Racially gerrymandering the content of police tests to satisfy the U.S. Justice Department
A case study
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12434836 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Linda S Gottfredson (0000-0003-2255-7646, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1996 |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue | 3-4 |
| Pages | 418-446 |
| Publication date | 1996-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Psychology Public Policy and Law (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1076-8971 • E-ISSN: 1939-1528 |
| Publisher | American Psychological Association (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1037/1076-8971.2.3-4.418 |
| OpenAlex | W2063327143 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 10 |
both falsely assume that all racial-ethnic groups would pass job-related, unbiased employment tests at the same rate. Unreasonable law and enforcement create pressure for personnel psychologists to violate professional principles and lower the merit relatedness of tests in the service of race-based goals. This article illustrates such a case by describing how the content of a police entrance examination in Nassau County, New York, was stripped of crucial cognitive demands to change the racial composition of the applicants who seemed most qualified. The test was thereby rendered nearly worthless for actually making such determinations. The article concludes by examining the implications of the case for policing in Nassau County, Congressional oversight of Justice Department activities, and psychology's role in helping its members to avoid such coercion. The influence of politics and government on science has long been a concern in both science and society. I focus here on one aspect of that influence as it relates to psychology. What are the responsibilities of psychologists when federal law or its enforcement agencies press them to implement scientific theories that have
Coercion (linguistics · Criminal justice · Criminology · Economic Justice · Empirical research · Enforcement · Ethnic group · Law enforcement · Police department · Political science · Race (biology · Sociology · Test (biology · Deception detection and forensic psychology · Law · Occupational and Professional Licensing Regulation · Psychological Testing and Assessment · Psychology
Criterion-related validities of personality constructs and the effect of response distortion on those validities.
Role of social desirability in personality testing for personnel selection
Why g matters
Within-group norming and other forms of score adjustment in preemployment testing
The science and politics of race-norming
Seven Criterion-Related Validity Studies Conducted with the National Police Officer Selection Test
Intelligence and public policy
Intelligence and job performance
Validity and utility of alternative predictors of job performance
A Monte Carlo evaluation of three formula estimates of cross-validated multiple correlation
| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,23 |
| Citation span | 1996 - 2011 (16) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |