Patty Hearst Trail 1976 - Research Paper Example

Therefore, it is crucial to ensure justice prevails in the civilized world (Farrington, 2003). Patricia Hearst was a victim of violence for a period in her life. She was the heiress of a wealthy father who was adopted from her father’s house by a Liberation Army. She was however seen later on committing crimes and also participating in the activities of the radical group. The main crime that she committed was the bank robbery. According to the trait theory of criminology, crime is related to mental aspects of the individual.

On the case of Patricia Hearst, there were assumptions that she was brainwashed. The theory states that there is a relationship between learning, intelligence, personality and also criminal behavior. There is also a psychodynamic perspective that had been stated by Freud, and it states that a personality in human has an ego; the personality manages the impulse of the id. It also manages the moral standards of an individual that are representations of the superego. According to this perception, criminals are seen as persons who are dominated by id, and they are unable to control their drives of seeking pleasure (Maguire et al, 2012).

Another aspect in the trait theory of criminology is that the theory encompasses behavioral theories. Behavioral theories indicate that human beings behave the way they do due to the experiences they have encountered. Theorists in the sociological department indicate that violence is learned through exposure. On the case of Patricia Hearst she was a victim of abduction and also aggression. In one of the occasions, Patricia Hearst participated in a bank robbery in Hibernia. The security cameras that recorded the robbery were later on analyzed by the authorities and also played in the national television.

Various conclusions were derived from the tapes; some of the conclusions indicated that Patricia Hearst was willing to commit a crime