Education EDA 601 Week 4 Assignment
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EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION WITH PERSONS OF DIFFERENT
BEHAVIORAL TYPES
Rasa DOBRŽINSKIENĖ Mykolas Romeris University
Maironio str. 27, LT 44211 Kaunas, Lithuania
E-mail: rasa.dobrzinskiene@mruni.eu
ORCID ID: 0000-0001-6590-4164
Dominyka PALAITYTĖ Mykolas Romeris University
Maironio str. 27, LT 44211 Kaunas, Lithuania
E-mail: dopalaityte@stud.mruni.eu
ORCID ID: 0009-0001-4924-7659
DOI: 10.13165/PSPO-23-34-11
Abstract. When it comes to communication with individuals of different behavioral types, it can be noticed that
there is a lack of relevant, generalized information. The recommendations for communication with different types
of behavior are not systematic and there are only few of them or they have been created a long time ago. Knowing
how to communicate effectively with different types of people is very useful for all civilians, but it is even more
important for police officers because they are the moral role models for the public who trust the police. The lack
of this knowledge can lead to the emergence of conflict, limit the possibilities of obtaining the necessary
information and have negative communication consequences. Taking this into account, the aim is to reveal the
effective communication methods used by police officers with people of different behavioral types. The object of
the work is the effective communication of police officers with persons of different behavior types, and it is based
on the applied methods of scientific literature analysis, questionnaire, comparative analysis, and modeling.
Communication is an exchange of information which is implemented by a system of signs or symbols. The
effectiveness of communication is determined by the personality of the interlocutor, understanding and application
of communication goals, tasks, functions in the conversation, etc. In addition, in order to achieve effective
communication, it is important to use different communication methods for different types of individuals. In each
case, human behavior must be considered and the method of communication to be chosen must be evaluated. What
is more, after conducting an empirical study and reviewing its results, it can be observed that efficiency is achieved
when he person communicates politely, creates trust, the interlocutor is respected and not judged. When
communicating with troublemakers, the officer should remain polite, listen to the person, ask straightforward
questions, avoid using complex words, allow negative and positive thoughts to be expressed, show empathy, and
build trust.
Keywords: communication, effectivness, different types of behaviour, police officers.
Introduction
According to J. Locke, "communication is inherently problematic because it is never
perfect and the transmitted ideas never properly coincide in the minds of the sender and
receiver" (Locke, 2000). Obviously, the uniqueness of each person during communication
process can lead to problems of interpretation, meaning, or understanding, but dealing with
certain behavior types, such as conflicted individuals, makes communication even more
difficult. This is especially relevant in the activities of police officers, because many of them
communicate with various individuals on a daily basis, so there is a need to identify which
communication methods of police officers are effective when communicating with individuals
with different types of behavior.
Describing various aspects of effective communication with individuals of different
behavioral types, it can be noticed that there is a lack of relevant, generalized information. The
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presented recommendations regarding communication with persons of different types of
behavior are not systematized, moreover, there are not many recommendations and they were
created a long time ago (R. Kočiūnas, 1995, R. Burda and S. Kuklianskis, 2007). Knowing how
to effectively communicate with people of different behavior types is especially important for
police officers. The lack of this knowledge can lead to the emergence of conflict, limit the
possibilities of obtaining the necessary information and have negative consequences for
communication. In order to achieve the effectiveness of communication, it is necessary to
understand which methods of communication are the most appropriate communicating with
persons of different types of behavior (Guodienė, 2013).
The scientific literature is full of information about different types of behavior: L.
Bulotaitė and O. Zamalijeva (2016) describe the type of risky behavior, J. Navarro and T. S.
Poynter (2015) analyze dangerous types of behavior, A. Clapperton et al. (2019) provide a
characterization of suicidal individuals, but there is little information on how to effectively
communicate with different types of behavior. Therefore, this article aims to discuss the
characteristics of behavior of different types of persons and to analyze the methods of effective
communication with these persons in police activities. Taking this into account, the aim of this
article is to examine the effective communication methods used by police officers with
individuals with different types of behavior. Accordingly, the object of the article is the
effective communication of police officers with persons of different behavior types. To
implement the research, there are used the methods of scientific literature analysis, survey, and
comparative analysis.
Concept of communication
Good communication skills bring benefits both in everyday life and in professional life.
However, if communication with a person does not take into account their personality,
behaviour, beliefs or even cultural differences, it can be futile and even harmful. Obviously,
communication with different types of people is also different, so effective communication with
different types of behaviour requires recognising the type of behaviour of the person,
understanding the purpose, objectives and functions of each conversation, mastering the
elements of effective communication, and knowing not only how to disseminate information
effectively but also how to receive it.
The concept of communication is understood in many different and broad ways. The
concept has more than one definition. R. Lekavičienė et al. (2010) argue that communication is
the use of a system of signs. This system of signs helps to exchange information, which,
according to the authors, is not only knowledge, but also much more - attitudes, feelings, and
opinions. According to V. Pruskus, communication can be understood as the process of
transmitting and receiving wishes, thoughts, feelings, ideas, facts, values, in other words,
information. This process takes place between people in various ways - electrical signals, oral,
written or non-verbal, which the author explains as gestures, facial expressions and posture.
The author stresses that one important detail in the communication process is that the person to
whom the information is addressed not only receives it, but also understands and accepts it.
According to V. Puodžiūnas (2013), communication is a process in which information is
exchanged between subjects using common systems of signs or behaviours. Thus, it can be
argued that the exchange of information is the most important part of communication, and that
the exchange takes place in a system of signs or symbols. The communication process has
certain functions and purposes for which it takes place. One of these is communication
effectiveness.
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The effectiveness of communication depends on many factors. These may include the
personality of the interlocutor, the perception and application of communication goals,
objectives and functions in the conversation. In each case of communication with a person, it
is known what the purpose of the communication is, i.e. what is being achieved in each
conversation. For communication to be effective and useful, it is necessary to understand the
objectives of the communication and to pursue them during the conversation. Communication
is not effective if the objectives of communication are not understood. It is not enough to know
them; it is important to apply them to each interlocutor. If the objectives are not applied or not
applied properly, the interlocutor, especially the conflict type, may not understand the
information communicated, may interpret it in his own way and may become aggressive. In
such cases, it may be very difficult or impossible to restore the effectiveness of communication.
Thus, communication requires attention to the following tasks: "accurate and adequate
formulation of information; persuasiveness of self-presentation (representation); modeling and
regulation of relationships" (Puodžiūnas, 2013). Among other things, according to Valdas
Pruskus, effective communication is determined by the elements of communicative
competence. One of them is "the ability to interpret the specific signals of a particular culture"
(Pruskus, 2010). When communicating with a person from another culture, it is necessary to
respect that culture and take into account different traditions and customs. According to
Gediminas Bučiūnas, knowledge of immigrants' customs and religious attitudes can be one of
the conditions for a civil servants proper performance of his/her duties, which will help to avoid
conflict situations in the future (Bučiūnas, 2015). Other elements of communicative
competence are "the ability to orient which part of the time should be devoted to listening and
which to speaking, the ability to adequately express thoughts and understand the interlocutor,
to direct the speech in the right direction, <...> the ability to use verbal and non-verbal means
of cultural reception, the ability to adapt to the social status of communicants and intercultural
differences, the ability to adjust one's own behaviour in time when interacting with
interlocutors" (Pruskus, 2010). All of the above mentioned elements of communicative
competence are crucial for the success of a conversation, but they are skills that need to be
developed in order to make communication more effective.
Measures to improve the effectiveness of the information sent and received are important
for civilians, but also for police officers, who have to deal with different types of people during
interviews. A person should feel comfortable when interacting with an officer, should not be
afraid to talk and should trust the officer. Michael R. Napier, discussing communication with
individuals during interviews, advises not to rush the interviewer. The author mentions that the
person should be allowed to talk, not interrupted, as the person feels more at ease after talking.
A four-step communication system is suggested: the first step is simply to greet the person. The
second is to talk briefly about non-committal topics. The third stage is to introduce the content
of the conversation, what will be communicated about, and to let the person know that he or
she must tell everything he or she knows. In the final stage of the communication, do not
interfere, do not break awkward silences do not correct or help the person. The author points
out that if it is observed that a person is lying, under no circumstances should the person be
allowed to understand that his/her lie is clear, that is, not to change the facial expression, to
remain calm (Napier, 2017).
Thus, taking into account the behavioural and communicative characteristics of
individuals, two types of communication can be distinguished in the first place: communication
with non-conflict-type individuals and communication with conflict-type individuals.
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Communicating with non-conflicted people
When communicating with non-conflicted people, many people do not even think about
the uniqueness of such communication and the specifics of the information that is
communicated and received. However, it should be noted that if the purpose of the
communication is to obtain certain information from the person or to give the person a sense of
security, hope in the event of suicidal intent, or if the communication is with a minor or a minor,
it is advisable to think about the information to be disseminated and to disseminate it in such a
way as to maximize the effectiveness of the communication. It is also important to be able to
accept the information, to let the person know that they can trust and open up. Burda and
Kuklianski (2007) point out the tactical techniques used to communicate with a person during
interviews in non-conflict situations. The authors mention that communication with non-
conflicted persons during interviews is dominated by rapport and suggest that the interviewee
should be introduced to fragments of other persons' testimonies, to keep the events consistent,
to form logical tasks, to recall, to elaborate, and to juxtapose events. It is therefore important to
note that questions should focus on the sequence of events in order to avoid jumping to
conclusions and to avoid missing important details. It is advisable to avoid talking about
experiences as they are distracting. It is important to try not to interrupt the person's story, unless
this cannot be avoided in the particular situation, or unless it is known that the intervener will
be able to continue the story further. When assessing communication with non-conflict-type
people, it is possible to classify these interlocutors into separate groups according to their
particular characteristics.
Communication with people with intellectual disabilities. When communicating with
a person with an intellectual disability, it is difficult to be prepared to communicate, as the
disorder can take many different forms. It is important to keep in mind the purpose of the
communication and to understand that this person needs special attention. "When
communicating with a person with an intellectual disability, it is advisable not to be guided by
a medical diagnosis, but to take into account his or her needs, communication style, manner and
abilities in each case. It is important not to stereotype, to be respectful and to believe in each
person's potential ability to communicate and cooperate, regardless of their disability"
(Grigaitė, Migaliova, 2018). When communicating with people with intellectual disabilities, it
is recommended to remain oneself, to communicate respectfully, not to speak in a patronising
way, to let the person feel that he or she is trusted and believed, to speak simply, to ask short
but open questions, not to rush, not to change the subject abruptly, to respect the person's
personal space (Grigaitė, Migaliova, 2018). Communication with suicidal people. There are
many reasons why a person may want to commit suicide, so when communicating with a
person, you should find out why they are having these thoughts and start by addressing the
problem from there. Communication with suicidal, non-conflicted individuals is particularly
challenging because tension is felt on both sides and the interviewer needs to have a good
understanding of this type of communication in order to feel confident. Kočiūnas points out
that when communicating with this type of person, telling them that everything is going to be
okay and that it is not as bad as it seems and similar phrases can even be harmful. When
confronted with a suicidal person, one should not be afraid to discuss the issue of suicide
because the person understands that his or her intentions can be accepted and listened to
(Kočiūnas, 1995). Communication with minors. Effective communication with minors is
particularly important because one inappropriate and unconstructive conversation can influence
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a child's subsequent decisions and actions, which may not necessarily be good. I. Daniūnaitė
(2018) identifies ways to make communication with minors as effective as possible. Taking
into account the development of the person, speak clearly, avoid legal terms, avoid formality,
be empathetic and respect the child's physical space. "Minors are very sensitive to suggestion,
so questions should be neutral, without hints and subtexts" (Burda, 2013). Communicating
with people from different cultures. When communicating with a person from another
culture, be aware that not everything in our culture may be familiar to them, just as some aspects
of other cultures may seem unusual to people of our own nationality. People from other cultures,
especially victims of crime, can be very vulnerable and distrustful of the police, so it is
important to understand and accept them, and to respect their traditions and rules, in order to
avoid conflict and to get the best communication result. It is important to do this by keeping
control of the conversation and not allowing the person from the other culture to overstep the
boundaries, i.e. to take advantage of the differences in their culture. According to V. Pruskus
(2013), in intercultural communication, one should not be prejudiced in assessing the behaviour
of the other person, be aware of the interlocutor's cultural peculiarities, do not compare them
with one's own culture, and strive to find the truth, not to overcome it.
Thus, taking into account the above, it can be said that when communicating with non-
conflicted people, it is important to recognise and assess the type of person, and to come up
with questions in advance. In the process of communication, it is necessary to observe changes
in the person's behaviour and, if necessary, to change the communication tactics, because the
non-conflict type may also become a conflict type.
Communication with conflict-type people
Police officers often have to communicate with this type of person. Interacting with a
conflict-type person makes them feel uncomfortable, as they may be aggressive, have no control
over their emotions, and may be under the influence of alcoholic beverages or narcotic or
psychotropic substances, which only makes the situation worse. The word aggression connotes
active action and is associated with destruction, violence and mutilation. People express their
feelings directly, sometimes even using physical violence (Pruskus, 2012). Tim Petraitis
(2010), who analysed the peculiarities of verbal communication between police officers and
various individuals, noted that officers lack professionalism, restraint and tact when
communicating. The author provides recommendations that should be followed in order to
avoid conflict: avoid generalising evaluative statements about the citizen with whom one is
communicating; speak tactfully, formally, avoid jargon, offensive metaphors; the officer should
not threaten the citizen with physical or other types of reprisals, and R. Burda and S.
Kuklianskis (2007) distinguish the tactical ways of communicating with the conflict type of
people. "Interviewing in a conflict situation involves a procedural struggle, which is
characterised by all the actions (techniques) of struggle that do not interfere with the process
and other principles of interviewing tactics. Procedural struggle is not characterised by
violence, terror or other immoral methods of struggle, but procedural struggle and its methods
cannot be based solely on philanthropy, humility, evidence, etc.
Merely appealing to the conscience of the interviewees in a conflict situation will not do
any good, and this is not only what the literature says" (Kočiūnas, 1995). First of all, for
effective communication, it is suggested to concentrate on transforming a conflict situation into
a non-conflict one. It is important to pay attention to the fact that in a conflict situation the
principle of humanity must be followed, without demeaning the dignity of the interviewee.
Doing the opposite will certainly not make communication effective. The authors suggest that
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such interviews should be based on dexterity, misleading the adversary, weakening the will of
the interviewee to resist by encouraging the willingness of the interviewee to give truthful
testimony. There are many ways to do this, one of which is to logically construct sentences in
such a way that the interviewee ends them unintentionally. It is also important to give the
interviewee the impression that the investigator is aware of the circumstances that are the
subject of the interview and is informed about the details of the offence. It is also important to
find out and remove circumstances which may hinder the giving of truthful testimony, such as
selfishness, fear and others. Nevertheless, the interviewer must constantly monitor the situation
and, in order for the communication to be effective, assess the aggressive person's behaviour
and modify the tactical methods of questioning (Kočiūnas, 1995).
A hostile and aggressive person should not be viewed with contempt or ridicule. On the
contrary, hostility should be taken seriously, as a person's attitude can hinder effective
communication. It should also be taken into account that sometimes hostility can be masked by
feelings of anxiety. In this situation, it is important to transform hostility and aggression into
other feelings that are masked. This can be done by helping the person to clarify and identify
what feelings are really in his or her mind. It is also important to remain calm when
communicating with an aggressive person, as responding with hostility can provoke much more
aggression. Nevertheless, if the person's hostile feelings turn into insults, this should not be
tolerated (Kočiūnas, 1995).
Types of dangerous people. A police officer has to communicate with dangerous persons
quite often in his/her profession. Whether the communication takes place on the arrival of a call
or during an interview with a dangerous person, it is useful to know how to distinguish the type
of dangerous people and how to communicate with them. Joe Navarro and Toni Sciarra Poynter
(2015) identify four types of dangerous people - narcissists, emotionally unstable personalities,
paranoids and maniacs. When discussing narcissists, the authors mention that the main
personality traits of narcissists are egocentrism, self- and other-centredness, no empathy,
arrogance, rule-breaking, controlling and arrogance. Emotionally unstable personalities are
distinguished by their high "volatility". They want to be liked, can be confrontational and
chaotic, and their main characteristic is mood swings. Paranoid people tend to be panicky,
suspicious, closed, stubborn and argumentative. These people can do anything to calm their
fears. Maniacs have no empathy, no remorse and no regret for what they have done, and are
ruthless, petty, lacking in self-control and manipulative. The authors explain that when
communicating with dangerous types of people, it is important to set specific boundaries of
what is permissible and acceptable, bearing in mind that the person is dangerous and can attack
for any reason. It is important to control space and distance, take your time and give yourself
time to think. It is also important to assess how dangerous the person is and to think about what
scenarios you might have to face. In any case, extra precautions should be taken when
communicating with a dangerous type of person, the person's condition should be constantly
assessed, and if the communication is not effective, if no result is achieved, and if the person is
becoming increasingly aggressive, it is better to discontinue the communication and postpone
it to a later time. Asocial people. These are "persons who live only to satisfy their instinctive
needs without regard to moral norms, societal requirements or conscience, and who are
therefore habitually inclined to violate the rules of human society and the law, regardless of the
extent of the possible punishment" (Kočiūnas, 1995). Asocial people are often associated with
other types of behaviour as well, as their behaviour may include aggression, impulsivity,
sadism, etc. R. Žukauskienė (2006) states that "antisocial persons are egoistic, impulsive, have
conflicts with teachers, parents and peers since childhood, and start running away from home
and loitering while still at school. Systematic work is unbearable for them. Uncritical, always
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thinking they are right. They often start using drugs and alcohol." Addiction to drugs or alcohol
can only make a person even more vulnerable to harm, because if they run out of money and
do not have a steady income, addicts may start stealing and committing other crimes. It is
therefore very difficult to make contact with an antisocial person. As the main concern of
asocial persons is to satisfy their instinctive needs, they are often primitive thinkers and should
not use complex word combinations or long sentences when communicating. Communication
with people with addictions. Addiction can take everything away from a person.
Relationships, relationships, work, a normal way of life become secondary or even forgotten,
and the object of the addiction becomes the priority. In this context, effective communication
with the addicted person becomes almost impossible. Police officers encounter these
individuals very frequently in their work. They are usually people with an addiction to alcoholic
beverages or narcotic substances, and there are also people addicted to gambling. Often these
people are aggressive, because they are against the police officers and do not want help.
Egunjobi (2019) explains that aggression can be expressed as a form of defence in addicted
people. The author provides skills for effective communication with addicts: not to ignore the
rights of the person, to allow him or her to express negative and positive thoughts, to be
empathetic, to listen, to respect the person, and not to speak too personally, as this can provoke
a lot of aggression and conflict.
In summary, communication with conflict-type individuals is not widely discussed in the
scientific literature. Communication with a conflict-type person, even with a lot of experience,
requires vigilance. It is important to find out as much information as possible about the
conflicted interlocutor in such a way that it does not cause him or her aggression. Knowing the
cause of the person's conflict makes the situation more manageable and allows you to formulate
a plan of questions and conversation in your mind. It is important to set boundaries and not to
overstep them, to remain calm.
Ways of communicating effectively with persons of different types of behaviour
The survey method was chosen for the exploratory research as it allows for the collection
of systematic quantitative data on large populations, a targeted, detailed measurement of reality
and a description of the phenomena under study (Gaižauskaitė, Mikėnė, 2014). The survey
method was chosen in order to investigate the methods of effective communication used by the
officers of the Vilnius County Chief Police Commissariat with persons with different types of
behaviour and to analyse and compare the obtained data. The group of respondents was chosen
based on their practice of communicating with different types of behavioural types of persons
- they mostly have to communicate with various groups of persons, therefore they can most
accurately indicate what is typical for various persons, what methods they use when
communicating with one or another person, etc.
Characteristics of respondents. A questionnaire was developed for the study, consisting
of 13 questions and demographic - professional data not included in the number of questions.
Respondents were classified according to gender, age, education and length of service. A total
of 102 police officers took part in the survey, with women being the most active, accounting
for 64% of all respondents, while men were slightly less active at 37%. Looking at the age
distribution of the respondents, it is notable that the majority of respondents were aged between
20 and 30. Respondents aged 31-40 accounted for 20% of the respondents, while those aged
41-50 accounted for 21% of the respondents. Only 4% of the respondents belonged to the age
group 51-60 years. Young police investigators were therefore the most active respondents. In
the education section, 7% of the respondents indicated that they had a secondary education,
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14% of the respondents indicated a professional qualification, and 10% of the respondents
indicated a post-secondary qualification. The largest proportion of respondents has a bachelor's
degree, 55%, while only 14% of the police officers surveyed have a master's degree. In terms
of length of service, the majority of respondents, i.e. 50%, are those who have been working
for between 1 and 5 years. Between 6 and 10 years of service is held by 17% of the respondents.
Respondents with more years of service are divided in similar proportions: 7% of respondents
with 11 to 15 years of service, 9% of respondents with 16 to 20 years of service, 7% of
respondents with 21 to 25 years of service, and 8% of respondents with 26 to 30 years of service
as police officers.
Only 1% each of 35 and 38 year olds are responders. Thus, more women than men took part in
the survey, with the highest number of respondents having a bachelor's degree and the lowest
number of respondents having a high school diploma. In addition, the majority of respondents
have been working as police officers for between 1 and 5 years and only a very small proportion
have been working between 31 and 40 years.
Communicating with different types of behaviour
The survey asked respondents to indicate the most effective ways of communicating with
different types of behaviour (Figure 1). It can be seen that the dominant communication
methods with the identified types of people are listening, which was chosen by about 20% of
respondents when communicating with non-conflict type people and 18% with conflict type
people, and politeness and respect.
Figure 1: Communication methods of officers with different types of behaviour
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Persons with
intellectual
disabilities
Suicidal
persons
Minors People of other
cultures
Dangerous
persons
Asocial
persons
Dependent
persons
Listening Empathy Preparing for communication
Politiness, respect Building trust Straightforward questions
Non-interview questions Indifference
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When communicating with people with intellectual disabilities, suicidal people and
people from other cultures, courtesy and respect were chosen by about 20% of the officers and
16% of the respondents when communicating with other types of behaviour. The lowest
preference for indifference when communicating with different types of behaviour. Around 5%
choose to be indifferent when dealing with antisocial, dangerous and dependent persons, and
around 1% when dealing with non-conflicted persons. Respondents express empathy mostly
towards the intellectually disabled (13.7% of respondents) and suicidal (17.4% of respondents),
and least towards dangerous (7% of respondents) and antisocial (9.2% of respondents) people.
Police officers prepare for communication with all the identified types of behaviour in a similar
way. Building trust stands out when communicating with minors (20.3% of persons), suicidal
persons (17.7% of persons) and persons with intellectual disabilities (17% of persons). It is
more important for officers to build trust when communicating with these types than with other
types of behaviour. Straightforward questions are asked of dangerous, antisocial and dependent
persons. Non-interview questions stand out in communication with minors, chosen by 13.2%.
They are also asked more in communication with people with intellectual disabilities (chosen
by 6.1% of respondents) and suicidal people (chosen by 9.4% of respondents) than with others.
In addition to the communication methods chosen by police officers, the communication
methods of the different social groups that police officers encounter are also important.
According to the respondents (Figure 2), the most frequent silences are those of suicidal persons
(28.9% of respondents), persons with intellectual disabilities (23% of respondents) and minors
(22.8% of respondents). It turns out that 19.9% of the officers say that the most dangerous
people are the ones who offend, 16.9% think that the asocial and 8.9% think that the addicted.
Suicidal persons are the least likely to offend, with 1.3% of officers choosing them, and only
1.8% of respondents believing that minors/underage persons offend. The shortest answers are
given by the intellectually disabled (20.1% of respondents), suicidal persons (20% of
respondents) and minors (18.8% of respondents). Dangerous persons are the most likely to
speak, chosen by 15.4% of respondents, while suicidal persons are the least likely, chosen by
2.2% of respondents. It is clear that aggressive communication is most common among
dangerous persons and asocial persons. Around 17% of the respondents selected these types. In
addition, 11.3% of the respondents believe that people with addictions are aggressive
communicators. Polite communication stands out when communicating with people from other
cultures, with 18.3% of officers saying that they are the most polite of the groups identified.
Eye contact is avoided by almost all types of persons identified, with other cultures (8.6% of
respondents), dangerous persons (5.2% of respondents) and asocial persons (8.4% of
respondents) being the least avoided. All the types identified are also vague, but the most
frequent are those with intellectual disabilities (20.1% of the sample). Emotionally
(psychologically) dangerous persons try to influence (19.6% of respondents), to a lesser extent,
asocial persons (10.1% of respondents) and addicts (11.7% of respondents).Polite
communication stands out in communication with persons from other cultures - 18.3% of
officials in the groups identified say that they are the most characterised by politeness. Eye
contact is avoided by almost all types of persons identified, with other cultures (8.6% of
respondents), dangerous persons (5.2% of respondents) and asocial persons (8.4% of
respondents) being the least avoided. All the types identified are also vague, but the most
frequent are those with intellectual disabilities (20.1% of the sample).
Emotionally/psychologically vulnerable people (19.6% of respondents) try to influence (19.6%
of respondents), followed to a lesser extent by antisocial people (10.1% of respondents) and
dependent people (11.7% of respondents).
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Figure 2: The most common methods of communication used by people with different types of behaviour
Obviously, when communicating with minors/minors, it is important that the
communication does not have a negative impact on the child and does not cause bad
consequences for the whole life. The majority of officers, i.e. 50.3%, encourage the person to
answer in simple words, and allow him to freely add to the story. It turns out that 41.5% of
officers do not ask additional questions or judge the child. However, 3.4% do not take any
additional measures, and 1.4% of respondents say that they have a negative attitude towards
children and do not look for their positive qualities. A couple of persons stated that they do not
deal with children, while others added their own answers: "I talk before the interview on topics
not related to the interview, so that the minor relaxes" and "First I make contact with the minor,
ask about his interests, only then I start communicating on the necessary topic." Thus, officials
take additional measures when communicating with minors/minors to make communication as
smooth, efficient and understandable as possible for them, but there are people who are against
children and do not aim for a good communication result.
When communicating with persons with an intellectual disability, 31.3% of the
respondents are mainly troubled by the superficial thinking of the interlocutor, 28.1% of the
respondents are hindered by the inaccuracy of the testimony, and 27.5% of the respondents lack
the knowledge of how to communicate with such a person (Figure 4). In addition, 11.3% of
respondents cited the excessive participation of a representative/advocate as a problem, and
1.9% of respondents indicated other reasons - that people with this type of behavior quickly get
irritated, which causes more emotional difficulties, that people with intellectual disabilities do
not understand many terms, especially legal ones and little language, so it is difficult to choose
the right interview tactics. One respondent said that he had never had to communicate with such
a person.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
People with
intellectual
disabilities
Suicidal
persons
Minors Persons from
other cultures
Dangerous
persons
Asocial
persons
Dependent
persons
Remain silent Insults
Give short answers Lots of language
Communicates aggressively Communicate politely
Avoid eye contact Responds vaguely
Attempt to influence emotionally
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When faced with persons who wanted or want to commit suicide, as many as 70% of
respondents say that they are assured of their ability to communicate with such a person,
emphasize their positive aspects, express empathy, and are not afraid to discuss the issue of
suicide. Unfortunately, 26% of respondents are afraid to communicate with such a person in
order not to harm him even more and do not know how to communicate with him. Another 4%
of officers answered that they would refer to psychologists; it would be timid to communicate
with such a person, it would be scary to not be able to help; that they have not communicated
with such persons. So, although the majority would not be afraid to communicate with a person
who wants to commit suicide, many officers do not know how to do it.
The type of persons from other cultures is not exceptional in the need for additional means
of communication. It is clear that there are people who think stereotypically and do not respect
people from other cultures, which can lead them to become closed off or even more involved
in criminal activities. When officials were asked if they follow a stereotypical attitude towards
people of other cultures, 76% of respondents stated that they respect the traditions and rules of
people of other cultures, unfortunately, 24% of respondents follow a stereotypical approach and
think that all people of other cultures are the same.
As already mentioned, it is important to be constantly alert when communicating with
another person. If the interlocutor gets annoyed, becoming aggressive, a conflict may arise. In
this case, in order to control the conflict situation, it is necessary to use other methods of
communication than were used when communicating with a non-conflict person. When police
officers were asked when communication with a conflict-type person can be called effective,
very similar answers were received from the officers. The most common: when aggression is
controlled, the person calms down, no longer poses a threat, conflict is avoided and questions
are answered, dialogue is created. Other respondents answered that communication is effective
when the goal of the conversation is achieved and the legitimate interests of the person are not
violated; when a person remains satisfied with the services provided by the officials; when the
situation is under control, the necessary circumstances are clarified, communication is
conducted in a calm, low voice; when a person at least minimally stops himself from continuing
the conflict; when a person fulfills the requirements; when a person becomes more open; when
trust, connection is created; common themes are found; when a person with a conflict type
learns to speak and listen to the person communicating with him, instead of interrupting him
and adding more and more different examples that have nothing to do with the event. Arguably,
the responses are all similar, and the most common one is avoiding or managing conflict.
Officials were also asked to name the reasons preventing them from communicating with
conflict-type individuals. It turned out that 24.7% of individuals chose aggression, 21.4% -
hostility, and 17% chose addiction. Among other things, 15.5% noted misunderstanding of the
degree of danger, 15.1% - primitive thinking of the interlocutor. Fear was chosen by 6.3% of
officers. Thus, it can be assumed that aggression is the main factor preventing communication
with conflict-type individuals.
In order to effectively communicate with antisocial individuals, you need to know what
methods to use. It turned out that 49.9% of officers do not use complex word combinations,
long sentences, 40.6% of officers identify their feelings and emotions, try to ignore
communication difficulties and do their work, 5.6% of individuals stated that they have a
prejudiced attitude about antisocial persons and condemns them, while 0.7% of respondents do
not control their emotions and usually cross the boundaries of communication. Other officers
interviewed indicated that they communicate with antisocial persons as specifically as possible,
avoid spending time on them and take action; communicates respectfully, does not judge
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individuals because of their lifestyle or that they interact with antisocial individuals in the same
way as with all people.
Communicating with people addicted to alcohol, narcotics, psychotropic substances or
other substances and in order to achieve a positive result of communication requires a lot of
effort. The majority, i.e. 55.8% of officers, stated that they allow the person to express negative
and positive thoughts, are empathetic, listen, and respect the person. However, 36.4% of
officials advise addicts to seek treatment and explain what they can lose as a result of addiction.
As it was already mentioned in the theoretical part of this work, it is advisable not to talk to the
person too personally, not to preach to him, because this can only provoke aggression and
conflict. However, 7% of respondents communicate superficially, express their negative
attitude about addiction. Only 0.8% of respondents communicate in the same way as with all
individuals.
It was also aimed to find out which elements of non-verbal language have the greatest
influence on officers when communicating with individuals. It is noteworthy that the officers
mostly value eye contact (23.2%), manner of speech (19.3%), facial expression (16.7%), and
hand movements (16.4%) are also important. A slightly smaller number of respondents chose
articulation (12.8%) and posture (11.6%).
Thus, after discussing the results of the conducted research, it can be observed that when
communicating with various types of persons and in order to achieve a good result, it is
necessary to apply different communication methods and tools, to carefully monitor the
situation, the interlocutors, to be able to quickly and correctly identify the interviewees'
communication habits and to predict their belonging to a certain social group for the group.
Conclusions
The effectiveness of communication is determined by the personality of the interlocutor,
the understanding and application of communication goals, tasks, functions in the conversation,
means of increasing the efficiency of the information sent and received, control of the
conversation, and respect for the interlocutor. Different types of individuals use different
communication techniques to achieve effective communication. In each case, human behavior
must be taken into account and the method of communication to be chosen must be evaluated.
When communicating with non-conflict-type individuals, it is important to listen, speak simply,
show empathy, not have prejudices, and be polite. During communication with conflicting
persons (dangerous, antisocial, dependent persons) one should avoid personalities, define
specific boundaries and prevent them from being crossed, control space, distance, but also not
ignore the rights of the individual. In addition to verbal communication, it is also important to
know the characteristics of non-verbal communication. The conducted research revealed that
police officers take into account the interviewees belonging to a certain social group and many
of them choose communication methods accordingly to make the conversation as effective as
possible.
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