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The Mentalist, Bones, and Mindhunter – what do all these TV series have in common? The answer is forensic psychology.
This article digs into the concept of forensic psychology, its definition, methods, and research.
Forensic psychology applies psychology to law and the criminal justice system.
An example of forensic psychology is the Netflix series Mindhunter. The FBI agents try to identify patterns in the early life experiences of serial killers to prevent at-risk individuals from becoming murderers as adults.
Before applying psychological concepts to crime, we must define and measure it.
Although the definition of crime as an act that violates the law seems clear, what is illegal changes with time, place, and culture.
There are three main methods used to measure crimes rates:
Part of the FBI’s job in Mindhunter was also to help investigators accurately predict the profiles of unknown criminals.
Two main approaches to profiling offenders in forensic psychology research are top-down and bottom-up.
In offender profiling, investigators profile the offender as they believe him to be. They can then use this information to create a template to identify future criminals – this approach is known as the American approach, typology approach or top-down approach.
However, this approach assumes that murderers have a particular behaviour (often known as their modus-operandi or ‘MO’). These types of murderers are known as organised offenders. However, some disorganised offenders show little sign of planning.
Investigators examine crime scenes, analyses evidence, and talk to witnesses to hypothesise about the likely characteristics of the perpetrator, such as his age, weight, height, occupation, background, and so on. There are two main types of this approach:
Several biological explanations and theories for criminality exist in criminology, such as atavistic form, genetic and neural explanations.
This theory, which Cesare Lombroso put forth in 1876, states that criminals are less evolved people or primitive subspecies unfit for modern society. Lombroso noted that this criminal subspecies could be identified by specific characteristics such as a prominent jaw, high cheekbones, supernumerary toes, dark skin, and asymmetry of the face.
Psychologists have also tried to find genetic and neural explanations for criminality. Twin studies and candidate genes are essential parts of this process. Studies by researchers such as Tiihonrn et al. (2014) have shown that abnormalities in the MAOA and CDH12 genes can predict criminal behaviour.
Other psychologists claim that there may be neural differences between criminals and non-criminals. Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) has been consistently linked to criminal behavior, and research has shown that activity in the prefrontal cortex and mirror neurons is reduced in APD patients. This finding suggests that there may be a neural basis for explaining criminality.
Are murderers born or made? Let’s look at what forensic psychology research and approaches say about this.
Eysenck (1964), a critical exponent of personality and intelligence research, stated that behaviour could be divided into three categories: introversion/extroversion (E), neuroticism/stability (N), and psychoticism (P). According to Eysenck, we inherit the extent and type of character traits through our nervous system, which means that criminality could have a biological basis.
Eysenck explained that the criminal personality type is neurotic-extroverted with a high degree of psychoticism.
However, Eysenck also stated that criminals are formed by a combination of criminal personality and socialisations, meaning that his approach is a hybrid one, both biological and social.
Several explanations for criminal behavior suggest that offenders think differently than their peers.
The levels of moral reasoning developed by Kohlberg (1958) refer to how far someone goes to think about the morality of their behavior. According to Kohlberg, criminals have a lower level of moral reasoning, which means that they feel less about the morality of their actions.
Arrest, Canva
According to cognitive theory, criminals also have cognitive biases (information processing errors or biases) that influence their behaviour. Two examples are:
This theory, developed by Sutherland, states that criminal behaviour is learned through interaction. Potential offenders learn the values, attitudes, techniques and motives for criminal behavior, which leads them to copy them.
Psychodynamic explanations for criminal behaviour provide further clues as to what makes a criminal. Let us dive in.
Blackburn (1993) suggests that differential development of the superego can lead to criminal behaviour:
Bowlby (1944) asserts that a child who cannot form a solid attachment to their mother figure is less likely to form meaningful relationships in adulthood and is more likely to develop a personality type of ‘loveless psychopathy’. A lack of guilt, empathy, and feelings for others, all traits associated with criminal behaviour, characterise this personality type.
So, the offender committed a crime. What next?
Several opener management approaches exist. Have a peek at them below.
Custodial sentencing is when the court orders the offender to serve time in a prison or other closed therapeutic / educational facility such as a psychiatric hospital.
The custodial sentence has many purposes :
It also has many psychological effects:
In this section, we also address recidivism or re-offending.
Prison cell block, Canva
Behavior modification in custody applies the behaviorist approach that attempts to replace criminal behavior with desirable, productive behavior by using positive / negative reinforcement . A clear example of this is the idea of ‘getting out on good behaviour’ where punishment is reduced for inmates as a reward for good behavior while incarcerated.
This approach to behaviour change involves a therapeutic program to identify and manage the anger that may have led to criminal behaviour. This process consists of three phases:
This method of dealing with criminal behaviour focuses on reconciliation between offender and victim. The aim is to enable the offender to understand their crime’s impact and empower victims by giving them a ‘voice’.
Forensic psychology is the psychological investigation of crimes.
We can define crimes using official characteristics, victim surveys and offender surveys.
Offender profiling can be done in several ways, top-down and bottom-up.
Biological explanations for crime include atavistic forms and genetic/neural explanations.
Psychological explanations of crime include Eysenck’s theory, cognitive explanations, and differential association theory.
Psychodynamic explanations for crime include a malformed superego and maternal deprivation theory.
We can treat delinquent behavior through incarceration, behaviour modification, anger management, and restorative justice.
Forensic psychology applies psychology to law and the criminal justice system.
Forensic psychology can help prevent and explain crime.
Criminal psychologists develop psychological profiles of criminals to understand them or prevent crime. Forensic psychologists look at crime more widely and apply this study to the criminal justice system.
Criminal psychologists develop psychological profiles of criminals to understand them or prevent crime. Forensic psychologists look at crime more widely and apply this study to the criminal justice system.
Forensic psychology can help us understand criminal motivations and influences.
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