Profiling the profilers: Who is watching our backs?

A total of 87 males, ranging in age between 22 and 41, comprised two participating groups: 43 professional bodyguards and 44 controls. They completed the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised, short version, and the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS), Form V; they then completed the Group Embedded Figures Task. Bodyguards were predicted and found to be prosocial sensation seekers, scoring low on Neuroticism, and exhibiting marked field independence. We contrast our data with those of a previous study looking at two other risky professions, and offer some suggestions for the effective screening of candidates for VIP protection.