Law and Crime

When Violence Demands that We Find a New Normal

By Ann Smith on April 23, 2013 in Healthy Connections

Like many Americans, I spent the past few days watching intensely as the ongoing coverage of the Boston terrorist attacks unfolded – culminating with the dramatic arrest of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in a family’s boat in Watertown, MA. As I did, many thoughts raced through my mind. Some thoughts were based on personal experience and others were simply a common human reaction. Read More

Why Do the Boston Marathon Bombings Make Me Feel Guilty?

By Sam Sommers on April 22, 2013 in Science Of Small Talk

Today marks the one-week anniversary of the start of a heartwrenchingly sad series of events here in Boston. Each in our own way, those of us who live in and around the city have bounced from sadness to fear to anger and back again. And as the one-week marks hits today, I’ve also found myself confronting a more surprising emotion: guilt. Read More

Why Hang Them Separately When We Can Hang Them Together?

By Jesse Marczyk on April 22, 2013 in Pop Psych

Sometimes associations alone can be enough to make you look guilty, even if you personally did nothing wrong. Read More

How We Interrogate

By Katherine Ramsland on April 22, 2013 in Shadow Boxing

How we interrogate suspects has been on everyone's mind since the Boston Marathon bombing suspect was arrested. It's imperative to handle him with best practices, but the most popular approach to interrogation relies on unsupported assumptions. Professor David A. Harris discusses issues with the Reid Technique. Read More

Saints and Terrorists

By Joseph Nowinski, Ph.D. on April 22, 2013 in The New Grief

One Person's Saint Can Be Another Person's Terrorist Read More

Helping Others Also Helps Us: Another Lesson from Boston

By Thomas G. Plante, Ph.D., ABPP on April 22, 2013 in Do the Right Thing

One of the many lessons learned from the horrific events in Boston during this past week associated with the bombings at the Boston Marathon is that helping others in need is a basic, positive, and rewarding need and experience. Perhaps we can all celebrate the goodness of others and find ways to keep that spirit going with or without a crisis at hand. Read More

Gratitude

By Nancy Rappaport, M.D. on April 21, 2013 in We Are Only Human

Despite the horrific events of this week and the lockdown, I am still filled with gratitude. Read More

The Mind Of The Boston Marathon Bombers

By Dale Archer, M.D. on April 21, 2013 in Reading Between the (Head)Lines

Is being a "loser" now a reason for terrorism and mass murder? Read More

She's Hot and Smart, He's Handsome and Intelligent

By Jack Schafer, Ph.D. on April 21, 2013 in Let Their Words Do the Talking

A genuine complement is not an invitation to carnal knowledge. Read More

Boston Marathon Bombers: The Dark Side of Sibling Support

By Avidan Milevsky, Ph.D. on April 20, 2013 in Band of Brothers, and Sisters

An important dimension to this tragic story which can help clarify some of the personal aspects of this event is the sibling relationship dynamics that produced this catastrophic outcome. Read More

Run for Your Life

By Kirby Farrell, Ph.D. on April 20, 2013 in A Swim in Denial

Fascination with the Boston Marathon terrorism is an emergency response to threat that looks different if you step back from the screaming sirens onscreen and in your gut. Here's a look at some of the basic issues buried in the overwhelming moment. Read More

Serial Killer Gets Prime Time Audience

By Katherine Ramsland on April 20, 2013 in Shadow Boxing

Healthcare serial killer Charles Cullen, who admitted to murdering nearly 30 patients in his care, is getting a significant media opportunity to justify his self-empowering violence as mercy-killing. Read More

Bombers or Bomb Threat Makers?

By Steve Albrecht, DBA on April 19, 2013 in The Act of Violence

Real bombers bomb. Bomb threat makers don't. Read More

Radicalization of Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

By Clark McCauley, Ph.D. on April 19, 2013 in Friction

Psychology of radicalization. Read More

Two Great Interviews on Bullying with Sue Eve Porter

By Izzy Kalman on April 19, 2013 in A Psychological Solution to Bullying

Susan Eva Porter, author of Bully Nation: Why America's Approach to Childhood Aggression is Bad for Everyone, is an important spokesman for what's wrong with the crusade against bullies. You can watch/listen to two excellent interviews she has recently done. Read More

Being Present for Our Children During Tragedy

By John T. Chirban, Ph.D, Th.D. on April 19, 2013 in The Age of Un-Innocence

Children experience the impact of social upheaval and terror more acutely than adults, yet they often fall into the backdrop as adults manage their fear and anxiety. Read More

Terrorist Followers

By Deborah Schurman-Kauflin, Ph.D. on April 19, 2013 in Disturbed

A brief review of the terrorist follower mindset Read More

The Boston Bombing and the War Against Evil

By Dale Archer, M.D. on April 19, 2013 in Reading Between the (Head)Lines

It's not the gun, knife or bomb, rather the person behind the act. Read More

Boston Marathon--great surveillance too much surveillance?

By Stuart Fischoff, Ph.D. on April 19, 2013 in The Media Zone

We all want to help reduce crime and terrorism. But there is danger in forgetting that a policed state bursting with surveillance technology, despite the best intentions, is a menace itself. Read More

Psychologists and Torture: Accountability Still Awaits

By Roy Eidelson, Ph.D. on April 18, 2013 in Dangerous Ideas

The Constitution Project's Task Force Report on Detainee Treatment documents that psychologists were involved in the design and implementation of interrogation techniques that constituted torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. A serious and thorough accounting is long overdue and indispensable in order to restore the ethical foundations of the profession. Read More

Essential Reads: Editor's Picks

What is Your Crime IQ?
by Steve Albrecht, DBA
Most Sex Offenders Against Children Are Family Members
by Key Sun, Ph.D.
Despite Popular Opinion, Psychopaths Can Show They Care
by Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D.

Law and Crime Blogs

Crime, She Writes
Breaking down the evidence, one crime at a time
By Cathy Scott
Disturbed
Criminal profiling and the deviant mind
By Deborah Schurman-Kauflin, Ph.D.
Evil Deeds
A forensic psychologist on anger, madness and destructive behavior.
By Dr. Stephen Diamond
Friction
How radicalization happens to them and us
By Sophia Moskalenko, Ph.D. and Clark McCauley, Ph.D.
Frontpage Forensics
Law and order from the couch
By Helen M. Farrell, M.D.
Inside the Criminal Mind
Understanding the dark side of human conduct
By Dr. Stanton E. Samenow, Ph.D.
Let Their Words Do the Talking
Verbal cues to detect deception.
By John R. "Jack" Schafer, Ph.D.
Shadow Boxing
A blog that probes the mind's dark secrets
By Katherine Ramsland
Spycatcher
An ex-FBI agent on deception, espionage, interrogation, and reading people.
By Joe Navarro
Stop The Cycle
Predicting and preventing youth and family violence
By Kathy Seifert, Ph.D., D.A.B.P.
The Act of Violence
Aggression in the workplace.
By Steve Albrecht, Ph.D.
The Human Equation
Serial killers, self-reliance, and everything in between
By Joni E. Johnston, Psy.D.
The Jury's Trials
Problems, Pitfalls, and Possibilities in Jury Decision Making
By Brian Bornstein, Ph.D.
The Justice and Responsibility League
What makes for an upstanding citizen?
By Key Sun, Ph.D.
The Web of Violence
Exploring violence and victimization
By Sherry Hamby, Ph.D.
Threat Management
Keeping Schools and Workplaces Safe
By David F. Swink
Witness
A blog about forensic psychology
By Karen Franklin, Ph.D.