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Amazing 50 Criminal Psychology Research Paper Topics

Criminal psychology research topics

When it comes to criminal psychology research papers, you have the freedom to write any relevant topic on the subject. You could explore any topic under the sun related to crime, forensics, and criminal behavior. To get you started, we’ve put together a list of 50 intriguing topics to spark your imagination. Are psychopaths born or made? How can we rehabilitate offenders? What motivates serial killers? These are just a few criminal psychology research questions you could explore in your criminal psychology research paper. Whatever criminal psychology topics you choose, make sure to do your due diligence and provide citations for all of your sources.

Interesting Criminal Psychology Research Topics

Intriguing forensic psychology research topics, well-thought forensic psychology research paper topics, fascinating psychology and law research topics, hot topics in forensic psychology.

  • Do You Need Forensic Psychology Topics For Research Paper?

Are you looking for an interesting topic for your research on criminal psychology? Whether you are a high school student, undergraduate, or postgraduate student, be sure to develop an excellent criminal psychology research paper. Let’s discuss several research topics that you can explore.

  • The role of psychological theories in explaining criminal thoughts
  • Understanding criminal sentiments and behaviors in adult men
  • Weaknesses of psychological theories in explaining crime
  • How emotions inhibit and facilitate crime among young adults
  • Is there a relationship between personality attributes and crime?
  • Is poverty the main cause of crime? A psychology review
  • The relationship between antisocial behavior and crime among the youth.
  • Does childhood aggression and divorce contribute a lot to crime?
  • Clinical psychologists and police investigators: A detailed relationship
  • Criminal psychology and genetics: Is there any relationship?

It can be tough to come up with forensic psychology topics because you can’t tell where to start most times. Issues in forensic psychology will provide some great suggestions. If you’re just starting or looking for new ideas, read our list keenly.

  • How forensic psychologists’ prowess in communication influences the roles
  • Forensic psychology in showcasing tragedy. pathologies and human frailties
  • Mental health and committing a crime: A forensic study report
  • Forgery crimes and the nature of victim’s handwriting: An expert view on the true relationship
  • How witness profile affects the overall results in forensic studies
  • Is forensic psychology more of science or common sense?
  • The role of criminal forensic psychology programs meant for experienced psychologists
  • Evaluations of crime risks and forensic psychology
  • Understanding abnormal behaviors in forensic assignments
  • How drugs and psychopharmacology influence forensic results.

Are you a history student looking for great forensic psychology topics for paper? Forensic psychology combines psychology and law, and it offers many psychology and law topics to explore. Here are some well-thought-out topics to get you started:

  • The impact of mental health on criminal behavior
  • Forensic assessment in the courtroom setting
  • Ethics is a major challenge in forensic psychology examinations
  • A psychological perspective on how testimonies and false information hinder crime evaluation
  • Psychotherapy with incarcerated individuals
  • Forensic psychologists and social media: A review on how social media platforms continue to play a major role
  • Forensic psychology stereotypes and the best way forward in developed countries
  • Rehabilitation and recidivism rates in convicted criminals
  • Religious and ethical beliefs and practices as a hindrance to forensic audits
  • The use of forensic psychologists in death investigations

History students are always busy when writing their final papers. It’s because writing criminal and legal psychology papers isn’t a walk in the park. You must analyze several forensic psychology research questions to come up with forensic psychology paper topics that work for you. If you want the best psychology and law research topics, look no further!

  • Religion rules and regulations and contributions to crimes in developed countries
  • Capital punishment is a way to create a productive and crime-free society
  • The role played by courts of law in lowering criminal activities
  • Is there any justice in lengthy convictions after committing minor crimes?
  • Understanding human rights and what needs to change to protect women from crime better
  • Human trafficking and slavery as the basis of today’s crime and torture
  • How jury selection influences justice in criminal cases that start at the prostitution level
  • Bullying and crime and why legal enactments are needed to avoid crime due to frustrations.
  • Psychology and legal crimes among top security officials
  • Internet laws and criminal psychology: A review of must-have changes

As forensic psychology students, you need to know about the latest forensic psychology issues, trends, and developments in the field. We will explore the most current and controversial topics in forensic psychology. Here we go!

  • Is criminal profiling effective?
  • Profiling methods and accuracy of the different information revealed
  • Myths about criminal profiling that most people are not talking about
  • Criminal psychology behavior analysis: Amber alert informative speech
  • African-Americans and their relationship with criminal police
  • Sexual abuse has a major impact on crime in middle-class society
  • Technological signs of progress in handling crime: A focus on psychology, crime, and technology.
  • Authorities and their contribution to crime: Criminal psychology view on power.
  • A study on peer pressure and criminal psychology
  • How Violence in the homes and media facilitates crime

Do You Need Forensic Psychology Topics For Research Paper? Talk To Us

Criminal psychology research often goes into the minds of criminals and their thought processes to better understand them. That’s why there’s a lot you can handle in criminal psychology. You’ll often get topic ideas from criminal Sentiments and psychological theories, historical happenings around criminal psychology , criminal profiling, criminal behavior, and the causes and effects of crime.

Again, a lot of criminal psychology research is centered on trying to understand what causes individuals or groups of people to commit crimes or specific types of crimes. We go beyond that and suggest captivating psychology and the law research topics and, more so, write your paper irrespective of the issues in forensic psychology you want to talk about. Talk to us now.

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Criminal Psychology Essay

Criminal psychology is mainly the study of the underlying factors that make people to engage in criminal activities. Psychologists involved in this area study not only the thoughts and the wills of criminals but also the reactions that follow after committing the criminal activities (Winfree, Abadinsky, & Winfree, 2009).

For that reason, they are very significant in criminal justice as they help the judges in understanding various issues concerning the mind of a criminal especially because criminology is a problem in every community due to various structures in the society.

For instance, Merton strain theory explains that the American society encourages crime since there are certain materialistic goals that every individual is supposed to achieve. Consequently, those who are not fortunate enough to achieve such goals in the right way end up getting involved in crime in the struggle for success. There are so many issues regarding criminology that the criminal psychologists seek to answer.

For instance, it is not easy to understand whether anyone can become a criminal. Since there are many psychological and social theories that can be used to study criminology, this paper uses the Bandura’s social learning theory, Freud’s psychoanalytic theory and Eysenck’s biosocial theory to discuss theoretically whether anyone can become a criminal.

Social learning theory by Albert Bandura happens to be among the major theories of crime. It explains that aggression which is associated with criminal behaviour and criminal activities can be acquired through modelling. This happens after making various observations of the behaviour of other people in the mass media or the surrounding environment.

It further illustrates that individuals who adopt aggression believe that the behaviour can cause reinforcement which may make them to obtain rewards, praises, as well as developing self esteem. The problem of aggression is more common in young children and they grow with it and end up becoming criminals if it is not detected early enough. Therefore, according to the theory of the social learning, anyone has the capability of becoming a criminal as it is a learnt behaviour (Isom, 1998).

Having gotten an overview of the social leaning theory, it is important to integrate all the factors that explain that anyone has the ability of becoming a criminal. Studies of Howitt (2006) indicate that results of the studies which have been conducted illustrate that there is usually a higher possibility of people living in high crime areas to become criminals compared to people living in low crime areas.

Media is yet another factor that can lead to aggression as highlighted earlier. More often than not, people who are involved in criminal activities end up gaining much attention and becoming famous.

Therefore, after making such observations, people adopt the behaviour of aggression in order to receive the same reward. Television is particularly a main cause of criminal behaviour especially when such criminals go unpunished. For instance, since in a certain movie some girls witnessed a girl being raped with a bottle, they also ended up committing the same crime. Further studies illustrate that most of the murderers are addicted to watching violence on television (Howitt, 2006).

The psychoanalytic theory by Sigmud Freud explains that individuals’ behaviours are greatly affected by their childhood experiences. Most importantly, the experiences which are at times traumatic affect behaviour negatively and an individual may not be conscious about it. The theory maintains that all human beings are naturally antisocial. Consequently, during early stages of life, young children do contain antisocial drives or desires but the development of the superego does help them to overcome such drives.

However, the development of the superego is affected by the experiences children learn from their parents or generally the environment. The ego which has the ability of judging between right and wrong controls the id and the super ego.

Therefore, the psychoanalysis theory only explains that criminal behaviour comes about when the development of the ego and the superego is affected by some of the experiences that individuals are exposed to while growing up. Further explanation on the same illustrates that overdevelopment of the superego leads to guilt.

As a result, those people with overdeveloped superegos commit crime in order to be punished and subside their feeling of guilt. Therefore, the theory explains that everybody is born with ability to commit crimes but the environment plays a big role in determining whether the person will become a criminal or not.

Although the above discussed theories indicate that anyone can be a criminal since the development of the behaviour is determined greatly by the environmental factors ,Eysenck’s theory of crime indicate that there are heredity factors that can make someone to become a criminal. Even if environmental factors come into play, human beings are born with some heredity factors that determine the possibility of being conditioned by the environmental factors.

Therefore, the theory explains the effect of some personality factors that influence the development of the criminal behaviour. For instance, studies of Brown & Campbell, (2010) indicate that people who are characterized by extroversion do not respond readily to the environment and the condition is caused by some genetic factors in the central nervous system.

Further studies explain that less responsive individuals commit crime either as a means of seeking extra stimulation or due to the fact that they do not feel the impact of punishment.

Nevertheless, although there are biological factors which are very significant, environment plays a very big role on the same. In case children having low responsiveness live in places were there are a lot of criminal activities, they end up not becoming criminals. However, children who have normal conditioning may be influenced to become criminals if they live with parents who are criminals or in areas that are characterized by high crime rates.

Although the theory is still criticized, the research indicates that it has been tested empirically adding to its reliability. For example, studies have been conducted to affirm that individuals with a lower heart rate have got a high possibility of engaging in criminal activities (Vito, Maahs, & Holmes, 2006).

Even though a lot of research has been conducted in regard to the Eysenck’s theory of crime, the main focus has been on personality other than conditioning since it is much easier to conduct research on the former. However, according to Raine (n.d.), few studies which have been conducted on conditioning indicate that criminals, psychopaths and generally the group of people who are referred to as antisocial show poor conditioning while compared to people who score high on the social scale.

A critical analysis of various theories of crimes illustrate that it is possible for anyone to become a criminal. The Eysenk’s theory illustrate that both the biological and environmental factors have got a role to play in determining whether someone will become a criminal or not as illustrated by the extract.

“ Not only does the social environment moderate the relationship between conditioning /arousal and antisocial behaviour, but also it is possible that early environmental processes can lead to changes in the autonomic functioning which may then predispose to crime along the lines suggested by Eysenck” (Raine pp. 138).

Apart from illustrating how all the factors work together to influence criminal behaviour, such theory is very important because it helps future researchers to identify research topics that can be of great help in the filed of criminal psychology. Most importantly, the approach that the theory takes is different from other theories as it seeks to understand factors that prevent children from getting involved in the criminal activities. Therefore, in absence of such factors, anyone can have the ability of engaging in criminal activities.

Social learning by Bandura is also among the theories of crime that suggest that anyone can become a criminal. This is due to the fact that it illustrates that the behaviour of an individual is influenced by the environmental factors.

Since behaviour is acquired, people become criminals after being exposed to violence either at the family level or from the media (Regoli & Hewitt, 2008). To affirm the same, the same studies indicate that in all the three thousand and five hundred published studies on the same topic, it is only eighteen studies that do not indicate that media exposure leads to violence.

Lastly, the psychoanalytic theory also indicates that anyone can become a criminal. In spite of the fact that the fact that every one is born with an id that is antisocial, environmental factors come in to play in the development of the ego and the super ego. Since the ego and the super ego help in making moral and sensible judgement, any factor which affects their development ultimately contributes to the behaviour of a person.

Therefore, it is not an understatement to conclude that a critical analysis of the three theories of crime indicate that anyone can end up being a criminal. However, there are environmental factors which interplay with the biological factors to determine the acquisition of the criminal behaviour (Winfree, Abadinsky, & Winfree, 2009).

Brown, J. M. & Campbell, E. A. (2010). The Cambridge Handbook of Forensic Psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Howitt, D. (2006). Introduction to forensic and criminal psychology. New York: Pearson Education, Limited.

Isom, M. D. (1998). Albert Bandura The Social Learning Theory . Web.

Raine, A. (n.d.). Classical conditioning, arousal, and crime: A biosocial perspective . Web.

Regoli, R. M., & Hewitt, J. D. (2008). Exploring criminal justice. Sudbury: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Vito, G. F., Maahs, J. R., & Holmes, R. M. (2006). Criminology: theory, research, and policy. Sudbury: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Winfree, L. T., Abadinsky, H. & Winfree, L. T. (2009). Understanding Crime: Essentials of Criminological Theory. Stamford: Cengage Learning.

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Psychology Extended Essay Guide: Definition, Rubric, And Topics

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by  Antony W

July 18, 2022

IB psychology extended essay

This is the complete guide on Psychology Extended Essay for the IB students. Whether you’re currently determining what subjects to work on or you’ve already made up your mind that you want to focus on psychology, you’ll find this guide quite helpful.

The guide covers everything you need to know about the topic. In particular, you’ll learn:

  • What psychology extended essay is
  • How to choose psychology EE topics
  • The best psychology EE topic examples
  • How to write the extended essay and
  • Psychology extended essay assessment criteria

Let’s get started.

What’s Psychology Extended Essay?

The IB EE Guide defines the subject as the examination of interaction of sociocultural, biological, and cognitive influences on human behavior and experiences.

As an IB student, you should have a solid understanding of what falls within this subject when developing a topic to investigate.

The aims of writing an Extended Essay in IB Psychology is to demonstrate that you can conduct independent research on a given topic and develop the skills necessary for creative and critical thinking.

When your examiners look at the EE, they should instantly see a systematic process of research relevant to the subject and your expression of intellectual discoveries.

What’s the Role of Psychology Extended Essay?

An extended essay in psychology is a project that gives you the chance to research a topic of personal interest within the discipline of psychology, which may extend beyond the Diploma Program.

Students who choose Psychology actively investigate a research issue that will enhance their analytical and communication abilities, as well as their comprehension of behavior.

An extended essay in this filed should introduce you to the pleasure of intellectual discovery as you study the “systematic of behavior and experience."  

When developing your topic, you should have a comprehensive comprehension of what fits under the realm of psychology.

To be clear, psychology covers the study of both human and nonhuman animal behavior. It has its own terminology, techniques, and literature.

For you to complete an extended essay in psychology, you must have a solid grasp of the subject and its techniques. Psychology is not a "residual" category for extended essay topics that do not fit into any other area.

You must therefore select themes that lend themselves to psychological inquiry and analysis, and you must carefully evaluate the assessment criteria while selecting a topic.

Get IB Psychology Extended Essay Writing Help

Feeling stuck with you IB Psychology Extended Essay and don’t know where to start?

Or maybe you already have a topic to explore but you don’t have enough time to do research and get the work completed?

Don’t worry because, with our  IB Extended Essay Writing Service ,  you can get the work completed in time. Our guarantee is that we help you to earn good grades by delivering well-researched essays on time. Place your order with us today and let us help you get the work done. Or keep reading below to learn how to write the essay in your free time.

How You Should Treat the Psychology Extended Essay Topics

A psychology extended essay requires you to examine a subject of personal interest in a systematic manner. You have to structure the assignment around a focused research topic, which you should strives to address throughout document.

You need to view the essay as an investigative and analytical argument than as a research hypothesis to be discovered through a formal psychological investigation employing research methodologies.

Data collection and research techniques, such as experiments, surveys, observations, and case studies, are unsuitable for an extended essay in psychology. So you shouldn’t include them in the essay.  

You should examine your own personal interests as a starting point for the essay writing process. That’s because experiences demonstrate that personal interest plays a significant influence in the success of an essay.

After picking a topic of interest, you can reduce the scope of their essay and research question by considering subfields within that field.  

Psychology Extended Essay Topic Examples

The following are examples of the best Psychology Extended Essay topics. These are just ideas, so use them as guidance to develop or come up with your own topic to investigate.

  • What do you believe is the most prevalent cause of eating disorders and food indifference among adolescents?
  • How do you see borderline personality disorder and how is it treated?
  • Schizophrenia is an illness that requires considerable care. How do you describe it?
  • Dreams are the most discussed topic in the world. What do you think about it?
  • Attention-seeking disorder should be treated with a great deal of care and sensitivity from the beginning. What do you think about it?
  • The dilemma of mankind has always been gender norms or gender prejudice.
  • Child abuse and child labor are on the rise as global concerns. How can we alter it?
  • How do you feel about prenatal development and its management?
  • The parenting style has a significant impact on the behavior of children. What are your opinions on the subject?
  • Aging is one of the most widely acknowledged facts of life How do you characterize this phenomena from a psychological standpoint?
  • Divorce between parents has a significant impact on children's mental health. How should this be prevented?
  • What are your opinions on the rising video game addiction among children?

Remember that a good extended essay topic in Psychology is the one that’s clear, concise, and can fit within the scope of the extended essay requirements.

IB Psychology Extended Essay Outline

Now that you have completed your research, it’s time to take the information you have gathered and put it together into a comprehensive Extended Essay for the IB Psychology.

Your EE should have three parts: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. Here’s how to develop each section.

The Introduction

The opening statement of an Extended Essay is huge, so you should give it your best. Your goal with this section of your EE is to establish and explain your argument. It helps to include relevant background information as this goes a long way to make your argument sensible. Define complex words for clarity. And make sure this section isn’t more than two paragraphs long.

Once you have ensured that your introduction has established a strong argument and can easily grab the attention of your reader, start working on the body section. The body should be at least 6 paragraphs. As it is with argumentative essays , each paragraph of your IB Psychology Extended Essay should:

Present a unique idea or argument.

Start with a topic sentence, which is a summary of the main idea that you will be discussing in that paragraph.

Include an example with an explanation on how relevant the example is to your argument.

End with a closing link (or sentence) that introduces the reader to the next consecutive paragraph.

The purpose of a topic sentence in IB Psychology Extended Essay is to introduce and explain the point you intend to make in a paragraph.

A good topic sentence should be clear, concise, and have a strong link to the argument you presented in the introduction. In addition to building on the points you made in a previous paragraph, the topic sentence should also give a clear summary of your argument.

The conclusion of your IB Psychology Extended Essay is as important as other sections of the essay. So you should equally spend enough time writing it. The conclusion to your IB Psychology EE should naturally link to the introduction and summarize the significant points that you’ve made throughout the essay.

As with the conclusion on any given argumentative essay topic, the conclusion of your IB Psychology EE should not merely reflect a re-write if your main ideas. Instead, you should restate the ideas using different terms and phrases to retain the meaning without sounding too repetitive. Furthermore, the conclusion must never introduce a new idea to the article as this could easily distract your readers.

How to Write a Psychology Extended Essay

To write a comprehensive extended essay in psychology:

Read and understand the IB’s EE handbook and, if your teacher issues additional instructions, make sure you follow them.

Choose a preliminary topic and a tentative research question for your extended essay in Psychology. Some questions to ask yourself when choosing the topic to work on include:

  • Why is my topic and research issue significant to me personally?
  • Is there a particular discussion, book, or other source that can assist me in narrowing my focus or choosing my topic and the research question?
  • What do I perceive to be the greatest obstacle as I begin this process? How do I handle this difficulty?

We recommend that you consult your supervisor, so they can provide input about the suitability of your ideas for project.

Start your research early. Begin your research with Google Scholar, JYKDOK library, and EBSCO Academic Search Elite.

As you write you write your essay, your focus should be on developing your case by citing pertinent concepts, theories, and studies from academic psychology research publications and scholarly literature.

  • Do NOT make any claims that you can’ back by evidence from psychological theories or investigations.
  • Provide a well-balanced argument in answer to your research topic.
  • In addition to describing your sources, analyze them in light of your research topic.
  • It is OK to modify your essay's topic and research question as you write. Your sources may yield novel insights.
  • Always pay attention to the EE evaluation criteria as you work on your subject

Consult with your EE supervisor for first reflection. Your supervisor will provide prompt comments on your progress. In addition, the instructor will advise you on your initial reflection.

Psychology Extended Essay Assessment Criteria

The following is the assessment criteria used by IB to evaluate psychology extended essays:

Criterion A: Focus and Method

The key to writing an essay with concentration is a targeted research subject. Although there are several extremely good questions, inferior essays in the psychology subject tend to have difficult questions.

Keep in mind that each component of the essay must directly address the research topic. Be careful to make sure that you don’t spend an excessive amount of time explaining concepts and theories before answering the topic directly with relevant research.

Criterion: Knowledge and Understanding

Stronger essays define essential concepts and present research pertinent to the study. On the other hand, weaker essays often employ language without explaining its relevance to the study or subject.

For instance, claiming that a research showed minimal instrument bias without providing a detailed explanation for why this is the case can cost you valuable marks.

You need to make sure your essay doesn’t have inaccuracies in the usage of words such as external and internal validity and the identification of research techniques.

Criterion C: Critical Reasoning

When writing a psychology extended essay, you must discuss, analyze, and evaluate the significant studies that you cite. Your work can’t be merely descriptive. In other words, you can’t just offer a list of various studies, frequently without a connection to the study issue.

Instead, your essay should include evidence against or for the thesis and then demonstrate why your main argument is stronger.

Criterion D: Presentation

Despite the fact that citation is something that teacher directly examine, you need to make sure your Psychology extended essay has clear citation.

Do not use footnotes for anything other than citations, since it frequently interferes with the reading of the essay.

The key to effective presentation is understandable text. Spacing is an issue in several writings. You must either indent your paragraphs or leave a blank line between them. The last mistake you want to make as far as presentation is concerned is hindering the readability of your extended essay.

Criterion E: Engagement (Or the EE Reflection)

Strong remarks illustrate your research journey and development as a researcher. These reflections elucidate your capacity to identify problems, adopt necessary modifications, and demonstrate their reflexivity throughout the research and writing process.

Weak extended essay reflections detail meetings with the supervisor, reiterated the essay's results, or described the students' passion for their topic.  

Choosing a single area of your research journey to describe and analyze in each reflection is preferable than attempting to cover all aspects of their investigation.

Revising Your IB Psychology Extended Essay

Ending with a strong conclusion doesn’t make your essay complete. You have to edit the assignment thoroughly to make sure it meets the assessment standards of IB EE .

Start by looking at the obvious grammatical errors that could make your IB Psychology EE to mean something other than what you intended. Sometimes your eyes may not notice minor spelling and grammatical errors. That’s why it’s important to use a tool such as Grammarly or Hemmingway App for assistance.

The next in your revision is to ask yourself the “so what?” question. This is where you ask yourself whether your essay communicates the intended message very well so that when your audience asks questions, the essay provides the answers that they need – and in an instant.

The most important questions to ask when trying to answer the “so what” factor are as follows:

Does this essay provide the information that my audience should care about in the first place?

Do the ideas addressed in my IB Psychology Extended Essay add to what others already know about the essay?

As yourself these two questions and you can be sure to make your essay greater than what it currently is.

Advice for IB Students Taking Psychology Extended Essay

Some of the most intriguing, engaging, and successful psychology extended essays don’t always focuses on the course material.

Typically, essays constrained by the guidance provide detailed, emotionless descriptions of classic psychological research. Supervisors do not require in-depth understanding of the student's topic; this is a less relevant component in topic selection than resource availability, student engagement, and essay length.

Generally, "pop psychology" or "self-help"-related topics are inappropriate for the extended essay. Psychology, as stated in the definition, is a systematic study.

In an effort to comprehend behavior and experience, psychologists undertake research studies and construct theories.

Extended essays in psychology must feature support by meticulous and appropriate citation of relevant psychological theories and/or studies. This suggests that academic and psychological research publications and books are the finest resources.

The IB Psychology Extended Essay focuses on an in-depth investigation of an area within the field of psychology. While it’s on a subject presented in the IB EE prompt, your teacher may also allow you to explore a topic of your interest.

This subject gives you the opportunity to explore research questions that can not only promote your understanding of behavior but also develop your research, writing, creative, and intellectual discovery skills.

In this lesson, you will learn everything about the IB Physics EE, from what it is to writing a comprehensive Extended Essay on the subject. Let’s get started.

About the author 

Antony W is a professional writer and coach at Help for Assessment. He spends countless hours every day researching and writing great content filled with expert advice on how to write engaging essays, research papers, and assignments.

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Criminal Psychology Dissertation Ideas

Published by Owen Ingram at January 2nd, 2023 , Revised On August 11, 2023

If you are writing a research paper on criminal psychology, you have a variety of topics and themes to choose from. Do psychopaths have an innate or developed nature? Is there a way to help criminals get better? Why do serial killers commit these crimes? When writing a criminal psychology dissertation , you might consider one or more of these research ideas. Your research and citations should be accurate regardless of the criminal psychology theme you select.

It is possible to study criminal behaviour, forensics, and crime from every angle. To help you get started and inspire your creativity, we’ve collected interesting criminal psychology dissertation ideas.

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List of Criminal Dissertation Topic Ideas

  • Examine the connection between incarceration later in life and psychiatric illnesses that appear in childhood or adolescence. 
  • The link between criminal behavior and social class. Give three reasons why someone’s socioeconomic situation might influence their decision to commit a crime.
  • Determine the social environments that promote propensities for violence and hostility. To compose a cause-and-effect essay, include a number of examples from the research.
  • Comparing the incarceration rates of men in the same population who are 18 to 25 years old and have a high school education.
  • A political behavior study (causality & prevention of crime).
  • A comparison between school bullying and criminality.
  • Using sexual violence as a weapon in armed conflict: a case study.
  • Recognizing the link between crime and marginalization and prejudice based on religion.
  • Criminal behavior seen through the prism of the personality of the offender.
  • Law, Mental Illness, and Crime: A Psycho-Criminological View.
  • Important personality qualities (neuroticism) that can be used to predict criminal conduct.
  • Psychological distinctions between juvenile and adult criminals are common.
  • Is it harmful for juvenile criminals (in terms of reeducation) to be detained alongside adults?
  • What patterns are in serial killers’ mindsets across cases?
  • The balance between restraining circumstances and criminal intentions.
  • How much thought goes into arranging a crime, and what that reveals about criminals?
  • Control over a crime’s execution and its usage in criminal profiling.
  • Psychological disorders frequently lead to criminal behaviour.
  • An examination of the worldview of criminals who are in jail like their emotions, such as guilt, regret, rage, disappointment, self-pity, and sentiments of unfairness, predominate, etc.
  • Criminals’ emotional and social requirements for successful reintegration into society.
  • Is there a rise in crime when certain public situations, such as weather calamities, occur? How can emergency management specialists avoid this if that’s the case?
  • Look at the relationship between criminal behaviour and socioeconomic class. Name three ways that socioeconomic position may influence criminal behaviour.
  • Do mandatory minimum sentences prevent crime or encourage recidivism? What types of biases are present in these laws? What could’ve been done more effectively?
  • Disparities between men and women in the criminal justice system.
  • Should offenders undergo genetic testing? Should a judge or jury accept evidence that the defendant had poor impulse control or another hereditary or mental weakness?

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If you want to write a dissertation on criminal psychology, don’t expect it to be a simple process. If you are not passionate about your topic, you will spend much more time researching it than expected. It is easier to maintain your motivation and keep writing when you choose a topic you are interested in and passionate about. We hope you can choose a unique and remarkable topic from these criminal psychology dissertation ideas mentioned above.

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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Psychology and Crime

Introduction, foundations.

  • Mental Illness
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  • Psychology in Court
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  • Treatment of Offenders
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  • Bystander Intervention
  • Emotions in Criminal Decision Making
  • Interrogation
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  • Psychiatry, Psychology, and Crime: Historical and Current Aspects

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Psychology and Crime by David Canter LAST REVIEWED: 16 May 2017 LAST MODIFIED: 13 January 2014 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195396607-0114

Psychologists have studied many aspects of crime and criminality ever since modern psychology began to emerge in the late 19th century. The founding fathers of psychology taught courses on criminal psychology and considered delinquency at the time they were laying their foundations. Just about every psychological theory has been applied to the consideration of crime or its prosecution, from Freudian psychodynamics to neuropsychology, by way of learning theories and studies of memory. These theories have covered the causes of crime, psychological aspects of criminal investigations, assessment of criminals, court psychology, interventions to reduce offending and help offenders cope with prison, and victimology and the nature of criminal activity, emphasizing behavioral variations between offenses that have the same legal definition. In the last forty years the study of psychological aspects of crime and criminals has also become part of the professional discipline of forensic psychology. Thus, any review of psychology and crime now overlaps with considerations of the professional roles of psychologists in a variety of legal, investigative, correctional, and therapeutic settings. The influence of the legal context and culture as well as the local institutional frameworks, therefore, always needs to be kept in mind when considering publications on psychology and crime. For example, access to offenders in prison for research purposes is currently extremely difficult in the United States but is much easier in developing countries. Consequently, a bias results in what is actually studied depending on where the studies take place. What is considered criminal and how crime is dealt with varies considerably from one jurisdiction to another. These variations carry implications for how readily findings can be generalized or acted on in practice beyond the context in which they were established. Furthermore, many of the considerations of the psychological aspects of crime take place under the umbrella of other disciplines, notably criminology but also socio-legal studies and even jurisprudence. Writings on psychology and crime, consequently, vary in the depth of their scholarship and the validity of their arguments. This qualitative range is further extended by the enormous popular interest in crime, both in fact and in fiction, producing a plethora of opinions on criminals that have little basis in systematic research or even, often, in objective evidence. The purpose of this bibliography is to capture the major psychological publications on crime. Because of the popular interest in this topic, it is of value to refer to some of the early foundations that still haunt public debate before moving on to the rapidly growing range of currently significant research.

Major figures in late 19th century medicine, notably Havelock Ellis ( Ellis 1890 ) and Richard von Krafft-Ebing ( von Krafft-Ebing 1998 ) wrote about criminals as being abnormal in some way, treating criminality as a form of illness or an indication that the offender was less than fully human. They were greatly influenced by Darwinian theories, seeing criminals as some sort of evolutionary throwback to an early stage of human development. This view reached its most extreme form in the writings of Cesare Lombroso, particulary in Lombroso 1911 . Such views, embedded in a biological or clinincal explanation of why people become criminals is still a dominant strand in many discussions. It is also still reflected in the fact that psychological studies of crimnals are dominated by examination of bizarre criminal activity, sexual crimes, and homicide. So, although the extremes of Lomborso’s claims, which include reference to physiognomic features that he thought indicated a lower level of human evolution, have long since been discredited, the view that criminals are different from noncriminals still dominates many psychological considerations. A second, rather different strand grew out of a social science tradition that sees criminals as no different from anyone else except for their circumstances. This line of reasoning is most clearly articulated in Sutherland 1924 .

Ellis, Havelock. 1890. The Criminal . New York: Scribner & Welford.

Along with von Krafft-Ebing 1998 , holds the view of criminality as a form of illness.

Lombroso, Cesare. 1911. Crime, its causes and remedies . Translated by Henry P. Horton. London: Little, Brown.

Originally published in 1899 as Le crime; causes et remédes (Paris: Reinwald).

Sutherland, Edwin H. 1924. Criminology . Philadelphia: Lippincott.

Revised and reprinted many times. In contrast to the clinical psychology emphases, this perspective has tended to focus on more day-to-day crimes such as burglary and delinquency.

von Krafft-Ebing, Richard. 1998. Psychopathia sexualis . Translated by Franklin S. Klaf. New York: Arcade.

A seminal work, originally published in 1886.

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the complete ib extended essay guide: examples, topics, and ideas.

International Baccalaureate (IB)

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IB students around the globe fear writing the Extended Essay, but it doesn't have to be a source of stress! In this article, I'll get you excited about writing your Extended Essay and provide you with the resources you need to get an A on it.

If you're reading this article, I'm going to assume you're an IB student getting ready to write your Extended Essay. If you're looking at this as a potential future IB student, I recommend reading our introductory IB articles first, including our guide to what the IB program is and our full coverage of the IB curriculum .

IB Extended Essay: Why Should You Trust My Advice?

I myself am a recipient of an IB Diploma, and I happened to receive an A on my IB Extended Essay. Don't believe me? The proof is in the IBO pudding:

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If you're confused by what this report means, EE is short for Extended Essay , and English A1 is the subject that my Extended Essay topic coordinated with. In layman's terms, my IB Diploma was graded in May 2010, I wrote my Extended Essay in the English A1 category, and I received an A grade on it.

What Is the Extended Essay in the IB Diploma Programme?

The IB Extended Essay, or EE , is a mini-thesis you write under the supervision of an IB advisor (an IB teacher at your school), which counts toward your IB Diploma (learn more about the major IB Diploma requirements in our guide) . I will explain exactly how the EE affects your Diploma later in this article.

For the Extended Essay, you will choose a research question as a topic, conduct the research independently, then write an essay on your findings . The essay itself is a long one—although there's a cap of 4,000 words, most successful essays get very close to this limit.

Keep in mind that the IB requires this essay to be a "formal piece of academic writing," meaning you'll have to do outside research and cite additional sources.

The IB Extended Essay must include the following:

  • A title page
  • Contents page
  • Introduction
  • Body of the essay
  • References and bibliography

Additionally, your research topic must fall into one of the six approved DP categories , or IB subject groups, which are as follows:

  • Group 1: Studies in Language and Literature
  • Group 2: Language Acquisition
  • Group 3: Individuals and Societies
  • Group 4: Sciences
  • Group 5: Mathematics
  • Group 6: The Arts

Once you figure out your category and have identified a potential research topic, it's time to pick your advisor, who is normally an IB teacher at your school (though you can also find one online ). This person will help direct your research, and they'll conduct the reflection sessions you'll have to do as part of your Extended Essay.

As of 2018, the IB requires a "reflection process" as part of your EE supervision process. To fulfill this requirement, you have to meet at least three times with your supervisor in what the IB calls "reflection sessions." These meetings are not only mandatory but are also part of the formal assessment of the EE and your research methods.

According to the IB, the purpose of these meetings is to "provide an opportunity for students to reflect on their engagement with the research process." Basically, these meetings give your supervisor the opportunity to offer feedback, push you to think differently, and encourage you to evaluate your research process.

The final reflection session is called the viva voce, and it's a short 10- to 15-minute interview between you and your advisor. This happens at the very end of the EE process, and it's designed to help your advisor write their report, which factors into your EE grade.

Here are the topics covered in your viva voce :

  • A check on plagiarism and malpractice
  • Your reflection on your project's successes and difficulties
  • Your reflection on what you've learned during the EE process

Your completed Extended Essay, along with your supervisor's report, will then be sent to the IB to be graded. We'll cover the assessment criteria in just a moment.

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We'll help you learn how to have those "lightbulb" moments...even on test day!  

What Should You Write About in Your IB Extended Essay?

You can technically write about anything, so long as it falls within one of the approved categories listed above.

It's best to choose a topic that matches one of the IB courses , (such as Theatre, Film, Spanish, French, Math, Biology, etc.), which shouldn't be difficult because there are so many class subjects.

Here is a range of sample topics with the attached extended essay:

  • Biology: The Effect of Age and Gender on the Photoreceptor Cells in the Human Retina
  • Chemistry: How Does Reflux Time Affect the Yield and Purity of Ethyl Aminobenzoate (Benzocaine), and How Effective is Recrystallisation as a Purification Technique for This Compound?
  • English: An Exploration of Jane Austen's Use of the Outdoors in Emma
  • Geography: The Effect of Location on the Educational Attainment of Indigenous Secondary Students in Queensland, Australia
  • Math: Alhazen's Billiard Problem
  • Visual Arts: Can Luc Tuymans Be Classified as a Political Painter?

You can see from how varied the topics are that you have a lot of freedom when it comes to picking a topic . So how do you pick when the options are limitless?

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How to Write a Stellar IB Extended Essay: 6 Essential Tips

Below are six key tips to keep in mind as you work on your Extended Essay for the IB DP. Follow these and you're sure to get an A!

#1: Write About Something You Enjoy

You can't expect to write a compelling essay if you're not a fan of the topic on which you're writing. For example, I just love British theatre and ended up writing my Extended Essay on a revolution in post-WWII British theatre. (Yes, I'm definitely a #TheatreNerd.)

I really encourage anyone who pursues an IB Diploma to take the Extended Essay seriously. I was fortunate enough to receive a full-tuition merit scholarship to USC's School of Dramatic Arts program. In my interview for the scholarship, I spoke passionately about my Extended Essay; thus, I genuinely think my Extended Essay helped me get my scholarship.

But how do you find a topic you're passionate about? Start by thinking about which classes you enjoy the most and why . Do you like math classes because you like to solve problems? Or do you enjoy English because you like to analyze literary texts?

Keep in mind that there's no right or wrong answer when it comes to choosing your Extended Essay topic. You're not more likely to get high marks because you're writing about science, just like you're not doomed to failure because you've chosen to tackle the social sciences. The quality of what you produce—not the field you choose to research within—will determine your grade.

Once you've figured out your category, you should brainstorm more specific topics by putting pen to paper . What was your favorite chapter you learned in that class? Was it astrophysics or mechanics? What did you like about that specific chapter? Is there something you want to learn more about? I recommend spending a few hours on this type of brainstorming.

One last note: if you're truly stumped on what to research, pick a topic that will help you in your future major or career . That way you can use your Extended Essay as a talking point in your college essays (and it will prepare you for your studies to come too!).

#2: Select a Topic That Is Neither Too Broad nor Too Narrow

There's a fine line between broad and narrow. You need to write about something specific, but not so specific that you can't write 4,000 words on it.

You can't write about WWII because that would be a book's worth of material. You also don't want to write about what type of soup prisoners of war received behind enemy lines, because you probably won’t be able to come up with 4,000 words of material about it. However, you could possibly write about how the conditions in German POW camps—and the rations provided—were directly affected by the Nazis' successes and failures on the front, including the use of captured factories and prison labor in Eastern Europe to increase production. WWII military history might be a little overdone, but you get my point.

If you're really stuck trying to pinpoint a not-too-broad-or-too-narrow topic, I suggest trying to brainstorm a topic that uses a comparison. Once you begin looking through the list of sample essays below, you'll notice that many use comparisons to formulate their main arguments.

I also used a comparison in my EE, contrasting Harold Pinter's Party Time with John Osborne's Look Back in Anger in order to show a transition in British theatre. Topics with comparisons of two to three plays, books, and so on tend to be the sweet spot. You can analyze each item and then compare them with one another after doing some in-depth analysis of each individually. The ways these items compare and contrast will end up forming the thesis of your essay!

When choosing a comparative topic, the key is that the comparison should be significant. I compared two plays to illustrate the transition in British theatre, but you could compare the ways different regional dialects affect people's job prospects or how different temperatures may or may not affect the mating patterns of lightning bugs. The point here is that comparisons not only help you limit your topic, but they also help you build your argument.

Comparisons are not the only way to get a grade-A EE, though. If after brainstorming, you pick a non-comparison-based topic and are still unsure whether your topic is too broad or narrow, spend about 30 minutes doing some basic research and see how much material is out there.

If there are more than 1,000 books, articles, or documentaries out there on that exact topic, it may be too broad. But if there are only two books that have any connection to your topic, it may be too narrow. If you're still unsure, ask your advisor—it's what they're there for! Speaking of advisors...

body-narrow-crack-stuck-cc0-pixabay

Don't get stuck with a narrow topic!

#3: Choose an Advisor Who Is Familiar With Your Topic

If you're not certain of who you would like to be your advisor, create a list of your top three choices. Next, write down the pros and cons of each possibility (I know this sounds tedious, but it really helps!).

For example, Mr. Green is my favorite teacher and we get along really well, but he teaches English. For my EE, I want to conduct an experiment that compares the efficiency of American electric cars with foreign electric cars.

I had Ms. White a year ago. She teaches physics and enjoyed having me in her class. Unlike Mr. Green, Ms. White could help me design my experiment.

Based on my topic and what I need from my advisor, Ms. White would be a better fit for me than would Mr. Green (even though I like him a lot).

The moral of my story is this: do not just ask your favorite teacher to be your advisor . They might be a hindrance to you if they teach another subject. For example, I would not recommend asking your biology teacher to guide you in writing an English literature-based EE.

There can, of course, be exceptions to this rule. If you have a teacher who's passionate and knowledgeable about your topic (as my English teacher was about my theatre topic), you could ask that instructor. Consider all your options before you do this. There was no theatre teacher at my high school, so I couldn't find a theatre-specific advisor, but I chose the next best thing.

Before you approach a teacher to serve as your advisor, check with your high school to see what requirements they have for this process. Some IB high schools require your IB Extended Essay advisor to sign an Agreement Form , for instance.

Make sure that you ask your IB coordinator whether there is any required paperwork to fill out. If your school needs a specific form signed, bring it with you when you ask your teacher to be your EE advisor.

#4: Pick an Advisor Who Will Push You to Be Your Best

Some teachers might just take on students because they have to and aren't very passionate about reading drafts, only giving you minimal feedback. Choose a teacher who will take the time to read several drafts of your essay and give you extensive notes. I would not have gotten my A without being pushed to make my Extended Essay draft better.

Ask a teacher that you have experience with through class or an extracurricular activity. Do not ask a teacher that you have absolutely no connection to. If a teacher already knows you, that means they already know your strengths and weaknesses, so they know what to look for, where you need to improve, and how to encourage your best work.

Also, don't forget that your supervisor's assessment is part of your overall EE score . If you're meeting with someone who pushes you to do better—and you actually take their advice—they'll have more impressive things to say about you than a supervisor who doesn't know you well and isn't heavily involved in your research process.

Be aware that the IB only allows advisors to make suggestions and give constructive criticism. Your teacher cannot actually help you write your EE. The IB recommends that the supervisor spends approximately two to three hours in total with the candidate discussing the EE.

#5: Make Sure Your Essay Has a Clear Structure and Flow

The IB likes structure. Your EE needs a clear introduction (which should be one to two double-spaced pages), research question/focus (i.e., what you're investigating), a body, and a conclusion (about one double-spaced page). An essay with unclear organization will be graded poorly.

The body of your EE should make up the bulk of the essay. It should be about eight to 18 pages long (again, depending on your topic). Your body can be split into multiple parts. For example, if you were doing a comparison, you might have one third of your body as Novel A Analysis, another third as Novel B Analysis, and the final third as your comparison of Novels A and B.

If you're conducting an experiment or analyzing data, such as in this EE , your EE body should have a clear structure that aligns with the scientific method ; you should state the research question, discuss your method, present the data, analyze the data, explain any uncertainties, and draw a conclusion and/or evaluate the success of the experiment.

#6: Start Writing Sooner Rather Than Later!

You will not be able to crank out a 4,000-word essay in just a week and get an A on it. You'll be reading many, many articles (and, depending on your topic, possibly books and plays as well!). As such, it's imperative that you start your research as soon as possible.

Each school has a slightly different deadline for the Extended Essay. Some schools want them as soon as November of your senior year; others will take them as late as February. Your school will tell you what your deadline is. If they haven't mentioned it by February of your junior year, ask your IB coordinator about it.

Some high schools will provide you with a timeline of when you need to come up with a topic, when you need to meet with your advisor, and when certain drafts are due. Not all schools do this. Ask your IB coordinator if you are unsure whether you are on a specific timeline.

Below is my recommended EE timeline. While it's earlier than most schools, it'll save you a ton of heartache (trust me, I remember how hard this process was!):

  • January/February of Junior Year: Come up with your final research topic (or at least your top three options).
  • February of Junior Year: Approach a teacher about being your EE advisor. If they decline, keep asking others until you find one. See my notes above on how to pick an EE advisor.
  • April/May of Junior Year: Submit an outline of your EE and a bibliography of potential research sources (I recommend at least seven to 10) to your EE advisor. Meet with your EE advisor to discuss your outline.
  • Summer Between Junior and Senior Year: Complete your first full draft over the summer between your junior and senior year. I know, I know—no one wants to work during the summer, but trust me—this will save you so much stress come fall when you are busy with college applications and other internal assessments for your IB classes. You will want to have this first full draft done because you will want to complete a couple of draft cycles as you likely won't be able to get everything you want to say into 4,000 articulate words on the first attempt. Try to get this first draft into the best possible shape so you don't have to work on too many revisions during the school year on top of your homework, college applications, and extracurriculars.
  • August/September of Senior Year: Turn in your first draft of your EE to your advisor and receive feedback. Work on incorporating their feedback into your essay. If they have a lot of suggestions for improvement, ask if they will read one more draft before the final draft.
  • September/October of Senior Year: Submit the second draft of your EE to your advisor (if necessary) and look at their feedback. Work on creating the best possible final draft.
  • November-February of Senior Year: Schedule your viva voce. Submit two copies of your final draft to your school to be sent off to the IB. You likely will not get your grade until after you graduate.

Remember that in the middle of these milestones, you'll need to schedule two other reflection sessions with your advisor . (Your teachers will actually take notes on these sessions on a form like this one , which then gets submitted to the IB.)

I recommend doing them when you get feedback on your drafts, but these meetings will ultimately be up to your supervisor. Just don't forget to do them!

body-bird-worm-cc0-pixabay

The early bird DOES get the worm!

How Is the IB Extended Essay Graded?

Extended Essays are graded by examiners appointed by the IB on a scale of 0 to 34 . You'll be graded on five criteria, each with its own set of points. You can learn more about how EE scoring works by reading the IB guide to extended essays .

  • Criterion A: Focus and Method (6 points maximum)
  • Criterion B: Knowledge and Understanding (6 points maximum)
  • Criterion C: Critical Thinking (12 points maximum)
  • Criterion D: Presentation (4 points maximum)
  • Criterion E: Engagement (6 points maximum)

How well you do on each of these criteria will determine the final letter grade you get for your EE. You must earn at least a D to be eligible to receive your IB Diploma.

Although each criterion has a point value, the IB explicitly states that graders are not converting point totals into grades; instead, they're using qualitative grade descriptors to determine the final grade of your Extended Essay . Grade descriptors are on pages 102-103 of this document .

Here's a rough estimate of how these different point values translate to letter grades based on previous scoring methods for the EE. This is just an estimate —you should read and understand the grade descriptors so you know exactly what the scorers are looking for.

Here is the breakdown of EE scores (from the May 2021 bulletin):

How Does the Extended Essay Grade Affect Your IB Diploma?

The Extended Essay grade is combined with your TOK (Theory of Knowledge) grade to determine how many points you get toward your IB Diploma.

To learn about Theory of Knowledge or how many points you need to receive an IB Diploma, read our complete guide to the IB program and our guide to the IB Diploma requirements .

This diagram shows how the two scores are combined to determine how many points you receive for your IB diploma (3 being the most, 0 being the least). In order to get your IB Diploma, you have to earn 24 points across both categories (the TOK and EE). The highest score anyone can earn is 45 points.

body-theory-of-knowledge

Let's say you get an A on your EE and a B on TOK. You will get 3 points toward your Diploma. As of 2014, a student who scores an E on either the extended essay or TOK essay will not be eligible to receive an IB Diploma .

Prior to the class of 2010, a Diploma candidate could receive a failing grade in either the Extended Essay or Theory of Knowledge and still be awarded a Diploma, but this is no longer true.

Figuring out how you're assessed can be a little tricky. Luckily, the IB breaks everything down here in this document . (The assessment information begins on page 219.)

40+ Sample Extended Essays for the IB Diploma Programme

In case you want a little more guidance on how to get an A on your EE, here are over 40 excellent (grade A) sample extended essays for your reading pleasure. Essays are grouped by IB subject.

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  • Chemistry 1
  • Chemistry 2
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  • Chemistry 4
  • Chemistry 5
  • Chemistry 6
  • Chemistry 7
  • Computer Science 1
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  • Design Technology 1
  • Design Technology 2
  • Environmental Systems and Societies 1
  • Geography 1
  • Geography 2
  • Geography 3
  • Geography 4
  • Geography 5
  • Geography 6
  • Literature and Performance 1
  • Mathematics 1
  • Mathematics 2
  • Mathematics 3
  • Mathematics 4
  • Mathematics 5
  • Philosophy 1
  • Philosophy 2
  • Philosophy 3
  • Philosophy 4
  • Philosophy 5
  • Psychology 1
  • Psychology 2
  • Psychology 3
  • Psychology 4
  • Psychology 5
  • Social and Cultural Anthropology 1
  • Social and Cultural Anthropology 2
  • Social and Cultural Anthropology 3
  • Sports, Exercise and Health Science 1
  • Sports, Exercise and Health Science 2
  • Visual Arts 1
  • Visual Arts 2
  • Visual Arts 3
  • Visual Arts 4
  • Visual Arts 5
  • World Religion 1
  • World Religion 2
  • World Religion 3

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3 Examples of how to write excellent EE questions

Travis Dixon August 24, 2020 Extended Essay

extended essay on criminal psychology

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The key to writing an excellent EE research question isn’t to begin with the perfect question in mind. Far from it. You have to begin broad and continually work on evolving your question so it gets more and more focused. In this post we look at three examples of how a broad topic can evolve into an excellent research question. 

extended essay on criminal psychology

Download a free eBook for the EE. This gives you a brief introduction to the EE process in IB Psych’.

It breaks my heart when I see EE advice that gives students specific examples of research questions to ask. The research process for the EE should be a genuine chance for inquiry into a topic the students are interested in. Who cares if they start with a broad question? It’s only a problem if they still have that question at the  end! 

  • How to write the perfect EE question
  • Is this a good EE question?
  • Evaluating Psychological Theories

Here are three examples of how research questions have evolved over months of research from students.

#1 Psychopathy

Always a popular subject but I’m surprised to hear that some students are discouraged from writing about it. I’ve had two in the last two years write about psychopathy and both students have done excellent work. In fact, one student has gone on to study Criminal Psychology at university!

extended essay on criminal psychology

Psychopathy is a perfectly acceptable topic for IB Psych EE’s. Be warned: it’s difficult!

Asking “how” or “why” questions are perfectly acceptable in IB Psychology EEs. The reason “to what extent” is more popular is because the critical thinking is included in the question with that phrase “to what extent.” But you can still have critical thinking in a “why” essay. In this case, the student simply argued against their explanations of why there were more male psychopaths in prison compared to females. (By the way, they were 1 mark away from an A).

#2 Happiness

You can’t ask a question you know nothing about. This is why EE supervisors, I think, need to refrain from giving the questions to their students. In the below example, you can see that understandably the first question is broad. The student doesn’t know about the psychology of happiness yet because they haven’t researched it. But over weeks and months of research, they learn about things like social comparison theory and subjective well-being (the psychologist’s term for happiness).

extended essay on criminal psychology

You can see the development of the student’s knowledge reflected in the increasingly focused questions they’re asking in this EE.

Generally speaking, EEs in IB Psychology will about causes and/or effects. What causes a particular behaviour (or cognitive process)? What are the effects of particular factors (e.g. genes, environment, etc.) on behaviour? What are the effects of treatments or interventions on behaviour?

The key is to continually narrow the question so the causes and/or effects being asked about are increasingly specific. You can see this in the above example where it’s generally “what causes happiness?” Then when a specific cause is isolated after weeks of research (social comparison on social media) the final question can be more specific than the first. But it would have been impossible for the student to begin with this EE question because they didn’t know about social comparison or subjective well-being at that time.

#3 Violence

These examples all have four steps, but this is done for the purposes of demonstration. It’s possible that a student might have lots and lots of variations of their RQ before they find the perfect one.

extended essay on criminal psychology

How, why, to what extent are all acceptable ways to begin an EE.

Hopefully by now I’ve made my point – it’s not important to  start  with a narrow and focused research question, but it is important to  end  with one.

Travis Dixon

Travis Dixon is an IB Psychology teacher, author, workshop leader, examiner and IA moderator.

extended essay on criminal psychology

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Criminal Psychology Topic Essays for OCR A-Level Psychology

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This set of 12 essays demonstrates how to write a top mark band response to a range of questions for the Criminal Psychology topic in OCR A Level Psychology, covering a broad range of questions.

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Extended Essay

extended essay on criminal psychology

It is the advice of the IB that only students who are studying psychology write their extended essays in the subject.  You will see that psychology has a high failure rate compared to other subjects - and one of the reasons is the high number of students who write essays in the subject although they have never studied it.

This section will take you through the writing process and give you tips for writing a strong essay.

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extended essay on criminal psychology

World Studies: Approaches

The following page gives examples of World Studies essays that have been successful with a psychological approach. The actual...

World Studies Essays

The extended essay in psychology is a review of literature focused on a specific question. For many students, this may be...

extended essay on criminal psychology

World Studies: Criterion C

Criterion C assesses you on your critical thinking. The criterion assesses how you conducted your research, the analysis...

extended essay on criminal psychology

World Studies: Criterion B

Criterion B assesses "Knowledge and understanding." This includes your knowledge of the general topic, the different subjects...

extended essay on criminal psychology

World Studies: Criterion A

Criterion A is marked based on the formulation of the research question, identification of the global issue and its local...

extended essay on criminal psychology

Developing a research question

As with all extended essays, choosing an appropriate topic and constructing a focused, well-worded question is essential...

Extended essay

The extended essay is an independent, self-directed piece of research, finishing with a 4,000-word paper.

One component of the International BaccalaureateÂź (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) core, the extended essay is mandatory for all students.

Read about the extended essay  in greater detail.

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Learn more about the extended essay in a DP workshop for teachers . 

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Psychology EE

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  • Criminal Psychology

By Maham Taj March 8, 2015 in Extended Essay

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 I'm a Year 1 IB student and I'm planning to do Psychology EE on Criminal Psychology but the subject is too broad and I need help with narrowing it down. It would be very helpful if i could get some suggestions on topics under Criminal Psychology. Thank you!

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  • 2 weeks later...

thinksyoucanthink

thinksyoucanthink

I did mine on Psych. You could look into psychopathy and criminal correlation, juvenile delinquency and crime.

Do you take psychology as a subject? If you do, try using knowledge from SCLOA etc.

All the best! 

  • 3 weeks later...

Gaby

We can't do your work for you! What is it with people sometimes, I totally don't get it... Do some research first, come back with a rough idea and we will HELP you make it into a topic/research question. You get points for research question, from what I recall, and I'm not a good enough person to give out free points to people. 

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  1. Psychology of Crime Essay

    extended essay on criminal psychology

  2. 📌 Essay Sample on Criminal Defense

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  3. Criminal Psychology

    extended essay on criminal psychology

  4. Two Ways in Which Psychology Contributes to the Criminal Justice System

    extended essay on criminal psychology

  5. Criminal psychology by Jacqueline B. Helfgott

    extended essay on criminal psychology

  6. (PDF) Essay: Psychological Explanations of Criminal Behaviour

    extended essay on criminal psychology

VIDEO

  1. IBDP Psychology Extended Essay Topic

  2. Confronting a Killer Cop in his Own Home

  3. A Mayfair Magician; a Romance of Criminal Science by George Griffith

  4. Criminal psychology!! kno? ||Mukhos day 4 || STS production #original #funny #stproduction #viral

  5. Strain Theory and Merton's Anomie Theory in Criminal Justice

COMMENTS

  1. Top 50 Criminal Psychology Research Paper Topics

    Here are some well-thought-out topics to get you started: The impact of mental health on criminal behavior. Forensic assessment in the courtroom setting. Ethics is a major challenge in forensic psychology examinations. A psychological perspective on how testimonies and false information hinder crime evaluation.

  2. Criminal Psychology

    We will write a custom essay on your topic. For that reason, they are very significant in criminal justice as they help the judges in understanding various issues concerning the mind of a criminal especially because criminology is a problem in every community due to various structures in the society. For instance, Merton strain theory explains ...

  3. Essay: Psychological Explanations of Criminal Behaviour

    Abstract. This essay aims to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of theories in explaining the causes for offending and criminal behaviour. For this study, we will evaluate the explanations given ...

  4. IB Psychology EE examples

    EE Psychology. Fast track your coursework with mark schemes moderated by IB examiners. Upgrade now 🚀. Promoted. High scoring IB Psychology Extended Essay examples. See what past students did and make your Psychology EE perfect by learning from examiner commented examples!

  5. Psychology Extended Essay Topics: 30+ Ideas to Get You Started

    From topic selection and preliminary research to developing a research question and writing, the Psychology Extended Essay can be such an overwhelming project. Even if you have a strong grip of the topic, there are instances when you might find some stages time consuming. ... How to Write a Computer Science Extended Essay; Criminal Psychology ...

  6. Psychology Extended Essay Guide: Definition, Rubric, And Topics

    An extended essay in psychology is a project that gives you the chance to research a topic of personal interest within the discipline of psychology, which may extend beyond the Diploma Program. Students who choose Psychology actively investigate a research issue that will enhance their analytical and communication abilities, as well as their ...

  7. (PDF) Criminal Psychology: Understanding Criminal Behaviour

    Abstract. Criminal psychology is a field involving an amalgamation of psychology, criminology, and the law. This discipline was conceived in the mid-twentieth century, when psychologists began ...

  8. Criminal Psychology Dissertation Ideas

    When writing a criminal psychology dissertation, you might consider one or more of these research ideas. Your research and citations should be accurate regardless of the criminal psychology theme you select. It is possible to study criminal behaviour, forensics, and crime from every angle. To help you get started and inspire your creativity, we ...

  9. Psychology and Crime

    Psychologists have studied many aspects of crime and criminality ever since modern psychology began to emerge in the late 19th century. The founding fathers of psychology taught courses on criminal psychology and considered delinquency at the time they were laying their foundations. Just about every psychological theory has been applied to the ...

  10. Criminal Psychology Essay Topics

    Critical Thinking Essay Topics. Write an essay that presents gender-based homicide statistics in one nation, such as the United States, Russia, or Canada, and use social psychological theories to ...

  11. The Complete IB Extended Essay Guide: Examples, Topics, and Ideas

    References and bibliography. Additionally, your research topic must fall into one of the six approved DP categories, or IB subject groups, which are as follows: Group 1: Studies in Language and Literature. Group 2: Language Acquisition. Group 3: Individuals and Societies. Group 4: Sciences. Group 5: Mathematics.

  12. Psychology Extended Essay Topics 2022

    Psychology Extended Essay Topics. 3. Psychology of Sport and Exercise. 5. Psychology and Education. 5. Dysfunctional behaviour and effectiveness of treatments and therapies. 6. Social and Organizational Psychology and applications. 6. Criminal Psychology. 7. Cognitive and Neuro-Psychology. 7.

  13. 3 Examples of how to write excellent EE questions

    Be warned: it's difficult! Asking "how" or "why" questions are perfectly acceptable in IB Psychology EEs. The reason "to what extent" is more popular is because the critical thinking is included in the question with that phrase "to what extent.". But you can still have critical thinking in a "why" essay. In this case, the ...

  14. Criminal Psychology Topic Essays for OCR A-Level Psychology

    This set of 12 essays demonstrates how to write a top mark band response to a range of questions for the Criminal Psychology topic in OCR A Level Psychology, covering a broad range of questions. Each essay has been written and checked by our experienced team of examiners and detailed examiner commentary has been provided on every answer.

  15. Unit 4 Learning aim a

    Unit 4 : Criminal and Forensic Psychology. The Peterborough, youth study by Wikstrom 2003 was designed to investigate figures and showed that poorest 5% of the countries were 100 times more likely to have problems such as police contact alcohol reviews et cetera Panthers in the most advantage to 20%. To do this over 1900 people stop at 8:40 to ...

  16. EE in Psychology

    Hi, I had several issues regarding my Extended Essay in Psychology.. First: Which research question would be the most suitable? Option 1: To what extent is criminal behaviour based on biological factors? Option 2: To what extent can biological factors predict criminal behaviour? Option 3: Is criminal behaviour primarily based on biological factors?

  17. Tanglin LibGuides: IB Extended Essay (EE): Psychology

    The effect of a growth mindset on academic performance (2022) An exploration of genetics as the main casual factor of anorexia nervosa (2022) An exploration of the use of electroconvulsive therapy to treat depressive disorders as compared with more conventional treatments, in modern psychiatric practice (2022) The effectiveness of the ...

  18. DP Psychology: Extended Essay

    Extended Essay. The following section of the site includes guidance for the writing and assessment of this component of the diploma program. It is the advice of the IB that only students who are studying psychology write their extended essays in the subject. You will see that psychology has a high failure rate compared to other subjects - and ...

  19. Extended essay

    The extended essay is an independent, self-directed piece of research, finishing with a 4,000-word paper. One component of the International BaccalaureateÂź (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) core, the extended essay is mandatory for all students. Read about the extended essay in greater detail. You can also read about how the IB sets deadlines for ...

  20. Psychology EE

    1. Exams: May 2016. Posted March 8, 2015. Hi, I'm a Year 1 IB student and I'm planning to do Psychology EE on Criminal Psychology but the subject is too broad and I need help with narrowing it down. It would be very helpful if i could get some suggestions on topics under Criminal Psychology. Thank you!

  21. Criminal Psychology Extended Essay

    THESIS. $ 12.99. Plagiarism report. You are free to order a full plagiarism PDF report while placing the order or afterwards by contacting our Customer Support Team. 10 Customer reviews. Information Technology. 2191 Orders prepared. The experts well detail out the effect relationship between the two given subjects and underline the importance ...

  22. Criminal Psychology Extended Essays

    Criminal Psychology Extended Essays, Self Descriptive Essay Sample, Kv Damoh Holiday Homework, Pay For Esl Admission Essay On Trump, Literature Review On Power And Politics, Cover Letter Drop Off Resume, Custom Persuasive Essay On Founding Fathers 4.7 (3244 reviews)