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Article: Mind and murder: criminal behavior. (research) (American Association for the Advancement of Science, AAAS, annual meeting)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- February 26, 1994
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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"OH, OFFICER STARLING, do you think you can dissect me with this blunt little tool?" Hannibal Lecter, the murderous psychiatrist of Thomas Harris's book "The Silence of the Lambs", held those who probed his mind with psychological tests in contempt. He had a point; tests for violent behaviour have been on the blunt side, like the wooden instruments used to whittle away the brain in physical dissection. But new techniques, and old ones used well, are making some impressive progress.
Adrian Raine, a criminal psychologist at the University of Southern California, gave the AAAS session on inner-city crime a strong case for biological predisposition to violence, drawing ...