Kenneth Padowitz - Fort Lauderdale Criminal Defense Attorney

Alfred Binet: A Founding Father of Modern Forensic Psychology

The Life of Alfred Binet Alfred Binet has made significant contributions within the field of psychology, although most of his research did not gain the popularity it deserved. He is most recognized for his development of the first standardized intelligence test, even though for most of his career he was focused on many other areas. The purpose of this paper is to explore the life of Alfred Binet up until his death, going into greater detail in many areas of his research, how he [...]

Alfred Binet: A Founding Father of Modern Forensic PsychologyKenneth Padowitz2024-08-15T13:15:13+00:00

Alcohol & Mind Wandering | DUI

Alcohol has been shown to be one of the leading causes of fatal car accidents; around 58% of drivers involved in fatal crashes were found to be driving under the influence of alcohol in a research review article. An article written by Michael Sayette and colleagues in Psychological Science, suggests a factor contributing to the commonality of DUI arrests: mind wandering. What is Mind Wandering? Mind wandering can be defined as an experience in which an individual is unable to focus on a single [...]

Alcohol & Mind Wandering | DUIKenneth Padowitz2024-08-01T01:04:50+00:00

Energy Drinks, Alcohol, and DUI

A Comparison of the Combined-Use of Alcohol & Energy Drinks to Alcohol-Only on High-Risk Drinking and Driving Behaviors Energy Drinks Since the introduction of the first energy drinks, their marketing and sale has grown exponentially. In 2006 alone, more than 500 new energy drinks were introduced to the market resulting in billions of dollars in profit. Energy drink manufacturers share similar marketing techniques with the alcohol industry, largely aiming to advertise to young adults between 18 and 24. The sizes of energy drink [...]

Energy Drinks, Alcohol, and DUIKenneth Padowitz2024-08-01T00:50:25+00:00

Police Enforcement Intensity & DUI

Various articles have been written exploring the associations between increased police activities and a reduction in DUI related crashes and fatalities. A review by James Fell and colleagues attempted to quantitatively measure increased policing efforts and determine if there was a relationship or reduction in DUI's and DUI's resulting in crash or jury; number of checkpoints, special DUI/DWI patrols, and arrests are all variables that were considered in the analysis. Various other law enforcement strategies were considered: specific deterrence, general deterrence, highly visible traffic [...]

Police Enforcement Intensity & DUIKenneth Padowitz2024-08-01T00:22:15+00:00

Fundamental Attribution Error and Criminal Behaviors

What is the Fundamental Attribution Error? The fundamental attribution error is a term, which refers to the common human error in which people tend to underestimate situational influences and overestimate individual personality factors, when explaining behavior. Even though most research on crime favors the view that both personality and situational factors play a mutual role in determining behavior, most people neglect to realize or acknowledge this. The fundamental attribution error tends to only apply when making attributions about others. When explaining our own [...]

Fundamental Attribution Error and Criminal BehaviorsKenneth Padowitz2024-08-01T00:13:55+00:00

Juvenile Delinquency | Theories and Risk Factors

Although some individuals may be born with a predisposition to violence or criminal behavior, the general consensus among forensic psychologists is that in the majority of cases, beginning at birth, a child is exposed to various risk factors that contribute to the development of antisocial behaviors and juvenile offending. Juvenile delinquency will be explored in greater detail in terms of the reasons for antisocial behavior and any measures that can be taken to prevent an offending trajectory; beginning with the relevant statistics pertaining to [...]

Juvenile Delinquency | Theories and Risk FactorsKenneth Padowitz2024-07-30T13:58:04+00:00

Crimes of Obedience

In a previous post, we discussed a psychological term, the fundamental attribution bias, and were able to determine how it affects the way people make judgments about others. To recap, the fundamental attribution error is a term, which refers to the common human error in which people tend to underestimate situational influences and overestimate individual personality factors, when explaining behavior. This post will focus on the phenomenon of crimes of obedience, which is defined as: an act performed in response to orders from authority that [...]

Crimes of ObedienceKenneth Padowitz2024-07-29T20:21:07+00:00

Capgras Syndrome | Is Delusion a Defense?

Capgras Syndrome Capgras syndrome is a delusional disorder, which results in those afflicted believing an impostor has replaced someone or something close to them. Capgras syndrome (CS) is one of four variations of delusional misidentification syndrome, a group of disorders in which the identity of someone or something close to the patient is believed to have changed. Capgras syndrome, the focus of this post, will be explored in greater detail in terms what it may be like to live with this condition and will [...]

Capgras Syndrome | Is Delusion a Defense?Kenneth Padowitz2024-07-29T20:16:14+00:00

Is Identification Reliable?

Eyewitness Testimony: Identification One of the main goals for law enforcement is to solve crimes; police strive to "clear" these crimes. They have a much higher chances of clearing the crime if the offender is caught within a few minutes, or an eyewitness provides specific information that is considered relevant to the case. Researchers have shown that if neither of these are available to police, there is less than a 10% chance that the crime will be solved, or "cleared". This is the first of many [...]

Is Identification Reliable?Kenneth Padowitz2024-07-29T20:09:31+00:00

Risk Factors For Criminal Behavior | A Child’s Preschool Experience

Preschool Experience Over the last forty years or so, children have been gradually shifting from parental home care, to nursery school or other types of day care. The percentage of mothers with children under the age of 6, and working full time jobs outside of the home, increased from 12% in 1947, to over 70% as of today. About 15-20% of these children are actually in two or more different forms of day care throughout the week. Due to the high employment turnover and [...]

Risk Factors For Criminal Behavior | A Child’s Preschool ExperienceKenneth Padowitz2024-07-29T20:05:00+00:00

About Kenneth Padowitz