Criminal Psychology

Words: 1470
Pages: 6
Open Document
The Psychology of Criminal Conduct caught my eye immediately as I am a psychology major. Growing up I witnessed a lot of people in my life suffer from mental illnesses therefore at a young age learnt that mental health is very important for our everyday lives. I wanted to do my best in helping the people around me deal with mental illnesses and it is my belief that the criminal population needs the most help as mental illnesses within this subset goes largely unnoticed and untreated. Between the TV shows I watch and observing my Uncle practice criminal law my fascination with the criminal psyche and understanding the reason individuals commit crimes developed early on. For this reason, I decided to pursue criminal psychology, the study of criminal …show more content…
Understanding the psyche of these criminals should then translate to proper treatment. Apt treatment is crucial, especially since without it many individuals who are mentally ill may resort to substance abuse. Furthermore, based on our class discussion we came to the conclusion that substance abuse could ultimately become another reason for criminal conduct. Substance abuse is almost cyclical as many individuals may turn to substances in order to deal with their criminal thoughts and then have substances themselves become the reason they turn into criminals. This pattern isn’t very well understood by many, so I picked the topic of chapter 9 – substance abuse – to serve as the focus point of this …show more content…
“In order to meet the diagnosis for alcohol abuse, the problem must have persisted for at least one month or it must be a repetitive pattern.” In addition to this, one must meet any one of these three criteria: “1. Use in situations that are hazardous (e.g., driving while impaired) 2. Problems in the social, work, or psychological domains 3. Use leads to physical problems” (276) After conducting studies on alcohol abuse, researchers found that men have a tendency to have a higher rate than women for alcohol abuse (“males having a rate twice that of women (10.4% vs. 4.4%)” (276) it is also found that the prevalence of alcohol abuse among offender samples is quite high, certainly much higher than that found in the general population.” (277) Concluding that “Among offenders, alcohol and illegal drug abuse often co-occur but not always. Some offenders misuse alcohol and avoid illegal drugs and vice-versa.”
Show More

Related Documents: Criminal Psychology

Psychology: Criminal Law and People Essay

Culminating Task Part One: My life is a life in which no one will ever have and no one will ever change it, except for me. I am who I am and this is me. My education has defined me in so many ways, from switching schools to joining sports, all of this has shaped my intellectual and social skills I possess today. From kindergarten until grade 2 I switched so many schools in the same town, not because I was bad, but because we moved a lot. It changed me, not in a bad way but in a good way, it made…

Words 3252 - Pages 14

Essay about Describe the emergence of forensic and criminal psychology as we know it today.

Describe the emergence of forensic and criminal psychology as we know it today. Forensic and criminal psychology is a study of the relationships between psychology and the law. The Concise Oxford English Dictionary (2011) defines ‘Forensic’ as “Of, used in, courts of law”. Criminal psychology primarily focuses on the criminals reasons for committing a crime. The origins of this field began in the mid-18th century. It has evolved over years of studying, research and analysis to the modern day established…

Words 1135 - Pages 5

The Role Of Psychology

Psychology has many roles in our everyday lives including our career choice. In my pursuit for a criminal justice degree I’ve come to realize that psychology plays an enormous part. Different areas of psychology can be studied in this field such as forensic, clinical, criminal, and developmental psychology. Each of these areas are studied to determined what drives a deviant act whether it’s societal norms, nature vs. nature, or antisocial behavior. Knowing the criminal mind can assist authorities…

Words 798 - Pages 4

Winter Winds Sheet Music Essay

Forensic Science March 29, 2013 Forensic Psychology Forensic psychology is used by the criminal justice system to evaluate the mental state of suspects, convicts, and witnesses, as well as being able to testify in court, and provide the judges and attorneys with findings that can be clearly understood by the court. This method is a fairly new one, and has barely begun being used in courts and other legal cases as a legitimate way to catch criminals. In order for a forensic psychologist to be…

Words 709 - Pages 3

BEH Final Essay

Careers in Psychology BEH/225 Final [Type the author name] There are many professions that I am interested in but after taking this class, I realized that there were many professions that I was interested in that use Behavioral Science. Professional careers, such as Police Officers, 911 Dispatchers, Nurse, Doctors, Customer Service Reps and basically anyone that deal with people or have the need know how people think and act would benefit from the study of behavioral science. One profession…

Words 781 - Pages 4

Application For A Career In The Criminal Justice Field

career in the Criminal Justice and Psychology field. As I end my high school career I realize that I am more than prepared to take the next step in my life. During my high school years I prepared for this path by taking a Psychology, an extra year of science and also being involved in my ROTC classes. These classes gave me a great advantage because I already have a knowledge of how people minds work, and why people have certain reactions and behaviors, which in many jobs in the criminal justice field…

Words 314 - Pages 2

Essay on Final Project

Final Project Whitney Polen Introduction to Forensic Psychology FPSY 6101/FPSY 5101/PSYC 8101 January 2, 2015 Heather Morris Unit 11 Introduction This…

Words 2962 - Pages 12

Criminalistics: Academic Degree and Forensic Psychology Essay

What is forensic psychology?Forensic psychology involves applying psychology to the field of criminal investigation and the law. What do forensic psychologists do?Forensic psychologists are often involved in custody disputes, insurance claims and lawsuits. Some professionals work in family courts and offer psychotherapy services, perform child custody evaluations, investigate reports of child abuse and conduct visitation risk assessments. How much do forensic psychologists typically earn?Salaries…

Words 290 - Pages 2

Incognito The Secret Lives Of The Brain By David Eagleman

world of psychology without overwhelming the rookie or boring the experienced. Eagleman begins at the surface and continues to dive into depths that begin to concern moral issues. In the beginning, Eagleman introduces the subconscious, which plays a secret major role in our everyday decision making. He makes use of a large quantity and a wide variety of everyday examples in order to get his point across. Eagleman’s main purpose of his book is to change society’s and the law’s view of criminals, specifically…

Words 375 - Pages 2

Crime and Social Identity Essay

Application of Psychology Paper As I am coming closer to the end of my first psychology course I am beginning to realize the ways that taking this course will prove useful in my major. Being a criminal justice major, it isn’t to difficult to imagine how such a course will prove useful. The area of criminal justice has been one that has brought me much interest throughout my life, more specifically the criminal minds. With that being said, taking a course who’s bases is on that area specifically…

Words 1339 - Pages 6