ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Criminal psychology

Criminal psychology is like trying to read the minds of people who have done bad things (like steal or hurt someone).

Just like how doctors study the human body to find out what’s wrong with it, criminal psychologists study the minds of bad people to try to understand why they did bad things.

They look at things like how a person was raised, their experiences growing up, and the things they went through in their life. They also try to figure out what might be going on in a person’s brain when they do bad things.

Sometimes, criminal psychologists work with police and law enforcement to help them catch and understand criminals. Other times, they work with judges and lawyers to figure out fair punishments for people who have done bad things.

Overall, criminal psychology is about trying to understand why people do bad things so that we can make the world a safer place.