How to Prepare for Police Psychological Exam?
In order to become a police officer, you will have to go through a variety of assessments to prove that you are capable of taking on the job. One of these critical assessments is the police psychological exam.
Being a police officer is a high-risk job, and it is a competitive industry to enter as well. It is absolutely necessary to pass this portion of the police hiring process if you want to become a police officer, but you may be wondering how to properly prepare for it.
In this guide, you will find some information about how to prepare for the psychological exam and what to expect in the assessment.
Table of Contents
What Is the Police Psychological Exam?
The police psychological exam is a psychometric evaluation that is used to assess different parts of someone’s behaviors and personalities to see if they are psychologically fit to enter certain career paths.
It will also be a way for your employers to see how you act and react under difficult circumstances and how you deal with the stress of your work environment and expectations. It is a good method for agencies to see what type of personality traits you display and get to know more about you and your life.
The exam consists of 100 questions that you will be given 15 minutes to answer. Typically, this exam is taken either with pen or paper or on a computer. It is important to familiarize yourself with the format and reference study guides like Job Test Prep so you can be adequately prepared for when test day comes.
The psychological exam will look at five major personality factors to determine who will be the best applicants out of a vast amount of people.
Those factors are:
- Emotional stability
- Openness to experiences
- Agreeableness
- Extroversion
- Conscientiousness
There will be many other behavioral traits that will be evaluated over the course of this exam, but these five will be the ones that hold the most importance.
Preparing for the Exam
The agencies want you to believe that the police psychological exam holds no right or wrong answers and that it will be easy enough to come to your own conclusions for each answer. As a matter of fact, this is not the case.
The psychological exam will be one of the most important parts of the hiring process and can determine whether or not you actually end up getting chosen for the job. Preparing for the exam will make a world of difference in the long run, and can even help you learn how to pass with flying colors.
A lot of agencies use this portion of the hiring process to figure out who they can eliminate from the hiring process and who they can move forward to the next step of the process. You should strive to become familiar with the content and format of the exam, as well as the questions and answering styles.
The exam may trip you up in some aspects, but building confidence and preparing yourself for any question you may face will help you get through.
Job Test Prep is an exam prep guide online that will help you become familiar with the exam and how to answer the questions you will be given. You should make the effort to practice each question thoroughly so you can give your answers in a timely manner during the actual exam.
Practicing will also give you a great advantage since you will be more confident with your answers.
What Is in the Assessments?
There are three components that you should expect in a police psychological exam. Often, each exam will have a combination of at least two of the three.
These three components are:
- A written psychological exam
- A self-assessed questionnaire
- A one-on-one meeting with a professional psychologist who will evaluate you even further
The content that will be on the written exam and questionnaire may be different depending on which state you are taking it in. The time limit will also vary depending on the state. The answer choice format will consist of “strongly agree/like me,” “strongly disagree/unlike me,” and everything in between.
The entire psychological exam part of the hiring process could take hours to finish, no matter which state you take it from.
Sample Questions
- I get nervous working in a group.
- It is difficult to make decisions under pressure.
- I am always worried about what people think of me.
- Other people’s opinions of me are important.
- I do not do well under sudden moments of stress.
- People who work hard become successful in their choice of career.
- If something needs to be done and the responsibility lies with me, I will do whatever it takes to make sure the tasks are completed properly.
- I set reasonable goals and make the proper plans to follow them.
- Getting paid is one of the most important parts of the job.
- I can get bored easily if I do not find interest in certain tasks.
- I can get nervous if something goes entirely unplanned.
- Learning new things excites me.
- I always strived to do well at school.
It Was Not Easy for Me to Make Friends When I Was Growing Up.
- I would rather work with a small group of people than a larger group.
- When something stressful or unexpected happens, I can lose focus on the task at hand.
- It is easy for me to trust the people around me.
- I usually get along well with my coworkers and superiors.
- I have a meticulous method of planning.
- I sometimes lack a solid sleep schedule, which can throw off my mood for the entire day.
- I am usually the one who makes decisions when it comes to more important aspects.
- I feel like I am constantly being watched and evaluated by my peers and my superiors.
- If I discover it is difficult for me to do something alone, I usually reach out to someone else so we can solve the problem with teamwork.
- I am able to resolve conflicts within my friend group or between family members fairly well.
- I do not respond to people who want to start a fight with me.
Personality Traits That Might Be Assessed:
- Emotional Resilience: There is no denying that police work is stressful and challenging. Emotional resilience is paramount to any police officer so they can adapt and maintain their composure under stressful or traumatic circumstances.
- Personal Responsibility: It is crucial for police officers to take responsibility for their roles and to adhere to standards expected of a police officer.
- Stress Capacity: Any police officer must be able to tolerate stress and maintain control of their emotions under stress.
- Courage: Police officers are often described as being courageous. Having courage is an important factor in police work since officers are often faced with frightening or traumatic situations that might endanger them.
Integrity: Police officers help to uphold law and justice, so they are expected to exhibit honesty and integrity.
Control: How effectively you can control yourself in times of chaos, stress, and danger is crucial in the role of a police officer. It is vital that you maintain control over yourself instead of lashing out impulsively and rashly.
Passing the Police Psychological Exam
Passing the exam involves a lot of practice and confidence, which can be achieved when you prepare for the exam properly. There are many ways to prepare, especially studying the format of the questions and answers you will be given.
You should take some time to learn more about the behavioral and psychological traits that you will be evaluated on before the day of the test. You should also take steps to prepare yourself for the face-to-face meeting with the professional psychologist.
There are also some things you should and should not do before and during the exam. Practicing with Job Test Prep is definitely one of the most important things that you should do. It will give you some time to get used to the questions and overall format of the exam so you can be more prepared to provide your answer.
Read the instructions for the exam and questions carefully so you do not hesitate while taking it. Remember that your answers will reflect on you as an individual and you will want to answer honestly and remain diligent.
Try to practice under a time constraint too, so you get a sense of how well and how quickly you can answer the questions.
Timing your practice will train you to read, comprehend and answer the questions quickly and accurately.
Some of the questions will be able to give you an understanding of what will be expected of you when you encounter certain situations as a police officer.
Think about how other police officers would react and try to incorporate that into your own thought process. Doing so will help you become more decisive with your answers and prove that you are capable of the job.
As tempted as you may be, do not answer every question with extreme answers. At the same time, avoid going towards the middle ground too often. The point is to answer honestly and let the test providers assess you accordingly based on your answers.
Ultimately, you should always keep your answers truthful since there are many ways to detect dishonesty. Remember, honesty and integrity are core values of the police force so you are expected to demonstrate these values even in your exam.
Conclusion
The police psychological exam is the key to determining your place in the hiring process. The difference between success and elimination is taking the necessary preparations for the exam.
As long as you take enough time to familiarize yourself with the content and study as efficiently as you can, you should have no problems passing this component of the hiring process. Practice diligently with Job Test Prep so you can be more prepared for whatever you may face on the exam.
Honesty and confidence is the key to success in the exam. Avoid panicking and do not be discouraged if you get tripped up at first. Work through each question until you have reached an honest conclusion.
Sarah is an accomplished educator, researcher and author in the field of testing and assessment. She has worked with various educational institutions and organisations to develop innovative evaluation methods and enhance student learning. Sarah has published numerous articles and books on assessment and learning. Her passion for promoting equity and fairness in the education system fuels her commitment to sharing insights and best practices with educators and policymakers around the world.
