Project Justification for Applied Doctoral Project

Running head: CONTEMPORARY THEMES 1

CONTEMPORARY THEMES 7

Contemporary Themes in Forensic Psychology

Matthew M. Rosario

University of the Rockies

Abstract

Combining the contemporary theme of law and psychology in practical and professional literature allowed practitioner in the field to gain information to advance the understanding of behavioral analysis and mental illness in criminals. Criminology and psychology have become the practitioner of understanding the relationship between behavior and law. It can be speculated through the themes and topic engaged in the community of forensic psychology. Reconceptualizing the understanding of psychology and law through the notion of victim and offender can allow a preplanned response before a crime has happened. In other words, the social and legal gap derives from a system which only sees the position of the crime and ignores the psychological differences within the crime. This paper will give in insights on my final paper and the development of some forensic psychology topic and theories.

Contemporary Themes in Forensic Psychology

Forensic Psychology is a new and developing academic and professional career that has become one of the leading professions in today society. Combining the contemporary theme of law and psychology in practical and professional literature allowed practitioner in the field to gain information to advance the understanding of behavioral analysis and mental illness in criminals. Identifying some contemporary themes and topic prepared in recent research which contributed to the study of the field of forensic psychology are sociopathic behavior and narcissistic personality disorder. The development of these psychological disorders are just not related to crime, but the first response to prevent crimes of individuals with mental illness. Understanding not just the behavior, but the biology behind the behavior and applying it to the understanding of the law in the criminal justice systems leads to the profound social and legal gap between mentally ill individuals. In other words, the social and legal gap derives from a system which only sees the position of the crime and ignores the psychological differences within the crime. Being able to minimize the gap between both legal and psychology allows the development and knowledge of the psychological makeup between two individual who has different biological makers and environmental influence to support or persuade an action of a crime to be committed though possible manipulation.

Sociopathic behavior has a relationship with evolutionary growth and design of the brain. Individuals’ essential feature refers to individuals with anti-social personality disorder in sociopathic behaviors having no regards for other peoples rights (Mohl, 2013). The focus of sociopathic behavior manifested in the violations of others rights by displaying forms of disrespect and no acknowledgment of their unlawful behaviors (Mohl, 2013). Some signs of sociopathic behaviors are aggressive activates, lying, evasion, and repeated theft (Mohl, 2013). This is not always the case and does not mean that every person who communicates these crimes are classified as sociopaths. The information can sometimes be confusing, but other factors play into the behavior such as being impulsive, recklessness and displaying anti-social personality disorder. Some signs of anti-social personality disorder are lack of fidelity, loyalty and the inability to develop an interpersonal relationship with other. There is a tendency to focus just on the behavioral profile of the sociopathic concepts, but other influences have to consider such as the socialization and etiology of genetic and environmental influences (Mohl, 2013). Moreover, the interactions within the integrated complexities of social stability and social network influences and modifies the consistency of young adults risk for committing crimes early on. This is troubling because according to Mohl (2013), individuals cannot be classified as sociopaths until the age of 18 which brings the question what facet early on can identify sociopathic behavior.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder is the social network between the socialization process expressed in various degree of severity (Ohk, Joo, Park, Yang, 2017). It is conceptualized as the exaggerated perception of oneself which can cause abnormal behaviors in social relations (Ohk et al., 2017). The abnormal behavior derived from receiving positive feedback during social events which can lead to aggressive behavior to others judgment and feedback. In recent years Ohk et al., (2017) researched the effects of social media which resulted in the founding of people with more than 5,000 falls under having a narcissistic personality by allowing social media to disrupt their life. The conceptual understanding of a Narcissistic behavior can be a contributing factor the criminal activity in order to adhere or influence other perception of their self. Examining the information of social behavior allows the internal repression of anger caused by sensitivity expressed and formed based on self-expression and feeling important. Therefore, the ability to have recognition is significant for a narcissist to process there importance and relevancy in a social setting or even in a criminal setting. Being accepted and liked can influence one’s ability to take the necessary action to receive the positive judgment from others.

Criminology and psychology have become the practitioner of understanding the relationship between behavior and law. It can be speculated through the themes and topic engaged in the community of forensic psychology. Reconceptualizing the understanding of psychology and law through the notion of victim and offender can allow a preplanned response before a crime has happened. According to Venales, Hall, Patrick (2014), anti-social behavior can lead to homicides through serial crimes. More specifically, criminological theory and recurring condition of the behavior of crime can lead to serial crimes and murders. The ideological concept of crime and psychology allows the study of forensic psychology and how the law can contribute or harm in rehabilitating mental ill individuals. The themes of behavior in direct correlation with sociopath and narcissist behavior allow the practitioner to research and investigate crimes and the position of the court in solving and rehabilitating these individuals. In addition, the practitioner is engaged in these topics because according to Venales et al., (2014) states that 90 percent of our prisons are filled with people who have the psychopathic trait and are psychopaths. There it is speculated in order to reduce personnel in prisons we must first understand how criminals think and what led to the action of the law created to keep good order and discipline. The answer cannot always be to separate them from society but to create treatment and have an understanding of the disorder.

There are many contemporary challenges that confront practitioners in the field of forensic psychology. Some challenges practitioners will have will be the written letter of the law. In other words, in recent years Lubaszka and Shon (2013) state the most difficult part of a trail is proving a theory in law when the fact is only allowed. Speculating is not allowed, and theory must be proven by science. This can be difficult because many psychological theories are a concept in development that may not have a lot of support factor at the time because of science is always evolving. In order to improve the service to clients or advance the understanding of practitioners in the field, there should be a law created to protect and govern the information a psychology professional put out in a courtroom. For example, the Rule of Evidence 702 guidelines helps psychology professional understand the rules of evidence in regards to information allowed and not allowed in court. As a scholar-practitioner, it would be good to know how to become a certified expert witness and having information that explains step by step. One of the issues being faced is after obtaining the degree what else is need to be classified as an expert witness. Having more resources at the graduate level showing the steps need to become a forensic psychologist and expert witness would be beneficial. Even reaching out the many professors it is still unclear on the step to take.

The topic that I would like to pursue in this class is to investigate further the assessments used to classify the understanding of criminal intent in psychopathic and sociopathic facets in the criminal justice system. I have been working on this research topic for over 4 years now, and I would like to come up with better ideas and to investigate further on the determining factors of going on trial with crimes psychopathic and sociopathic individual commit. In the same on how we charge children under seven with murder but cannot classify them as psychopathic and sociopathic until the age of 18. I understand that these are two topics, but I am really interested in understanding how the court system found a verdict of guilty for people with these facets.

References

Lubaszka, C. K., & Shon, P. C. (2013). Reconceptualizing the notion of victim selection, risk,

and offender behavior in healthcare serial murders. Journal of Criminal Psychology, 3(1),

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campuslibrary.rockies.edu/10.1108/20093821311307776

Mohl, A. S. (2013). Sociopathic behavior and its relationship to psychohistory. The Journal of

Psychohistory, 41(1), 2-13. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.proxy-

campuslibrary.rockies.edu/docview/1412594700?accountid=39364

Ohk, K., Joo, S., Park, K., & Yang, H. K. (2017). The effect of NPD on social network formation

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Venables, N. C., Hall, J. R., & Patrick, C. J. (2014). Differentiating psychopathy from antisocial

personality disorder: A triarchic model perspective. Psychological Medicine, 44(5), 1005-

13. doi:http://dx.doi.org.proxy-campuslibrary.rockies.edu/10.1017/S003329171300161X