The Influence Of Group Dynamics On Criminal Behavior

Do you ever wonder why some people become criminals? Is it a genetic compound that we are born with, or is it a casual effect of the surroundings we are raised in and the people we are raised by? It’s a complicated question with no absolute answer. Cyraus Foldger once said, “We are all capable of becoming something monstrous.” Foldger’s statement couldn’t be more accurate, human beings are shaped by their surroundings and relationships and because of this, we all have the ability to become criminals. There is a view of crime called the social process theory which is the view that criminality is a function of people’s interactions with various organizations, institutions, and processes in society. Social process theory consists of three independent

The readings in module five covered different perspectives on why crime does or does not occur. It covers differential association theory, learning theories, and control theories. Many of these theories play off each other when trying to explain why there is criminal behavior.

Accordingly, we look at how understanding how each theory can not only help define criminal behavior, but how each theory could expand or compliment another theory. The idea that social environments have become more important is essential to understanding individual behaviors and how they adapt. Social learning, discusses the behavior of individuals is influenced by both positive and negative consequences. This knowledge demonstrates the more involvement that an individual has with a criminal activity has, the more they learn about that activity and receive messages about the interactions. However, the individual doesn’t have to be an expert in the activity to participate within it. The messages that the individual would receive again affects how not only they view those around them but themselves as

However, while the overstimulation of the Id and the failure to acquire and develop the the Ego and SuperEgo leads to criminal tendencies, while aggression may be out of adaptive values, and while genetic studies have pointed towards the influence of genes and criminal behaviour, these theories alone are insufficient to account for crime. Evolutionary theory does not explain or predict for the extreme degrees of aggression in individuals nor has the genetic theory proven for 100% heritability; which raises the need for us to examine the Nurture camp of crime theories as well.

Is criminal behavior a learned behavior? Is it simply dependent upon ones environment or is it much more complex? Many theorists have examined criminal behavior, such as Edwin Sutherland, Pavlov along with Hirschi. Sutherland, who devised the differential association theory, according this theory he stated that criminality is learned from those who are close to us, or whom we have a close association with. An individual’s behavior may be deviant if those whom they are associated with are also involved in aberrant behavior. Sutherland’s theory that criminal behavior is “learned” then eliminates psychological and biological

Criminals are born not made is the discussion of this essay, it will explore the theories that attempt to explain criminal behaviour. Psychologists have come up with various theories and reasons as to why individuals commit crimes. These theories represent part of the classic psychological debate, nature versus nurture. Are individuals predisposed to becoming a criminal or are they made through their environment.

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

Within the city of Knoxville, Tennessee, the low income areas and housing developments are rampant with what we call order maintenance crimes. These are mostly misdemeanor crimes such as drugs, public intoxication, vandalism, loitering, panhandling, and prostitution. These crimes cause disruptions in the community and usually involve the same individuals time after time. Most of the individuals are not from the communities where these violations are committed.

I also agree with you in that more research needs to be done in the areas of pinning down why there seems to be correlations to certain sub-groups of people and the commission of crime. Moreover, we are placing faith in a broken justice system to make the declaration of who should be punished, who needs treatment, and who needs both. Furthermore, even if our system could make these declarations correctly, it does not have the resources to provide the corresponding treatment and eventual

Criminals are born not made is the discussion of this essay, it will explore the theories that attempt to explain criminal behavior. Psychologists have come up with various theories and reasons as to why individuals commit crimes. These theories represent part of the classic psychological debate, nature versus nurture. Are individuals predisposed to becoming a criminal or are they made through their environment. There are various theories within the biological explanation as to why individuals commit criminal behavior, these include: genetic theory, hereditary theory,.

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

There has always been a fascination with trying to determine what causes an individual to become a criminal? Of course a large part of that fascination has to do with the want to reduce crime, and to determine if there is a way to detect and prevent individuals from committing crime. Determining what causes criminality is still not perfectly clear and likewise, there is still debate as to whether crime is caused biologically, environmentally, or socially. Furthermore, the debate is directly correlated to the notion of 'nurture vs nature'. Over time many researchers have presented various theories pertaining to what causes criminal behavior. There are many theories that either support or oppose the concept of crime being biological rather

The social learning theory states that criminal behavior is learned. Criminals learn their bad behaviors from close relationships they may have with criminal peers (Siegel & Worrall, 2016). Children look up to their parents; they want to be just like them. So, if children grow up surround by crime, they think that it is both normal and acceptable, and it is likely that they will participate in criminal behavior when they are older. As a result of learning this behavior, it is passed down through generations and is never broken. This can also be learned from friendships people may have with negative influences. Young adults and children want to fit in with their peers, so if they are surrounded with those who commit crimes, they are probably going to do the same because “everyone is doing it”.

What makes a criminal a criminal? Can anyone become a criminal? Answering and understanding these questions is the core work of criminologists as most criminologists attempt to make sense of why people do certain things (Garland, Sparks 2000). This essay will consider the notion that any person could become a criminal and in so doing consider the initial question. This essay will outline a range of theories that attempt to describe human behavior in relation to criminal behavior given the complexities of behaviour. Several theories will be considered as no single theory of behavior can account fully for the complexities and range in criminal behaviour. The theories range from social-control, to classical, to biological, to personality

The causes of crime seem to be indefinite and ever changing. In the 19th century, slum poverty was blamed; in the 20th century, a childhood without love was blamed (Adams 152). In the era going into the new millennium, most experts and theorists have given up all hope in trying to pinpoint one single aspect that causes crime. Many experts believe some people are natural born criminals who are born with criminal mindsets, and this is unchangeable. However, criminals are not a product of heredity. They are a product of their environment and how they react to it. This may seem like a bogus assumption, but is undoubtedly true.