Behavioral Analysis Unit
Behavioral science is all about better understanding criminals and terrorists—who they are, how they think, why they do what they do—as a means to help solve crimes and prevent attacks. The art of what is sometimes called “profiling”—popularized in movies like Silence of the Lambs—was developed by FBI behavioral analysts and has been around for years. The Bureau began to more systematically apply the insights of psychological science to criminal behavior in the early 1970s. In 1974 The Behavioral Science Unit (BSU) was created to investigate serial rape and homicide cases. There were originally eleven agents and it was a part of the Training Division. By 1984 they split into the Behavioral Science Unit and the Behavioral Science Investigative Support Unit. The Behavioral Science Unit became primarily responsible for the training of FBI National Academy students in the variety of specialized topics concerning the behavior and social sciences, and the Behavioral Science Investigative Support Unit became primarily responsible for the investigation of criminals. A decade later, The Critical Incident Response Group integrated the FBI’s crisis management, behavioral, and tactical resources within one entity. The name changed again to the Investigative Support Unit and by 1997 the program evolved into the Behavioral Analysis Unit.
Behaviorism was largely established through the influential work of three theorists: Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, and B.F. Skinner. Pavlov discovered the conditioning reflex during his studies with dogs, establishing classical conditioning as a learning method. His research demonstrated that an environmental stimulus (i.e. ringing bell) could be used to stimulate a conditioned response (i.e. salivating at the sound of the ringing bell). John B. Watson extended Pavlov 's theory to apply to human behavior, publishing his landmark article Psychology as the Behaviorist View It in 1913 and establishing behaviorism as a major school of
Behaviorism was largely established through the influential work of three theorists: Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, and B.F. Skinner. Pavlov discovered the conditioning reflex during his studies with dogs, establishing classical conditioning as a learning method. His research demonstrated that an environmental stimulus (i.e. ringing bell) could be used to stimulate a conditioned response (i.e. salivating at the sound of the ringing bell). John B. Watson extended Pavlov 's theory to apply to human behavior, publishing his landmark article Psychology as the Behaviorist View It in 1913 and establishing behaviorism as a major school of
Cited: Holden, H. M. (2008). FBI 100 years: An unofficial history. Minneapolis: MBI Publishing Company. McCrary, Gregg (2004) The Unknown Darkness: Profiling the Predators Among Us. Harper Collings Publishers Winerman, L. (2004). Criminal profiling: The reality behind the myth. Monitor, 35(7). Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/julaug04/criminal.aspx