Thinking styles in police operative situations

The project examines the research question of whether police behaviors in critical situations are influenced by their mindset or thinking styles. Eighty-six third-year police students with experience from the internship year have been examined in connection with a decision-making exercise in an exercise simulator. The project applies an exercise simulator, observation, survey, debrief interviews and in-depth interviews. The project plans for a qualitative article about how police students report on their decision process in critical incidents, and one on the characteristics of thought processes associated with decision-making in critical police incidents. A quantitative article will also test whether rumination is associated with decision-making in critical police incidents.