CRIMINAL PSYCHOLOGY
CURPSY1 FINALS
WHAT IS CRIME?
HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL ASPECT the labelling of crime is dependent on
historical and cultural factors. Nowhere is this clear than in the area of
drugs. Certain harmful and addictive substances are legal in the UK, but
not necessarily elsewhere. Alcohol and nicotine are highly damaging, yet
not illegal.
In addition, criminal definitions change overtime. There are many countries
in which homosexuality or adultery are considered crimes. Thus, what is
considered a crime changes over time and from one country to
another.
Crime is a dynamic concept, and new developments produce new forms of
crime (ex: publishing objectionable materials via the internet, stalking,
fraud).
Crime could be defined as harmful acts committed by individuals who are, to
a certain degree, culpable (ex: blame-worthy). This definition suggests
that we all agree that certain behaviors are wrong, and it is these that
should be labeled as criminal.
APPLYING PSYCHOLOGY TO CRIME
Criminal psychology mainly seeks to answer two questions. The first is how
can psychology further our understanding of crime, its causes,
consequences and prevention? The second is how can psychology help
the criminal justice system and other agencies in dealing with crime?
Criminal psychology is an applied branch of psychology. It seeks to apply
general psychology to issues of crime and justice.
APPROACHES IN CRIMINAL PSYCHOLOGY
A. LEARNING THEORY. One way of explaining behavior is to regard it as
the product of learning. Criminal behavior is no exception. There are
several principles that underlie learning theory, such as operant and
classical conditioning, imitation and modelling. Operant conditioning
can play a role in the early learning processes involving antisocial
behavior, a person engages on some kind of behavior, and find it that
it is intrinsically rewarding. Criminal behavior is more susceptible to
influence from social or observational learning. Witnessing violence can
be a strong precursor to acquiring that behavior.
B. PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY. In the psychodynamic approach, our
mental life is characterized by conflict between desire and restraint.
Desires may well propel us towards crime. Stealing can be a way of
obtaining nice things. Whereas sexual crimes can help us satisfy deep
seated and innate urges. Aggression features heavily in Freuds work.
Psychodynamic theory emphasizes the role of dark forces when
explaining aggression. According to him, aggression is not an
exceptional human behavior; if we were to let loose our id,
aggression would be most commonplace.
C. COGNITIVE APPROACHES. Cognitive theory is concerned with how
people interpret and organize information. It looks at how individuals
use information and prior knowledge to make sense of the world
around them. In the area of crime, cognitive theory is of relevance in a
number of areas. Firstly, there is a link to aggression. It is well-known
that aggressive scripts are acquired via witnessing aggressive
behavior. A script is a packet of knowledge that helps us organize the
world and derive expectations and plans for an action. Aggressive
scripts are scripts that suggest the use of violence is the appropriate
action in certain situations.
D. BIOLOGICAL THEORY. The extent to which our behavior is
determined by our biological make up is a controversial issue in
criminal psychology. It is also difficult to assess, it has been established
via brain scans that certain violent criminals show patterns of brain
activity that are different from other people.
E. THE SOCIAL APPROACH. We are social animals. Our behavior is
profoundly influenced by the behavior of the people that surround us.
The social approach has evidence for criminal psychology, too. Much
criminal behavior is group behavior and being part of a group affects
the way we behave.
NOTE: It is important to stress that no one approach or explanation is always
right. In general, psychological approaches are methods by which we can
come to an understanding of criminal behavior. They do not provide a
complete picture on their own.
BIOLOGICAL AND GENETIC EXPLANATION
PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scans show us to assess
whether certain areas of the brain function differently in serious
criminals than others. The study carried out by Raine and colleagues
is an excellent example of this type of research as it shows that subtle
differences in brain functioning can be demonstrated.
TWIN STUDIES. The reasoning behind twin studies is straightforward.
Identical twins are assumed to have identical genes. Thus, any
differences between the two would be the influence of environment. It
was indeed found by Cristiansen (1977) that identical twins resemble
each other closer in criminal behavior than non-identical twins. Based
on his analysis of the criminal records of no less than 3, 566 pairs of
twins, he found that if one identical twin had a criminal record, there
was a 35 percent chance that the other twin did, too. For non-identical
twins, this figure was only 12 percent.
ADOPTION STUDIES. A better way of establishing the influence of
genes is via adoption studies. Such studies look at children who have
been adopted shortly after birth and we establish whether their
behavior resembles that of their natural parent or that of their adoptive
parents. Mednic et al. (1984) looked at 14,427 adopted children in
Denmark. It was found that when both adoptive and biological parents
had a criminal record, 24.5 percent of sons became criminals as well.
With only a criminal biological parent, the figure was 20 percent. With
only an adoptive parent with a criminal conviction, 14.7 percent of
sons acquired a criminal record themselves, and only 13.5 percent had
a criminal conviction even if none of their adoptive or their biological
parents had one. Blackburn suggests that this implies a modest
genetic contribution to crime.
PERSONALITY FACTORS. It has been suggested that criminals are
more likely to be thrill-seekers, that they have low tolerance for
frustration and that they are more impulsive than non-criminals. Hans
Eysenck (1977) argued that some of these personality traits might
have a genetic basis. A key factor in his work is the difference between
INTROVERSION and EXTROVERSION. Introverts are people who enjoy
their own company. They tend to be quiet, reserved, and think before
they act. In contrast, extroverts are individuals that enjoy large
gatherings of people. According to Eysenck, these attributes are more
than a personal style or preference. Instead, they tell us something
fundamental about our brain. Eysenck argued that extroverts are
under-aroused. They need stimulation. In addition, Eysenck thought
that extroverts are less likely to be affected by negative outcomes of
their behavior, such as punishment. Introverts, on the other hand, will
not deal with negative feedback or punishment so casually. They will
take it to heart.
MORAL REASONING. More crimes involve a decision to commit them.
That invites the question whether criminals make different decisions
than others, or whether their reasoning styles or capabilities are in one
way or another to blame. Moral reasoning is not all that easy to
measure. It is part of the essence of moral reasoning that better or
worse is difficult to establish. The fields most well-known researcher,
Kohlberg, has been credited with a breakthrough: he disentangled the
outcome of moral reasoning from the reasoning process. He was not so
much interested in the decisions people make, but how they do it.
COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS. Cognitive distortions are the result of
inadequate thinking process. These thinking patterns may lead
offenders to develop incorrect ideas regarding incorrect behavior and
victims. To link cognitive distortions in moral reasoning, we have to
look at Kohlbergs level 2. At this level, individuals who are guided
strictly by behavioral principles are unable and unwilling to place
themselves in other peoples shoes. Palmer calls this the PRIMARY
COGNITIVE DISTORTION, the egocentric bias. Individuals with that bias
are less able to consider the effects of their actions to other people and
instead place emphasis on their own needs and desires.
