The Psychology of Criminal Conduct

The Psychology of Criminal Conduct, Seventh Edition, provides a psychological and evidence-informed perspective of criminal behavior that sets it apart from many criminological and mental health explanations of criminal behavior.

Drawing upon the General Personality and Cognitive Social Learning theory, James Bonta and Donald Andrews provide an overview of the theoretical context and major knowledge base of the psychology of criminal conduct, discuss the eight major risk/need factors of criminal conduct, examine the prediction and classification of criminal behavior along with prevention and rehabilitation, and summarize the major issues in understanding criminal conduct. This book also offers the Risk/Need/Responsivity (RNR) model of assessment and treatment that has guided developments in the subject throughout the world.

Bonta carefully maintains the book’s original contributions while presenting core concepts succinctly, clearly, and elegantly. Appropriate for advanced undergraduates and graduate students as well as for scholars, researchers, and practitioners, The Psychology of Criminal Conduct, Seventh Edition, further extends and refines the authors’ body of work.

The book is extended and enhanced by a website that includes:

• A curated selection of videos, webinars and podcast episodes, bringing together diverse voices from leaders across the field of corrections and criminal psychology
• Technical notes providing additional context and detail to concepts explored in the book
• Interactive quizzes to test understanding and support study
• Lecture slides, exercises and test banks designed to save instructors time

About the Authors

James Bonta served as Director of Corrections Research at Public Safety Canada from 1990 until 2015. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Ottawa in 1979. Bonta was a psychologist, and later Chief Psychologist, at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre, a maximum-security remand facility for adults and young offenders. Throughout his career, Bonta has held various academic appointments and professional posts. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association, a recipient of the Association’s Criminal Justice Section’s Career Contribution Award for 2009, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, 2012, the Maud Booth Correctional Services Award, 2015, and the 2015 Community Corrections Award from the International Corrections and Prisons Association.

The late D.A. Andrews was a noted psychologist affiliated with Carleton University throughout his academic career. His work on the psychology of criminal conduct produced what became known as the "theory of correctional intervention," which set the standard for successful intervention practices throughout the field of corrections worldwide. He was a founding member of Carleton’s Criminology and Criminal Justice Program and a Fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association.