COGNITIVE APPRAISAL MECHANISM AND THEIR ROLE IN PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL –BEING OF POLICE PERSONNEL

Abstract

The occupational environment of law-enforcement personnel is characterized by frequent exposure to critical incidents, high operational demands, unpredictable situations, and heavy organizational stressors, all of which can adversely impact psychological well-being.The present study investigated how cognitive appraisal—the individual’s evaluation of stressful events in terms of threat, challenge, control and personal significance—serves as a key predictor of psychological well-being among police officers. Officers who appraised stressful encounters as opportunities for challenge and growth, and who perceived greater control and coping capacity, reported higher levels of psychological well-being. Conversely, appraisals characterized by threat, harm/loss, or Lower well-being scores were significantly correlated with a lack of control.   400 police officers from Punjab made up the sample, which was assessed using the Cognitive Appraisal Scale (CAS) and the Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS).The current study's findings demonstrated a substantial and positive correlation between total psychological well-being and all of its dimensions, with the exception of the danger perception domain, and the work Importance and Challenge Perception of primary Cognitive Appraisal. Additionally, it was shown that there was a substantial positive correlation between overall psychological well-being and its aspects and coping and control perception of secondary cognitive appraisal.It has also been found that the most significant variables in the regression model for psychological well-being the threat perception, challenge perception,control perception and work importance; which collectively explained 29.6% of the variance in measures of psychological well-being. The findings support the transactional model of stress and coping, highlighting the fact that not just police officers’ matters, but how they interpret it. Implications for police training, intervention and organizational policy are discussed, with recommendations emphasizing cognitive‐appraisal‐focused resilience programmes aimed at shifting appraisals toward challenges and resource orientation, and improving well-being outcomes in police populations.