CGD Publishing

Abnormal psychology is the study of patterns of behaviour that deviate from the accepted norms of society, but abnormal psychology doesn’t study all deviations. Only those that can be classed as mental disorders.

Forensic psychology could be defined in many ways including:

The psychological study of crime.
The scientific behavioural study criminals.
The science of studying crime-related behaviour

Cognitive psychology- it’s important to know how a person’s mental processes can cause them to commit a crime.

Personality- how a person’s personality increases their likelihood to commit a crime.

Treating offenders in a public or private prison

For instance, you could research:

Gangs- what causes them

Sexual aggression- why do some people commit sexual offenders and others do not?

Firesetting- why are more males arsonists compared to females?

Ethics within Forensic Psychology:

‘Beware the actions of man.

Beware the lust for power and knowledge.

Beware the morality and ethics of a man’

-Connor Whiteley

For example, we cannot study rape in a natural setting as this would be extremely unethical as we would effectively be watching a rapist rape a person and allowing it to happen for the sole purpose of gathering data.