Investigating the dark side of personality: A case for derailer assessment in police

Abstract

Dhanani et al. (2022) highlight limitations with the personality measures typically used for police selection, but they overlooked aspects of personality that may be critical for police officer selection and training. As Dhanani et al. noted, law enforcement agencies rely too heavily on personality measures that are not optimized to predict behaviors critical to effective policework. For example, clinical measures target chronic, extreme disorders and have a limited ability to reflect additional problematic behaviors that occur infrequently or only under some circumstances. Further, organizational psychologists have emphasized potential legal constraints associated with assessing clinical disorders in selection (Melson-Silimon et al., 2019). Other frequently used personality assessments targeted at the normal range of behavior, such as measures based on the five factor model, may predict some components of police performance (e.g., Black, 2000; Detrick & Chibnall, 2006; Forero et al., 2009; Hogan, 1971; Hogan & Kurtines, 1975; Winterberg et al., in press) better than clinical personality measures (Varela et al., 2004), but still fall short in the prediction of behaviors and decisions in less frequent, high-threat situations. Although rarer, these situations are of greater concern when evaluating police performance and outcomes as they potentially have life-threatening consequences for both officers and civilians, and have been identified as critical instances when adverse effects on minorities are most likely to occur. However, going unmentioned in Dhanani et al. are subclinical dark personality measures, often referred to as derailers in work settings, that are specifically designed to address deficiencies in both clinical and normal-range personality measures (Guenole, 2014; Spain et al., 2014). Subclinical traits are personality tendencies that are frequently interpersonally aversive but are not necessarily dysfunctional at a level that would require clinical interventions. Rather, these tendencies represent potentially toxic strategies for dealing with frustrations and advancing one’s own agenda (Hogan et al., 2021). Consequently, derailers frequently manifest as important predictors of behavior in high-stress situations or when individuals feel little need to self-monitor their behaviors (Spain et al., 2016; Harms, 2022). Derailers are thus relevant to law enforcement work because it is characterized by regular exposure to high-stress environments, ambiguous situations requiring quick decisions, and primary and secondary trauma. Indeed, both police subject matter experts and samples of the US public agree that many subclinical traits are important for successful police performance (Winterberg et al., in press). Many applied personality researchers are familiar with the dark triad (i.e., narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy). However, measures of subclinical traits used in selection settings, such as the Hogan Development Survey (Hogan & Hogan, 2009), include a broader array of subclinical traits that map closely to the DSM-IV Axis-2 personality disorders and capture subclinical tendencies toward paranoia, emotional outbursts, disingenuous compliance, and passive-aggressive behaviors. Subclinical dark trait assessments have important advantages useful for selection in the law enforcement context. Available evidence suggests relatively high base rates of derailer tendencies