Lesson 3
Sunday, 24 January 2021 18:07
Investigating mental illness and crime- Part 1
Did you know that homicide is among the leading causes of death amongst young people aged 15-29
in some countries.
Psychopathy
The personality of criminals
- Psychopaths have been called intraspecies predators- they seek vulnerable victims to use for
their own benefit.
- Sometimes they get what they want by being charming with their victims, while at other times
they use violence and intimidation to achieve their goals.
- Lacking a conscience and feelings for others satisfies their own selfish needs by praying on
others.
- Psychopaths are dominant, selfish and manipulative individuals who engage in impulsive and anti-
social acts and who feel no remorse or shame or behaviour that often has negative impacts on
others.
Five-factor model of personality
Many criminals share a number of thought processes but also show a number of common
personality traits as well.
Psychologist use the term 'personality' specifically to describe the innate characteristics of a
person's thinking, their feeling, as well as their behaviour.
(we must not confuse this with a TV personality or a celebrity)
In psychology, everyone has a personality that can be studied and measured.
When talking about the personality traits of criminals, we refer to the aspects of personality that
everyone shares to some degree, but with which in criminals are, on average, more exaggerated.
#1 Openness -creative, original, open to new ideas
#2 Conscientiousness -dependable, systematic, punctual, well-organised, success orientated
#3 Extraversion -outgoing, talkative, sociable
#4 Agreeableness -kind, warm, sensitive, trusting, tolerant
#5 Neuroticism -moody, temperamental, anxious, irritable
Research shows that criminals are more extraverted and neurotic than law-abiding in terms of the
general population.
Criminal personality traits
People differ on thinking if fate rules their lives or whether they have some control over what
happens to them.
Psychologists call the dominant influence on someone's life the 'locus of control'.
Research has identified criminals not taking responsibility for their actions as having an
External locus of control:
Criminals lack responsibility for their behaviour.
Criminals claiming that his acting are indeed someone else's fault.
The research results are not very clear cut on this, however because some criminals are the
opposite and believe they have the right to take what they want, they indeed think they are
creating their own destiny.
Forensic Psycholgy Page 1
,
Forensic Psycholgy Page 2
Sunday, 24 January 2021 18:07
Investigating mental illness and crime- Part 1
Did you know that homicide is among the leading causes of death amongst young people aged 15-29
in some countries.
Psychopathy
The personality of criminals
- Psychopaths have been called intraspecies predators- they seek vulnerable victims to use for
their own benefit.
- Sometimes they get what they want by being charming with their victims, while at other times
they use violence and intimidation to achieve their goals.
- Lacking a conscience and feelings for others satisfies their own selfish needs by praying on
others.
- Psychopaths are dominant, selfish and manipulative individuals who engage in impulsive and anti-
social acts and who feel no remorse or shame or behaviour that often has negative impacts on
others.
Five-factor model of personality
Many criminals share a number of thought processes but also show a number of common
personality traits as well.
Psychologist use the term 'personality' specifically to describe the innate characteristics of a
person's thinking, their feeling, as well as their behaviour.
(we must not confuse this with a TV personality or a celebrity)
In psychology, everyone has a personality that can be studied and measured.
When talking about the personality traits of criminals, we refer to the aspects of personality that
everyone shares to some degree, but with which in criminals are, on average, more exaggerated.
#1 Openness -creative, original, open to new ideas
#2 Conscientiousness -dependable, systematic, punctual, well-organised, success orientated
#3 Extraversion -outgoing, talkative, sociable
#4 Agreeableness -kind, warm, sensitive, trusting, tolerant
#5 Neuroticism -moody, temperamental, anxious, irritable
Research shows that criminals are more extraverted and neurotic than law-abiding in terms of the
general population.
Criminal personality traits
People differ on thinking if fate rules their lives or whether they have some control over what
happens to them.
Psychologists call the dominant influence on someone's life the 'locus of control'.
Research has identified criminals not taking responsibility for their actions as having an
External locus of control:
Criminals lack responsibility for their behaviour.
Criminals claiming that his acting are indeed someone else's fault.
The research results are not very clear cut on this, however because some criminals are the
opposite and believe they have the right to take what they want, they indeed think they are
creating their own destiny.
Forensic Psycholgy Page 1
,
Forensic Psycholgy Page 2
