Psychology of Crime Commitment - Essay Example

Author’s Name] [Professor’s Name] [Course Title] [Date] Criminal psychology of why do people commit crime This paper will discuss and evaluate the issue of behavior psychology in correlation of personality traits and criminology. It would throw light on the causes for criminal behavior among individuals. How does this behavior emerge and inculcate in their personality psychology. It would also cover various considerations and factors regarding development of such behavior among individuals. Humankind has a dark side, and its existence ought not to come as a surprise to those who think of themselves as good people. Most religions conceive of humankind as bad, unregenerate, and in dire need of redemption. The story of Adam and Eve depicts man's fall from grace and descent into a desperate condition. From that day on, the history of the world has been filled with violence. While interest in crime has always been high, understanding of why it occurs and what to do about it has always been a problem. Public officials, politicians and 'experts' offer simple and incomplete solutions for obliterating crime, whereas academe invariably offers abstract interpretations and suggestions that often have little practical value. As in most areas of human behavior, there is no shortage of experts but there are very few effective solutions (Bourne and Russo, p.52) Criminologists develop theories and conduct research to understand and explain criminal behavior. A theory attempts to make sense out of many disparate observations or facts by stating a general principal that connects, integrates and explains them. A good theory is extremely valuable in that it extends our knowledge beyond the facts in front of us, enabling us to predict how others might behave at another time and in another place (Bourne and Russo, p. 33). Criminological theories based on biology, psychology were both, at one stage dominant in the field, however the vast majority of current criminological text employs sociological theory and research. Biological, psychological and sociological explanations are significant postulates of this theory. Criminology not only progresses by the development of coherent and comprehensive theories about crime and its causes but also by the systematic collection and analysis of observations about the social world in relation to those theories (Jupp, p.25). Any given instance of criminological research represents a particular constellation between problem, theory and method, and the data which is used is the outcomes of that constellation. Individual human personality comes from both nature and nurture: the nature of genetics and the environment a person is brought up in. An individual is born with a particular gene that can be deviated according to how he or she was brought up and taken care of, and how he or she uses their innate traits in a certain way to be a certain type of person. Evidence shows that criminals would not have necessarily been criminals if they were brought up in a different environment, and an uneducated person would not have acted a certain way if he or she were brought up in a rich family where education could be afforded. Individual personality traits, intelligence, and behavior are far more complicated than just be defined by science and genetics. The genes are the basis of human nature and personality, but the genes can very well be changed according to whether or not an individual went through a serious trauma or tragedy, or just a very different type of environment that changed the person totally in their life. Genes give individuals their specific traits in appearance and personality, whereas the environment affects the specific genes an individual has, and builds up a new changed personality. Human personality comes from both nature and nurture. Genetics and environment affect individual personality traits.( Angyl, 14-17) Biological explanations of crime assert that particular individuals are more prone to deviance than others because of their genetic makeup (Haralambos, p.514). These explanations of human behavior became popular in the nineteenth century. An Italian army doctor; Cesare Lombroso was one of the first writers to link crime to human biology. Criminals were throwbacks to an earlier and more primitive form of human being. Researchers have identified a number of genetically determined characteristics which were often found in criminals. These included large jaws; high cheekbones; large ears; extra nipples, toes and fingers; and insensitivity to pain. According to Lombroso, these were some of the outward signs of an inborn criminal nature (Harambolos, p.408). Later research found no support for Lombroso's view of the criminal as a biological abnormality (Haralambos, p.514). There is still some support for physiological theories of crime (Harambolos et al. p. 515), but many, if not most contemporary criminologists would agree that though genetics may play a role in criminality it is most likely only an insignificant one. There is little doubt that environment is the principle determinant and cause of criminal behavior (Bartol, p. 48). It has been said that a theory of criminal conduct is weak indeed if it is uninformed by a general psychology of human behavior (Andrews p.69). Psychological theories of criminology share several similarities with biological theories. Firstly, they see criminals as different from the population as a whole. Second, the criminal is abnormal in a normal population. Third, the criminal's abnormality predisposes him to crime (Harambolos, p. 409). However, they differ in the respect that psychological theories of criminality claim that the criminal's abnormality is learned as opposed to being genetically determined. They see abnormal experience rather than abnormal genes as the basis for crime. (Bartol, p.113) It is proposed that this 'abnormal experience' produces character defects and maladjusted personalities (Moghaddam, p.444). Psychological theories often suggest that something has gone wrong in the socialization process, usually in the mother-child relationship. This defective socialization involves emotional disturbance which leads to the formation of maladjusted personality traits. Early childhood experience, it is claimed, can have a lasting effect on adolescent and adult behavior (Harambolos, p. 411). Children needed emotional security during the first seven years of their lives, which was most effectively provided by a close, loving, intimate relationship with the natural mother. If a child was deprived of motherly love during its first seven years, a psychopathic personality could develop. (Harambolos et al. p. 516). In the nineteenth century and for most of the twentieth, attempts to understand and explain crime were for a long time dominated by biological and psychological explanations. It wasn't really until the 1950s that a serious sociological challenge to these individualistic explanations became firmly established (Bilton, p.450). Sociological criminology examines the relationships of demographic and group variables to crime (Bartol, p. 4). These variables, such as age, race, gender, socioeconomic status, interpersonal relationships and ethnic-cultural affiliation have been shown to have significant relationships with certain categories and patterns of crimes. Sociological criminology for example has allowed us to conclude that young, African American males from disadvantaged backgrounds are disproportionately overrepresented as perpetrators and victims of homicide (Bourne p. 338). It differs from psychological criminology in the respect that sociological criminology focuses on groups and society as a whole, whereas psychological criminology focuses on individual criminal behavior (Bartol, p.4). No one sociological theory of crime has 'won out' over this period and no 'knock out blow' has been delivered which would allow us to consign some of them to the sidelines (Downes, p.234). Most analytical texts divide these theories into three categories: strain theories, interactionist theories and control theories. Strain theories contend that human beings are fundamentally conformists who are strongly influenced by the values and attitudes of the society in which they live. (Nuttin, 33-40) According to strain theory, American society advocates that the accumulation of wealth or status is all important and represents the symbols that that all members of society should strive for (Bartol, p.2). Furthermore it states that humans, being conformists readily buy into these notions. However, access to the means for achieving these goals is not equally available to everyone. Some have the education, social network and family influence to attain these goals. The socially and economically disadvantaged do not have the opportunity, education or necessary social network for attaining material wealth and economic or political power. Thus the strain theory predicts that crime occurs when there is a perceived discrepancy between these goals and the legitimate means for reaching them. Individuals who experience a high level of this strain are forced to decide whether to violate laws to achieve these goals, to give up on the goals pushed upon them by society, or to withdraw or rebel (Bartol, p.52). Interactionist theories stress the socially constructed nature of identity and the consequent importance of labeling processes for some persons and groups becoming deviant (Downes, p. 235). According to Herbert Blumer, symbolic interactionism rests on three premises - the first being that human beings act towards things on the basis of the meanings that the things have for them. The second premise is that the meaning of such things is derived from, or arises out of, the social interaction that one has with one's fellows. The third premise is that these meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretive process used by the person in dealing with the things he or she encounters (Hester, p.11). Control theories stress the significance of controls against deviance. They are often divided into those of social kind; for example when accompanying children to school or keeping tabs on who they are playing with, and those of a situational kind; for example locking our doors at night (Downes, p.242). Instead of specifying different motives to account for crime or concentrating on the adverse effects of labeling, control theories contend that without rules or laws that draw punishment or retaliation if broken, humans would commit crime indiscriminately. They suggest that all people have the potential to commit crime (Bartol, p. 496). Criminology is a multidisciplinary enterprise with various disciplines (for example sociology, psychiatry, psychology, anthropology, genetics, biopsychology, economics, political science, history) examining the different levels of explanation from different perspectives. The vast majorities of current criminological texts focus on sociological theories and research on crime (Bartol, p. ix). Criminologists develop theories and conduct research in an attempt to explain criminal behavior. Theories organize individual observations and facts and puts them into a context that gives them special meaning and relationship to one another. Theories may arise from many sources, including a criminologist's personal observations or hunches, empirical findings from prior studies or even extensions of another theory, but there is no one grand criminological theory that will explain criminal behavior which will in turn be able to prevent it. (Hollin, 75-79) The variety of method in criminological research is partly due to the wide range of theories that are existent. Much criminological research shows a close and often mutual exchange between theory and method, with theory suggesting lines of research action and data obtained from research that indicate ways in which the theory needs refinement or even abandonment (Jupp, p.83) Adequate theory, well executed research and effective application of knowledge to the crime problem requires and understanding of the many levels of events that influence a person's life course - from the individual to the family, peers, schools, neighborhoods, community, culture and of course, society as a whole. Though it is not likely that we will ever live in a society completely devoid of crime, criminology attempts to find reasons and explanations for criminal behavior and then applies these theories to solving and preventing crime. Sometimes, good men and women are far from perfect in their behaviors. We are neither all good nor all bad. To varying degrees, we are a combination of both. An unexpected situation may become the occasion for one side or the other to win out. Combat, for example, may incite acts of heroism or cowardice from the same person, depending on the circumstances. In peace time, a former sadistic concentration camp guard may slip into the role of the respected but feared cop on the beat. The basic difference between what are socially considered to be bad and good people is not one of kind, but one of degree, and of the ability of the bad to translate dark impulses into dark actions. Bad men such as serial sexual killers have intense, compulsive, elaborate sadistic fantasies that few good men have, but we all have some measure of that hostility, aggression, and sadism. Anyone can become violent, even murderous under certain circumstances. Therapists who have undergone their own psychoanalysis or insight psychotherapy have a humanistic recognition of the universality of human intrapsychic experience. These therapists acknowledge in themselves many of the same psychological struggles they find in their patients and in others. Due to certain disruption between the two basic personality nuclei of good me and bad me, which are not coordinated, the drives and the mental energies can only be extreme, fluctuating within an either/or kind of attitude toward the object, hence resulting in either total acceptance or total rejection. If one tries to fill the black hole--and the need is to fill it completely--and fails, a complete downfall may occur. (Zeitlin, p.72) In a sense, this is the dynamic reason underlying the internal saboteur. We thus supplement the theoretical structure when we give a deep infrastructure, in the form of a dynamic background, for the formation of the internal saboteur. This internal saboteur is a kind of a dichotomy does not have any reasons regarding the dynamics of the personality. In theoretical formulation, this reason is inherent in the black hole and an either/or attitude, related to the polar fixations of early and later morality. Poverty, unemployment and class are also social issues connected closely with crime and delinquent behavior. Crime is closely linked to poverty, but criticisms show many tribes, and peoples who are materially poor but have no crime, therefore poverty itself does not cause crime but is only a factor. Evidence now suggests that criminal behavior is linked to economic and income inequalities as well. Unemployment has been ascertained to be a significant factor when it came to property crime for example. They also found that delinquency is inversely related to unemployment; that is, delinquency is high when unemployment is low, and vice versa. This might be due to the fact that in times of unemployment, parents are more available to their children. However, it was found that young adults are most likely to have criminal tendencies if they are also unemployed. It can certainly be shown that modern studies and theories are much more in favor of environmental and sociological causes of criminality, causes that can be controlled and repressed. In addition to the theories that have been discussed, there are many others on the side of environmental factors, such as labeling, and learning theories tested by psychologists like Bandura and Skinner showing how criminal behavior can be conditioned. It is therefore much more likely, taking into account the evidence that has been seen on behalf of both biological and environmental factors; that with today's mass array of chemical substances, enhancers, and habit forming hobbies, conjoined with poor living conditions, conditioned morals and lifestyles, and lack of wealth and education, that criminality is certainly not an innate tendency, but a lifestyle imposed upon certain individuals by their environment, social class, and social interaction. It is a fact however, that there has never been any gene found in human DNA that directly causes criminal behavior, and thus, it must be concluded that criminals are made and not born. Works Cited Andrews, D & Bonta, J. (1994). Understanding Through Theory: Psychodynamic and Control Theory. In The Psychology of Criminal Conduct (Ch5 pp.69-91) Cincinatti, Ohio: Anderson Publishers. Angyl A., "A Theoretical Model for Personality Studies", Journal of Personality, 20 ( 2001). 14-17 Bartol, C. (1999) Criminal Behavior: A Psychosocial Approach New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Bilton, T., Bonnett, K., Jones, P., Skinner, D., Stanworth, M., & Webster, A. (1996). Introductory Sociology. London: Macmillan. Bourne, L. & Russo, N. (1998) Psychology Behavior In Context, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. Downes, D. (1999). Sociology Issues and Debates. London: Macmillan. Haralambos, M., van Krieken, R., Smith, P. & Holborn, M. (1996). Sociology Themes and Perspectives. Melbourne: Addison Wesley Longman. Hester, S., & Egline, p. (1992). Sociology of Crime. London: Routledge. Hollin, C. (1999). Psychology and crime: An introduction to criminological psychology. New York: Routledge. Jupp, V. (1989). Methods of Criminological Research. London: Routledge. Moghaddam, F. (1998). Social Psychology. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. Nuttin J., Psychoanalysis and Personality. New York: Mentor-Omega Books, 1962. Zeitlin, H.; "Criminological Theories : Traditional and Non-Traditional Voices and Themes" Page 72, July 2001 Read More