Research Paper on "Forensic Research: The Psychology of the Criminal"

Research Paper 7 pages (2415 words) Sources: 3

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Forensic Research: The Psychology of the Criminal Mind

What makes criminals different from "normal" people who do not commit crimes? There is no evidence that the average person never thinks about committing a crime, so it is not the thoughts that cross a person's mind that make the difference between whether he or she will commit a crime or not. However, what the person does with the thought that he or she has acknowledged can be very different. Some people simply ignore the thought, others consider it and then decide that there is too much risk involved. Still other people determine that they can likely get away with the crime, or they decide that they are willing to take the risk, even if they know that they could get caught. Criminals are all different, just like people who do not commit crimes are all different, and their reasons and motivations can be unique and varied. With that in mind, it is important to look at the psychology of the criminal mind, in order to better determine the reasons behind criminal behavior in certain people.

The Development of Deviant Behavior at a Young Age

One of the "red flags" for criminal behavior in adults is what those adults did when they were children. Breaking into the school, setting fire to and/or killing a cat or other animal, and other types of deviant and inappropriate behavior as a child can be the precursor to criminal behavior in an adult (Adler, 2004; Dalby, 1997). Not all children who commit wrongdoing will become career criminals, of course. Many children realize the consequences of their actions and decide that they do not want to get involved in any kind of criminal activity when they are adults, whether or not they get caught in any kind of criminal behavior when they are young. There are shows and programs that are supposed to "scare someone straight" and ensure that he or she will not do anything criminal in the future, but these programs have limited success with children and teenagers (Duntley & Shackelford, 2006). Some programs are more effective than others, and that is also true of other types of programs that are designed to stop children and teenagers from committing further crimes.

Many young people experiment with activity that could potentially be considered criminal, however, due to various reasons. Among the largest and most significant reasons for committing criminal acts is peer pressure. If young people feel as though they have to commit a crime in order to be accepted by their friends, they may go ahead and commit the crime even though they know that they should not be doing anything of the sort. They may feel conflicted about it, but that does not mean that they will not go through with the criminal activity (Adler, 2004; Duntley & Shackelford, 2006). Once they are caught, there are two things that can happen: they can either side with their peers and continue to commit crimes, or they can realize the seriousness of the road down which they are headed and decide that they would be better off staying away from criminal behavior. What kind of people they are will help make that determination, but it is not the only factor that will come into play. There are many other issues to consider.

Parents who notice that their children are moving toward or getting involved with deviant behavior must address that at the first opportunity (Adler, 2004). Ignoring a problem will not make it go away, and can only lead to a more serious problem with criminal activity in the future. Unfortunately, many parents are in denial or they are not aware of what their children are really doing when they are not around them. The children and teenagers who are unsupervised are often the ones who get involved most often in criminal activity, but there are also many children and teens that come from "good" families but still get involved in criminal behavior (Adler, 2004; Dalby, 1997).

What goes through the minds of young people when they decide to engage in criminal behavior? Sometimes, they are trying to please their peers and be accepted. Other times, they are crying out for attention that they do not feel as though they are getting at home. Some of these children come from broken or single-parent homes, where there are higher rates of alcohol and drug addiction as well as criminal behavior (Dalby, 1997; Duntley & Shackelford, 2006). Still, there are children and young people who come from two-parent homes where they have enough of everything and are treated well and clearly loved. Some of them still engage in criminal behavior - seemingly with no real explanation. Understanding why these young people involve themselves in this kind of behavior is one of the things on which forensic psychologists generally focus - and one of the most important considerations when it comes to whether a child will become a criminal or remain a criminal as an adult. Stopping crime before it gets started is best, but if that cannot be done it is very important that childhood and teenage criminals "learn their lesson" before becoming adults.

Evaluating Competency and Sanity

Another area where it is important to get inside the criminal mind involves sanity and competency. For purposes of the law, whether someone is insane is a legal definition and not a medical issue (Adler, 2004). People who are deemed legally insane are not able to stand trial, because they do not have the mental capacity to do so properly. This does not mean that they are mentally disabled, but only that they do not have an understanding of right and wrong like the "normal" population - and, therefore, cannot be held legally accountable for their crimes. When people are not mentally capable of determining right from wrong, or understanding that what they did was wrong (and why that was the case), it is not the law's place to try and convict those people. They need mental health help, and in some cases they are given medication so that they can be "made sane" and stand trial (Adler, 2004; Dalby, 1997). The evaluation of competency and sanity is one that is highly important to the judicial process, and that has to be undertaken with great care.

One of the main concerns with the evaluation of sanity and competency revolves around a criminal's ability to be deceptive. Some criminals will make an effort to appear insane, so that they do not have to stand trial. If they use insanity as their defense, they avoid high-level punishment such as the death penalty (Adler, 2004; Duntley & Shackelford, 2006). Of course, there are some criminals who actually do meet the legal definition of insane, but these are few and far between. Most criminals do not meet that definition because it is very strict and specific - but there are a number of criminals who will attempt that defense for their crimes in order to escape their expected punishment and avoid prison time for serious crimes. Overall, it is up to a forensic psychologist to determine sanity and competency, which may be related but can also be used separately, depending on the nature of the criminal.

For example, some criminals are deemed to be insane, but others are sane but not competent. This could be because of a mental illness or disability (such as mental retardation or another form of mental handicap) that does not meet the legal definition of insanity but still affects the individual's ability to make proper decisions and determine whether an act was right or wrong (Adler, 2004; Dalby, 1997). A lack of competency to stand trial is still not common, but it is more common than an insanity defense that is actually accepted. When people are not competent to stand trial, it is much harder to understand what might have been going through their mind when they committed a crime. Did they know they committed a crime? Did they understand the trouble that they could get into and what could happen to them for their actions? Those are questions that are difficult to answer and that may be different for each person who committed a criminal act.

Because the mind of a criminal can be difficult to work through since there are so many different reasons that cause people to commit crimes, forensic psychologists are often asked to make recommendations as to whether a person who has committed a crime is competent to stand trial. If the person is not competent, or if he or she is found to be legally insane, the rules of the game are greatly changed and things will have to be handled much differently than they would be if the person was not insane and not incompetent. Savvy criminals will attempt to make an interviewer and others around him or her think that he or she is incompetent or insane, but that is rarely… READ MORE

How to Reference "Forensic Research: The Psychology of the Criminal" Research Paper in a Bibliography

Related Research Papers:

Psychology as it Is Applied Research Paper

3. Investigate the legal issues regarding police psychology. Include the background and purpose of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the role of forensic psychological testing in law… read more

Research Paper 4 pages (1230 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice

---

Forensic Evidence in Criminal Investigations Research Paper

Forensic Evidence in Criminal Investigations

This is a template and guideline only. Please do not use as a final turn-in paper.

The term forensic means, "relating to or dealing with… read more

Research Paper 5 pages (1843 words) Sources: 5 Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice

---

Criminal Profiler Literature Review

Criminal Profiler

'The role of a criminal profiler is to create a personality or character sketch of the individual responsible for committing the offense or crime. Tammy Clevenger, eHow Contributing… read more

Literature Review 3 pages (1056 words) Sources: 8 Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice

---

Forensic Psychology Essay

Forensic Psychology

Fulero, S. And L. Wrightsman. (2008). Forensic Psychology, 3rd edition. Wadsworth.

This is the third edition of a primary text in the subject of forensic psychology. The authors… read more

Essay 4 pages (1273 words) Sources: 1 Topic: Psychology / Behavior / Psychiatry

---

Post-Modern to Contemporary Psychology Research Paper

Post-Modern to Contemporary Psych

Psychology: Post-modern to Contemporary

From its foundation as a separate science from philosophy and biology, psychology has been a dynamic and ever evolving discipline with ongoing… read more

Research Paper 10 pages (3161 words) Sources: 10 Topic: Psychology / Behavior / Psychiatry

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>