What do they look for during 750 question written psychological exam?

Question

This regards LA county sheriff's department.

any tips or advice for taking this test?

Answer 1

If you check out the examiners idea of what qualities make up a Police Officer or Sheriff's Deputy, you would get a description of a theoretically perfect candidate. However, we all know that no one is perfect, and we all have backgrounds that show an average amount of negativity or bad experiences. After all, we are told by our parents that no one is perfect, and that what is important is that we learn from our mistakes. It is not necessary to be perfect and you should always be honest in your interviews with the departments. The truth is that law enforcement agencies are not going to find a perfect candidate and they know it. So, they do have some leeway when evaluating applicants.

For the psychological evaluation, the examiner is a licensed clinical psychologist hired to provide an opinion of a prospective applicant based on several psychological tests. These test are usually well researched and have strong clinical relevance to what the department is looking for in a candidate. Following the tests, applicants will meet with the psychologist to complete the evaluation. The psychologist reviews an applicant's background check and asks some fairly simple questions. However, what frequently happens here is that information given in the background check and the questions that the psychologist asks yields some negative and conflicting information.

The psychologist will then immediately make a judgment based on the clinical tests and the interview. The problem with many of the psychologist interviews is that the applicant is unaware of the personal opinion and viewpoints of the psychologist. This is not something that you can guard against, but you can appeal the decision. AllCare has found that the results of the psychological evaluation are as varied as anyone could imagine. Psychologists are supposed to be scientific and objective about the tests, but ultimately, they are asked to give an opinion of whether or not you are a suitable candidate for the academy. Unfortunately, the answer sometimes depends on what psychologist you get to interview you. It also relies on the interpretation of the results of the psychological tests, which can vary from examiner to examiner. In other words, different psychologists may interpret the same test results in their own way.

Unfortunately, you are unaware of the differences between different Psychologist’s and you are not given a choice.

In addition, the criterion changes on what is acceptable behavior and what is not depending upon the social and political climate at the time. For example, in the past, if you had any credit problems, you would have been rejected automatically as a candidate -- because this demonstrated bad judgment. Now, this is left up to the interpretation of the evaluator or psychologist. The same is true regarding prior drug use. The criterion used to say that any use of drugs would be just cause for rejection to the police academy. Now, they have become more knowledgeable about the degree of use versus abuse so that for example, smoking marijuana a couple of times as a teen is not necessarily grounds to reject an otherwise good candidate. There are varying degrees in all behavior for all of us. However, the departments are looking for stand up citizens that can make good judgment without prejudice. They look at your background to see if it matches.

Answer 2

Congrats if you are applying to LAPD. It's an excellent agency. In addition to what others have said, they will look to see if your personality fits that of the department. Some departments have a more aggressive personality (mainly due to the types of situations they deal with). Don't try to read too much into the question and don't try to answer how you think they want you to answer. That usually only back fires. Congratulations on pursuing such a noble profession.

Answer 3

Well the first thing they want to know is "Are you willing to use your tazer to taze people for no reasons at all?" If you answer no, well then you have a psychological problem. Watch the news, tazing is the in thing now a days!

Answer 4

You will notice that they will ask you the same question 30 different ways. They are not only looking at how you answer the question, but if you have answered all of the questions that are "the same" consistently.

Answer 5

yes..don't answer the way you THINK you should answer. (answer the questions like an 'officer' would answer them.)

They're gonna ask you everything, from what would you do if.... to suppose so and so did this...
Don't be surprised if you don't make it the first time. (if you do, they have oral boards after.)