Midterm review applied psychology

What is criminal profiling?

Criminal profiling is the investigation, analysis, assessment, and reconstruction of data (from a behavioral/psychological perspective) gathered from various sources to understand criminal behavior.

Name five professions that use criminal psychology or profiling.

Law enforcement officers, intelligence officers/analysts, social workers, attorneys, psychiatrists.

Who was Cesare Lombroso?

Cesare Lombroso was an Italian physician who classified criminals for statistical comparison and developed the theory of Criminal Anthropology.

What are the three types of criminals defined by Lombroso?

1) Born criminals; 2) Insane criminals; 3) Criminaloids.

What did the Malleus Maleficarum describe witches as having?

Witches were described primarily as women who have a spot or scar, live alone, keep pets, suffer from mental illness, and cultivate medicinal herbs.

What contribution did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle make to criminology?

He re-investigated wrongful convictions, influenced forensic sciences, and pioneered post-conviction case reviews.

Who was Dr. Hans Gustav Gross and what did he contribute to criminal profiling?

He is considered a founding father of modern criminal profiling and emphasized the importance of studying offender behavior.

What are the four types of timelines that should be charted during an investigation?

1) Actual timeline of subject/unsub actions; 2) Police/LE actions; 3) Family notifications and interviews; 4) Public disclosure.

What is environmental criminology?

Environmental criminology theorizes that a person's physical environment influences criminal behavior and studies crime within geographical contexts.

What are the three premises of environmental theory?

1) Crime is best understood through the interaction between the offender and the immediate environment; 2) Crime patterns reflect the criminogenic nature of the environment; 3) Knowledge of crime patterns aids in crime prevention and control.

What is Canter's Circle theory?

Canter's Circle theory proposes two models: marauders operate in familiar areas creating crimes around their residence; commuters commit crimes outside their home areas.

Name five forms of digital evidence that may be found at a crime scene.

1) Computer hard drives; 2) Smartphones; 3) Tablets; 4) Social media accounts; 5) Internet browsing histories.

What types of nonverbal communication are important during victim interviews?

1) Kinesics (body language); 2) Proxemics (use of space); 3) Haptics (touching behavior); 4) Oculesics (use of eyes); 5) Vocalics (how something is said).

What are the four goals of crime analysis?

1) Apprehending criminals; 2) Preventing crime; 3) Reducing disorder; 4) Evaluating organizational procedures.

What is victimology?

Victimology is the branch of criminology that studies the relationship between victims and offenders, including the nature and causes of crime.

What is the difference between a subject and an unsub?

A subject is a known person of interest in an investigation, while an unsub refers to an unknown subject.

What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative analysis?

Quantitative analysis uses numerical data, while qualitative analysis provides non-numerical information.

What are organized crime scenes characterized by?

Organized crime scenes are planned, target strangers, and exhibit control over victims and interactions.

What are some key factors explaining organized versus disorganized killers?

Organized killers show planning and control, while disorganized killers act on impulse and leave chaotic crime scenes.

What is modus operandi?

Modus operandi (MO) refers to the method or procedure that a criminal uses to commit a crime.

What are five elements of the psychological MO?

1) Predatory needs; 2) Target/victim analysis; 3) Need to control/power; 4) Level of premeditation; 5) Environmental needs.

What is a key goal of psychological profiling?

To assess the accuracy and relevance of a case and provide insights into dangerousness and potential future behaviors.

What physical characteristics did Lombroso believe indicated
a “born criminal?” Name 5 of these characteristics

Lombroso believed that a "born criminal" could be identified by physical characteristics such as a sloping forehead, large jaw, high cheekbones, long arms, and a lack of moral sense.

Born Criminals

These were degenerate, primitive offenders who were lower
evolutionary reversions in terms of their physical characteristics

Insane criminals

were individuals who committed crimes due to severe mental illness, often lacking the ability to understand the nature of their actions or distinguish right from wrong.

Criminaloids

A term used by Lombroso to describe occasional criminals who were not born criminals but committed crimes due to environmental factors or influences.

Who was Howard Teten and what did he contribute to criminal profiling?

Howard Teten was a pioneer in criminal profiling, known for developing behavioral analysis techniques that aid law enforcement in understanding criminal behavior and identifying suspects.

Who were Jack Kirsch, John Douglass, and Leo Hazelwood?

Founder’s of the FBI’s BAU (originally called the BSU)

Typically the alleged perpetrator of a crime may be profiled. There are other people during the course of an investigation that also may be profiled. Name 5 others.

Potential witnesses, victims, geographic related persons, attendees, and juries

Name five elements of verbal/vocal communication that you might focus on when interviewing a victim

Spoken words, written words, vocab, grammar, syntax

Collecting & Assessing Evidence/Case Data: Servicing the Victim

This involves gathering information from the victim about the crime, including their experiences and observations, to aid in the investigation and ensure their needs are addressed. Not all cases will be solved, not all cases will be taken by law enforcement

Name fiver behaviors that are considered sexually deviant

Behaviors that violate societal norms regarding sexuality, including exhibitionism, fetishism, pedophilia, necrophilia, and sadomasochism.

Types of sexual fantasy?

1. Day dreaming

2. Writing/Recording/Photography/Film

3. Pornography

4. Internet/Digital Images & Text

Child sexual predators have been studied by various researchers. Today, the
internet has been used as a vehicle for child sexual abuse in at least three ways –
name the 3 crimes associated with online child sex abuse.

1. viewing pornographic images of children;
2. sharing pornographic images of children; and,
3. luring or procuring child victims online

Name 3 rape myths

#1: Females are the only victims of rape, and males are the only gender to commit rape

#2: Women often make false claims of rape. Or all claims of rape are valid

#3: The victim is always to blame for the assault.

Giver 5 common motives for false reporting

#1: Seeking attention or sympathy; #2: Revenge against the accused; #3: Jealousy; #4: Mental health issues; #5: Profit

The difference between a “live” assessment and a
“remote” assessment

Remote Assessment – when you do not have contact with the subject or do not
know who the subject is (unsub).
Live Assessment – when you conduct interviews or have direct communication with
the subject(s).

Signature

A unique pattern of behavior or characteristics that can be used to identify an individual, often seen in criminal profiling.

There are 2 things a criminal psychologist or profiler should
present to his/her clients when starting a case to address
confidentiality and liability. What are these two things?

1. NDA- confidentiality

2. Disclaimer- liability

In a clinical setting, when are psychologists and other licensed
professionals compelled to inform the authorities about a
patient or situation? Name 4 “Duty to Warn” situations.

1. Disclose private information without consent to protect the patient ofr the public from serious harm

2. Report ongoing domestic violence, abuse, or neglect of children

3. may release information if it is part of fraud

4. May release info if they receive a court order

In the GBM, name 5 of the 12 elements of the psychological
MO...and explain 3 of them. Generally know what each of
these 12 variables means and how they apply to the
generation of a profile

Predatory needs, target/victim analysis, escalation, acceleration, need to control/power

What are the 5 parts of the 5-factor model and what do they mean?

1. Interpersonal Coherence: style of interaction with others carries into the crime

2. significance of time and place: time and location

3. criminal characteristics: type of crime(s) committed

4. criminal career: experience, recidivism

5. Forensic Awareness: premeditation, knowledge, and using countermeasures

Special Agent Jim Clemente presented his profiling methodology in a video we saw
in class – what are the 5 variables in his method and what do they mean

1. Victimology

2. location

3. Crime scene behavior

4. Organization level

5. Pre & post offense behavior

Besides trying to figure out “who done it”...provide 5 other
potential goals of deriving a psychological profile for the
client.

asses accuracy, relevance, or veracity of a case, assess dangerousness, reduce suspect pool, rule persons of interest in/out of an investigation, anticipate what will happen next

Three different fields of Linguistics

Developmental, neurolinguistics, psycholinguistics

What types of crimes are profiled by criminal psycholoigsts? Name 5 crimes.

Homicide, sex crimes, terrorism, white collar, cybercrime

Definition of Forensic psychology and what they do

assess offenders’ state of mind and their risk of re-offending, use testing instruments to conduct assessments in prison to assess possible parole and/or mental competencies

4 ways to ask question o victims, witness or suspect to detect deception during interviews and interrogations

1. Presenting conflicting data to the subject

2. use of staging or presenting erroneous information to the subject

3. use of cognitive overload

4. use of reverse chronology

Motives for deception

proft

anger

jealousy

attention

mitigation of responsibilites

How to start a session with a possible client

Who are you?

Do you have any evidence?

What are the goals?

Determine if case is worth taking

Provide DNA and disclaimer

Profiling methodologies

Circle Theory

5-factor model

organized/disorganized crime scenes

Identify MO & signature

SA Jim Clemente’s 5 steps

GMB

FI Rapist Typology