Physiological Factors of Criminals - Essay Example

To what extent do physiological factors explain why people become criminals Is it the extent to which physiological factors influence peoples behavior, and primarily whether or not they will become criminals This area is greatly influential within the nature/nurture debate, which is a core debate in psychology, as it looks at whether behavior is influenced by genetics more than by the environment. It is also important to figure out is it the physiological (or biological) factors of the body and not at mental aspects of the brain. Human actions are governed by incentives and disincentives. We are attracted by the hope of pleasure or gain, deterred by the fear of pain or loss. Expressive crimes (e.g., rape) are committed for the sake of expected pleasure; instrumental crimes (e.g., burglary) mainly for the sake of expected gain. Both often can be deterred by disincentives -- the fear of pain the threat of punishment. To the criminal, the cost of a crime is the risk of punishment. Not what is threatened by the law, but the punishment he risks given his actual chances of being convicted and imprisoned At present the actual punishment is much lower: 6 to 7 days per burglary, roughly 2 years per murder, 6 months per rape, 2 months per robbery; aggravated assault costs 8 to 9 days; car theft 2 to 3 days. These risks still deter many prospective criminals, but are too low to reduce the crime rate. Most people are not aware of how small the actual chance of punishment is; but professional criminals are. It is what makes the career attractive. They know that on average they will serve no more than 40 per cent of their sentence, and that most of them will not serve at all--they are rarely caught. Some people become criminals because small offenses are not dealt with effectively. In our childhood, most humans learn that there are social limits to their natural aggression. While some are inherently more aggressive than others, virtually all humans have a potential for becoming aggressive. This is due to a rich genetic past which favored aggression in early humans. Humans still have the remnants of a reptilian brain that told its host, "kill, eat, reproduce." Family structures and functioning have crucial impacts on socialization, the capacity for symbolic interaction, self-concepts. Families are primary agents of socialization are tempting to consider as direct causal agents of crime. All except a handful of jurisdictions recognize the immediacy of this connection in "contributing to delinquency" statutes, parental liability laws, and a number of other restitution schemes. Many criminological theories (social disorganization, social learning, and especially social control) grant the family causal significance. It has been demonstrated statistically significant causal relationships between family contexts and both juvenile and adult crime. Seven family conditions are considered: parental imprisonment, divorce, stepfamilies, adoption, punitive parenting, incompetent parenting, and single parenting. The first four come primarily from what is called the "broken home". Punitive and incompetent parenting have been taken from the literature on dysfunctional families, which are in fact "functionally broken". Single parenting refers to unwed mothering, either by misfortune or choice, the latter not qualifying as either broken or dysfunctional but deviating from the cultural standard of nuclear family structure. Six behavioral outcomes are considered: property crime, violent crime, mental disorder, alcoholism, drug addiction, and status offenses. Through a combination of bad parenting, institutional failure and the weakness of people they learn to exploit, some children grow up learning they can get away with aggressive actions. When they commit offenses that are serious enough for police, courts and social workers to deal with, it is often too late - a cumulative pattern of successful aggression is already established. Some causes are uncontrollable, for e.g. the age of the population: the more young males, the more crime. Age-specific crime rates (e.g., the crime rate of 18-year-olds) have significantly risen, poor people, or blacks, or high-school dropouts. Crime may also be blamed on trends that could be changed in the long but not in the short run, such as the weaker authority over the young by families, churches, schools, and communities. "Root causes," including ignorance, poverty, envy, and wickedness, do underlie crime. But there is no evidence for increases of ignorance, wickedness, or poverty in the 1960s. Arsonists, looters, muggers, and rioters burn, rob and brutalize not because they are poor but because they are rotten. If poverty were indeed the fundamental cause of crime, history would be about almost nothing else, for the vast majority of people in world history have lived in poverty. Today's vicious young predators show only cold-blooded contempt for their victims. They kill not for food but for a pair of fancy sneakers. They have to be shown firmly, determinedly, and relentlessly that we will not compromise in our defense of civilized standards and values. These are not negotiable. Currently there is one homicide every 42 seconds, one burglary every 11 seconds, one car theft every 20 seconds, one robbery every 40 seconds, one rape every 5 minutes (once underreported, rape now may be overreported). In the last few years crime rates have declined by 2 to 4 per cent, but they remain so high that people hardly notice. For a person to do any crime there must be an opportunity. Opportunity is the ease and availability of product or money to steal or in the cars of stealing or shop-lifting. The opportunity will usually be presented when individuals fail to take proper steps in following company policy to help safeguard merchandise and money. There are five main theories which can provide us with the reasons why crime takes place in our society: Classical Theory Crime is caused by the individual free will. Human beings are rational, and they make decisions freely and with the understanding of consequences. Crime is an immoral form of behaviour. Biological Theory The basic determinants of human behaviour are, to a considerable degree, determined by genetics. These basic determinants of human behaviour may be passed from one generation to the next; criminal behaviour is genetically inherited. Human DNA, environmental contaminants, nutrition, hormones, physical trauma (especially to the brain) and body chemistry all combine to contribute to criminal behaviour. Psychobiological Theory Chromosomal anomalies, reactions to foods, vitamin deficiencies, or environmental allergies, combined with a particular genetic makeup, will predispose some individuals to criminal behaviour. Sociological Theory The social environment is the cause of criminal behaviour, with weak or broken bonds to family, school, and religion being the catalyst to criminal behaviour. People engage in criminal behaviour because they do not see the benefits of adhering to conventional social values, and believe crime is a way to improve personal social conditions. Interactionist Theory Association with other criminals is the factor most contributing to criminal behaviour among individuals. Failure of self-direction, and inadequate social roles are the root causes of criminal behaviour. Read More