An nice overview of the Samenow/Yochelson "criminal personality" study referenced in tonight's Sopranos is available at criminology.fsu.edu. Via Television Without Pity.

The rejuvenated focus of the criminal personality study aimed to see the world as the criminals viewed it(Harris,1984:227). In general, the criminal saw the world in "chess-board" terms, as people were there pawns to manipulate at will for their own personal gain(Harris,1984:227). The anti-social behavior developed when the offenders were young, some as young as age four(Nott,1977:*). The criminal, early in life, consciously removed himself from the rules of society. The conventional activities and interests of his peers were abhorred by the fledgling criminal(Samenow,1978:17). Fighting, lying, and stealing were very frequent activities by the young criminal. Notably, the criminal is pro-active in his approach of rejection to others(Samenow,1978:17). Consequently, he is the first to establish polarity between himself and others(Samenow,1984:49). Additionally:

* he shies away from affection(Nott,1977:*)
* he is very restless, dissatisfied, and irritable(Samenow,1984:26)
* he perfunctorily engages in civil communication only to prevent others from being suspicious of his behavior(Nott,1977:*)
* he considers requests from teachers, parents, and others as impositions(Samenow,1984:47)
* he continually sets himself apart from others
* he is enamored with living a life of excitement, at whatever expense (Samenow,1981:6)
* he habitually experiences anger as a way of life(Samenow,1984:172)
* he lacks empathy
* he feels no obligation to anyone except his own interests
* he has no understanding of responsible decision making, having prejudged situations(Samenow,1998:68)
* he has a daily struggle with "Murphy's Law". That is, when something is bound to go wrong, it probably will. Criminals cannot cope with this obstacle well(Samenow,1998:69).

All told, fifty-two thinking patterns were distinguishable in the criminal personality(Harris,1984:227). These were considered "errors" in thinking, and though not unique to criminals, they were displayed to extreme magnitudes by criminals (Harris,1984:227). Though criminals may differ in the types of crime that they commit, and their modus operandi, they exhibit identifiable and classifiable paralleled errors in thinking(Samenow,1978:17). For example, the white collar criminal and the inner-city street drug dealer come from very different backgrounds, yet they conduct their lives very similarly according to the way that they consistently supersede their wants and desires over those of others. Importantly, the criminal act is the end product of a specific thinking process and personality characteristics. The criminal personality precedes the criminal act. But criminality goes well beyond arrestability. It pertains to the way in which a person acts, thinks, and lives his life (Samenow,1978:17). Because a person has a criminal personality, however, does not necessarily mean that he will have a criminal record.