Criminal Behavior: A Psychosocial Approach, Seventh Edition presents a critical and interdisciplinary look at criminals and crime, challenging students to look beyond over-simplified or prejudicial conclusions about the "crime problem." The book considers the behavioral, emotional and cognitive aspects of criminals, looks at specific criminal offenses, and explores the causes, classification, prediction, intervention and treatment of criminal behavior. NEW TO THE SEVENTH EDITION Greatly expanded and reorganized coverage of criminal profiling More information about careers in forensic psychology and correctional psychology Updated chapters on the psychopath, juvenile delinquency, the mentally disordered offender, and correctional psychology An updated chapter on drugs and crime that reflects the latest drug abuse research Expanded coverage of: crime scene analysis, cyber crime, the effects of the mass media on aggression, crime & physical anomalies, gender differences in aggression, infanticide, and robbery Numerous new tables, figures, charts, and other in-text learning aids

Criminal Behavior: A Psychosocial Approachis a textbook about crime from a psychological perspective. More specifically, this text portrays the criminal offender as embedded in and continually influenced by multiple systems within the psychosocial environment. One focus of this book is that meaningful theory, well-executed research, and skillful application of knowledge to the "crime problem" require an understanding of the many levels of events that influence a person's life course--from the individual to the individual's family, peers, schools, neighborhoods, community, culture, and society as a whole. Like earlier editions, the seventh edition views criminal offenders as existing on a continuum, ranging from serious, repetitive offenders who begin their criminal careers at a very early age to occasional offenders who offend at some point during their life course, usually during adolescence. The book reviews the contemporary research, theory, and practice concerning the psychology of crime as comprehensively and accurately as possible. The behavioral, emotional, and cognitive aspects of crime are examined, from the perspective of both the offender and the victim. The book also reviews current research that focuses on the cognitive aspects of criminal offenders, delving into their perceptions, reasoning, beliefs, decision making, and attitudes. The causes, classification, prediction, prevention, intervention, and treatment of criminal behavior are also examined. The organization and structure of the text remain basically the same as in earlier editions. The organization of the text runs from the broad, theoretical aspects of crime to specific offense categories. Developmental and biopsychological positions are presented in the early chapters, whereas social learning and cognitive aspects come later. Nonetheless, many changes were made to reflect legislative and judicial trends, student interests, and rapidly expanding research and theory on the psychology of crime. This edition includes completely rewritten chapters on mental disorders (Chapter 6), the psychopath (Chapter 4), and correctional psychology (Chapter 13). The chapter on drugs and crime (Chapter 12) has been extensively updated to include ever-changing trends in drug abuse and evolving survey research on that abuse. After the events of September 11, 2001, sections on international and domestic terrorism (including bioterrorism) were added to Chapters I and 9. The section Criminal profiling, on (Chapter 9) has been greatly expanded, rewritten, updated, and reorganized. Also added are sections on sniper attacks (Chapter 8), developmental risk factors for juvenile delinquency (Chapter 2), moral disengagement (Chapter 5), reactive and proactive forms of aggression (Chapter 7), same-sex domestic violence (Chapter 8), and missing, abducted, runaway, and thrown-away children (Chapter 8). The sections on the effects of mass media on aggression (Chapter 7), crime and physical anomalies (Chapter 3), gender differences in aggression, infanticide (Chapter 8), and robbery (Chapter 11) have been greatly expanded. Crime data and statistics have been updated and expanded throughout the text, and the number of tables, figures, and pedagogical aids has increased from that in the previous edition. This text is designed to be a core text in undergraduate and graduate courses in criminal behavior, criminology, the psychology of crime, crime and delinquency, and forensic psychology. The book is heavily research-based and provides a readable summary of contemporary research in all areas of crime. Most of the research is presented within a theoretical context and thematic structure to give an organized flow to the coverage of the many topics. The book's major goal is to encourage an appreciation of the many complex issues surrounding criminal behavior and to avoid oversimplified, prejudicial, dogmatic conclusions about the "crime problem." If, after stu