of assessment. Testing is the sampling of behavior in students to obtain scores (quantitative indexes) or relative

Psychological Testing Psychological Tests Are an Important
Words: 994 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Psychological Testing Psychological tests are an important aspect of clinical psychology. Psychological tests are normally administered by professional psychologists as a way of learning fact on how people function or in predicting their future. The paper will look at the definition of the term test, give a description of the major categories of tests while identifying the major uses and users of these tests. There will also be comparing and contrasting

Psychological Testing and Assessment There Is a
Words: 915 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

Psychological Testing and Assessment There is a distinct relationship between psychological testing and assessment in conjunction with the DSM-IV. First, testing provides a systematic means of assessments that provide insight into the potential mental complications of a patient. Further, psychological testing provides a means of flexible evaluation which can better conform to the changing needs of the public. By providing flexibility in its approach to assessment, psychological testing can better adapt

Psychological Testing in the Workplace:
Words: 715 Length: 3 Document Type: Article Review

Often, psychological testing is used to determine a candidate's approach to conflict resolution, identify the candidate's stress factors and coping mechanisms, or to possibly identify potential management skills and preferences. These and other insights are very important to potential employers, especially when it pertains to the higher-level professions and when the company has a large amount of money and a large commitment on the line. The article concludes that psychological

Psychological Testing Ethical and Legal Use of
Words: 1185 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Psychological Testing Ethical and legal use of psychological testing has a significant impact on the standards and practices of psychological testing to demonstrate intervention for those being tested. The purpose of the ethical boundaries of psychological testing is to ensure that clinicians are utilizing the best test possible and then applying the results ethically to demonstrate assistance with diagnosis and intervention modes in a way that best meets the needs

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now