Future Behavior Analysis

It is no secret that forensic psychology is an example of an area where psychologists apply their knowledge of psychological approaches, methods and treatments to a specific problem. However, before assessing the implications, it is crucial to establish the research methods used in criminal

In order to effectively work in this area, Forensic psychologists must know the court’s expectations.They must be credible, competent, and concise being able to explain to the court how they arrived at their

The brain can be affected by damage and cause behavior to be expressed differently in every person. Events such as a car crash or childhood abuse can affect brain development and function. Damage to certain areas of the brain can have a variety of effects. The hippocampus controls emotions and is associated with memory, and the frontal lobe is a brain cortex that controls motor functions, problem solving, memory, language, judgments, social and sexual behavior and impulse. When the frontal lobe or hippocampus is affected, a person’s emotion can be out of their control. In criminal cases, brain damage can affect the sentencing of a violent criminal, but to what extent should these abnormalities play a role in their conviction? Much research has been conducted in order to determine the effect that brain abnormalities should have on the conviction of violent criminals. A psychiatrist at New York University, Dr. Lewis, has conducted a study on death-row inmates, how their brains work and what affect the damage had on their conviction. By doing so Dr. Lewis paved the way for other researchers, such as Kent Kiehl and Jonathan H. Pincus to study the brains of violent criminals looking for a answer as to whether or not these criminals should be incarcerated. Over time research has been conducted focusing on mental illnesses and brain damage as the cause of violent acts instead of it being just premeditated murder. Many believe brain damage or mental illness should have no affect on

Overall, the three articles discussed in this annotated bibliography provide direction for social workers and researchers who are looking to employ a holistic and client-centered approach to working with forensic populations. Forensic populations are often affected by multiple biopsychosocial systems such as: mental illness, substance use disorders, deviant sexual thoughts and behaviors, and criminal behavior. Although the biopsychosocial systems which affect forensic populations are often intersecting and inter-related, it can become necessary to individuate and control for these systems within research in order to better ascertain the efficacy of a desired treatment model. Given that I have interest in working with forensic populations

This documentary specifies that there is no easy answer to what is going on inside the mind of killers, and we cannot simply place these individuals into “neat diagnostic boxes” that explain why their actions turned so violent. However, the investigators present research studying different avenues regarding ways to “predict” the likelihood that an individual will commit violent crime, will maintaining that no method is perfect. Throughout the presentation, viewers are offered mountains of research highlighting a mix of nature and nurture ranging from neurologists from Harvard studying brain patterns affected by genetics, to psychologists studying maternal care and attachment during infancy.

Charles Manson is well known around the world for the infamous murders he orchestrated throughout the 1960’s. When hearing the name “Manson,” two words that immediately come to mind are crazy and murders. I believe Manson is insane, and should be in jail for life. Although he did not personally commit murders, he had other people that trusted him, do it for him. Manson manipulated people all around him and could get people to murder whenever he asked them to.

recent edition of the Handbook of Forensic Psychology (Weiner & Otto, 2013). Dr. Batastini was recognized as

Although this is not a model that is necessarily a risk assessment tool, due to the fact it focuses on psychopathy primarily. This model is used to measure the personality of an individual based on two factors. These factors include interpersonal skills, and social deviance. Ricky displays many of the behaviours outlined within this model. Moreover, he exhibits a lack of affective interpersonal skills, and highly antisocial behaviour, followed by extremely impulsive tendencies. This test is one that must be administered and judged by one professional. Upon completion of this assessment is it fair to assume Ricky would legally be deemed a psychopath. His need of stimulation due to substance abuse, lack of remorse, and a complete callousness about his demeanour are things which would certainly be displayed. Furthermore, due to his lack of education, antisocial behaviour, and early substance abuse and involvement in minor crime, he was already predisposed to criminal behaviour. Due to these factors, it is safe to assume Ricky is a psychopath. This model in determining if individuals are psychopaths, is one that has been adopted world wide, and by many is considered to be the ‘gold standard’ (Serin, 2011). For this reason, we can determine that the test is reliable and valid. If the test was sufficient in showing results, it would not be so knowingly used throughout the

Forensic psychology allows forensic psychologists to understand why a criminal committed a crime. According to a new study by Robert Hanlon (2015) , director of the forensic psychology research lab at Northwestern University, "Men who murder their wives or girlfriends are a distinctly different group than those who kill strangers." Studies on domestic homicides show that they have more severe mental illness (psychotic disorders), few previous felony convictions,more cognitive impairment, and are less intelligent. "Studies on spontaneous homicides reveal that they're often premeditated." (Marla Paul, 2015) More than 80% of the killers had a history of head trauma, more than 60% of domestic homicide killers had used drugs or alcohol before

The process of inferring the personality characteristics of individuals responsible for committing criminal acts has commonly been referred to as criminal profiling. (Turvey) Criminal profiling can also be referred to as, behavioral profiling because when a profiler creates a profile they refer to the behavior of the offender. The general term criminal profiling can also be referred to as crime scene profiling, criminal personality profiling, offender profiling, psychological profiling and criminal investigative analysis. All the terms listed above are used inconsistently and interchangeably. Modern criminal profiling is owing to a diverse history grounded in the study of criminal behavior (criminology), the study of mental illness

Reliability and validity are crucial factors in forensic psychology research, reliability is a critical factor in ensuring that evidence presented is useful and true producing fair results while the validity of scientific procedures and techniques is important in presenting proven, impartial, and clear science. Understanding the concept of reliability pertains to results or conclusions that the examiner arrives at through their study. The concept of validity requires understanding and appreciating the limitations of forensic techniques and the obstacles involved with obtaining valid results (Stangor, 2013). For this paper, the study selected is based on the relationship of sexual sadism and psychopathy to each other as well as non-sexual violence

When looking at criminal activity and the direct connection to the criminal behavior we see that there have been many research trials that have taken place over the history of humankind (Mishra & Lalumiere, 2008). Two of these research areas that have been developed to attempt to understand the causes of criminal behavior are known as biological and psychological perspectives of crime causation. These two sectors have their principles that are held in their theories as a standard scientific understanding of the basics that each evaluation of criminal behavior is built on (Dretske, 2004).

This paper discusses the different roles that are taken on by a forensic psychologist, and how those roles interact and affect each other and how the psychologist is about to do his/her job. It looks briefly at the history of the field. We discuss the forensic psychologist as the consultant, the therapist, the researcher, as well as the expert witness. This paper also discusses predicting dangerousness and whether or not an expert can predict dangerousness. Finally we look at conflicting roles and ethics in the field.

Forensic (criminal) psychology is a job field that deals with both psychology and law. The field has experienced dramatic growth in recent years due to the role of popular movies, television programs and books popularizing the field. Often these individuals are depicted as vivid components in solving vicious crimes or timing out a criminal’s next home. While these depictions of certainly entertaining, yet these portrayals are not necessarily precise. Forensic psychologists play an instrumental role in the criminal justice system while applying psychological principles to the legal system. The crossover of the two spheres is best decided in the Encyclopedia of Psychology,

From time immemorial, man has been fascinated with behavioral deviations from the normative particularly in the context of crime, or more generally, morality. In fact, classical playwrights and novelists such as Shakespeare and Dostoevsky owe their literary success to their incredible ability to glare into socially and morally deviant minds and weave stories around them. We see a similar trend today. Much of primetime television is filled with shows that have experienced psychoanalysts chasing sophisticated and grossly deviant criminals or some variation of this general theme. The general public tends to relate to the job of a forensic psychologists to that of a cat chasing a mouse. Forensic psychology, however, is a far less