Citation

Staller MS, Müller M, Christiansen P, Zaiser B, Körner S, Cole JC. Aggressive Behav. 2019; 45(2): 161-168.

Affiliation

Tactical Decision Making Research Group, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, International Society for Research on Aggression, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/ab.21805

PMID

30575979

Abstract

The current study aims to investigate corresponding self-control and self-control failures that are the result of ego depletion and its impact on police officers' decision to use force. For that purpose, a total of 200 German police recruits were randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group. Ego depletion was manipulated using the "e" crossing task. Participants then worked through a video-based scenario exercise, in which they encountered a provocative citizen. They were required to indicate the time that they would take to resort to using force to resolve the situation.

RESULTS showed that ego depleted officers intended to use force earlier than controls. This indicates that circumstances that produce ego depletion could lead to the inappropriate use of force by reducing self-control. This has major implications for the police use of force and how we understand police officers' decision making in response to provocation.

© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Language: en

Keywords

aggression; ego depletion; police use of force; self-control