Police Psychological Exam: Essential Tips, Sample Questions and What to Expect (2024)
Are you interested in pursuing a career as a police officer? Then you will have to take a police psychological test as an important step in the hiring process.
The Police Psychological Exam may differ among law enforcement agencies, but typically comprises three parts:
Check out our dedicated Police Exam Practice Test or access our Police Psychological Test & Ability Test Bundle , covering the main parts found in police assessments.
You can find more practice with our Free Personality Test Questions .
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A police psychological exam is a test used to assess an individual's ability to cope with the stresses of a law enforcement career. This includes dealing with violent situations, extended work hours, and confronting distressing crime scenes. The exam ensures that candidates have the mental resilience required for the job.
The questions delve into your personal preferences and behavior and measure your personality, motivations, attitudes, and values.
Most law enforcement agencies use a psych test to measure a variety of job-related behaviors and personality traits and to help them pick the best applicants for a job as police officers.
The police psychological exam is usually taken as the last/one of the last steps in the police recruitment application process, and is the last major hurdle you must face before becoming a police officer.
Unlike standard tests where answers can be distinctly right or wrong, the psychological evaluation seeks to construct a comprehensive personality profile through a series of psychological tests, interviews, and a review of the applicant's medical history and current lifestyle.
A psychological test is used by most police departments to select candidates, such as the Connecticut, NYPD, Chicago, PELLET B Test, LEAB Nassau County Police Exam and New Jersey, or national tests like the NPOST.
Personality tests and psychological evaluations are also used in other law enforcement positions, such as 911 dispatchers, FBI Special Agents, and more.
Interested in preparing for the police psychological exam as well as the cognitive written police test? Visit our new police bundle page for the most comprehensive prep.
To get a taste of the types of statements you will be presented with on your police psychological test, let's go over a few sample questions and answers.
Press the correct answer to reveal the explanation:
I can stay calm and focused under pressure
Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree View ExplanationThis statement measures Emotional Stability or Stress Tolerance.
Both traits refer to an individual's ability to remain stable and composed under stress or when faced with adversity. People with high emotional stability are less likely to experience negative emotions like anxiety, depression, and irritability in challenging situations.
The statement directly addresses your capability to stay calm and focused, indicating an assessment of your stress tolerance, which is necessary for facing challenging work scenarios.
I like to keep everything in its place so I know just where it is
Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree View ExplanationThe trait of order and organization reflects how well people are able to plan, build and manage their schedules over time.
High scores characterize organized and neat people who work systematically and take their time and the things of others seriously.
This is a highly desirable trait in the world of employment, and a high score is a prominent advantage in police job selection processes.
Low scores characterize people who are not organized or neat, tend to move disorderly between different tasks, and rarely succeed in carrying out what they have planned.
💡 Tip: As shown in their solutions, t hese questions aim to understand your natural tendencies in leadership, decision-making, and organization.
This psychological evaluation is not just about right or wrong answers; it's an in-depth review of your personality profile and how it fits the unique nature of police work.
Embarking on a law enforcement career with a reputable police department involves a comprehensive selection process, including the pivotal police psychological exam.
Law enforcement agencies, through standardized psychological tests and interviews, aim to assess an applicant's mental condition, fitness and compatibility with the demanding yet rewarding role of a police officer.
The psychological exam police officers need to pass is comprised of short statements, each followed by a five-point scale ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”.
By practicing for your police psychological exam prior to the actual testing date, you will become familiar with the format, questions, and answering styles found on the real test, allowing you to take the test calmly and confidently.
The police psychological exam is how police departments decide who they can entrust with the responsibility of a badge and a gun, which is why they place such huge importance on this stage of the hiring process.
Our Police Psych Test PrepPack includes a unique study guide which goes over all the attributes that are examined in the test, explaining each one in depth to understand the actual meaning behind every question.
Start Practicing NowA police psych test is only part of a wider battery of tests used in the police hiring process, with cognitive ability tests a central part of how you are selected.
The most popular type of psychological exam used by police departments is based on the Big Five Model, which uses the following traits as indicators to decide whether to qualify or disqualify a candidate:
Note: Conscientiousness (dependability) is considered to be the most important factor in predicting job performance in law enforcement.
Some police personality exams focus on a more detailed set of 15 behavioral traits:
| Taking personal responsibility | Emotional resilience | Taking charge of victims, witnesses, and suspects |
| Teamwork | Independence | Acceptance of the views of other individuals |
| Desire for achievement | Self-confidence | Self-awareness |
| Logical analysis of situations | Consideration and sensitivity | Compliance |
| Stress tolerance | Desire to support and assist | Attention to detail |
| Dependability | Impulse control | General Intelligence | Motivation to enter the law enforcement field |
| Judgement | Ability to deal with supervision | Prior drug use | Honesty & integrity |
| Personal bias or lack of bias | Stress tolerance | Reasonable courage | Ability to perform tedious tasks |
Want to try a Police Psychological Exam online? We've got just the thing for you. Click on the following link to access an exam modeled after the Big Five personality traits. Simply choose "Firefighter and Law Enforcement" from the dropdown menu and begin your practice session.
The police psych test is only part of the evaluation process a police department will administer to decide if a candidate is right for them. A cognitive ability test is usually a very central element of the hiring process, and getting to know the test in advance can boost your chances of passing significantly.
Click on the links below to see some of JobTestPrep's leading police PrepPacks and other useful resources:
The journey to becoming one of the esteemed police officers is rigorous, but with the right focus, work history and preparation, passing the psychological evaluation can be a significant milestone toward receiving that conditional offer of employment.
Some sites claim you don't need to prepare for your police personality exam, and that there are no right or wrong answers. This however is a common misconception that could seriously jeopardize you chances of passing!
The purpose of claiming you don't need to prepare is to make you feel more at ease and willing to answer each question without too much thought. But you must remember that the purpose of the police psychological exam is to sift candidates out of the law enforcement agency hiring process, and if you arrive at your test without a good understanding of what you are facing, you could find yourself failing the test.
This is why one of the main reasons you should practice for your police personality exam is to build familiarity with the test, and enhance your understanding of the logic behind it.
Indeed may offer insights and guidance on various aspects of the hiring process for police officer positions, including written exams and interview questions.
We have created a specialized and accurate Police Psychological Exam PrepPack™ to ensure you have the the ability to understand what each question is really asking you.
The 233 question police psych test takes into account the specifics of the law enforcement position you are aiming for, showing you where you stand in relation to the desired profile.
This way, you can avoid common psychological assessment pitfalls such as answering differently for re-stated questions, or accumulating too many extreme answers.
With JobTestPrep's accurate police psychological assessments and exam practice materials your understanding of the test, its theory, and the traits expected from future police officers, will be enhanced - giving you the keys to success.
Start Practicing NowRemember, every aspect of the evaluation, from the background investigation to the psychological interviews, is designed to ensure that candidates are a low risk for the agency and a good fit for the demanding nature of law enforcement.
Find some exam tips in our NYPD Psychological Exam or visit our Free Practice Suffolk Police Exam and start the preparation for your exam!
To pass your upcoming psychological screening, there are many things you should do as well as many things you should avoid:
