Behavioral Analysis Unit

My goals to complete the Graduate Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis are both, personal and professional. On a professional level, I want to advance my graduate studies by becoming a certified Behavior Analyst. For this I must complete the courses required by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board. On a personal level, this certificate means several things: providing an example of improvement for my family, and providing my family with the adequate financial resources in the furure. I have been the first in my family to obtain a university degree. Being certified as a behavioral analyst would make me a specialist in this field. It is my hope that the completion of my professional career stimulates other family members to aspire higher educational goals and become productive professional citizens in society.

Criminal Minds does not give the viewer an honest depiction of how the FBIs Behavioral Analyst Unit go about profiling the offender. This specifically can be understood when watching season six episode ten of Criminal Minds the BAU unit is tasked with fining the unsub responsible for murdering three women in a housing complex. In this episode, they fail to properly depict profiling in 3 major ways, they never start by asking the question “why?”, they make many assumptions about the profile and possible offender, and lastly, they took on responsibilities that should be left to local law enforcement.

The Bureau has over 39,000 employees and multiple prisons throughout the United States. This agency analysis will briefly describe the agency at the national level, but will primarily focus on the agency I intern at by taking a look specifically at the role of psychology services.

Applied Behavior Analysis analysts are required to know the steps that are needed and necessary for behavior modification. This type of modification requires a clear definition of the behavior needing modification (target behavior), how this will benefit the individual in need of the modification, a clear plan of modification, and consistent data gathering to determine the effectiveness of the proposed behavior modification plan. In order to achieve a successful modification plan, the ABA professional first needs to gather information about the individual either by direct or indirect means. The modification must always been in the best interest of the individual, or those closest to the individual, and it must be a functional modification that can be carried out in the absence of the analyst. The ABA professional needs to understand the needs of each client. In order to do this, the professional will have to assess the behavior, gather data, identify a target behavior, propose a hypothesis about an intervention, implement the modification program, gather more data about the effectiveness of the program, and report about the outcome.

And, above all: Why + How =Who”(Douglass). The Behavioral Science Unit of the FBI came to be in 1972. Since then it continues to evolve into an integral part in catching criminals and further understanding their motives. The BAU is a relatively new science and is still evolving today. The BAU has gained further recognition and interest.

One of the disciplines explored by The Silence of the Lambs is criminology. "Criminology is the scientific study of crime, criminals, and the criminal justice system" (Northwest Community College). Criminology sets out to investigate and analyze criminals' motivations, the impact of crime on the community, how the criminal system operates, and the effectiveness of the criminal system (Northwest Community College). The Silence of the Lambs not only highlights the crimes committed by serial murderers, but it also analyzes the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) and the processes they undergo to determine, profile, and apprehend a serial murderer. In the film, the primary BAU investigator is Clarice

Psychology plays a very important role in the field of criminal justice. It is needed to help assess individuals who commit crimes, as well as, help to be a predictor of criminal behavior. Utilizing theories such behaviorism and operant conditioning, individual behavior is able to be assessed by the response to learning what actions result in rewards and what actions result in punishment. As a result of how individuals respond to rewards and punishment, learned behaviors have the possibility to be deterred or corrected.

There is no perfect formula to accurately predict crime or to understand the criminal elements of the human mind, but there have been many theories that have attempted to explain crime for better or for worse. The 5th edition Criminological Theory: Context and Consequences covers the both the most famous and infamous of criminal theories. Although some ideas are convincing at first they tend to fall flat when new evidence surfaces, so when reading, researching, or just watching the news in general it is important to remain vigilant and impartial as everybody else is entitled to their opinions. Unfortunately societies tend to spread false information quickly, but it is not like it is difficult to change someone’s opinions, however the amount of people with the wrong idea grows into quite a substantial number.

“Profiling entails coming up with basic evidence from the characteristics of the perpetrator and the victims (referred to as victimology), using evidence from the case and matching that information to historic precedents and psychological analyses as a means to solve the case” (Huggo). Criminal Minds a television series that premieres on CBS that mimics the Behavioral Analysis Unit, also known the BAU, a small subsection of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Through the use of realistic storyline, emotional connection, and diversity amongst characters, Criminal Minds is one of the most entertaining and relatable programs on television today. Although mainly based in Quantico, Virginia, each episode of Criminal Minds explores a different town or city.

The criminal investigative approach is what is used law enforcement and more specifically by the Behavioral Analysis Unit with the FBI. The BAU assists law enforcement agencies by their review and assessment of a criminal act, by interpreting the offender's behavior during the crime and the interactions between the offender and the victim during the commission of the crime and as expressed in the crime scene. The clinical practitioner approach focuses on looking at each case as unique, making the approach very individualistic. One practitioner, Turco, believed that all violent crimes were a result of the mother-child struggle where female victims represent the offender's mother. This is also recognized as the psychodynamic approach. Also outlined are some principles for profiling which include being custom made, interactive and reflexive. By following these principles, the profile should include advice that is unique and not from a stereotype, should be easy to understand for all levels of intelligence, and all elements in the profile should influence one another. The Scientific approach relies heavily on the multivariate analysis of behaviors and any other information from the crime scene that could lead to the offender's characteristics or psychological processes. According to this approach, elements of the profile are developed by comparing the results of the analysis to those of previously caught

One of my favorite shows on T.V is “Criminal Minds,” show stories of the existence of the FBI’S Behavioral Analysis Units and how expert profilers work with the FBI to search and capture rapists, serial killers that terrorize society. However, after watching a number of episodes, one can’t help but question or wonders if what they watching are real. In the real world, every day in the United State law enforcement officers is called to respond to horrify murder scenes. What is the mission of the Behavior Analysis Units? “The mission of the Behavioral Analysis Units (BAU) is to provide operational support for difficult and time-sensitive cases and other matters through the application of investigative case experience, education, specialized

My enthusiasm for Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) in kids and pre-adults began in the midst of my journey for a graduate degree in teaching. When I graduated with my Bachelors in Psychology, I noticed there were many available instructing positions in teaching. I chose to seek after a graduate

Consider a case study example whereby Rory, a childhood friend of Amy, is in jail for committing a violent crime. Amy goes to pay him a visit in prison and is shocked to realize that Rory doesn’t

Mentally based criminologists clarify criminal conduct as the outcome of individual components, for example, negative early youth encounters, and lacking socialization, which results in criminal deduction designs and/or fragmented subjective improvement.

What makes a criminal a criminal? Can anyone become a criminal? Answering and understanding these questions is the core work of criminologists as most criminologists attempt to make sense of why people do certain things (Garland, Sparks 2000). This essay will consider the notion that any person could become a criminal and in so doing consider the initial question. This essay will outline a range of theories that attempt to describe human behavior in relation to criminal behavior given the complexities of behaviour. Several theories will be considered as no single theory of behavior can account fully for the complexities and range in criminal behaviour. The theories range from social-control, to classical, to biological, to personality