Taking a Look at Biological Criminology

This can be applied to the behaviors of criminals. According to Fishbein (1990, pg.37), “behavior [is] primarily attributed to inherited predispositions and genetic influences.” Nurture is the environmental influence that shape human behavior (Fishbein, 1990, pg.37). Human genetics and environmental factors contribute to the uniqueness to a person’s behavior. However, there are underlying qualities in a criminal’s historical background. Aspects of the nature and nurturing of a criminal behavior includes some problems with earlier biological explanations and some recent biological explanations which have overcome the weaknesses of

(36) Developments in biological measurement, evolutionary theory, and print media caused biological criminology to adapt around a single idea with immense popular appeal: the born criminal.

Positivist criminology, distinguished by three main elements: (1) the search for the causes of crime, whether biological, psychological, or sociological; (2) the use of the scientific method to test theories against observations of the world; and (3) the rejection of punishment as a response to law-violating or deviant behavior, replaced with treatment based on the medical (rehabilitation) model (Bohm and Haley 2016). Classical thought, which developed during the mid-1600s, proclaimed that man functioned on the basis of free will and rational thought, selecting which courses of action to take (Bohm and Haley 2016).

The biological theory explains criminal behavior as a result of any illnesses, heredity, trauma or improper development. It proposes several ways for crime control: psychosurgery and chemical methods (Helfgott, 2008). The biological methods of crime control are too expensive and because of that are not widely used.

Evolutionary psychology is important to the study of crime because it provides an understanding to human behavior, including criminal behavior and responses to criminal behavior. Evolutionary psychology also provides criminologist with the tools to examine domains that have been unknown or to discover features in the causal chain that otherwise might be missed by existing criminology theories. According to evolutionary psychology, all human behavior, criminal or otherwise is a creation of psychological mechanisms combined with environmental contribution that activates them or prevents their activation. All human behavior, at some essential level of description, requires psychological mechanisms and environmental input into those mechanisms for their activation. Without the presence of psychological, no behavior could be produced. Criminal

There are different perspectives on explanations of criminal behavior such as Biological and Psychological explaining crime. The two perspectives have been considered exterior in criminology since majority perspective come from sociology. Sociology focuses on how law-abiding citizens become criminals and conventional lack of opportunity. Therefore the two perspectives had to take a back seat in history because they were seen as naive and not take serious. “Sociological theories cannot explain how one person can be born in a slum, be exposed to family discord and abuse, never attend school, have friends who are delinquents and yet resist opportunities for crime, while another person can grow up in an affluent suburban neighborhood in a two-parent home, attend the finest schools, have every financial need met, and end up firing a gun at a president” ” (Adler, Muller & Laufer, 1991).

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

First, psychological theory suggests that a person’s environment and past can influence their ability and desire to commit crime while biological theory suggest a person’s DNA makeup could influence their ability to commit crime. “Biological theories within the field of criminology attempt to explain behaviors contrary to societal expectations through examination of

If the biological theories are, correct. There are however, some approaches society could offer for the prevention of crime, firstly they could try to fix the offender through medication or therapy. Society could keep the offender isolated from society. Keep the offender from passing on any genes to future generations the offender could be sterilized. Lastly, society could take the life of the offender. If criminal behavior is purely biological determined, these options would be more useful than if the individual was punished for the crime committed by advocates of classical punishment (“Biological positivism approaches of crime,”

My interest in studying criminology stems from a deep-rooted admiration for the law; the way various laws protect our civil liberties; the way police officers enforce it; the means to which the public can alter the law; but also conversely, the explanations of why people break the law. Is it sociological or psychological, and is there any way to prevent such a mentality to commit crime, or is it a biological factor which cannot be changed, and therefore inherent to the individual? That is what deeply fascinates me, the nature vs nurture debate. Studying this subject will help me fulfil a deeper knowledge and understanding of the causes of crime, how it affects society as a whole, and how various theories of crime pertains to an individual’s unique situation.

Biosocial criminology asserts that any significant human action is always the result of an individual’s biological predisposition being instigated by an environmental factor. In essence, biosocial theory holds that criminal behavior is ignited in people with biological deficiencies when interacting with environmental factors. Of course, the biosocial theory and the expression of its idea often times evokes comparisons to eugenics and racism; however, biosocial theory has genuine, unbiased basis in fact and research and is not associated with the non-compos mentis ideals held in eugenics and racism. The biological aspect of the biosocial theory has no implications towards race; rather, the biological components of the theory merely associate genetics, evolution, and hormones with an individual’s environment.

The study of criminal behaviors or criminology can be traced back to the mid to late 18th century. One attempt that was made was showing the connection of biological links and environmental links, in regards to superiority and inferiority within the field of criminality. Usually, criminals have been viewed as the inferior group or less superior group overtime. They commit crimes and

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.

Criminologists and sociologist have long been in debate for century's to explain criminal behaviour. The two main paradigms of thought are between 'nature' and 'nurture'. Nature is in reference to a learnt behaviour where a multitude of characteristics, in society influence whether a person becomes deviant such as poverty, physical abuse or neglect. Nurture defines biological features which could inevitability lead to a individuals deviant or criminal behaviour, because criminality is believed by biological positivist to be inherited from a persons parents. However, I believe that criminal behaviour is a mixture of characteristics that lead to deviant acts such as psychological illness & Environmental factors. Therefore, this essay

Criminology is the scientific study of crime and criminals. Criminological theories have provided empirical insight into factors that explain crime. However, as research developed they noticed that not just one theory can adequately explain crime and delinquency. In the early stages of research, they found the neoclassical theory that evolved from the classical school theory that made the assumption of “free will,” and that humans acted on rational choice. It was later developed that biological theories rejected the idea of “free will” and believed that human behavior could be due to genetics or human development starting at a young age. I will be going into better detail about the theories and their underlying assumptions, and how both theories play a significant role into our current knowledge of crime today.