Professional Documents
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Psychology & Criminal Behavior
Psychology & Criminal Behavior
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PSYCHOLOGY & CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR 2
Introduction
Psychological profiles shape the core of studying criminal behavior, especially because
professionals target solving crimes and prevent them. Walter Langer wrote Adolf Hitler’s profile
in 1943, which he suggests, would have changed global geopolitics if published earlier
(Waggoner, 1981). Langer’s profile of Adolf Hitler and subsequent works by the likes of Teten
and Mullany provide evidence of the critical role of criminal profiles in crime-solving and its
Dr. Walter C. Langer was a psychoanalyst from America who secretively and
prophetically produced a psychological study of the German dictator, Adolf Hitler (Waggoner,
1981). The work was useful to the Office of Strategic Services in America in the quest to top
Hitler’s destructive campaign in Europe and its potential consequences on the USA. The fact that
Dr. Langer could predict how Hitler’s life would end is a clear hint that there are some ways of
intervening to stop neurotic leaders. Although he did not interview the main subject, Hitler, so
the book is not categorized under psychoanalytical works, the report still produced some insights
Views on the work with some facts related to Teten and Mullany
Authoritative figures in psychiatry have admitted that Dr. Langer had a good
understanding of Hitler’s and the German general psyche (Waggoner, 1981). He understood how
Hitler’s self-perception and what the German people thought of him (Langer, 1943). Hitler’s
authentic self-knowledge and how his associates perceived him was more important than what
the general German and European populace imagined. If the doctor could isolate the reality that
PSYCHOLOGY & CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR 3
Adolf was a “weakling bully and failed Fuhrer” (1981), the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit is
of Murder (Ramsland, 2018). Howard Teten and Mullany were part of the first team that created
a profile that fit the Susan Jaeger abduction and murder perpetrator in 1973 (2018). Like in Dr.
Langer’s works, there is some evidence that serial killers have one vie of who they are, while the
public holds another. The two criminal-mind hunters explain how murderers subliminally know
who they are but soon believe the front of a personality that they uphold to trick neighbors and
In the isolated case, David Meirhofer did not fit the public image that a psychopath killer
is expected to have. However, neither did Hitler reveal his weaknesses nor admit neurosis to
himself or others. Only the truth revealed who Hitler was by the end of the war, just as Mullany
and Teten contended with their main suspects' general perceptions until there was undeniable
evidence against them. The FBI professionals reveal how criminal minds are so complex that
Meirhofer lied despite being injected with truth serum. However, an associate who anonymously
proposed that Meirhofer be the subject of investigation for kidnapping and murder must have
known the criminal better than his social circles, acquaintances, and neighbors.
Conclusion
In summary, it is possible to link the ideas by Dr. Langer on Hitler’s mind and those by
Teten and Mullany based on their experiences in the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit. The BSU
and other psychoanalytical departments and firms are essential to understanding the types of
people who are likely to perpetuate specific crimes. With such knowledge, professionals can
alter the course of solving crimes and, more importantly, preventing them.
PSYCHOLOGY & CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR 4
References
Mullany, P. J. (2015). Matador of murder: An FBI agent’s journey in understanding the criminal
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/shadow-boxing/201807/the-original-mindhunters
Waggoner, H. W. (1981, July 10). Walter Langer is dead at 82; wrote secret study of Hitler. The
wrote-secret-study-of-hitler.html