Criminal psychology is the study of the wills, thoughts, intentions and reactions of criminals, all that partakes in the criminal behavior.
It is related to the field of criminal anthropology. The study goes deeply into what makes someone commit crime, but also the reactions after the crime, on the run or in court. Criminal psychologists are often called up as witnesses in court cases to help the jury understand the mind of the criminal. Some types of Psychiatry also deal with aspects of criminal behavior.
Psychological criminology is the science of behavior and mental processes of a criminal. Focuses on individual criminal behavior and how it is acquired, evoked, maintained, and modified. Environmental and personality influence on criminal behavior are considered along with the mental processes that mediate that behavior.
Read more about Criminal Psychology: Psychology's Role in The Legal System, Profiling, Psychological Treatment
Famous quotes containing the words criminal and/or psychology:
“It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“Whatever else American thinkers do, they psychologize, often brilliantly. The trouble is that psychology only takes us so far. The new interest in families has its merits, but it will have done us all a disservice if it turns us away from public issues to private matters. A vision of things that has no room for the inner life is bankrupt, but a psychology without social analysis or politics is both powerless and very lonely.”
—Joseph Featherstone (20th century)