Explain How Psychological Perspectives Have Been Used to Criminal Behavior

The biological theories are essential to the criminal justice profession so that they won't assume that a person's genetic characteristics cause a person to commit a crime. However, there are born criminals and “these types of criminals are the most dangerous, and can be identified through his or her stigmata or identifying characteristics” (Akers, Sellers, See, & Kieser, 2013, p. 10). Biological theories are the bases for severe criminal behavior mostly found among people who are born with an innate impulse to commit a

Albert Bandura created the bobo doll experiment in 1961, the aim of this experiment was to show that if children where witnesses to aggressive displays by an adult of some sort they would imitate this behaviour when given an opportunity. The tested group contained 36 young girls and 36 young boys all aged between 4 and 5 years which was then divided into 3 groups of 24 – the aggressive condition, the non aggressive condition and the control group. The first group involved the children watching aggressive models, where the children where then subdivided by sex of the role model they were exposed to. The second group

The focal thought was that mankind can-and ought to be enhanced by empowering individuals with "attractive" characteristics to replicate and demoralizing or averting propagation among those with "undesirable" attributes. For individuals with criminal qualities, the best thing for every concerned wa to ensure they didn't have youngsters. As anyone might expect, Lombroso's most continuing legacy has been the inclination of dynamic speculation individuals following the time when to dismiss the thought that criminal conduct has a hereditary part, since that conviction appeared to lead specifically to jail, sanitization, or demise for those unfortunates conceived with the wrong qualities. In the 1970s an altogether different way to deal with comprehension the hereditary segment of criminal conduct emerged. It was enlivened in vast part by the advancement of sociobiology, an amalgamation of science and human science that tried to utilize bits of knowledge from hereditary qualities and transformative hypothesis to comprehend the conduct of people in

Biological theories of crime claims that criminal behavior is a result of biological abnormalities. As stated in the lecture, these theories are good at explaining individual differences ,contrasted to the classical school of criminology, free will and deterrence is of little value to the biological perspective. However, though the biological theories are good at explaining individual differences , it has difficulty explaining why one city has more crime than another.

Criminological theories (also known as theoretical criminology), according to Schmalleger (2015), is the “subfield of general criminology that posits explanations of criminal behavior.” (p. 13) There are many theories under this subfield that exist to help people have a better understanding of a criminal 's actions as well as put some justification behind them. There are six different schools that fall under criminological theories. These schools are: Classical School, Biological/Biosocial Theories, Psychological/Psychiatric Theories, Social Structions Approaches, Social Process & Social Development Theories, and Social Conflict Theories.

3.2 Testability While several earlier criminological theories have been untestable, most contemporary criminological theories are testable as we can deduce measurable factors to support or falsify them. I will now look at the testability of different theories of crime. 3.2.1 Biological Theories of Crime Modern biological theories are testable because they identify specific physical traits such as genes and hormone levels we can compare with crime rates to draw correlations. For example, criminologists have used twin and adoption studies to test Mednick’s Theory of Inherited Criminal Tendencies by examining genetic influences on crime (Raine, 2002).

In today’s society, one will find that there are many different factors that go into the development of a criminal mind, and it is impossible to single out one particular cause of criminal behavior. Criminal behavior often stems from both biological and environmental factors. In many cases criminals share similar physical traits which the general population do not usually have. For example criminals have smaller brains than properly adjusted individuals. However biological reasons cannot solely be the cause of criminal behavior. Therefore, one must look to other sources as to how a criminal mind is developed. Social and environmental factors also are at fault for developing a person to the point

Lombroso’s theory proposed that criminality was innate, and this could be distinguished by their physical atavist stigmata, their physiognomic attributes or deformities. He believed the human race evolved, whereas those who are criminal or have the violent tendencies are the

Compare and contrast three psychological approaches to the study of criminal behavior. Kayleigh Bromley The legal definition of crime is ‘An action or omission which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law’ (oxford dictionaies, 2014) there are many different types of crime, crimes such as shop lifting are low scale crimes, rape and murder however are much more high scale crimes. This essay will look into different psychological approaches to crime, the theories and reasons behind them. The three approaches that will be looked into are the psychodynamic behavioral and biological Freud was the first to believe that some behavior is not controlled by the conscious mind but is driven by the unconscious motives and anxieties. He believed that a person’s personality is shaped on early childhood experiences

This theory focuses on the idea that a person’s body, through inherited genes, evolutionary factors, brain structures, or the role of hormones, has an influence on an individual’s involvement in criminal behavior (Ministry of Justice, 2009). Biological theories of deviance see crime and deviant behavior as a form of illness caused by pathological factors that are specific to certain types of individuals. They assume that some people are "born criminals" who are biologically different than non-criminals. The underlying logic is that these individuals have a mental and physical inferiority, which causes an inability to learn and follow the rules. This in turn leads to criminal behavior (Crossman, n.d.).

All the biological theories are based on the notion that biological markers foreordain criminal behavior. The core of all these theories is that genetic factors or any abnormalities which are inherited or acquired throughout the life, predispose individuals to the criminal behavior. Lombroso’s theory gave life to probably almost every single biological theory that appeared afterward.

Criminal activities are associated with three factors, namely the psychological, biological and social factors. Research shows that the psychological state of individuals affects their biology. The relationship between crime and medical disorders is complex, and the disorders constitute a major cause of crimes. People who experience hallucinations and delusions are more likely to engage in criminal activities. Mental illness such as schizophrenia is also linked to crimes and violence. The personality, cognitive ability and impulse control ability of individuals are also associated with criminal behaviors. Criminal control policy focused on the psychological factors of individuals employs measures such as training, promotions of self-awareness, resocialization, and rehabilitation. Psychologists recognize the past behavior of individuals as the best predictor of the future behavior.

There are many perspectives in which one can analyze and understand why a person decides to commit a crime. Some perspectives are social learning theory, strain theory, classical and rational choice theory, deterrence theory, biological and psychological positivist theories, among others. However, for the purposes of this paper, the biological and psychological theories will be discussed.

“Offending behaviour rises steeply as age increases, with over 80% of offences committed by 14 to 16-year- olds.” (Risk and Protective Factors, 2005)

Understanding why crime occurs requires a special desire to put together the puzzle of the human mind. Behavior can not be determined by one factor, but influenced by a party of many factors. Scholars have argued that not all individual differences are completely represented in criminal populations. For example, individuals who are impulsive, daring, and aggressive are found to be more indulging in criminal populations than individuals who delay gratification, are cautious, and are sensitive to the needs and wants of others. Criminology refuses to acknowledge the relationship between personality and crime are connected. This omission lies