Decision‐Making Training for Frontline Police Officers

Effects on Situational Awareness and Team Behavior

Dados Bibliográficos

ID21391943
AutoresRoar Espevik (0000-0002-6472-4636, Department of Leadership and Command & Control Swedish Defense University Stockholm Sweden, autor correspondente), Evelyn Rose‐Saus (Department of Psychosocial Science University of Bergen Bergen Norway), Bjørn Helge Johnsen (0000-0002-4117-8935, Center for Crisis Psychology University of Bergen Bergen Norway), Sverre Sanden (0000-0002-4297-1628, Center for Crisis Psychology University of Bergen Bergen Norway), Olav Kjellevold Olsen (0000-0002-7674-7229, Department of Psychosocial Science University of Bergen Bergen Norway)
Ano2026
Volume67
Fascículo2
Páginas596-604
Data de publicação2026-04-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoScandinavian Journal of Psychology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0036-5564 • E-ISSN: 1467-9450
EditoraWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/sjop.70050
PMID41294077
OpenAlexW4416691765
IdiomaEN
Referências citadas24

Frontline police officers frequently face ambiguous and high‐pressure situations requiring rapid decision‐making under uncertainty. Traditional police training often emphasizes procedural and tactical skills, neglecting cognitive competencies such as situational awareness (SA) and shared mental models (SMM). This study investigates whether a brief, theoretically grounded decision‐making training program can enhance SA and team behavior among regular and SWAT‐type police officers during simulated arrest scenarios. A quasi‐experimental 2 × 2 factorial design was employed, involving 166 police officers (category 3: SWAT‐type; category 4: regular patrol). Participants were assigned to either a training group ( n = 54) or a control group ( n = 112). The training program consisted of three modules focusing on decision‐making frameworks, scenario‐based exercises, and group debriefings. SA was measured using the Situational Awareness Rating Scale (SARS), and team behavior was assessed by subject matter experts during ambiguous and non‐ambiguous simulated scenarios. Statistical analyses included factorial ANOVAs and planned comparisons. Trained officers demonstrated significantly higher SA scores than untrained controls ( F (1, 162) = 12.587, p F (1, 81) = 6.66, p

Cognition · Officer · Psychological safety · Rating scale · Repeated measures design · Scale (ratio) · Situation awareness · Situational ethics · Variance (accounting) · Human-Automation Interaction and Safety · Policing Practices and Perceptions · Team Dynamics and Performance