2026/01/31 by Codie J. Place, Matthew Carlisle, Hunter M. Boehme · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Health Professions · Psychology · #Deception detection and forensic psychology #Interpreting and Communication in Healthcare #Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies
paper · doi:10.1080/15614263.2026.2619665
openalex publication_date 2026/01/31 · openalex created_date 2026/02/02 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/15
Police agencies are considering various de-escalation curricula and training to aid in safer outcomes for both officers and civilians. Psychological reactance, a defensive response triggered when individuals perceive that their freedom or autonomy is being threatened, has been extensively studied across various disciplines since the 1960s. As the first known study in a law enforcement context, this pilot study implemented a randomized controlled trial in a hospital setting, coupled with pre- and post-test surveys to personnel within treated blocks to evaluate the impact of reactance-mitigating linguistic de-escalation training on physical interventions and de-escalation. Findings revealed successful training effectiveness, improved knowledge of reactance-mitigating concepts, and overall high support of the training. Count regression models indicated that treatment security staff reported fewer de-escalations; however, treatment police officers reported significantly higher de-escalations. This study offers potential benefits for law enforcement officers, particularly when de-escalating more common, low-level encounters with hostile civilians.