Psychology Archives - Page 5 of 6 - Fort Lauderdale Criminal Defense Attorney

Can You Use Kleptomania as a Defense For Shoplifting?

Can a person who is caught shoplifting claim temporary insanity by virtue of being kleptomaniac? Is kleptomania a good defense? Kleptomania is a medically recognized psychological disorder. It is an impulse control disorder that ultimately results in those afflicted having the uncontrollable urge to steal other people’s property. The kleptomaniac, unlike the routine shoplifter, does not typically steal for personal gain. This therefore begs the question, if people accused of more serious crimes committed due to a mental disorder can get away with an [...]

Can You Use Kleptomania as a Defense For Shoplifting?Kenneth Padowitz2024-07-29T17:41:51+00:00

Can Addiction Be Used as Legal Defense for Drug Possession Charges?

Recent medical and psychological studies have shown that there are neurophysiological mechanisms associated with drug addiction. The revelations have created a debate among legal theorists about whether or not addiction diminishes responsibility. While some agree with the theory, others claim that the studies do not involve coercion, compulsion, or irrationality that would excuse an addict from punishment for crimes committed under influence of drugs. The general argument is that in as much as addiction is a disease, addicts are responsible for their condition and [...]

Can Addiction Be Used as Legal Defense for Drug Possession Charges?Kenneth Padowitz2024-07-29T17:26:19+00:00

Fishing in Heraclitus’ River: An Examination of Criminal Psychology and Rehabilitation

Who was Heraclitus and why would his river have anything to do with criminal psychology or rehabilitation? Here’s an examination of some ideas that revolve around Heraclitus’ most famous saying, advances in criminal psychology and rehabilitation. Heraclitus, a Greek Philosopher Heraclitus was a Greek philosopher who said that we could never wade in the same river twice. He was referring, on one level, to the way water washes past the land and that the droplets that are there one moment are gone away downstream [...]

Fishing in Heraclitus’ River: An Examination of Criminal Psychology and RehabilitationKenneth Padowitz2024-07-29T17:19:59+00:00

Air Pollution and Violent Crime: Is There a Link?

Previously viewed as manifestation of evil, criminality is now being studied as a cause of prevalent factors in a criminal’s environment. There have been recent studies linking the increase of criminal elements with how it is being influenced by society. But a new study is putting the blame on a more chemical level – air pollution. Violent Crimes and Air Pollution – The Correlation The National Bureau for Economic Research, according to its recent study, is trying to make a link between the rise [...]

Air Pollution and Violent Crime: Is There a Link?Kenneth Padowitz2024-07-29T17:00:25+00:00

Displaced Aggression Theory | Road Rage

Displaced Aggression Theory What is Displaced Aggression? Displaced aggression can occur when someone cannot aggress towards the source of incitement or provocation, so instead takes it out on something else and behaves aggressively towards another individual that had nothing to do with the initial conflict. According to Bushman in a 2005 study, "Aggression is displaced when the target is innocent of any wrongdoing but is simply in the wrong place at the wrong time." The individual may need to constrain any aggression when dealing [...]

Displaced Aggression Theory | Road RageKenneth Padowitz2024-07-29T15:41:16+00:00

Forensics, Schools and Election Year

Even numbered years are usually election years, and 2018 is no exception. Among other offices under consideration this year are several openings in Parkland school board in Broward County. School board elections are not usually so heated, but this one reflects the emotional atmosphere left by the Parkland school shooting. A Little Background On February 14, 2018, troubled 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire in a high school in Parkland, Florida. Before his shooting spree was over, he murdered seventeen people and wounded seventeen others. [...]

Forensics, Schools and Election YearKenneth Padowitz2024-07-29T15:34:21+00:00

Veterinary Pathologists as Forensic Experts

What do an abused beagle and a battered wife have in common? Why would it be useful to have samples of confiscated black rhino horn and illegal ivory carvings? When is the death of a bald eagle a crime, and when is it a natural event? These questions and more can be answered by veterinary pathologists who act as forensic experts. Veterinary Forensics Dr. Melinda Merck, D.V.M., explains, “Vets are natural detectives. We have to figure it out … every time a patient comes [...]

Veterinary Pathologists as Forensic ExpertsKenneth Padowitz2024-07-29T15:18:39+00:00

Rational Choice as a Theory of Crime

Rational choice is a prominent theoretical model in many fields of research, though many criminologists continue to doubt its applicability as a general theory of crime. Much of this skepticism can be attributed to the over-simplification of the model, and the methodologies utilized when testing it in research. Rational choice theory is conceptually broader than many researchers believe it to be, and those who explore it often leave out important variables in their testing. Numerous studies have been conducted, the findings of which [...]

Rational Choice as a Theory of CrimeKenneth Padowitz2024-07-29T15:14:34+00:00

Cultural Influence On Crime

One can take many different stances when asked to determine the causes of criminal activity. One area of research that has been gaining popularity views crime as a product of the culture or subculture to which one belongs, rather than strictly blaming it on individual differences. In other words, enculturation plays an important role in the development of criminal behavior; this argument is supported by recent research that will be further discussed, and the disparity in rates of crime between different cultures and [...]

Cultural Influence On CrimeKenneth Padowitz2024-07-29T15:06:40+00:00

What Does Forensic Psychology Make of the Jacksonville Landing Shooting?

Anyone who has ever played a video game or been in the same house with people who do play is aware that player participation can become tense. But video game competitions aren’t usually on the list for sporting events that are likely to erupt into violence. But on a Sunday afternoon, August 26th of 2018, a young man from Baltimore created a “first” in video gaming. He used a handgun to open fire on the active players, murdering two and injuring many more. [...]

What Does Forensic Psychology Make of the Jacksonville Landing Shooting?Kenneth Padowitz2024-07-29T14:59:02+00:00