Abstract

The research described in this article explores decision-making styles and levels of emotional intelligence displayed by police hostage and crisis negotiators in the UK. One hundred and seventeen negotiators from 21 police forces took part in the research, and their data were compared with 118 non-negotiator-trained police officers and 203 university students. Participants completed the General Decision-Making Style Questionnaire (Scott and Bruce Educ Psychol Meas 55(5):818-831, 1995) and the Emotional Intelligence Inventory (Gignac 2008), with data analysed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) and t tests. When controlling for the effects of age and social desirability, significant differences were found between both police samples and the student sample. All police officers displayed significantly lower levels of avoidant decision-making and significantly higher levels of overall emotional intelligence than students and these findings were also reflected within certain facets of emotional intelligence, specifically. These findings provide support for the existence of a unique ‘police officer profile’, but fail to support the premise of a distinct ‘hostage and crisis negotiator profile’ within the UK police population. The findings are discussed with relevance to the practice of hostage and crisis negotiation and future research directions.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.