Kenneth Padowitz - Fort Lauderdale Criminal Defense Attorney

Psychopathy & Altruism | Opposite Ends of the Spectrum

Biological Basis of Psychopathy and Altruism Origins of Social and Antisocial Behavior Psychopathy is a personality disorder believed to be affecting 1-2% of the world's population. Those afflicted have certain personality characteristics: Shallow emotions, superficial charm, impulsiveness, and lacking any empathy or remorse, often leading to antisocial behaviors and criminal activity. The general consensus among psychologists is that most people fall towards the center of a continuum of personality traits, with the extreme cases on opposite ends. Considering one extreme to be those psychopathic [...]

Psychopathy & Altruism | Opposite Ends of the SpectrumKenneth Padowitz2024-08-15T14:31:29+00:00

Hare’s Idea of a Psychopath

What Is A Psychopath? Psychopath is a term used to describe a person with a certain cluster of psychological, interpersonal, and neurophysiological traits, distinguishing them from the rest of the population. Robert Hare, an expert in psychopathy, describes these individuals as: "...social predators who charm, manipulate, and ruthlessly plow their way through life, leaving a broad trail of broken hearts, shattered expectations, and empty wallets. Completely lacking in conscience and empathy, they selfishly take what they want and do as they please, violating social [...]

Hare’s Idea of a PsychopathKenneth Padowitz2024-08-15T14:23:28+00:00

DUI & DWI | Fatal Car Accident

Probabilities Of a Fatal Car Accident The Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs publishes peer-reviewed research studies and review articles with various topics involving alcohol and other illicit substances. In an article written by Eduardo Romano and his colleagues titled Drugs and Alcohol: Their Relative Crash Risk, the effects drugs and alcohol on the probability of being involved in a fatal car accident are compared. Two studies were conducted with the help of data from the U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the [...]

DUI & DWI | Fatal Car AccidentKenneth Padowitz2024-08-15T14:13:02+00:00

Association with Anti-Social Peers Inversely Related to DUI

Most research on drunk driving tends to come from various social science communities focused on driving safety or substance abuse. Most individuals do not perceive a DUI as they would a normal "street crime"; and as a result there is very little research looking at the criminological concepts. Alcohol is seen as a social lubricant and its use is widespread in our culture. Driving under the influence often begins with attendance of a sporting event, having drinks at a bar, or just meeting some [...]

Association with Anti-Social Peers Inversely Related to DUIKenneth Padowitz2024-08-15T14:04:18+00:00

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

About Kenneth Padowitz