Report - Differential psychology and personalized medicine in criminology

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“Diifferential psychology and personalized medicine in criminology”

Contents

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Report - Differential psychology and personalized medicine in criminology

Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................4

Introduction......................................................................................................................................5

Discussion........................................................................................................................................6

Social learning theory and Differential Psychology....................................................................6

Contribution of Philosophers and Psychologists in Differential Psychology..............................8

Personalized healthcare in Criminology....................................................................................10

Different Factors in Differential Psychology.............................................................................12

Ethical Challenges and Code of Conduct during Criminal Profiling.........................................16

Safety and Protection..............................................................................................................18

Social, Physical and Intellectual Well-being..........................................................................18

Informed Consent of Criminals..............................................................................................19

Confidentiality and Secrecy...................................................................................................20

References.....................................................................................................................................23

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List of Figures

Figure 1 showing crime pattern analysis and its link with social and demographic analysis

Figure 2 showing contribution of different external and internal factors defining individual

behavior

Figure 3 showing differential diagnosis and treatment optimization for differential psychology in

criminology

Figure 4 showing different steps towards personalized psychological healthcare

Figure 5 showing relationship between Age of criminal and Crimes per 100 population in US in

2009

Figure 6 showing relationship between age and all crimes committed in US in 2009

List of Tables

Table 1 showing different types that can be obtained for better assessment of individual records

of a criminal

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Executive Summary

As the field of psychology evolves, criminal psychologists can use techniques of differential

psychology and personalized medicine for better understanding of criminals’ personality, and to

profile and classify them accordingly. Human behaviors are intricate and cannot be measured by

same parameters. The criminology studies must therefore be aligned with the modern

methodologies of crime investigation and personality assessment. This research paper is focused

on the main variances that exist among individuals in terms of their responses to different stimuli

and how differential psychology as well as personalized medicine can help in better

understanding of the criminal personality. This information based on variation can be used for

better criminal classification and profiling in criminology studies. Through this paper, the major

individual differences that normally exist between individuals and how these differences can lead

to a unique profiling of that individual have been pinpointed. Therefore, the report aims to

analyze how all these main variances are able to affect the responses given by a person to a

stimulus, and how psychologists can use this information for criminal profiling.  At the end, this

paper also discusses the main ethics related to the criminal psychological research and criminal

profiling.

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Introduction

Psychology states that differences among individuals exist in terms of their reaction time,

emotional intelligence, preferences, temperament and other factors, which leads to unique

profiling for each individual (Lamiell, 1981). Human behavior is known to be intricate and

cannot be measured or analyses by using the same parameters (Whitley, et al., 2010). For better

understanding and categorization of criminal behavior, it is important that criminology studies

are aligned with the modern methods of personality assessment and crime investigation (Lamiell,

1981).

Figure 1 showing crime pattern analysis and its link with social and demographic analysis

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Traditional criminal profiling has been carried out based on a number of different factors. These

factors include childhood trauma, financial stress, family background and dynamics, age, gender,

emotional intelligence and similar factors (Sutin, et al., 2010). These factors are known to play a

defining role in development of the criminals’ personalities (Weiss, et al., 2009).

In psychology, an individual can differ in terms of his/her reaction time, preferences,

temperament, emotional intelligence, sex, and other factors. Criminal profiling can be employed

for the accurate personality assessment of pedophiles and juvenile sex offenders as well (Weiss,

et al., 2009).

Therefore, in light of knowledge gained through the personality assessment and classification of

criminals, the concept of personalized medicine can be applied for treating the psychological

disorders of criminals which perpetrate them to commit heinous crimes.  Apart from that, it is

also essential to take care of different relevant ethics which are linked to the methods, procedures

and activities involved in the criminal psychological research, along with other matters

pertaining to confidentiality and privacy of the criminal (Weiss, et al., 2009).

Discussion

Social learning theory and Differential Psychology

A very important and relevant theory that is often considered during criminal profiling is the

“Social learning theory. This unique theory has also been referred to as the criminological theory

as it combines different basic guidelines and principles of sociology with the tenets of behavioral

psychology. The researcher and psychologist who incepted this theory is Edwin Sutherland in the
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year 1939, was a renowned sociologist who related the human behavior with his life experiences.

He argued that a person’s social experiences determine his engagement in a particular crime

(Whitley, et al., 2010).

An important aspect of Social learning theory is that criminal behavior is dependent on different

types of social interaction of the criminal with the people he/she meets. Therefore, the attitudes

of people, their behavior towards the criminal and different positive and negative experiences of

a person shape his/her personality. Moreover, the social interaction impacts a person according

to the frequency, duration, and period of life of the criminal. Childhood experiences have been

reported to be more linked with the negative effects on a person’s actions (Whitley, et al., 2010).

Figure 2 showing contribution of different external and internal factors defining individual

behavior

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Psychologists have found out that different experiences or trauma during childhood change the

person’s perspective for whole life. It has also been proven that a child who has been abused

during his/her childhood is more likely to become a child abuser in his/her life. There the

attitudes and experiences gathered by the criminal define his/her behavior (Whitley, et al., 2010).

Contribution of Philosophers and Psychologists in Differential Psychology 

Theoretical and applies psychologists and philosophers have been concerned with differential

psychology for the past several years. Several models have been proposed for the purpose of

determining individual and collective personality traits. These models include Plato’s personality

trait description, Theophrastus’ descriptive taxonomy that organized individuals based on

“characters”, biological personality models, Hippocrates/Galen four temperaments and Wundt’s

two dimensional model (Revelle, Wilt, & Condon, 2011).

Through these means, the general psychological processes that apply to all individuals can be

determined through the use of differential psychology methods. While several other methods are

available, the easiest and most relevant method to this research is the use of lexical and self-

report methods completed on paper-based or computer-based forms that have been prepared by

psychologists (Bonta & Andrews, 2016).

Bonta & Andrews (2016) have focused on criminal conduct based on the following needs and

risks: biological basis of criminal behavior, antisocial personality pattern, role of procriminal

associates and attitudes, social context of individual (family, marital, school, work, leisure,

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recreation and neighborhood), as well as substance abuse history (Bonta & Andrews, 2016).

This categorization as well as those determined through an in-depth theoretical review can allow

determination of the major differential psychology factors that need to be studied for the purpose

of criminal categorization and profiling (Bonta & Andrews, 2016).

While dealing with the criminals of different nature, it is important to first consult the studies and

researches on the criminals of similar behavior to assess the responses of a criminal. Various

individual differences can help in understanding and distinguishing criminals successfully

(Chamorro-Premuzic & Furnham, 2006). A detailed analysis done through different case studies

and personality assessment of famous criminals done by famous psychologists shows that

differential psychology can surely make a difference during solving cases(Chamorro-Premuzic &

Furnham, 2006).  

It can be cumbersome and challenging to carry out criminal profiling without pre-hand

knowledge regarding criminal psychology. Various factors like childhood trauma, family

situation, financial stress, emotional intelligence, age, gender, and other variables can play a

defining role during personality development of criminals (Bonta & Andrews, 2016). Therefore,

it is important to apply the concepts of differential psychology while carrying out crime

investigation, in order to be able to connect the dots and analyze patterns in criminal’s behavior

(Bonta & Andrews, 2016).

As the field of psychology evolves, criminal psychologists can use techniques of differential

psychology and personalized medicine for better understanding of criminals’ personality, and to

profile and classify them accordingly. In my opinion, use of personalized medicine can open

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great avenues and bring new hopes for the world of justice, since the crime rate might be

controlled through use of such medicine by the criminals. Therefore, personality psychology and

behavioral genetics can help us in identifying the cure for criminals and abate the crime rate

(Bonta & Andrews, 2016).

Personalized healthcare in Criminology 

Personalized medicine is a relatively new concept that stems from the differing needs of

individuals, their health, requirements and management of disease or predisposition (NHS

England, 2019). This model separates individuals into separate groups that are based on medical

decisions, interventions, practices or products that are tailored to meet the needs of the specific

group (Science Daily, 2019).

Criminal psychology can make use of differential psychology and personalized medicine to form

categories of individuals and criminals based on several known and new factors that may

influence criminal behavior in individuals (Bonta & Andrews, 2016).

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Figure 3 showing differential diagnosis and treatment optimization for differential psychology in

criminology

Moreover, different therapeutic strategies have also been devised for the personalized medicine

and overall healthcare of criminals lately (Weston & Hood, 2004). However, there is a pressing

need to incorporate different arenas of science including genomics, systems biology, proteomics,

and predictive, medicine to ensure that the medicine can be customized and personalized

according to the nature of the criminals by the criminal psychologists (Sathyanarayana,2007).

This personalized healthcare must rely on the scientific and logical approaches so that different

genetic markers can help in the accurate prediction of the response and side effects shown by the

criminal (Sathyanarayana,2007).

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Figure 4 showing different steps towards personalized psychological healthcare

Different Factors in Differential Psychology

Previous studies have tried to differentiate criminal based on different factors. Study by

Schmideberg (1947) focused on individuals drawn to crime in the following categories: ordinary

men driven to crime due to external circumstances; irresistible impulse of an individual; neurotic

criminals driven to crime due to irresistible and unconscious forces; a genuine criminal who

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takes pride in crime; and mental deficiency or organic illness in individuals. (Sathyanarayana,

2007).

Recent studies focusing on criminal categorization and profiling focus on the following

categories of individual who are drawn to crime, based on a study of prisoners facing charges:

marital status, age grouping, primary level education, employment status and parental marital

status has been found to trigger significant offenses, which reoccur if the individual is released

(Mundia, Matzin, Mahalle, Hamid, & Osman, 2016). The research further delves into

personalized medicine which states that prisoner intervention through education, counseling and

psychotherapy can significantly help treat mental problems as well as the criminal behavior

induced by sociodemographic behavior in individuals (Bonta & Andrews, 2016).

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Figure 5 showing relationship between Age of criminal and Crimes per 100 populations in US in

2009

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

Factors that need to be studied in terms of their relevance to criminal profiling and categorisation

include the history of criminal behavior in the family. This is because research has shown in the

past that individuals who had criminal behavior in the family or people from the same family

were more likely to commit crimes.

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Figure 6 showing relationship between age and all crimes committed in US in 2009

Mednick, Gabrielli, and Hutchings (1984) studied sets of twins, which showed that there was a

50% concordance in identical twins committing crimes despite being separated and 21% chances

in fraternal twins. These genetic influences on criminal behavior are also fundamental for

criminal profiling and personalized medicine for different individuals involved in criminal

behaviors.

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Table 1 showing different types that can be obtained for better assessment of individual records

of a criminal

Ethical Challenges and Code of Conduct during Criminal Profiling

Criminal profiling is indeed a challenging task since the interaction with criminals is one of the

most challenging tasks for the psychologists (Mandal et al., 2011). The nature of criminal and the

crimes they have committed in the past determines the degree of risk during this interaction.

Asking too personal questions or asking any particular detail which might enrage the criminal,

can lead to bad consequences for the criminal psychologist (Twist et al., 2014).

There are a few specific ethical codes of conduct that a psychologist has to keep in mind during

interrogating the criminals issues (Mandal et al., 2011). There are certain instances where a

question asks like an emotional trigger for the psychologist being interrogated, due to which the

criminal starts getting abusive and aggressive (Twist et al., 2014). This will cause a big hurdle

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during criminal profiling for the psychologist. This will in turn lead to failure of criminal

profiling of that particular criminal. Therefore, the criminal psychologists have to take measures

while getting any sort of information during the process of criminal profiling of the criminals

(Mandal et al., 2011).

Ethical conduct and regulations regarding researching with human beings plays a primary role in

science (Vanclay et al., 2013). The human beings that are involved in a psychological research as

participants must be able to confide in and rely on the researchers. Scientific research can be

carried out only by sticking to the necessary research ethics while dealing with the participants of

research (Mandal et al., 2011). Violation of these ethics has a negative impact on the society

since can lead to harm of participants, misreporting, falsification of the scientific facts and

compromise of the participants’ basic human rights. Not complying with the ethical code of

conduct can lead to different issues (Mandal et al., 2011).

 In order to avoid a conflict with the basic human rights during criminal profiling, different codes

of ethics have been set by the relevant authorities and regulatory bodies (Twist et al., 2014).

American Psychological Society and British Psychological Society have set basic code of

conduct for the researchers in order to ensure that the safety and protection of the participants in

psychological research is guaranteed (Vanclay et al., 2013). Therefore, the field of criminal

psychology has a set of defined and distinct rules pertaining to the psychological research carried

out on human beings (Mandal et al., 2011). 

The essential and crucial ethical code related to the practice of criminal psychological research

on human beings include the basic ethical principles like the informed consent of the criminal,

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the beneficence of the criminal so he/she is safe from any possible danger, respect for

confidentiality of the criminal and the respect for privacy of the criminal involved in the research

(Vanclay et al., 2013).

Safety and Protection

The first ethical conduct pertaining to criminal psychological research on human beings is that

the methodology of research adopted for criminal profiling, must be able to protect the

participant’s life as far as possible (Vanclay et al., 2013). Therefore, the criminal psychologist

has to check whether the method being adopted for criminal profiling is entirely safe for the

criminal or not (Alfano et al., 2012). It is the ethical responsibility of the criminal psychologist

to first evaluate, compare and measure risks of the experiment or research being done in order to

categorize the criminal (Alfano et al., 2012). The research and the process of criminal profiling

must be designed in a way so that the criminal who is being considered is exposed to minimum

risk at hands of the psychologist. The research should be focused on yielding maximum findings

and benefits. However, the damage of the human beings involved in the research must be

avoided at any cost (Twist et al., 2014). 

Social, Physical and Intellectual Well-being

A possible risk involved in the criminal psychological research is that the research might affect

the social, physical, and psychic aspects of the participant. The criminal or the subject must not

be put under an undue amount of pressure to carry out the research (Alfano et al., 2012). The

moral and intellectual well-being should also be considered, apart from the physical well-being

of the criminal. Moreover, the spiritual wellness of the criminal should also be unaffected after

the research. This is because in case these ethical codes are not followed, then the consequent

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damage of the research may affect the individual permanently or have long term effects for his

life after the scientific research has been conducted (Twist et al., 2014).

Informed Consent of Criminals

Moreover, the human beings involved in the research should be informed regarding any possible

risks beforehand. This is important to take the participant under confidence and tell him/her

regarding any possible side effects of the psychology research. The reason behind taking these

precautions is the fact that the research might reveal a new aspect or information to the

participant, and therefore the risks should be measured. A psychological research may reveal a

controversial finding to the participant that could affect him psychologically or socially (Twist et

al., 2014). 

A prominent example of the risk involved in criminal psychological studies is the research

carried out on the possible perpetuators of domestic violence (Twist et al., 2014). In a research

based on a sensitive and controversial matter, the identification of different forms of abuse is

quite high. Therefore, many ethical dilemmas are faced by the researchers in this regard. The

psychological research that can lead to any sort of damage and consequence must be avoided by

the researchers (Alfano et al., 2012).

The principle of informed consent holds an important place in criminal psychology research. The

criminals must be first asked or invited to take part in the psychological research. Only after they

sign an agreement or show their will, they should be involved in the specific psychological

research (Twist et al., 2014). This is the main and preliminary ethical foundation of criminal

psychological research. This implies that the criminal must have the freedom or will to either

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accept or decline to participate in the research.  This gives the participant his/her due autonomy

in the cases where the research might seem controversial or risky to the participant (Alfano et al.,

2012).

In case of juvenile criminals especially juvenile pedophiles, the parents of a child or his/her legal

guardian has a right to make this decision on their behalf.  The decision must be taken in the

benefit of the subject. The decision taken by the parents should be in the best interest of the

subject. The cases of domestic violence cases and sexual abuse in many families are due to the

involvement of one’s own family member. Therefore, the criminal psychologist must calculate

all the risks and evaluate the situation before heading out with the research (Alfano et al., 2012).

In such controversial researches, the involvement of the victim may lead to an aggressive

response by the perpetrator who might hurt the victim (Twist et al., 2014). Therefore, before

obtaining consent from a child, it is important to check whether the child is close with the family

or not. The family must be healthily united and close, so that the decision made by parents is in

the best interests of the child (Alfano et al., 2012).

Confidentiality and Secrecy

The secrecy of the criminal is extremely important in order to ensure the safety of the criminal.

The main aim of criminal profiling should be to help the law enforcement in identifying the ways

of crimes being committed and to minimize the incidences of crime (Sathyanarayana, 2007).

However, any information obtained during criminal profiling must be highly confidential

information and must be within access of only relevant law enforcement professionals.

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If the results of the research are being published, then the name of criminal must be kept

anonymous and all the personal information of the criminal should be kept confidential. 

However, many different situations may arise in which the controversies related to the topic of

research may perplex the research and challenge this ethical code of conduct (Alfano et al.,

2012). In the cases of child abuse, domestic violence and rapes, the criminals often prefer to keep

themselves hidden and secret. Moreover, in such sensitive matters, protection of the identity of

the criminal should be considered if the criminal’s life is at high risk (Sathyanarayana, 2007).

This is because revealing their name and information might put them under danger. This can risk

their life and this would be against the ethical code of conduct pertaining to criminal psychology.

Therefore, in the cases where violence or conflict is involved, this ethical code of conduct

provides the needed protection to the participants of the research (Alfano et al., 2012). 

Debriefing

An important ethical principle linked with criminal psychological research is debriefing. By

debriefing, it means that the criminals or perpetuators of a crime must be informed regarding the

aim of the research after the psychologist has made observations. They should be explained

regarding the objective of study and also the tests that were conducted during the study (Vanclay

et al., 2013). 

 This can be thought of the explanation of the research purpose to the participant after observing

their certain behaviors. It can be in the written or verbal form.  The researcher may summarize

the project’s purpose to the participant. Moreover, the goals of the study can also be explained to

the participant so that they have a choice whether they want to continue being a part of the

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research or not. This principle is important since if the consent is taken before observing the

participant, then the criminal might consciously behave differently and this can compromise the

validity of the criminal psychological research. This can also lead to misreporting or falsification

of the theory being tested (Vanclay et al., 2013). 

Conclusion 

 Therefore, it can be summarized that through a detailed in-depth study of the sociodemographic,

genetic and economic factors that may have influenced criminal behavior in individuals and its

analysis based on differential psychology, it is possible to form personalized cure for different

groups of individuals that have been determined. Criminal psychology studies can help in

solving the enigma linked with the impact of various external and internal factors with crime

rates all over the world.

During criminology studies, it is extremely essential for the psychology researchers to abide by

the above explained ethics pertaining to the psychological research. The methods, processes,

techniques, and theories must be checked for their possible risks beforehand. The criminal

psychologists and researchers must follow different ethical principles since they guarantee the

safety of the participants. The compliance to these defined ethical principles ensures the progress

of research with a possibility of new developments in the field of criminology, along with

ensuring the safety of the participants involved in it. 

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References

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principles of psychologists and code of conduct. Retrieved from

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Alfano, S. L., Piedrahita, L. E., Uscinski, K. T., & Palma, G. I. (2012). Strengthening capacity

for human research protections: a joint initiative of Yale University, CIDEIM, and

UniValle. IRB, 34(5), 16–20. 

Bonta, J., & Andrews, D. A. (2016). The psychology of criminal conduct. Routledge.

Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & Furnham, A. (2006). Intellectual Competence and the Intelligent

Personality: A Third Way in Differential Psychology. Review of General Psychology, 10(3),

251–267.

Lamiell, J. T. (1981). Toward an idiothetic psychology of personality. American Psychologist,

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Mandal, J., Acharya, S., & Parija, S. C. (2011). Ethics in human research. Tropical

parasitology, 1(1), 2–3. doi:10.4103/2229-5070.72105 

Mundia, L., Matzin, R., Mahalle, S., Hamid, M. H., & Osman, R. S. (2016). Contributions of

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Revelle, W., Wilt, J., & Condon, J. M. (2011). Individual Differences and Differential

Psychology: A brief history and prospect. In T. Chamorro-Premuzic, A. Furnham, & S. Stumm,

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Weiss, A., Sutin, A., Duberstein, P., Friedman, B., Bagby, R., & Costa, P. J. (2009). The

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