Abstract
The research described in this article explores decision-making styles and levels of emotional intelligence displayed by police hostage and crisis negotiators in the UK. One hundred and seventeen negotiators from 21 police forces took part in the research, and their data were compared with 118 non-negotiator-trained police officers and 203 university students. Participants completed the General Decision-Making Style Questionnaire (Scott and Bruce Educ Psychol Meas 55(5):818-831, 1995) and the Emotional Intelligence Inventory (Gignac 2008), with data analysed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) and t tests. When controlling for the effects of age and social desirability, significant differences were found between both police samples and the student sample. All police officers displayed significantly lower levels of avoidant decision-making and significantly higher levels of overall emotional intelligence than students and these findings were also reflected within certain facets of emotional intelligence, specifically. These findings provide support for the existence of a unique ‘police officer profile’, but fail to support the premise of a distinct ‘hostage and crisis negotiator profile’ within the UK police population. The findings are discussed with relevance to the practice of hostage and crisis negotiation and future research directions.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Afolabi O, Awosola R, Omole S (2010) Influence of emotional intelligence and gender on job performance and job satisfaction among Nigerian policemen. Curr Res J Soc Sci 2:147–154 Retrieved from http://maxwellsci.com/print/crjss/v2-147-154.pdf
Al Ali O, Garner I, Magadley W (2012) An exploration of the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance in police organizations. Journal of police and criminal psychology 27:1–8. doi:10.1007/s11896-011-9088-9
Allen S, Fraser S, Inwald R (1991) Assessment of personality characteristics related to successful hostage and crisis negotiators and their resistance to posttraumatic stress disorder. In: Reeve J, Horn JM, Dunning C (eds) Critical incidents in policing revised. U.S. Government Press, Washington D.C., pp 1–16
Anderson J (2000) Intuition in managers: are intuitive managers more effective? J Manag Psychol 15:46–67. doi:10.1108/02683940010305298
Aremu A, Tejumola T (2008) Assessment of emotional intelligence among Nigerian police. Journal of social sciences 16:221–226 Retrieved from http://www.krepublishers.com/02-Journals/JSS/JSS-16-0-000-000-2008-Web/JSS-16-3-000-000-2008-Abst-Text/JSS-16-3-221-08-577-Aremu-A-O/JSS-16-3-221-08-577-Aremu-A-O-Tt.pdf
Armstrong A, Galligan R, Critchley C (2011) Emotional intelligence and psychological resilience to negative life events. Personal Individ Differ 51:331–336. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2011.03.025
Barnard C (1938) The functions of the executive. Harvard University Press, Cambridge
Bar-On R (1997) Bar-On emotional quotient inventory: technical manual. Mulithealth Systems, Toronto
Bar-On R, Brown J, Kirkcaldy B, Thome E (2000) Emotional expression and implications for occupational stress; an application of the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i). Personal Individ Differ 28:1107–1118. doi:10.1016/S0191-8869(99)00160-9
Barry B, Fulmer I, Van Kleef G (2004) I laughed, I cried, I settled: the role of emotion in negotiation. In: Gelfand M, Brett J (eds) The handbook of negotiation and culture. Stanford University Press, Palo Alto, pp 71–94
Carmeli A, Josman Z (2006) The relationship among emotional intelligence, task performance, and organizational citizenship behaviours. Hum Perform 19:403–419. doi:10.1207/s15327043hup1904_5
Caruso D (2015) International negotiation and emotional intelligence. In: Gallucio M (ed) Handbook of international negotiation: interpersonal, intercultural, and diplomatic perspectives. Springer International Publishing, Switzerland, pp 181-189. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-10687-8_14
Caruso D, Bienn B, Kornacki S (2006) Emotional intelligence in the workplace. In: Ciarrochi J, Forgas J, Mayer JD (eds) Emotional intelligence in everyday life, 2nd edn. Psychology Press, Philadelphia, pp 187-205
Chapman M, Clarke R (2002) Emotional intelligence is a concept that can be used in stress management: A response to Slaski. Stress News 15(1)
Cherniss C (2000) Emotional intelligence: what it is and why it matters. Paper presented at the annual meeting for the society for industrial and organizational psychology, New Orleans, LA
Cherniss C, Goleman D (2001) The emotionally intelligent workplace: how to select for, measure, and improve emotional intelligence in individuals, groups, and organizations. Wiley, San Francisco
Christiansen N, Janovics J, Siers B (2010) Emotional intelligence in selection contexts: measurement method, criterion related validity, and vulnerability to response distortion. Int J Sel Assess 18:87–101. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2389.2010.00491.x
Ciarrochi J, Forgas J, Mayer J (2001) Emotional intelligence in everyday life: a scientific inquiry. Psychology Press, New York
Cohen J (1988) Statistical power analysis for the behavioural sciences, 2nd edn. Erlbaum, Hillsdale
Cote S, Miners C (2006) Emotional intelligence, cognitive intelligence, and job performance. Adm Sci Q 51:1–28. doi:10.2189/asqu.51.1.1
Driver M, Brousseau K, Hunsaker P (1990) The dynamic decision maker. Harper & Row, New York
Dulewicz V, Higgs M, Slaski M (2003) Measuring emotional intelligence: content, construct, and criterion-related validity. J Manag Psychol 18:453–466. doi:10.1108/02683940310484017
Field AP (2009) Discovering statistics using SPSS. SAGE, London
Flood J (2003) Hostage barricade database (HOBAS). FBI Academy, Quantico
Fulmer I, Barry B (2004) The smart negotiator: cognitive ability and emotional intelligence in negotiation. The international journal of conflict management 15:245–272. doi:10.1108/eb022914
Gardner L (2005) Emotional intelligence and occupational stress. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Swinburne University, Australia
George J (2000) Emotions and leadership: the role of emotional intelligence. Human Relations 53:1027–1055. doi:10.1177/0018726700538001
Gignac G (2008) Genos emotional intelligence inventory technical manual. Genos Press, Sydney, NSW
Goleman D (1995) Emotional intelligence: why it can matter more than IQ. Bantam, New York
Grewal D, Salovey P (2005) Feeling smart: the science of emotional intelligence. Am Sci 93:330–339. doi:10.1511/2005.4.330
Grubb A (2010) Modern-day hostage (crisis negotiation): the evolution of an art form within the policing arena. Aggression and violent behaviour 15:341–348. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2010.06.002
Grubb AR (2016) A mixed-methodological analysis of police hostage and crisis negotiation in the United Kingdom. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Coventry University, Coventry, West Midlands, United Kingdom
Grubb A, Brown S (2012) Hostage (crisis) negotiation: the potential role of negotiator personality, decisionmaking style, coping style and emotional intelligence on negotiator success. Int J Emerg Ment Health 14:41–51. Retrieved from https://www.omicsonline.com/open-access/the-influence-of-indirectcollective-trauma-on-first-responders-alcohol-use.pdf. Accessed 1 June 2015
Grubb A, Brown S, Hall P (2015) Personality traits and coping styles in UK police officers. Do negotiators differ from their non-negotiator colleagues? Psychology. Crim Law Forum 21:347–374. doi:10.1080/1068316X.2014.989165
Ivancevich J, Szilagyi A, Wallace M (1977) Organizational behaviour and performance. Santa Monica: Goodyear Russ F, McNeilly K, Comer J (2001) Leadership, decision-making and performance of sales managers: A multi-level approach. J Pers Sell Sales Manag XVI:1–15. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40471636
Jordan P, Lawrence S (2009) Emotional intelligence in teams: development and initial validation of the short version of the Workgroup Emotional Intelligence Profile (WEIP-S). Journal of Management and Organization 15:452–469. doi:10.5172/jmo.15.4.452
Jordan P, Troth C (2004) Managing emotions during team problem solving: emotional intelligence and conflict resolution. Hum Perform 17:195–218. doi:10.1207/s15327043hup1702_4
Lam L, Kirby S (2002) Is emotional intelligence an advantage? An exploration of the impact of emotional and general intelligence on individual performance. J Soc Psychol 142:133–143. doi:10.1080/00224540209603891
Law K, Wong C, Song L (2004) The construct and criterion validity of emotional intelligence and its potential utility for management studies. J Appl Psychol 89:483–496. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.89.3.483
Lev R (2005) Emotional intelligence: Between theory and practice implementation in the Israeli police force. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Anglia Ruskin University, UK
Loo R (2000) A psychometric evaluation of the General Decision-Making Style Inventory. Personal Individ Differ 29:895–905
Mayer J, Salovey P (1997) What is emotional intelligence? In Van Rooy D, Viswesvaran C (2004) Emotional intelligence: A meta-analytic investigation of predictive validity and nomological net. J Vocat Behav 65:71–95. doi: 10.1016/S0001-8791(03)00076-9
Mayer J, Salovey P, Caruso D (1999) Models of emotional intelligence. In Van Rooy D, Viswesvaran C (2004) Emotional intelligence: A meta-analytic investigation of predictive validity and nomological net. J Vocat Behav 65:71–95. doi:10.1016/S0001-8791(03)00076-9
Mayer J, Salovey P, Caruso D, Sitarenios G (2001) Emotional intelligence as a standard intelligence. Emotion 1:232–242. doi:10.1037/1528-3542.1.3.232
McMains M, Mullins W (2001) Crisis negotiations: Managing critical incidents and hostage situations in law enforcement and corrections, 2nd edn. Anderson Publishing, Cincinnati
Nowicki S, Duke M (1992) The association of children’s nonverbal decoding abilities with their popularity, locus of control and academic achievement. J Genet Psychol 153:385–393. doi:10.1080/00221325.1992.10753734
Nutt P (1990) Strategic decisions made by top executives and middle managers with data and process dominant style. J Manag Stud 27:173–194. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6486.1990.tb00759.x
Pallant J (2007) SPSS survival manual, 3rd edn. Open University Press, Berkshire
Paulhus D (1988) Manual for the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR-6). Unpublished manual, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
Quoidbach J, Hansenne M (2009) The impact of trait emotional intelligence on nursing team performance and cohesiveness. J Prof Nurs 25:23–29. doi:10.1016/j.profnurs.2007.12.002
Regini C (2002) Crisis negotiation teams: selection and training. FBI Law Enforcement Bull 71:1–5. Retrieved from https://leb.fbi.gov/2002-pdfs/leb-november-2002. Accessed 10 Aug 2015
Ricca D (2003) Emotional intelligence, negative mood regulation expectancies, and professional burnout among police officers. Diss Abstr Int 64:4664A
Russ F, McNeilly K, Comer J (2001) Leadership, decision-making and performance of sales managers: a multi-level approach. Journal of personal selling and sales management XVI:1–15 Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40471636
Sadler-Smith E (2004) Cognitive style and the management of small and medium-sized enterprises. Organ Stud 25:155–181. doi:10.1177/0170840604036914
Sala F (2001) Do programs designed to increase emotional intelligence at work-work? Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organisations. Retrieved from http://www.eiconsortium.org/pdf/mastering_emotional_intelligence_program_eval.pdf
Sala F (2006) The international business case: emotional intelligence competencies and important business outcomes. In: Druskat VU, Sala F, Mount G (eds) Linking emotional intelligence and performance at work: current research evidence with individuals and groups. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers, Mahwah, pp 125–142
Salovey P, Mayer J (1990) Emotional intelligence. Imagination, cognition and intelligence 9:185–211. doi:10.2190/DUGG-P24E-52WK-6CDG
Salovey P, Bedell B, Detweiler J, Mayer J (1999) Coping intelligently: emotional intelligence and the coping process. In: Snyder CR (ed) Coping: the psychology of what works. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 141–164
Saville G (2006) Emotional intelligence in policing. The police chief 73(11):38–41 Retrieved from http://www.policechiefmagazine.org
Scott S, Bruce R (1995) Decision-making style: the development and assessment of a new measure. Educ Psychol Meas 55:818–831. doi:10.1177/0013164495055005017
Semadar A, Robins G, Ferris G (2006) Comparing the validity of multiple social effectiveness constructs in the prediction of managerial job performance. Journal of organizational behaviour 27:443–461. doi:10.1002/job.385
Shoda Y, Mischel W, Peake P (1990) Predicting adolescent cognitive and self-regulatory competencies from pre-school delay gratification: identifying diagnostic conditions. Dev Psychol 26:978–986. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.26.6.978
Simon H (1947) Administrative behaviour. New York: Macmillan. In Russ F, McNeilly K, Comer J (2001) Leadership, decision-making and performance of sales managers: a multi-level approach. J Pers Sell Sales Manag XVI:1–15. doi:10.1016/S0001-8791(03)00076-9
Simon H (1960) The new science of management decisions. New York: Harper. In Russ F, McNeilly K, Comer J (2001) Leadership, decision-making and performance of sales managers: A multi-level approach. J Pers Sell Sales Manag XVI:1–15. doi:10.1016/S0001-8791(03)00076-9
Slaski M, Cartwright S (2003) Emotional intelligence training and its implications for stress, health and performance. Stress Health 19:233–239. doi:10.1002/smi.979
Spicer DP, Sadler-Smith E (2005) An examination of the general decision making style questionnaire in two UK samples. J Manag Psychol 20:137–149. doi:10.1108/02683940510579777
Stough C, Saklofske D, Parker J (2009) Assessing emotional intelligence: theory, research and applications. Springer, New York
Sy T, Tram S, O’Hara L (2006) Relation of employee and manager emotional intelligence to job satisfaction and performance. Journal of vocational behaviour 68:461–473. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2005.10.003
Taylor D (1965) Decision-making and problem solving. In Russ F, McNeilly K, Comer J (2001) Leadership, decision-making and performance of sales managers: A multi-level approach. J Pers Sell Sales Manag XVI:1–15. doi:10.1016/S0001-8791(03)00076-9
Thompson L, Nadler J, Kim P (1999) Some like it hot: the case for the emotional negotiator. In: Thompson L, Levine J, Messick D (eds) Shared cognition in organizations: the management of knowledge. Erlbaum, Wahwah, pp 139–161
Thunholme P (2004) Decision-making style: habit, style or both? Personal Individ Differ 36:931–944. doi:10.1016/S0191-8869(03)00162-4
Thunholme P (2008) Decision-making styles and physiological correlates of negative stress: is there a relation? Scand J Psychol 49:213–219. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9450.2008.00640.x
van den Heuvel C, Alison A, Power N (2014) Coping with uncertainty: police strategies for resilient decision-making and action implementation. Cognition, Technology and Work 16:25–45. doi:10.1007/S10111-012-0241-8
Van Hasselt V, Romano S, Vecchi G (2008) Role playing: applications in hostage and crisis negotiation skills training. Behav Modif 32:248–263. doi:10.1177/0145445507308281
Van Rooy D, Viswesvaran C (2004) Emotional intelligence: a meta-analytic investigation of predictive validity and nomological net. Journal of Vocational Behaviour 65:71–95. doi:10.1016/S0001-8791(03)00076-9
Vecchi G (2007) Crisis communication: Skills building in an online environment. Unpublished manuscript, Behavioral Science Unit, FBI Academy, Quantico
Vecchi G, Van Hasselt V, Romano S (2005) Crisis (hostage) negotiation: current strategies and issues in high-risk conflict resolution. Aggression and Violent Behaviour 10:533–551. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2004.10.001
Young A (2016) Police hostage (crisis) negotiators: a national survey. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology 31:310–321. doi:10.1007/s11896-016-9193-x
Acknowledgements
The lead author would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the hostage and crisis negotiators who gave up their time to take part in the research.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Grubb, A.R., Brown, S.J. & Hall, P. The Emotionally Intelligent Officer? Exploring Decision-Making Style and Emotional Intelligence in Hostage and Crisis Negotiators and Non-Negotiator-Trained Police Officers. J Police Crim Psych 33, 123–136 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-017-9240-2
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-017-9240-2