Major Principles of Psychological Perspectives as they relate to Criminal Activity - Essay Example

 Psychological speculations on misdeeds commence with the observation that personality disparities in conduct matter. They may make some inhabitants more liable to carrying out illegal operations than others. These dissimilarities may crop up from behavior distinctiveness, genetic aspects or community communications. The Psychoanalytic theory, proposed by Sigmund Freud, asserts that all human beings have criminal tendencies. The process of socialization, however, curbs these tendencies by the maturity of internal reins that are acquired through childhood incidences.

The improperly socialized child will develop direct anti social urges either internally or externally. The child who expresses them superficially becomes a wrong doer, and the one who expresses them privately becomes neurotic. In the Cognitive Development Theory, developed by Lawrence Kohlberg, criminal behavior comes as a result of how people manage their thoughts about morality and the law. He expounded that there are levels of moral reasoning that each consist of two stages. During middle childhood, the first level of moral reasoning is based on obeying and avoiding punishment.

This is the preconventional level of moral reasoning. In the conventional level, reasoning is based on the expectations that family members and friends have for the individual. The transition \ post conventional level of moral development is seen in early adulthood where individuals are able to go past social conventions (Schmalleger, 2006). They value the laws of the social system and act as agents of change to improve the existing law. Individuals who do not progress through the stages may have stunted moral development, and consequently become delinquents.

The learning theory, supported by Hans Eysenck, is based upon principles of behavioral psychology. It holds that a person’s behavior is learned by its penaltic or remunerative importance. These consequences may be the outer fortification that comes as a direct consequence of actions, such as riches or societal status. Self-regulatory mechanisms such as responses from people reacting to one’s behavior are also another learning mechanism. According to this theory, deviant behavior can be eradicated by taking away the remunerative value of the conduct.

Eysenck believed, for example, that a child who was consistently punished for inappropriate behavior would develop an unpleasant physical response whenever he contemplated committing it again. The Constitutional Learning Theory incorporates natural science and societal learning in order to elucidate the possible origins of criminality. Its propagators argue that if the gains to be enjoyed as a result of committing crime (e.g. money), outweigh the losses (e.g. prison), then the person will commit the criminal act.

As people differ in their capacity to postpone enjoyment, some persons may be more prone to orchestrating criminal offenses than others. The gains associated with committing the crime may help restore a person’s feelings of being treated unjustly by society. ReferenceSchmalleger, F. (2006). Criminology Today. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education Inc.