Who makes the right call? Examining relationships between personality traits and situational performance in police cadets

Purpose Police institutions and practitioners often associate personality traits with an individual’s likelihood of success in policing, emphasizing certain psychological profiles as better suited for handling the stressful conditions inherent in police work. This study investigates personality traits and their potential relationship to critical aspects of police performance under stress–conceptualized as decision-making, reasoning and memory recall. Design/methodology/approach Fifty-nine police cadets from Kuwait’s National Police Academy completed the 44-item Big Five Inventory personality assessment–conceptualized as openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and extraversion–before participating in a critical incident video simulation designed to evaluate their procedural capabilities under stress. Data collected were then incorporated into linear models to evaluate these traits’ relationship with performance-related measures. Findings The findings indicate that decision-making and reasoning are significantly correlated with personality traits. Extraversion and conscientiousness were positively correlated with decision-making, while neuroticism showed a negative relationship. Additionally, openness was positively associated with both decision-making and reasoning capabilities under stress. Practical implications These findings underscore the crucial role personality traits play in shaping performance under pressure, as certain tendencies may have significant consequences in potentially life-threatening situations. Originality/value The results contribute to a growing body of literature emphasizing the need for targeted training programs that develop or refine personality traits associated with effective policing, while providing a more comprehensive exploration of police performance and its ties to personality factors.