Personality Characteristics & Criminal Behavior

Personality Characteristics & Criminal Behavior

(Personality Characteristics & Criminal Behavior)

A particular set of personality characteristics does not  turn a person into a criminal. However, criminals may have the same set  of characteristics. This concept may not be easy to understand. Here is  another example: all college graduates have attended college, but not  everyone who attended college is a college graduate. The mistake that  “if A then B” is the same as “if B then A” is a common one in research,  criminal investigation, and profiling.

Criminal profiling is a difficult task. Complete the following three parts and present them in your report.

Part I

Identify at least five offense characteristics of each  of the following crimes: sex offense, murder, acquisitive crime,  organized crime, and terrorism.

Part II

Choose two offenses for those listed in Part I. Using the selected characteristics, complete the following for each of the two offenses you selected:

• Analyze the selected characteristics to develop a forensic profile  for that particular type of offense. For example, how would you use the  two offense characteristics you have selected for murder to develop  inferences regarding the personality of a murderer?
• Explain how an offender’s level of cognitive and emotional  functioning, as well as social and environmental factors, could  contribute to his or her maladaptive behavior in each of the above  offenses.
• Identify and justify the types of tests and/or personality measures  that might be used to gather additional information for each of the two  offenses.
• Identify and justify the type of collateral information you would  need to learn about the offender in the case of each of the two crimes.

Part III

• Identify the differences between ethical standards in a criminal  investigation and ethical standards in a psychological interview.
• Offer your recommendations for future research needed to advance the science and research of psychological profiling techniques.
• Discuss the different ethical considerations one must follow as an investigator and as a psychologist.

Support your responses giving reasons and examples from eight to ten scholarly resources.

Write a 7- to 9-page report in a Microsoft Word document. Apply APA standards to cite sources.

Your paper should be written in a clear, concise, and  organized manner; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate  representation and attribution of sources; and display accurate  spelling, grammar, and punctuation.