Edexcel A2 Psychology - Offender Profiling (Inductive and Deductive Reasoning)

What is Offender Profiling?

Offender profiling involves studying forensic evidence to find behavioural information that can help lead to the identification of suspects. Physical and behavioural evidence is analysed, including issues about the scene of the crime and the victim; this is used to inform police of specific offender characteristics.

Profilers come from all different backgrounds, it is NOT a specific job and there is no specific training for it. Criminal profiling is a task that is carried out and is done by whoever seems best suited for the job. For example, in America, some FBI employees carry out offender profiling, whilst others are forensic psychologists.

Inductive and deductive reasoning

Offender profiling tends to be divided into the inductive and deductive type.

Inductive reasoning is where information from the environment is studied and weighed up. Information is gathered from different sources and then conclusions are drawn from that information. 

For example, 'I see lots of white sheep. I have never seen a black sheep. Therefore all sheep are white.

In inductive reasoning the conclusion will only be true according to our current experiences, and any new experience can change the…