Battered Woman Syndrome: Understanding the Impact and Legal Implications

Battered Woman Syndrome (hereinafter "BWS") is a psychological condition that describes the mental and emotional state of women who have been subjected to prolonged domestic violence. First introduced by psychologist Lenore Walker in the late 1970s, BWS has since gained recognition both in the psychological community and in legal contexts. Understanding BWS is crucial for recognizing the complex dynamics of abusive relationships and the profound impact these relationships can have on victims. What is Battered Woman Syndrome? Battered Woman Syndrome is a subset of [...]

Battered Woman Syndrome: Understanding the Impact and Legal Implications2024-08-16T00:33:46+00:00

Parental Alienation Syndrome: Risk Factor for Criminal Conduct

Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) is a controversial and complex concept, initially coined by child psychiatrist Richard Gardner in the 1980s. It refers to a situation where one parent manipulates a child to reject the other parent, often in the context of contentious divorce or custody battles. The long-term psychological effects on children subjected to parental alienation have been a topic of extensive debate, but a growing body of evidence suggests that these effects can extend beyond emotional and mental health, potentially influencing criminal [...]

Parental Alienation Syndrome: Risk Factor for Criminal Conduct2024-08-20T17:14:50+00:00

Bipolar Disorder: The Highs and the Lows

Bipolar disorder ("BD") is a mental illness affecting people from different areas all over the world, in which a person experiences what many would call extreme mood fluctuations often for no apparent reason. Ranked seventh on the list of non-fatal illnesses, it is considered one of the most costly disorders to affect humans. This post will explore topics such as: the differences between BD I, BD II, and other similar mental illnesses such as borderline personality disorder and cyclothymic disorder, what it is like to [...]

Bipolar Disorder: The Highs and the Lows2024-08-15T15:42:08+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 Psychopath2024-08-15T14:23:28+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 Obedience2024-07-29T20:21:07+00:00

Deindividuation

Some of our recent discussions have been concerned with topics relating to how individuals tend to underestimate the role of environmental or situational influences on behavior, and to overestimate individual personality factors, when concerning other people. 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. We also looked at one example of the fundamental attribution error, crimes of obedience, which is defined as: [...]

Deindividuation2024-07-29T19:04:02+00:00

Study Review: Borderline Personality Disorder and Social-Cognitive Deficits

Those afflicted with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are characterized with a variety of cognitive and emotional deficits seen throughout life regarding the regulation of emotions, impulsivity, and maladaptive images of self and others. This often leads to a pattern of unstable interpersonal relationships. Early life trauma and genetics are theorized to play major roles in the development of this condition. Up until recently, research has mostly been focused on the neurophysiological abnormalities that may play a role in the disorder, particularly in the amygdala, [...]

Study Review: Borderline Personality Disorder and Social-Cognitive Deficits2024-07-29T18:53:47+00:00

Should We Be More Concerned With Prenatal Exposure In The Prevention Of Crime?

Crime and violence has existed throughout human history, and the search for answers as to what causes such behavior has lead to a variety of proposed theories. Criminal behavior is often associated with a variety of social and environmental risk factors that people are exposed to throughout life; lack of education, unstable family life and poverty are some of the most common examples. According to this perspective, crime is a result of a combination of these risk factors that people are exposed to in [...]

Should We Be More Concerned With Prenatal Exposure In The Prevention Of Crime?2024-07-29T18:45:55+00:00

Arguably Minor Misconducts That Were Given Major Punishments

The Strive for Fair Punishment There was a young man named Tony. At the age of 18, he met and fell in love with a girl whom his friends also knew. While they became really close, it did not occur to him to ask about her age. Their relationship became much deeper and consensual sex was one of the things that happened between them. Their sexually highlighted relationship was soon discovered by the girl’s dad. It became clear to Tony that he was having [...]

Arguably Minor Misconducts That Were Given Major Punishments2024-07-29T18:40:48+00:00

Emotional Extremes Of A Criminal Not Necessarily An Emotional Disorder

A lot of criminals or social offenders are characterized by quick changes in their moods, from extremely high to extremely low. These changes in moods can happen frequently — even within a single day of a criminal’s life. He or she may appear to be elated at one time, feeling that he or she is in control, but in a short span of time, will just snap out of it and become sad and bad-tempered. These quick changes in moods may be seen by [...]

Emotional Extremes Of A Criminal Not Necessarily An Emotional Disorder2024-07-29T18:24:01+00:00
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