The Revised NEO Personality Inventory as predictor of police academy performance

Preemployment psychological evaluation utilizing personality inventories is common in law enforcement settings. The Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R), developed from the five-factor theory of normal personality functioning, has proven useful in personnel selection. This study examined the predictive validity of NEO PI-R facet scales for predicting academic, firearms, physical, and disciplinary elements of police academy performance, as well as academy graduation. Results indicated that recruits higher in Values and lower in Excitement-Seeking did better academically, those lower in Anxiety did better at firearms, and those lower in Deliberation and Fantasy and higher in Activity did better in physical training. In a logistic regression analysis, Excitement-Seeking, Ideas, and Values predicted disciplinary memos, whereas Self-Consciousness, Altruism, Feelings, Order, Positive Emotions, and Vulnerability predicted absenteeism. Vulnerability to stress was the sole multivariate predictor of graduation. The use of the NEO PI-R as a selection instrument for police officers appears promising.