Research Topics: Forensics Psychology

Understanding Forensic Psychology in the Context of Crime

OUTLINE   I.                    Introduction/Background of Forensic Psychology II.                  Theoretical Approaches of Forensic Psychology III.                Forensic Imaging and its Ethical Issues IV.               Background of Crime V.                 Criminological Theories for Resolving Crime Cases VI.               Understanding Crime      V.1 Trends     V.2 Patterns     V.3 Behavior VII.             Crime Detection VIII.           Role of the Public – Perception IX.               Role of Forensic Psychologists in Understanding Crime                   Points to Develop:   I.                    Develop comparison of criminological theories and forensic psychology theories II.                  Determine and recognize applicable case studies especially in understanding forensics and crime III.                Utilize a sound organization of the literature review IV.               Recognize points of arguments useful for the realization of forensic psychology and crime V.                 Conduct and administer empirical research methodology   The research plan will ideally involve comprehensive research with the appropriate usage and application of several research tools and methodologies supported by qualitative and quantitative data and information.                          ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY    and ‘ (1999) Handbook of Forensic Psychology and Principles and Practice of Forensic Psychiatry ( and , 1990). Both provide comprehensive overviews of each topic covered, with extensive bibliographies. Principles and Practice of Forensic Psychiatry is more readable, and more accessible to undergraduates, but has the relative disadvantage of covering UK law more extensively than US. A good companion to these works is the recent publication, The California School of Professional Psychology Handbook of Juvenile Forensic Psychology (, 2002) which concerns itself with the interaction of juveniles with the criminal justice system. , . and , . () (1990), Principles and Practice of Forensic Psychiatry, , London. Another impressive comprehensive work, written by a team of 141 experts attempting to provide an overview of “the principles and practices of forensic psychiatry” to “professionals dealing with mental disorder and law and crime”. There are 1,600 pages with an 84-page bibliography, and an index of legal cases from nine different countries with the majority from England. Of particular interest is the story of Daniel McNaughton, with a description of the murder and trial that led to the development of the McNaughton rules (, with many more references throughout the book). This work includes chapters on aspects of forensic psychiatry in a number of different countries, and so it is a good source for anyone interested in practices outside the USA. The one drawback to this work for the American user is that the legal emphasis is very much on the English system. , . and , . () (1999), Handbook of Forensic Psychology, , , New York, NY. This is an excellent comprehensive resource, and probably the best starting point for information on any topic in forensic psychology. It has over 700 pages with 26 chapters written by different experts, and divided into six sections. Most aspects of the field are covered, ranging from a history of the discipline to practical applications and professional practice. There are extensive bibliographies at the end of each chapter. Highly recommended. There are some works that are useful ready reference materials, available for providing quick overviews of the more popular topics. Lethal Violence 2000 (, 1996) provides good overviews of murder, sex murder, police use of deadly force, media violence and other popular topics. Most of the articles are written either by psychologists or psychiatrists. Science, Treatment, and Prevention of Antisocial Behaviors: Application to the Criminal Justice System (, 2000) attempts to convey the biological basis for psychopathology. Particularly notable are the chapters on serial killers, sexual offending, and neurological perspectives on violence. The Handbook of Antisocial Behavior (., 1997) focuses on interpersonal aggression, defined as “threats, attempts or actual infliction of physical harm”. The Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health ( and , 1999) is useful for placing mental health into a sociological context, and is relevant to contextualizing forensic psychology in a criminal justice background. , . and , . (1993-1999), Law & Mental Health Professionals: New York, American Psychological Association, Washington, DC. Contains sections on legal credentialing, forms of business practice, insurance reimbursement and deductions for services, privacy of professional information, practice related to the law: families and juveniles; other civil matters; civil/criminal matters; criminal matters; voluntary or involuntary receipt of state services, and limitations on and liability for practice. Other editions in this series cover other states               Principles and practice of forensic psychiatry. , . and , . (). London: .   Another impressive comprehensive work, written by a team of 141 experts attempting to provide an overview of “the principles and practices of forensic psychiatry” to “professionals dealing with mental disorder and law and crime”. There are 1600 pages with an 84 page bibliography, and an index of legal cases from 9 different countries, but most are from England.   , . (1989). Crime and Society. Basingstoke, .   This is a scholarly examination of the way sociologists have looked at the city and crime.  discusses in detail the approach of the Chicago school whose scholars were the first to see crime as a social phenomenon and as symbolic interactionism and to enrich the study of crime with ethnographic methodologies.                   , . (1995). “The impact of crime on communities.” , .   “This article examines impacts of past and changing crime rates in Baltimore, Maryland, neighborhoods in the 1970s. The results reveal that different crimes influence different aspects of the housing market.” The author then suggests “that impact of crime and related problems on neighborhood viability may be contingent on personal, historical, and locale-specific factors” ().   The Mental measurements yearbook , . (.). Highland park, NJ: .   This is the most comprehensive list of published tests available. This work was originally published in 1938, and updates are published frequently. The most recent edition is the 13th edition, which was published in 1998. This yearbook lists and critically reviews tests that are available commercially. The updates contain information on any new tests that were considered for inclusion since the previous edition was published and any information on older tests that have been revised.       Other Useful References Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Understanding Forensic Psychology in the Context of Crime

OUTLINE I. Introduction/Background of Forensic Psychology II. Theoretical Approaches of Foren...

Understanding Forensic Psychology in the Context of Crime

Understanding Forensic Psychology in the Context of Crime

OUTLINE I. Introduction/Background of Forensic Psychology II. Theoretical Approaches of Foren...

Forensic psychology in the context of crime

I. Introduction/Background of Forensic Psychology               Ideally, forensic psychology is an imperative factor in understanding crime and be aware that crime imposes one controversial issue and is a problem of the society nowadays. The presence of such criminological theories thus amiably evolve and changing from one traditional perspective to modern perspective in the advent of time in today’s era that goes along with the future process in related to ongoing context of crime. Thus, the application of forensic psychology amicably composes crime and its prevalence in the society such determination of crime can be ideal in England, South Wales – one glimpse of example that will imply comparisons to such crime theories. There is the essence of crime and its assumption finding its way to produce and discover a causal link in reflection to forensic psychology as the fact that it not the only discipline to be concerned with understanding criminal and delinquent behavior.   II. Theoretical Approaches of Forensic Psychology               Indeed, disciplines found in the process of criminology can be good in locating the causes of criminality within the individual, at the expense of attending to the effects of social inequalities. Thus, theories cover and emphasize such range of possible behaviors. Then, it assumes precise indications that criminal contemporary justice systems appear to often work inequitably across resolving crime cases. Now, forensic psychology adheres to the discipline of found in such theories as concerned with applications of psychological principles and research to the law and offenders can be traced to at least the late nineteenth century when psychologists began to apply findings to criminal cases.   III. Forensic Imaging and its Ethical Issues               The forms of deception being detected in these studies involve highly constrained questions and may reflect nothing more than the additional cognitive effort required to deceive. In addition to the problem of discriminating intentional lies from truth, brain imaging is potentially applicable to a related problem of great legal significance: the problem of discriminating false memory from veridical memory. A false memory is kind of memory error that occurs when such person mistakenly believes that he or she remembers an event that did not actually take place. When false memories are induced in the laboratory, they evoke patterns of activity in memory related areas of the brain that are distinctive from both veridical memories and correct judgments that an event did not happen. Then, there can be several diverse applications of functional neuroimaging are being explored with support from these communities. Generally in such ethical issues, the idea of criminology describes the advance and theoretical field of such studies related to the study of crime, causes of crime as well as what crime means in terms of law and community reaction to crime and has developed habits and methods of thinking about crime and criminal behavior that is uniquely determined.   IV. Background of crime               Amicably, crime occurs when the benefits outweigh the costs when people pursue self-interest in the absence of effective punishments. Crime is a free willed choice. Thus, such disorganized communities cause crime because informal social controls break down and criminal cultures emerge. Crime is learned through associations with criminal definitions. These definitions might be generally approving of criminal conduct or be neutralizations that justify crime only under certain circumstances. Interacting with antisocial peers is a major cause of crime.   V. Criminological Theories for Resolving Crime Cases               The contemporary theories of crime in support to forensic psychology can be seen through the rehabilitation of offenders as well as consultation of various forms with the police and research and consultation on legal issues and processes. Meanwhile, such post modern crime theories have been popular and suggested that human action is determined by the mental process. The crime theories assume crucial importance when applied to criminal actions.  Thus, one proponent, in Toch’s work views violence from the offender’s perspective, being concerned with the meaning of the act for that person within the social context in actions happened. The ability to know person’s attitudes and thoughts and to predict their actions would be particularly useful within the criminal justice, intelligence and immigration enforcement communities, where interviewees are often motivated to withhold desired information. Thus, such post modern theory of it is no exception as it implies to criminology as the process involves societal reactions to crime with the help of certain criminologist as the one that reconstructs crime scene evidences in lieu for forensic purposes. Moreover, the criminologists use words certain way to indicate relationships between causes and its effects. Meanwhile, the contemporary theories of criminology would involve theories like those cited from ( 2002: ).   VI. Understanding Crime               In understanding crime, there imposes such assumptions of such crime behavior as it can be motivated at the same time reinforced by such forces found within the society and its environment as a whole cycle. When criminal subcultures exist, then many individuals can learn to commit crime in one location and crime rates including violence may become very high. The theories use components from other theories usually strain, control, and social learning to create innovative theory that explains crime across time. Criminal activity affects the price and therefore the demand for and supply of various goods and services. Costs determine the quantity produced or output from the goods; in turn, the individuals in the affected industries who use the goods experience employment effects. Because of criminal activity, certain expenditures of criminal justice system are necessary. Then, education is one of major factors that can be used in fight against crime and could equalize the income inequalities and reduce the rate of crime as well as the banning of alcoholic beverages and lessening the demand for drugs could reduce crime rates. Amicably, law is other means of reducing crime rates and that it should be adapted to the needs of time and must be concise and consistent with principles of equality and humanitarianism.   VII. Crime Detection               Aside, it is evident that admiring series provides improved picture of crime than obtained from the sequence alone. Thus, based on the British Crime Survey interviews last 2006, there has been estimated comprising of approximately 10.9 million crimes adjacent to such adults living in private household’. (2006) Aside, on recorded crime there was both familial robbery and theft of and from vehicles have nonstop to fall over the similar time.  ‘The patterns of crime were being explored by looking at recorded crime at the geographic level of Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships. The 2006 BCS showed that people living in more deprived areas were more likely to be victim of crime than those living in less deprived areas; 12 percent of households in the most employment-deprived areas had been a victim of one or more vehicle thefts, compared with 7 percent of those in the least employment-deprived areas’. (2006)   VIII. Role of the Public – Perception             People have more positive perceptions of crime in their own area than nationally as well as providing an indication of crime levels in England and Wales, the BCS also provides attitudinal measures such as public perceptions of changing crime levels, worry about crime and perceptions of anti-social behavior, public confidence in the criminal justice system and victim and witness. The role can be also that the public in general, are responsible for such possible evidences in solving cases of crime and be a citizen whose concerns have no limits from beyond what crime can outcome in supporting forensic psychologists in its endeavors for such issues apprehended by crime cases.         IX. Role of Forensic Psychologists in empirical methodologies             Truly, the role of forensic psychologists in empirical methodologies involves their obligation to correct, evaluate as well as verify such evidences presented as the case progresses, assessing if the evidences of crime scenarios is valid and reliable proof of determining crime integrated with such utilization and applications of contemporary as well as post modern criminological theories as valued to have consistent standards of their profession in essence. Furthermore, have the obligation to understand the civil rights of parties in legal proceedings in which they participate and manage their professional conduct that does not diminish or threaten those rights and be aware of the legal standards that may affect or limit the confidentiality or privilege that may attach to their services or their products, and they conduct their professional activities that respects those known rights and privileges. Forensic psychologists are aware that their essential role as expert to the court is to assist factual incidences to understand the evidence or to determine fact in issue. In offering expert evidence, they are aware that professional observations must be distinguished from legal basis in relating to such opinions and conclusions and are prepared to explain the relationship between expert testimony, the legal issues and basis for crime cases.     X. Conclusion               In conclusion therefore, it is imperative that there should be ample awareness and understanding of forensic psychology in contexts of crime and its emphasis and connection to such modern rime theories being taken into consideration in providing desired knowledge on how society can be in control for avoiding and at the same time resolving cases of crime, being one of the issues and problems faced by the greater public as it is the duty of authorities and the government to protect the welfare and lives of the people with such law promulgation and execution. The theories then do provide solid basis for supporting forensic psychologists in their mission and goals duly served the utmost purpose of such situations involved as formed with comprehensive and precise information and such findings created from within the sanctions of research study investigations respectively.                       Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Forensic psychology in the context of crime

I. Introduction/Background of Forensic Psychology Ideally, forensic psychology is an imperative factor in understanding c...

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