Public Psychological Services 10/29/2019

The State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory(STAXI) is a self-report questionnaire that focuses on anger expression. It measures both the current(or state) anger of the applicant, and the generally characteristic(trait) anger level. It consists of 69 items that reflect anger-related behaviors, and which are answered on a four- alternative scale reflecting the frequency of exhibiting these behaviors: almost always,often, sometimes, and almost never. We use the STAXI because it reflects public safety job requirements such as emotional self-control, interpersonal skill, and teamwork.The STAXI Police and Public Safety Report is also unique in that if offers firefighter-specific norms. The Wonderlic Personnel Test(WPT) The Wonderlic Personnel Test (WPT) is a timed, 12-minute test of problem-solving ability that provides an accurate index of which applicants will require remedial attention during the Academy and Field Training Officer Program. Our psychologists do not use the Wonderlic information as the basis of a negative employment recommendation; however,they are instructed to provide feedback to the Department, in both the narrative report and during the Hiring Meeting, so that the hiring authority can consider that information along with other data when making their selection decision. The Psychological History Questionnaire(PsyQ) The Psychological History Questionnaire (PsyQ) is a self-report questionnaire that provides life history information that is pertinent to the evaluation of applicants for public safety positions.The PsyQ contains 282 questions on 14 topic areas (Education, Employment, Military Experience, Law Enforcement Experience, Driving Record, Financial History, Legal History,Substance Use, General Information, Developmental History,Adult Relationships, Parental Responsibilities, Psychological Treatment and Evaluation History, and Job Relevant Sexual History). Questions contain a varying number of response categories,as required to reflect the full range of relevant responses to each question.An earlier version of this instrument,the Personal History Questionnaire,was developed with funding and technical assistance from the California Highway Patrol. The PsyQ report summarizes the information from the questionnaire in a concise, well-organized format,which is intended to be a guide to the psychologist in conducting an interview with the applicant.The report begins with a Problem Profile page that lists significant responses in two categories-- "critical"and "serious"--in order to highlight major problems in an applicant's background. (The designation of"critical" and "serious" responses is based on the opinion of police and public safety hiring authorities, psychologists with selection expertise, and a review of how that classification would impact protected classes.) It then lists the responses to each question in the questionnaire,with arrows indicating selected responses that the psychologist should be sure to verify with the applicant during the interview.The report also suggests additional questions that the psychologist should ask during the interview to supplement information provided by the questionnaire responses. (For example, if the applicant indicates that he has had personality conflicts with a peer or supervisor at work, the report will suggest that the psychologist require that the applicant provide additional details about these conflicts.) We use the PsyQ in order to determine the extent to which the findings from psychological testing are corroborated by the actual behavior of the applicant.The structured interview produced by the PsyQ report increases the screening psychologist's consistency in reviewing the same life history domains for each applicant in the selection pool. Further,this procedure reduces the risk that important life events or negative behavioral admissions will be "overlooked"or"left out" during the sometimes-hectic pace of applicant processing. PSS/LEPS PLLC 10