Corrections_Today_March_April_2021_Vol.83_No.2

n Self-Perception

interesting and relevant to the real world (Collica-Cox & Furst, 2019).” This point is relevant because our officers, in many cases, do not realize the impact the criminal justice field has on the new generations that follow or the evolution of our prison system. It is important to remind our officers of their contribution to the facilities and the criminal justice industry. While doing research, in preparation of the disserta- tion, “ Inmate Self-Report and Officer Assessment: Mental and Physical Predictors of Rearrests (Doctoral disserta- tion, Capella University),” this author found empirical data regarding the Self-Perception Theory and Self- Reporting. Both of these elements are extremely pertinent when looking at self-esteem, job-satisfaction, work production, and professionalism of the correctional staff (Brunson-Alonso, 2017). Self-perception theory Research has shown findings regarding the Self-Per - ception Theory. Self-perception has been viewed as being based on socially shared reality where a union between judgment by self and others exist (Funder & Colvin, 1988; Kenny & West, 2010). The Self-Perception Theory suggests an individual recalls memories of previous

behaviors related to an event, and use those memories to understand current attitudes and behaviors (Wang et al., 2014). One view of the Self-Perception Theory holds that self-perception is self-serving, distorted, and more positive than the ones that are continually defended by the perceptions of others (Kok, 2014). When reviewing self-perception and self-reports, there are things to consider. Interestingly, there are three measures of accuracy: self-evaluation, calibration and response bias. Self-evaluation is synonymous with self-assessment. Calibration is a measure of how ac- curately individuals assess their confidence in their own knowledge (Stone, 2000). Response bias is the tendency of an individual to answer survey questions untruthfully (Blanker & Groeneveld, 2000). As corrections officers and other corrections staff are observed, it is important to know self-perception can be affected by different fac- tors. Some of those factors mentioned later in this article are age, sex and gender, health (mental and physical) and race. When discussing age, there are opposing views on age and self-perception. Empirical data shows with age, the individual’s perception changes (Daley et al., 2004; Kerbs & Jolley, 2009; Phillips, 1963). The person’s perception becomes more reality-oriented than those younger (Daley

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20 — March/April 2021 Corrections Today