Crime may be defined as any behavior committed or omitted in violation of a law and for which punishment or sanction is imposed (National center for Victims of Crime, 2008). There are mainly two categories of explanations of criminal behaviors, which are individual explanations that include classical, biological, and psychological and so on; and social explanations which include ecological, social learning and strain. It would be unfair to say that one is more convincing than the other as each respective category are distinctive in their own nature. However it is important to realize that to philosophically understand a crime, one must utilize one of the categories of the abovementioned explanations in order to reach an objective, and it depends …show more content…
He was a good looking, educated man who raped, murdered and dismembered dozens of young women that most of the victims are attractive, intelligent college students, Ted kept their hands as souvenirs after killing them. He was born in home with unwed mothers, being an illegitimate child made him aware of and concerned about his low social status. His family only had money for bare necessities (Michaud& Aynesworth 1989, p.50), he was upset that his family’s thrifty lifestyle which took away the chance to ever be equal terms with the wealthy from him (Rule 1989, p.167). Once Ted exposed to pornography later in his life, it created the social- isolation, personal rejection and poor communication with his family. A couple of studies illustrated that pornography, with sexual and violent themes, has the potential to make people more accepting of violence against women (Malamuth &Check 1981). He was addicted to pornography later which he collected a number of “snuff” magazines; it is a combination of homicide and pornography. Another important influence on Bundy was Satanism that also explained to his following criminal acts accordingly. Ted found that his crimes are satisfying, that gave him excitement, power and sexual pleasure, and it is more pleasing than consensual sexual activity. (Levin & Fox 1985, p.68) states that controlling over human beings encourages motivation among serial killers. Ted was proud of what he …show more content…
Studies have shown that children who have alcoholic parents grow up to have deep-seated emotional problems (Healthpsychologyconsultancy, 2012.). Charles grew up in a world that he knew his mother did not care about his feelings as long as she met her needs, once she sold him to a childless waitress for a keg of beer, but later the days he was retrieved from his uncle, from that it explains why Charles never cared about the feelings of the victims, as he said to the television reporter that ‘I could take the book and beat you to death with it, and I wouldn’t feel a thing’(The Psycopathic mental and personality disorder of Charles Manson, 2011.). The failure of Charles getting into the music career was unlikely to influence on his crimes, however, when that was combined with his terrible chaotic childhood, this could have been one of many triggers to creating the Manson we all know today. Charles was fascinated in most of The Beatles songs especially ’Helter Skelter’, and he strongly believed that there would be a racial war between the whites and blacks. Studies illustrated that if someone believed something extremely like Charles did, they will make everything around them confirm that belief. That is one of the signs of paranoia (Psychology Today,
Ted Bundy was a brutal serial killer. He was also very charming and handsome to
He was intelligent, articulate and handsome. During a gruesome killing spree, Ted Bundy slaughtered more than thirty five women within the span of five years, becoming one of the most notorious serial killers in American history. He grew up believing that his grandparents were his parents and his unwed mother to be his older sister. He was not very good at building relationships and had a lot of conflict with his stepfather and enjoyed the terms of violence and sex as a child. Ted shoplifted during his teenage years and enjoyed being above the law. He was generally very shy and gained a lot of popularity and self esteem in high school because of his good looks. It was there that he met his high school girlfriend Stephanie Brooks with whom he become obsessed, but the relationship did not last very long as she did not feel the same way for him so she broke up with him. Depressed by the break up, Ted dropped out of college and returned home with his family where he found out the truth about his biological mother. This left Ted in a state of confusion about his identity and he felt betrayed by the women in his life. He went back to high school where he and Stephanie got back together but right after she agreed to marry him, he broke up with her to seek revenge. After this charade his killing spree began, luring young women with lies, abducting, raping, physically abusing and killing them.
People are uniquely different and because of this reason, they do have different behaviors. Crime is one kind of behavior that an individual can engage in. They are punishable by the law and may be prosecuted by the state (Helfgott, 2008). There are different theories existing that try to explain the actions of criminals. They deeply explain what causes an individual to commit a criminal activity. This paper discusses some examples of the biological theories, social theories and psychological theories of crime.
... middle of paper ... ... Understanding psychological theories helps criminologists to design appropriate correctional strategies to mitigate crime. Works Cited Eysenck, H.J., & Gudjonsson, G.H. d. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a The causes and cures of criminality.
A highly debated topic concerns whether criminals commit crimes because of a social pressure or an individual urge. The strain theory supports crime as a social pressure because, as Frank Schmalleger suggests in Criminology Today 222, crime is an adaptive behavior that coincides with problems caused by frustration or unpleasant social surroundings. Also, culture conflict theory states the cause of delinquent behavior is because different social classes conflicting morals of what is appropriate or proper behavior, (Schmalleger 228). Other people believe blaming crime on the economy or where they grew up is making an excuse for criminals instead of making them take responsibility for their actions, as stated by CQ writer Peter Katel. These different views started with statistics taken on crime in the early 1800s. Andre Michel Guerry of France was one of the first examiners of “the moral health of nations” in the early 19th century, (Schmalleger 35). Another early crime statistician was Adolphe Quetelet of Belgium . Quetelet evaluated the crime rates between weather, sex, and age. His findings that climate contributes to high or low crime rate is a main factor in today’s fight against crime. It is doubtful this issue will ever be settled since there are too many pros and cons to each side. However, while specialists’ dispute this, crime is not stopping. There needs to be a way, or possibly several ways, to reduce criminal activity. It is doubtful criminal activity will ever be put to an end. The same is to be said about why people commit crime, but knowing if it is done socially or individually can help with the fight against it. In the end, individuals should take responsibility for their actions, but...
He was an extrovert and that was why he needed to kill and rape multiple women not just one. He says it was not his family’s fault he was like this and that is true but somewhere in his DNA caused him to do these crazy things. He also had some type of stress that made him snap and never go back to the way he was. I wonder if Ted Bundy would have been different if he put himself in a different environment. Bundy blamed the environment is what caused him to make these crimes but I don’t think so plenty of men watch porn and do not go around killing
The Usefulness of Sociological Theories in Explaining Crime and the Control of Crime This paper seeks to explore the usefulness of Sociological Theories in explaining crime and whether in doing so there arises implications for probation practice. I shall begin by providing a brief explanation for the historical development of criminological thinking, starting with Classicism and moving onto Positivism both which lay the foundations for the development of sociological theories in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Analysis of the literature has highlighted the vast array of theories to which my attention will be paid. However, due to the limitations of this piece of work and in order to provide an in-depth account of the usefulness of particular theories I have chosen to focus on two; Labelling Theory and Subcultural Theory. I will provide a thorough account of how they attempt to explain crime and how offenders are propelled into crime and the usefulness of such theories.
Which is a better theory of crime Social ecology or differential association? While both have good concepts I feel that both are somewhat flawed in their concepts of crime. But for the purposes of this paper I will chose differential association as the better predictor and concept for criminal behavior as a whole.
Ted met his first girlfriend in college and eventually falls in love. His girlfriend did not see Ted as someone who would be successful and eventually broke up with him and this broke his heart. This was about the time he learned the truth about his family too. He developed deep depression and this marked the time his killing ventures started.
Crime exists everywhere. It is exists in our country, in the big cities, the small towns, schools, and even in homes. Crime is defined as “any action that is a violation of law”. These violations may be pending, but in order to at least lower the crime rate, an understanding of why the crimes are committed must first be sought. There are many theories that are able to explain crimes, but three very important ones are rational choice theory, social disorganization theory and strain theory.
In conclusion it is shown through examinations of a average criminals biological makeup is often antagonized by a unsuitable environment can lead a person to crime. Often a criminal posses biological traits that are fertile soil for criminal behavior. Some peoples bodies react irrationally to a abnormal diet, and some people are born with criminal traits. But this alone does not explain their motivation for criminal behavior. It is the environment in which these people live in that release the potential form criminal behavior and make it a reality. There are many environmental factors that lead to a person committing a crime ranging from haw they were raised, what kind of role models they followed, to having a suitable victims almost asking to be victimized. The best way to solve criminal behavior is to find the source of the problem but this is a very complex issue and the cause of a act of crime cannot be put on one source.
There are various theories within the biological explanation as to why individuals commit criminal behaviour, these include: genetic theory, hereditary theory, psychosis and brain injury theory. In the next few paragraphs examples of each will be shown.
Different schools of thought propose varying theoretical models of criminality. It is agreeable that criminal behaviour is deep rooted in societies and screams for attention. Biological, Social ecological and psychological model theories are key to helping researchers gain deeper comprehension of criminal behaviour and ways to avert them before they become a menace to society. All these theories put forward a multitude of factors on the outlooks on crime. All these theories have valid relevancy to continuous research on criminal behaviour.
There are many beliefs and theories in the world that try to explain why many people commit crimes and why they do. The theories of crime causation go as far back as the mid -1700s. Based from Sociological School of criminology one of the many reasons of crime causation is because an individual’s socioeconomic conditions and social interactions.