Improving Officer Safety and Decision-making by Understanding and Harnessing Within-Officer States and Between-Officer Traits

为了理解为什么人们会做出“好”和“坏”的决定，许多研究都集中在确定区分一个决策者和另一个决策者的稳定因素上。这些因素包括人的特征（例如，个性、态度）和情况的特征（例如，任务类型、环境性质）。虽然这些因素有助于区分“好”决策者和“坏”决策者，但它们不能解释为什么某个决策者有时会做出好的决策，有时会做出坏的决策。要做到这一点，不仅需要将一个人与另一个人进行比较，而且还需要将一个人如何以及为什么从一个时间点到下一个时间点与自己不同。换句话说，研究需要确定瞬时因素（例如，情绪），解释了为什么任何一个人在一种情况下是有效的决策者，而在另一种情况下不是。本研究的目的是提高我们的能力来解释决策有效性的差异，通过检查在一个国家的重要背景下，瞬间和稳定的因素相结合：警务。瞬时的或“人内”因素包括情绪、生理唤醒和睡眠质量，而稳定的或“人与人之间”因素包括人格特质和对环境的感知。更好地了解警察在什么时候以及为什么会做出好的和坏的决定，不仅可以促进科学的进步，而且可以促进公民的健康，繁荣和福利，最终造福社会。本项目将采取多层次的方法，在事件层面上研究警察在该领域的决策。通过将官员决策视为一个多层次的现象，由人内和人与人之间的因素塑造，我们的目标是解释更多的关键决策的差异。假设人与人之间的差异a）影响人与人之间的状态，这反过来又影响决策过程和结果，和B）调节人与人之间的状态和决策过程和结果之间的关系。为了验证这一点，我们将利用经验抽样方法，对实地的警察人员进行抽样调查，每天两次，为期两周，在两个时间点，间隔九个月。我们将评估警官在与平民进行积极和消极互动时的情绪，以及在这些互动中做出的决定。在体验采样阶段，我们还将通过可穿戴传感器捕获生理唤醒和睡眠质量的瞬时评估。此外，我们将通过调查官员的个性特征（例如，态度（例如，对公众的信任），以及对他们代理机构的看法（例如，公平文化）。查明人内和人与人之间的因素，应能加强警官的决策，并通过查明导致警官偏离高水平业绩的事件层面的瞬时触发因素，作出更一致的决定。这项研究的结果将有助于各机构确定增加官员焦虑或压力的遭遇类型，并利用与情绪相关的优点和缺点，这样做可以使他们处于最佳位置：（a）找出改进缓和局势策略的方法，（B）提高警官在情绪状态方面的自我意识，（c）减轻压力并促进警官福祉，以及（d）开发可能改善公民和官员安全的培训计划。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

To understand why people make “good” versus “bad” decisions, much research has focused on identifying stable factors that differentiate one individual decision-maker from another. These factors include characteristics of the person (e.g., personality, attitudes) and characteristics of the situation (e.g., type of task, nature of the environment). Although these factors have helped to differentiate “good” decision-makers from “bad” decision-makers, they cannot explain why a given decision-maker makes good decisions at sometimes and bad decisions at other times. To do so, it is necessary to compare not just one person to another person, but also how and why one person differs from himself or herself from one point in time to the next. In other words, research needs to identify momentary factors (e.g., emotions) that explain why any one person is an effective decision-maker in one context but not in another context. This research aims to improve our ability to explain differences in decision-making effectiveness by examining the combination of momentary and stable factors within a nationally important context: policing. Momentary, or “within-person” factors include emotions, physiological arousal, and sleep quality, and stable, or “between-person” factors include personality traits and perceptions of the environment. Gaining a better understanding of when and why a given police officer makes good versus bad decisions not only promotes the progress of science, but it also advances the health, prosperity, and welfare of citizens, ultimately benefitting society.This project will take a multilevel approach and examine police officer decision-making in the field at the episodic level. By viewing officer decision-making as a multilevel phenomenon, shaped by within- and between-person factors, our goal is to explain more variance in key decisions. The hypothesis is that between-person differences a) influence within-person states, which in turn affect decision-making processes and outcomes, and b) moderate the relationship between within-person states and decision-making processes and outcomes. To test this, we will utilize experience-sampling methodology with a sample of police officers in the field, surveying them twice daily for two-weeks, at two points in time, spaced nine months apart. We will assess police officers’ emotions felt during positive and negative interactions with civilians and decisions made during those interactions. During the experience-sampling phase, we also will capture momentary assessments of physiological arousal and sleep quality via wearable sensors. In addition, we will measure stable factors by surveying officers about their personality traits (e.g., conscientiousness, self-monitoring) attitudes (e.g., trust in the public), and perceptions of their agency (e.g., fair culture). The identification of both within- and between-person factors should enhance police officer decision-making and lead to more consistent decisions by identifying event-level, momentary triggers that cause officers to stray from high levels of performance. Findings from this study will help agencies identify the types of encounters that increase officer anxiety or stress and leverage the advantages and disadvantages associated with emotions and, in so doing, may optimally position them to: (a) pinpoint ways to improve de-escalation strategies, (b) increase the self-awareness of officers when it comes to their emotional states, (c) reduce stress and promote officer well-being, and (d) develop training programs that might improve citizen and officer safety.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.