ABSTRACT
Many of the articles and texts that deal with the subject of psychology in policing often provide a discussion of general psychological terms and concerns that are more oriented toward mental health issues than a better understanding of matters that impact leadership and collective interactions. Particularly important to leaders is the process of attributing the cause of another’s actions or behavior to some identified explanation. The power of the situation is one of the most important lessons to be learned when studying leadership psychology. The psychological literature has hundreds of articles that deal with this topic, as well as the related issues of impression management, self-presentation theory, self-monitoring theory, and the like. Self-handicapping strategy is a process whereby an individual will protect his or her self-esteem by handily creating a real or imaginary excuse for failure.
