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Development and Validation of a Law Enforcement Motivation Measure

McMillan, Enrica Development and Validation of a Law Enforcement Motivation Measure. 2017. Radford University, Thesis. Radford University Scholars' Repository.

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Abstract

Public Service Motivation (PSM) describes the finding that certain people have a tendency to respond to motives grounded in public institutions that prompts them to perform meaningful public service. As a subdivision of the public sector it can be naturally inferred that PSM theory can be extended to law enforcement; however, there have been no specific applications of PSM. Furthermore, there has been no broad thinking about the research conducted on law enforcement officer motivation. The purpose of this two-part study was to extend what is already known about law enforcement motivation (LEM) into a measure that can be used in research and practice. Study 1 developed and provided initial validation evidence for a LEM and correlated it with recruitment outcomes like applicant attraction and job pursuit. Study 2 used the developed measure and correlated it with retention outcomes like job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Results indicated that the construct is conceptually associated with four dimensions: Altruism, Legalism, Personal Perceptions, and Power and Status. There was strong evidence for LEM’s positive relationship with both applicant attraction and job pursuit intentions. However, conclusions regarding LEM’s relationship with job satisfaction and organizational commitment could not be clearly and confidently drawn. Results, limitations, future directions, and conclusions are discussed.

Item Type: Thesis
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions: Radford University > College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences > Department of Psychology
Date Deposited: 15 Sep 2017 19:36
Last Modified: 20 Apr 2023 19:23
URI: http://wagner.radford.edu/id/eprint/361

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