JOURNAL ARTICLE REVIEW: GROUP DYNAMICS ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
OVERVIEW
Group dynamics is a much-studied subject in the disciplines of sociology and psychology. Most academic curricula include courses in the study of how group dynamics can impact our actions and decision making. Within the law enforcement discipline, there are two areas of particular importance. One is called deindividuation, or the phenomenon that takes place when an individual takes on the personality of the group during a demonstration, riot, or any similar activity. This typically manifests itself in the individual doing things he or she would never do if not in a group. This is of significance during the aforementioned events but can be an issue when groups of law enforcement officers respond to crisis. The other concept is referred to as contagious fire, or what happens when one officer fires a weapon and others also fire even though they are not aware of the justification for shooting. Many in law enforcement deny the phenomenon even exists and often, police shootings are mischaracterized as contagious when they are not. Several officers shooting their weapons at the same time is not contagious fire if they are all reacting to a known and identified deadly threat. The student will analyze an article that addresses either phenomenon and provide a review of the article and its impact on law enforcement crisis intervention.
INSTRUCTIONS
For this assignment, you will select a peer reviewed journal article from one of the databases located in the University’s online library. The article will relate in some way to the reading material (use of force) you have reviewed for this module. After you read the article, download the Journal Article Review Template. Then, complete a Journal Article Review for the article you read. You are not reviewing the article in the sense that you are assessing it, but you are reviewing it so you can provide analysis and relate to your reader the main point and how they relate to the area of crisis intervention. The assignment is not to be too much shorter or longer than the example in the template. Ensure that you focus on the critical thinking piece of discussing implications the article has on criminal justice as this is the most important aspect of this process. How does the article’s content relate to the field of law enforcement? How does it influence policy and practice? This can be accomplished in the comments, recommendations, and conclusion sections of the assignment. Use an APA citation for the article you choose; you may provide additional reference support if you choose to, but it is not required.
Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.