Law and Crime

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In The Aftermath Of The Fort Hood Mass Shooting, A troubling Message

By Ugo Uche on November 7, 2009 in Promoting Empathy With Your Teen

There is a ubiquitous message we send to youths, over the ownership and use of guns in our society. That message is an eye for an eye.
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Fort Hood Fallout

By Sam Sommers on November 7, 2009 in Science Of Small Talk

Psychologists call it illusory correlation. The idea is that when we think about others, we tend to overestimate the association between groups and actions that are distinctive. It's one of the ways in which societal stereotypes are perpetuated and endure over time. And it's exactly what has many an American Muslim concerned in the wake of this week's tragic shooting spree at the Fort Hood Army base... Read More
Why violence?

By Carl Pickhardt, Ph.D. on November 6, 2009 in Surviving (Your Child's) Adolescence

We bloggers for Psychology Today were asked to write a something in the wake of the Ft. Hood shootings, perhaps in hopes our individual offerings might add a small piece to the puzzle of understanding the profound complexity of social violence. Here is what came to my mind. Read More
Not Just Another Shooting in the Hood

By Jim Silver on November 6, 2009 in Crimes, Courts and Cops

NOT JUST ANOTHER SHOOTING IN THE HOOD

The gruesome massacre at Fort Hood, Texas, the country's largest military base, raises an enormous number of questions, not the least important of which is: who will investigate and prosecute the alleged shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan?

I spoke with one of my law partners, Jeffrey Denner, who has tried numerous courts martial. Read More
How Do We Prevent Another Fort Hood?

By Steve Livingston on November 6, 2009 in Tinted Lenses

It is hard to know what to say about a tragic incident like the shootings which occurred at Fort Hood, Texas on Thursday. Indeed, it seems best to say very little until more facts are known, other than to unequivocally condemn the actions of the gunman and try to console the grieving comrades and families of the casualties. So what do we need to learn before we can prevent a similar tragedy? In this post, I consider the dangers of making rash conclusions and policy decisions. Read More
Murder, Malice, and Hope

By Gordon S. Livingston on November 6, 2009 in Lifelines

The fact is that we live in a murderous society. These mass killings are simply the worst examples. The United States has the highest homicide rate of any advanced democracy, nearly four times that of France and the United Kingdom.
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Fort Hood: Shrinks Are Not Crazier, But Less Treated

By Ira Rosofsky, Ph.D. on November 6, 2009 in Adventures in Old Age

Shrinks aren't crazier than the rest of us, only more likely to hide it, and treat themselves. Read More
Nidal Malik Hasan - and mammograms?

By Talya Miron-Shatz, Ph.D. on November 6, 2009 in Baffled by Numbers

How come it is so common to screen many, at enormous financial and mental cost, to save the lives of so few? And how come this reasoning is not applied to terror threats? Read More
Fort Hood: A rush to judgment

By Irene S. Levine, Ph.D. on November 6, 2009 in The Friendship Doctor

First they said he was dead; then they announced he was alive and in stable condition. Then there were reports that there were at least two accomplices---before we heard that there were none. Some reporters said he was a psychologist until they realized he was a psychiatrist. Read More
Fort Hood Tragedy: Making sense of it all without victimizing others

By Thomas Plante, PhD on November 6, 2009 in Do the Right Thing

The horrific news of Army Major and psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan killing 13 people and wounding 30 at Fort Hood that has dominated the press in the past 24 hours leaves us all asking the question, "why?" What would compel an officer in the Army who is also a medical doctor (a psychiatrist) trained to heal people to kill his fellow soldiers or anyone for that matter. Read More
Personal Identity of Kidnap Victims Following Rescue: Jaycee Dugard

By Katherine van Wormer, MSSW, Ph.D. on November 4, 2009 in Crimes of Violence

Jaycee Dugard will make a surprisingly positive adjustment to life after her 18 years of living as a kidnapped victim. Other predictions in the media have been dire. Since information is scarce and only time will tell, these predictions are all speculative. Here I simply want to look at some others of these strange cases.
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Why Don’t We Help? Less Is More, at Least When It Comes to Bystanders

By Melissa Burkley, Ph.D. on November 4, 2009 in The Social Thinker

On October 24th, 2009, as many as 20 witnesses watched as a 15 year old girl was brutally assaulted and raped outside a homecoming dance in Richmond, CA. Read More
The Marijuana Bill and Youth

By Jann Gumbiner, Ph.D. on November 3, 2009 in The Teenage Mind

City councils are cracking down on pot dispensaries. The city of Dana Point subpoenaed the patient lists from all of its local dispensaries. This decision was upheld by the Orange County courts. Is this a violation of doctor-patient privileged communication? Read More
How to Spot a Liar - Using the Comfort / Discomfort Model

By Joe Navarro, M.A. on November 2, 2009 in Spycatcher

Lie detection remains a very difficult process. Here I explain the Four Domain Model for detecting deception and the original article (with links) that appeared in the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. Read More
Mind Reader?

By Jim Silver on October 30, 2009 in Crimes, Courts and Cops

"Was the teacher in the second row taking notes when I was talking?"

"I'm pretty sure the retired guy in the front was nodding for that part."
"Is she just closing her eyes or is she actually sleeping?" Read More
Complexity, Coherence, and Halloween

By Dr. David Pincus on October 29, 2009 in The Chaotic Life

Halloween cleans our bodies, our minds and our spirits, and prepares us for the coming of traditions of goodness -like Thankgiving, Christmas (and other holidays), and the New Year. Read More
Shrieking or Stoic?: What You Should Do if Tortured

By Kurt Gray on October 28, 2009 in Minding Morality

A new study from Harvard University suggests that torture may not uncover guilt so much as lead to its perception. The key is how much pain the torture victim appears to feel. Read More
Searching for the Perfect Victim

By Sam Sommers on October 28, 2009 in Science Of Small Talk

In its most recent issue, Newsweek has a story on an ongoing string of unsolved murders in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. The victims in these cases have been poor, Black, and–in some instances at least–have had criminal records. Read More
The Little Girl Giant Puppet & Other Posts Too Short to Post

By Susan K. Perry, Ph.D. on October 25, 2009 in Creating in Flow

If you haven't yet come across the spellbinding video of the little girl giant puppet, check it out now. Referring to it, one blogger wrote about the "giant puppet rule of creativity." ... Read More
Gandhi, Bill Gates, and... Hannibal Lecter?: Creativity and Emotional Intelligence in all the Wrong Places

By James C. Kaufman, Ph.D. on October 23, 2009 in And All That Jazz

Constructs such as creativity and emotional intelligence are often considered part of Positive Psychology. They are seen, usually, as desirable and good traits. Yet there are many ways that people may use these abilities selfishly, or even, perhaps, evilly. Read More

Law and Crime Blogs

Crime Time
Justice for all.
By Robin Sax
Crimes and Misdemeanors
From sex to drugs, dissecting the human condition.
By Russell Eisenman, Ph.D.
Crimes of Violence
Analysis of high-profile crimes of violence of psychological significance
By Katherine van Wormer, MSSW, Ph.D.
Crimes, Courts and Cops
Jim Silver is a former Assistant United States Attorney.
By Jim Silver
Evil Deeds
A Forensic Psychologist on Anger, Madness and Destructive Behavior
By Dr. Stephen Diamond
Just Thinking
The role of judgment in justice
By Barbara A. Spellman
Minding the Law
Bridging Mind Sciences and Law
By Jon Hanson
Neurisprudence
The role of neuroscience in lawmaking, criminal punishment, and rehabilitation.
By David Eagleman and Jyotpal Singh
Riding the Alligator
Dispatches from the Frontlines of Law Enforcement (and Life)
By Tracy Ertl
Spycatcher
An ex-FBI agent on deception, espionage, interrogation, and reading people.
By Joe Navarro
Take All Prisoners
Inside the fence
By Marisa Mauro, Psy.D.
Terror Management
How death reminders shape our social behavior.
By Abdolhossein Abdollahi, Ph.D.
The Justice and Responsibility League
What makes for an upstanding citizen?
By Key Sun, Ph.D.

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