Principles of Investigative Psychology

Assignment 2: Principles of Investigative Psychology

Over the last two hundred years, criminal investigations  have become progressively more sophisticated and are based on solid  scientific principles. Psychologists involved in analysis of the  personality and behavioral characteristics of an offender have made  significant contributions to the understanding of a crime and its  perpetrator.

Using the module readings and the Argosy University  online library resources, research the main principles of investigative  psychology.

Respond to the following:

• Identify and describe the main principles of investigative psychology.
• Describe criminal investigation from a historical perspective, emphasizing the contribution of psychology to this field.
• Explain the origins of offender profiling and the reasons some  profiling attempts, such as physiognomy, have failed while others, such  as behavioral analysis, have been successful.
• Identify the different components of an investigative cycle.
• Explain the differences between the scientific method of data  collection and the scientific method of evidence collection and the  differences between the inductive process and the deductive process.

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Planning a Needs Assessment

Write a brief synopsis of how you would conduct a needs assessment for the program you selected for your Program Evaluation Plan project, integrating considerations from our textbook and the Calley article from this unit’s assigned readings.

Be sure to cover relevant areas of a needs assessment:

• Describe which types of needs are applicable to your selected program.
• Describe the specific information about these needs that should be acquired.
• Identify potential sources of information for the needs assessment.
• Identify and provide a brief rationale for which needs assessment approaches are appropriate.
• Describe how the needs assessment would be conducted with awareness of and sensitivity to the cultural practices of the people who are thought to have unmet needs.