The Psychology of Criminal Behavior - Myra Hindley - Case Study Example

The Psychology Of Criminal Behavior Institution Affiliation Date Myra Hindley and her husband Ian Brady were convicted of the murder of three children between 1966 and 1985.They later also confessed to the murder of two other children bringing the total number to five. The children were first tortured before being murdered and their bodies were thrown away in the saddle worth moor region near Manchester. This is why the murders are also known as Moore murders. Using various vehicles, the couple would lure young children whose bodies would later be found (Steel, 2012). Hindley would drive before Brady who had a motorcycle and would make stops to pick up victims that Brady suggested. After kidnapping the young children, they would take them to saddle worth more the children were mistreated, abused, sexually harassed and even murdered. Some of the children were tortured, beaten, gagged, strangled, forced to pose for photographs and even raped. Brady would take the victim and get back to the car when the victim was dead. Occasionally, Hindley claims that she was not present when these inhuman activities were carried out. Despite her claims that she did not commit any murders and her role was just luring the children into the vehicle for Brady, A tape recording showed on the court during their trial shows Hindley torture one of the victims (Cohen & Strayer, 1996). Hindley has a high loyalty and is submissive to Brady; this leads to the assumption that her role could be even greater in the murders of the 5 children.it is possible that Hindley played a big role in the children’s murder and not the submissive and cool girlfriend she showed to be. Evidence of the case which was a video recording shows Lesley and Downey one of the victims and Brady is not in the video. It is clear that Hindley yearned for excitement as demonstrated through her canceling of her engagement to Ronnie Sinclair some years before they committed the murders. Sad behaviors tend to be related to sex as shown in the physical aggression and emotional torture towards the victims. This may be Hindley way of satisfying her yearn for excitement and together with her lack of remorse and sympathy for the children make her have stronger ties and connections with Brady. The husband to Hindley's sister was the whistleblower to their heinous murder chain that led to their convictions. (Topping, 1989).  If he never took the important decision to tell the authorities, it is possible that Hindley and Brady would have continued with their murders of even more innocent children. Up to this day, the body of Keith Bennett a 12-year-old girl has never been found and there is a possibility of many more child victims not yet known. It does not matter whether Hindley played a physical role in the murder of the children, she coordinated and helped lure the children into a vehicle for Brady and moreover, evidence from a video shows her torture Lesley Ann Downey who was 12 years old. Myra’s experience from childhood to adulthood. Born on 23rd July 1942, Myra had both parents but her father was an officer and served in worldwar 2. Due to this, she lived with her mother only for the first three years of her young life. Having one parent available for a young child affects them very much. They are vulnerable because they require love, affection and presence of both parents. They are too young to understand why their father or mother is not around to live with and raise them on a daily basis like other kids. It was expected that Hindley would show some change in behavior in her teenage years due to being raised by one parent but this was not the case. They lived with their grandmother and her mother went to work. Her father returned when Hindley was three years old and they moved out of their grandmother’s house and bought a home nearby. The home was in poor condition in the working class area of Manchester. Poverty is one of the greatest contributors that lead people to indulge in criminal activities and change in behavior. It also causes adolescence violence in teenage male and females.it was not different with Hindley, at her teenage years, she was violent and constantly engaged in arguments and confrontations when she was five years old, her kid sister Maureen was born. They were already grappling with poverty hardly in urban settings, poverty causes stress to people and diminish parent’s capacity to be supportive and consistent parents. Life became unbearable due to the financial constraints and eventually Hindley’s parents could not make ends meet and had to let her go back to living with her grandmother. This means she got more attention from her grandmother but her relationship with her father never fully developed as a result of not spending much of her time with him. Her father then had problems settling back in the family life after the war was over. When not doing casual labor work she would spend his time in the pubs drinking alcohol. He would then come home and beat up Hindley's mother regularly until Hindley go used to the act. Parenting practices and behaviors expressed by parents have a direct and strong effect on the developments of specific behavior and character traits. Children tend to take up their parents behaviors at a later age when their freedom grows due to age. This had implications on Hindley who witnessed her father beat up her mother regularly when he came home drunk. The relationship with her father made her brutal as she lacked the figure girls need. She also experienced violence from her father too as he was authoritarian in nature wanting things done without questioning him or dialogue. He used violence as a measure to shape and control her life. As Hindley grew up, she benefited from inflicting pain on others and was also violent. Unlike male violence, female violence is usually regarded as the expression of someone who is angry, mad or in bad mood but for Myra, her violence surpassed the above relations. Her father was not an emotional person and she took up after him too. Hindley learned to suppress her emotions and range herself. She was so tough that she was never teased with others especially boys as they were frightened of her. When living with her grandmother, she would let her skip school and stay at home and as a result, her school attendance was so poor. She, however, performed exceptionally well managing A grades in all of her subjects. Her IQ was high above average therefore she would understand thing more quickly leading to good performance in school even without attending. She would constantly skip school and play with other children in abandoned houses or by the lakeside. Her grandmother would cover up for her when the authorities came to question her unavailability in school; her grandmother would say she is ill and help her with her homework when she came home. Hindley was a popular and capable bedsitter due to her maturity and she showed genuine love for children. She also showed empathy towards others particularly when her closest friend Michael Higgins drowned at a water reservoir at the age of 13.Mindley had turned down the swim with him and took his death personally. She could have saved him had she agreed to go. She could not be consoled. His death took a tall on her making her became hysterical and depressed wearing black clothes and lighting a candle every night in the church. Her school deteriorated and she then left school and went to look for employment. She got engaged to Ronnie Sinclair but called it off as she yearned for a relationship more exciting. In January 1961 she met Brady, she became so interested in him and infatuated. After a year, they began to date and Brady quickly brainwashed her into his extreme political views. She became withdrawn and secretive to her family and friends preferring the company of Brady. Brady has great influence in her as she began to change her appearance wearing high boots, short skirts and even wanted to earn a gun license although this was rejected due to her bad temper and traits. Her behavior and new association with Brady began to transform her life. Psychological research and theory to why Hindley committed the offense. There are various theories that try to explain why people may tend to portray criminal behavior and engage in criminal activities. In the case of Myra Hindley, the following theories can be used. First is the expectancy theory which suggests that a person’s performance level is based on the person’s expectation that behaving in a particular way will lead to a particular outcome that will work his/her favor. Although she was not directly involved with the murders, she helped in luring the children in the van in order to satisfy Brady’s urges of raping and murdering his victims. She, in turn got Brady’s company and she was loyal and trustworthy to Brady which is portrayed by the fact that she never tried to come clean about Brady but hide him. In school she was tough and violent to others especially boys because she expected to be tough and violence would keep boys away from teasing her and it worked. The psychopathic theory argues that people who tend to have psychopathic characteristics usually tend to inhibit criminal behavior and mindsets hence being drawn to committing criminal offenses. Some of the characteristics Hindley portrayed that fits her to the profile of being psychopathic include lack of empathy; she did not feel any remorse for the children she lured in the vehicle for Brady knowing clearly that Brady would torture them, rape them and eventually kill them. Disregard for danger, she went to play in unoccupied buildings which are not safe for children her age and she felt comfortable. She expressed troublesome behavior, dislike of others and attraction to bad company. She caused trouble by not going to school until authorities had to come in and she did not like other children. She was also attracted to the wrong people as she was intrigued by Brady immediately they met and lacked self-control in that she was ready to do anything for Brady at any cost. She found a life with him exciting and did not even give a second thought on what they were doing. Differential association theory argues on the base of change in social learning deviancy due to the surrounding environment of influence from people one associates with. After Hindley had met Brady she began to be secretive and withdrew from her family, she started wearing boots, short skirts and leather jackets. The more time they spent together made Brady influence her more to an extent she became interested in Brady’s extreme political views and started reading articles by Hitler and Sade (Bardsley, and Barney, 1987). She was ready to believe anything Brady said and would agree to serve him in any way. She became deviant of the life she had before meeting Brady. In addition she craved excitement and had no intention of going back to the normal life she had. The association effects were indulging in the illegal acts and change is social behavior and in return she got the pleasure and excitement she craved for which was the reason she broke her engagement with Ronnie. DE individuality theory argues that when people act or engage in activities as a crowd or group they lose their individuality, lose their sense of self-control and even sense of morality. This theory is relevant to Hindley behavior in that she did not commit such criminal activities before meeting Brady but afterward she lacked the senses of responsibility, individuality and morality. If she had not met Brady, she would have been unlikely to act in the ways she did. When she was with Brady, she did not need to think as Brady did it for her. She did not feel she was engaging in criminal acts and her moral restrictions were not even something she considered. More strongly than any psychological theory and research, Hindley shares more of the psychopathy character traits than any of the other theories Myra Hindley's social life experience Hindley has been portrayed as the evilest woman in England and one of the most evil woman killers of all time. Her social life was pretty much not interesting as she lacked some requirements which she is entitled to as a child. She lacked the presence, love and affecting of her father who was out working in the army. This made her lack the parental guidance and control females usually get from their fathers as they tend to inhibit closer relationships and understanding with their fathers than mothers. She lived with her grandmother who did not exercise responsibility and control over her but instead contributed to her behavior by covering up for her when she did not attend school and doing her homework. They were poor and she did not enjoy her life like other children. This was made worse by the birth of her younger sister Maureen who brought more financial constraints on the finally leading to her living with her grandmother. In school Hindley did not have much of a social life as she was tough to others. Boys admired her physical and athletic abilities, but she was not pretty enough to attract their interest (Birch, 1994). She subsequently lacked a person she could trust and comfort in her father was a drunkard and would come home and beat up her mother and sometimes herself. All this made her social life unbearable maybe leading to her engagement breakup from Ronnie as she did not get the life she wanted and yearned for. Her whole life had been full of problems and no exciting happenings and she wanted that exciting life she never had. When she met Brady, her life became more interesting as she changed her personal life due to influence by Brady. It became more exciting like she wanted as she did not try to get out of the life although it was criminal and immoral. Various factors contributed to Hindley committing the offenses. Some factors were personal based on her choices while others were out of her control. During her young age her father fighting in the world war and was not at home until three years later. Young children need the care and support of both children and lack of both or one parent creates a void in the children which may lead to changes in their teenage years (Birch, (1994). Children cannot understand why they are different from others by lacking one parent and that yearn often does not disappear until it is fulfilled most girls who are brought up by single mothers become desperate in associating with male counterparts leading to them being taken advantage of as in the case of Hindley. Brady took advantage of her yearn for excitement and used her to lure children for his inhuman deeds. .Although we are not told directly if Hindley missed her dad or if she wanted to be close to him, it is normal for children to require both parents Lack of her father made Hindley want to have a person who would fill the void she had and she found Brady. She lacked attention from boys as she was not pretty enough to attract them although they admired her athletic abilities. This made her hate boys and be antisocial. Boys feared her and would not even tease or make conversations with her. All people require friends and associations from the opposite sex.( Turvey, 2010). Although it may not be outwardly visible for people who are antisocial, everyone feels unwanted and bad about themselves if others from the opposite gender do not show interest or do not want to associate with them. It is more serious in teenagers as they start to have their freedom and puberty kicks in. During teenage hood self-esteem is important and lack of attention leads to great impacts in attitude, self-esteem leading to desperation and in some cases depression. Lack of attention from boys contributed to her craving for a male person who would value her and provide an exciting life. Poverty played a greater role in contributing to her offense. It is the main reason why people engage in criminal activities nowadays as they struggle to make ends meet. Her family was poor and they were having difficulties making ends meet. This made her hate the life she lived. Money tends to make life comfortable by providing some provisions that enable life to be better like toys in the case of children. Due to poverty Hindley could get such provisions and together with the lack of a father figure, they combine greatly in contributing to her engaging in offenses. The birth of her baby sister also played a role in her committing her offense .They were having difficulties making ends meet already and her sister added more financial burden to the family. Young children come to the financial burden due to their vulnerability posed by the new environment. They need clothing, food and in some cases medical expenses as they tend to be vulnerable to disease.This made her go live with her grandmother contributing to her committing the offense ah her grandmother also played a role Hindley Relationship with her father was also a contributing factor. Although her father later came back to live with them, he did not provide any parental support all establish a good relationship with her to make up for the time they were apart. Instead, he was brutal beating her and her mother after going to drink alcohol in the pub. Had her father been responsible, she would have been close with Hindley and provided the fatherly support she may have needed and maybe she would have led a normal life and not engage in the criminal activities. Her grandmother was also a contributing factor. Although she provided the emotional support to Hindley, she was irresponsible and encouraged her not to go to school and even covered up for her when authorities sought to know why she was not attending school by lying she was not feeling well. When guardians encourage and tolerate unwanted or rebellious behavior from their children, they are setting them up to a bad future because they will become exactly as they are raised and inhibit the bad traits that their parents tolerated. The death of her closest friend Michael also played a role in making her commit the offense. The death of a friend is hysterical and depressing to come to terms with and people take time to recover (White, & Perrone, 2010),. Hindley blamed herself for the death of her friend because she had turned down an invitation from him to join him in swimming. She regrets that if she had joined him maybe she would have saved him. Her friend’s death pushed her to want another lifestyle that was exciting contributing to her meeting Brady. Lastly, her craving for an exciting life also led to her committing the offenses. When people want something so much, they work very hard to get it and nothing can hinder them on the way because they are so focused. Hindley wanted an exciting life so bad she broke an engagement with Ronnie because she did not feel fulfilled. This crated the opportunity for her to meet Brady because if she were still with Ronnie, she would not have been interested in Brady so much to the extent Brady used her to achieve his plans. Her behavior contributed to her becoming associated with Brady and committing the offenses. Before committing the murders, Hindley had some personal behaviors that paved the way for her. She skipped school and spent that time playing in abandoned houses and along the lake shores. Abandoned buildings are places where children should go to play in. Hindley did not feel this as unusual when she should be terrified of such places are they are unsafe. The skipping of school also made her idle hence found time to develop bad habits. Her violent behavior and her need for a fun life led to her to meeting Brady and to committing the offenses. Desperation, lack of self-control and responsibility made her help Brady blindly without thinking through what they were doing. References Jenkins, P., 1988. Serial murder in England 1940–1985. Journal of criminal justice, 16(1), pp.1-15.Clinard, B. (1974). The Sociology of deviant behavior. Holt, Rinehart & Winston: New York. Cohen, D. & Strayer, J. (1996). Empathy in conduct-disordered and comparison youth.Developmental psychology. 32, p.988-998. Crime & Investigation Network (CIN). (2011). Myra Hindley. Retrieved from the Crime & Investigation Network Web site: http://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/crime-files/myra-hindley/biography.html Gregory, A., & Wright, S. 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