What drives someone to commit a crime? This question was raised to me since the exposure to T.V. programs such as Criminal Minds and Poirot as a child with great interest due to enthralling (and sometimes frightening) depictions of crimes. I have been fascinated by the psychology and behaviour of criminals from a young age and set out to answer this question posed in my mind when researching crimes. This fascinating knowledge on criminal behaviour is what draws me to Criminology. The T.V. series Lie to Me led me to read a book named The Body Language of Liars by Lillian Glass. This discusses reasons for lying, and detecting deception through body language and ‘micro-expressions’ that flash on faces- criminals are often used as examples to refer …show more content…
My personal research of the behaviour of criminals and study of crime is what drove me to study Psychology at IB level. Through studying psychology, I have acquired a deep understanding of behaviour and motivations of people, including criminal actions being influenced by social pressures. My exposure and understanding paired with a genuine interest have well prepared me for further studies in Criminology, and I am confident in joining the police force to further study and apply my skills regarding criminal behaviour, along with applying for a master’s degree in Forensic Psychology, following with a career in criminal profiling. During my IB Psychology course, I was able to explore the behaviour and social function of criminals, and the nature of psychopaths in more depth through bystanderism, social behaviour, and abnormal psychology. In particular, the Kitty Genovese case. My external research allows interesting discussions in class as I can relate examples in which certain theories behind acts of crime may be supported, e.g. the Tanaka-Matsumi Etic-Emic approach to psychopathology. Studying Psychology at HL has not only allowed me to broaden my knowledge regarding the processes of the human mind, but also allowed me to explore cases of abnormal psychology in which deviant behaviour is unexpected, e.g. Jeffrey