Personality And Criminal Behavior

Many people wonder why some people are able to do bad things, even when they know the consequences. To our normal brains there seems to be no reason for doing things like this. However, scientists have discovered that many criminal’s brains are not normal. Scientific studies show that a large majority of convicted criminals have some sort of psychological issue or problem in their brains, which has been shown to affect their behavior.

The term ‘personality’ is generally used to refer to relatively stable characteristics of a person that make their behaviour consistent across situations (but many other definitions are possible, depending on the approach being taken). Hans Eysenck (1964) put forward a theory of criminal behaviour based on a very influential theory of personality he had earlier devised. Although this theory is usually referred to as a personality theory of offending, it is important to appreciate that Eysenck’s theory conceives of criminal behaviour as the outcome of interactions between processes occurring at several different levels of explanation.

Your physical features can be identified as identical to that of your parents, like your eyes from your father, and the hair color from your mother. However, your personality and talents may have come not from your father or mother. The environment where you grew up may have a lasting effect or influence on that way you talk, behave and respond to the things around you. Where does ones criminal predisposition hale from? Does our behavior stem more from the nature or nurture aspect of our life.

Antisocial personality disorder is a mental health condition characterized by various behavioral symptoms (including impulsivity or failure to plan ahead, disregard for the safety of others and irresponsibility), interpersonal symptoms (deceitfulness), affective symptoms (including a lack of remorse) and other symptoms (such as irritability and aggressiveness, repeated behaviors that are grounds for arrest, and the onset of conduct disorder prior to the age of 15 years). Although laws differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, this mental health condition may be grounds for a defense against criminal charges provided an accurate and timely diagnosis of the disorder is made. The diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, though, is frequently confounded by the presence of a broad spectrum of comorbid disorders. Because there is often a great deal at stake, the accurate diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder in criminal cases has become the focus on an increasing amount of research in recent years, an issue that also forms the focus of this study. An overview of antisocial personality disorder is followed by a discussion concerning what instruments are typically used for diagnosing antisocial personality disorder and the implications of these diagnoses. Finally, a summary of the research and important findings are presented in the study's conclusion.

Biological Theories are vastly growing with fascinating research. The main stump is concretely linking it to criminal behavior, because some theories are more relatable than others. Theories involving temperament and hormones give real life biological explanations, while others like extrovert and introvert behaviors, and neuroticism explain a weaker link to crime. However, all theories are valuable in exploring the root of crime.

The Nature and Nurture debate, one of the oldest debates in the history of psychology, questions whether or not criminal behaviour is a result of the nature of a person, meaning something that lies in their genes causing a person to act in a certain way, or nurture, the environment, therefore criminal behaviour as a result of a person’s life experiences (Sincero, 2012). This essay shall look in depth and answer to how the four areas of criminal behaviour, which are biological, sociological, psychological and environmental, as part of the nature and nurture debate, can explain criminality and deviance. This will be done by discussing a number of theories and experiments that have come to the surface over time. Researching the nature and nurture debate, it is shown that the debate continues to interest people today, mainly because of what is thought will be the outcome of these findings, which is preventing people turning to criminal behaviour by understanding people’s genetics, how they were born and avoid situations that lie in the environment to stop them interacting with criminal activities.

The definition of psychopathy involves deficits in areas of functioning, such as, selective attention, anxiety and fear processing, moral reasoning, and criminal violations of society’s rules (Vien & Beech, 2006). Furthermore, there are a number of personality qualities linked with psychopathy, which include, interpersonal and affective traits such as, lack of empathy, shallow affect, callousness, shallow emotions, grandiosity, superficiality, manipulation, and charisma(De Brito, Viding, Kumari, Blackwood, & Hodgins, 2013; Murrie, Boccaccini, Caperton, & Ruffino, 2012). In addition, other

In the scholarly journal Criminal Personality Profiling: An Outcome and Process Study written by Anthony J. Pinizzotto and Norman J. Finkel; a study is conducted among different groups of profilers, detectives, psychologists, and students. The study is conducted by expert teachers and profilers. Using two different closed police cases, the groups try to determine two questions. Are profilers more accurate than non profilers when creating profiles and features of the suspect? And is the process the profilers use different than the non profilers?( Pinizzotto 215). The two closed police cases in this study consist of one homicide case, and one sexual offense case.

Antisocial personality theory is a combination of traits, such as hyperactivity, impulsivity, hedonism, and inability to empathize with others, that make a

Theories of crime causation get to the fundamental characteristics of human nature. Theories of crime causation can be separated into trait theories and choice theories. Both types of theories make valid points about the causes of crime, yet they are have different implications for preventing the causes of crime. Thesis: Trait theories and choice theories both assume that humans are self-interested, but their conceptions of self-interest limit the applicability of each to certain types of crime. Trait theories appear more suited for explaining the causes of violent crime, whereas choice theories are more appropriate to property crimes or economic crimes.

Antisocial personality disorder is very common among criminals. Criminals normally have had something in their lives happen to cause these acts of violence or rule-breaking to occur. Personality disorders and social problems are common not only in criminals, but in the general population. The extent to which innocent people are effected by disorders from criminals are diverse, with some actually losing their lives and loved ones. This report it will include: signs of antisocial personality disorders among criminals, testing, the trigger of these criminals to act out, causes, statics, treatment and how people around the criminal are affected by the antisocial personality disorders.

The first four factors, nicknamed the “big four”, are considered the major predictor variables. The first factor is history of antisocial behavior (Andrews & Bonta, 2010; Looman & Abracen, 2013). Major indicators of the presence of this factor include arrests at a young age and a “large number of prior offenses” (Andrews & Bonta, 2010, 58). The second factor is antisocial personality patterns. Characteristics of this factor include callous disregard for others, aggressive behavior, and feelings of pleasure seeking (Looman & Abracen, 2013). Next is antisocial cognition, which can be defined as “attitudes, values, beliefs, rationalizations, and a personal identity that is favorable to crime” (Andrews & Bonta, 2010, 59). The final factor within the big four is antisocial associates. This refers to the association with other individuals who are pro-criminal while avoiding anti-criminal individuals (Andrews & Bonta,

Expert have further suggested that there may be Criminological explanations for why people take part in terrorist activities. Generally criminological explanations state that terrorism is the same product of the socialisation process that causes people to commit criminal behaviour. Such processes explain why people become terrorists or criminals and why groups form terrorist or criminal syndicates. There are several criminological theories that argue that terrorism and crime are closely linked together and therefore can be explainable within a framework that explains criminal deviancy. One of the theories we can use to explain terrorism is the Differential Association Theory, this theory was penned by Edwin Sutherland in 1939.

According to the research, individuals who possess these antisocial behaviors during childhood commit most crimes in adulthood (Walsh & Wu, 2008). Therefore, understanding personality traits that may lead to criminal behavior is of great interest. It appears that individuals who possess these personality traits function, as criminals in our society, of these, the antisocial personality, or the related term “psychopath or sociopath,” is one specific psychological syndrome.

What is personality? According to Barnard et al. (2015), personality refers to the intricate set of emotional and behavioral that tends to remains moderately as a person goes from situation to situation. There are words many words that are used to describe people with personality issues and psychological tests are used to measure delinquents and criminal behaviors. Clinical examinations have also been used to assess personality. “Personality inventory” has also been used for such function. The most commonly used personal inventory is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory is consisting of 550 statements that were developed to assist psychiatric diagnosis. In a study conducted by Waldo and Dinitz, they found that 80% of the statistical difference between criminals and noncriminal. However other criminologists have argued that methodology used in personality to be ineffective. I agreed with the notion that methodology that studies attempting to examine the link between personality and crime have no merit in light of glaring