Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Jacquin, M. Kristine

Committee Member

Eakin, Deborah

Committee Member

Giesen, Martin J.

Date of Degree

5-1-2010

Original embargo terms

MSU Only Indefinitely

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Campus Access Only

Major

Psychology (Experimental Concentration)

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Psychology

Abstract

Despite the increased use of criminal profiling by law enforcement agencies, few studies examine factors impacting profile accuracy, and only one has evaluated profiler training. The present study examined the efficacy of profiler training on profile accuracy for sexual homicide offenders. Participants (N = 198) were randomly assigned to the training or control condition. Participants in the training condition learned inductive and deductive profiling techniques for sexual homicide offenders, whereas control participants learned about sexual violence prevention. Results indicated that participants’ self-reported use of combined profiling methods produced more accurate profiles. Differences between gender and training groups were also present. These findings suggest brief psychology-based training can be used to teach police officers and detectives to more accurately identify and apprehend criminals.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/16279

Comments

Criminal Profiling||Profiling Training||Inductive Profiling||Deductive Profiling||Offender Profiling Accuracy

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