Defining Crime In Psychology
Every human society throughout time has understood that there are
actions and beliefs that are morally wrong, but different cultures
have different opinions on what is criminal.
For example, the newspaper article I have chosen to study for this
paper is about the dismembered torso of a young African boy, which was
found in the river Thames on September 21st 2001. It is believed that
the boy was the victim of an African muti murder performed to bring
luck to the Guana (muti ritualist). In the UK murder is illegal, even
on the grounds of euthanasia, whereas among African ritualists it is
believed to be beneficial. Several psychologists have come up with
theories that attempt to explain the reasons for crime, such as
Kohlberg, Raine, Bandura, and Rushton, some of which are more
believable than others. Kohlberg believes that we take the majority of
our morals and beliefs from valued role models, in a similar way to
Bandura in his social learning theory study. Raine's theory is that
criminality is predestined by brain formation, which means that
criminals are genetically different from innocent individuals. Rushton
agrees with this theory, but on the grounds of ethnicity, not brain
formation.
In 1976 Kohlberg claimed that there are three levels of moral
reasoning and development. They are:
· The Preconventional level, whereby individuals are still at a pre
adolescent stage of cognitive processing, and have not yet developed
their own personal codes of morality, and therefore obey those they
respect;
· The Conventional level, which is the level the majority of adults
reach, whereby they begi...
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...as middle class white collar criminals who live in
affluent areas are less likely to be arrested. This would suggest that
crime is innate, and that criminally minded people are merely taking
advantage of whatever background and resources are available to them.
Crime is as old as society, and "criminal" actions must have been
carried out before laws were developed, or else there would be no need
for rules. This also leads to the suggestion that crime is innate.
However, definitions of crime differ from culture to culture and
country to country, so to claim that crime is innate is difficult, as
there is no clear definition.
Bibliography
Psychology Review
Key studies in psychology - Richard Gross (Hodder & Stoughton)
Psychology for AS level - Erika Cox (Oxford)
Psychology Today - (Philip Allan updates)
There are many views on crime and deviance and many theories to why they occur.
Finding strong evidence surrounding this topic could be significant to reducing crime rates and addressing the public health issue. What I have learn from research-based evidence and analyzing social and cultural theories, is that criminal behavior is multifaceted and is influenced by a range of determinants in which surrounds the nature versus nurture debate. I believe that nature and nurture both play significant roles to the making of a criminal.
...nd race. In other words, race and gender have an effect on crime considering there is not only a clear distinction between the types of crimes, but also the frequency of crime being committed. Furthermore, psychological positivism suggests that crime is the result of mental disorders and ineffective parenting, which goes completely against the classical idea that people choice to become criminals. In addition to biological and psychological elements, there are the social factors that can influence people to engage in criminal activity. As a matter of fact, social and economic pressures play a major role in the cause of crime since people are more likely to break the law when they have nothing else to lose. Therefore, the biological, psychological, and social factors should all be considered when trying to establish a reason for every crime.
Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development is three levels consisting of two stages in each. Kohlberg’s Theory explains how a human’s mind morally develops. Level one is typically common in younger children. The two stages in level one are pre-conventional stages. Stage one is obedience and punishment driven; one will judge an action by the consequences given. Stage two is out of self interest. Level two is mostly common in teenagers. The stages in this level
Early English law had many influences on law enforcement in the United States of American during the 1600s-1800s. The riot act of 1714 which was an act of Parliament for Great Britain where the local authorities in that community would choose a group of people to keep order and call the military if a fight or riot got out of hand. “The government had no civil police force to deal with mob violence therefore the government had to call in the military using the riot act to control the situation.’ (Hess, 2013; p. 10). As the law enforcement evolved urbanization turned into commerce and industry. Meanwhile in the early system of the law the watch and ward system but eventually seemed to be non-effective.
The statement suggests that those with no history of violence within their family and/or those who had a good upbringing will most likely not go on to commit violent crimes. At first this does seem like a reasonable suggestion to make. However, once we look deeper into this topic we uncover more complex explanations that are used to understand the phenomenon that is violent crime. Psychological perspectives are widely used throughout the world of criminology in order to help comprehend why crime is committed and the patterns that occur between the type of offender and type of crime. There perspectives are broken down into four main areas within psychology; Biological/Evolutionary, Social/Learning theory, Psychoanalytical/Psychodynamic and finally
Labeling theory is derived from the idea that people see themselves through the eyes of others. Individuals have different meanings set aside for similar situations. For example, society might define something as criminal, while other individuals do not. This is the case for several moral vices, such as marijuana, or the use of the death penalty as a method of punishment. When there are negative meanings and interpretations for actions, people tend to label others based on their “evil” actions.
Kohlberg’s theory of the stages of moral development has gained some popularity despite being controversial. The claim that the levels form a “ladder,” the bottom being the immature child with a pre-conventional level and the top being a post conventional ethical individual. The sequence is unvarying and the subject must begin at the bottom with aspirations to reach the top, possibly doing so. (7) Research confirms that individuals from different cultures actually progress according to Kohlbergs theory, at least to the conventional level. Kohlberg’s stages of moral development continue to provide a foundation for psychology studies of moral reasoning. (6)
There are numerous ideas in the area of criminology that attempt to interpret the causes behind why people commit crimes. Social process idea is one such idea and affirms that criminal actions are taught by viewing criminalistic actions by others (Schmalleger, 2012). The four kinds of Social method theories are Social learning idea, Social command idea, labeling idea, and dramaturgical viewpoint. Throughout this term paper, we will gaze at two of these theories, Social discovering theory and the Social command theory. This essay will converse about the Social method theory's significance to criminology, as well the history of its development.
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 than a learned behavior.
Murder, robbery, prostitution, rape; what exactly makes people partake in these crimes? The debate of Nature vs Nurture has never failed to raise questions about people’s personalities and actions. Whether a person commits a crime because of their innate character vs the way they were raised is something that people have been trying to understand for years. Due to this fact, the biosocial perspective of criminology does the best job at explaining criminal behavior because it combines the aspects of nature vs. nurture through various types of family, twin, and adoption studies and studies of the brain.
In today’s society, one will find that there are many different factors that go into the development of a criminal mind, and it is impossible to single out one particular cause of criminal behavior. Criminal behavior often stems from both biological and environmental factors. In many cases criminals share similar physical traits which the general population do not usually have. For example criminals have smaller brains than properly adjusted individuals. However biological reasons cannot solely be the cause of criminal behavior. Therefore, one must look to other sources as to how a criminal mind is developed. Social and environmental factors also are at fault for developing a person to the point at which they are lead to committing a criminal act. Often, someone who has committed a violent crime shows evidence of a poorly developed childhood, or the unsuitable current conditions in which the subject lives. In addition if one studies victimology which is the role that the victim plays in the crime, it is apparent that there are many different causes for criminal behavior. Through the examination of biological factors, in addition to the social and environmental factors which make up a criminal mind, one can conclude that a criminal often is born with traits common to those of criminals, it is the environment that exist around them that brings out the criminal within them to commit indecent acts of crime.
Understanding Psychology and Crime; Perspectives on Theory and Action, New York. PENNINGTON, D ( 2002) , Introducing Psychology: Approaches, Topics and Methods, London, Hodder Arnold TANNENBAUN, B, (2007),Profs link criminal behaviour to genetics [online] , Available at: http://thedp.com/index.php/article/2007/11/profs_link_criminal_behavior_to_genetics [accessed 16th October 2011]. http://www.docstoc.com/docs/41182390/Explanations-of-Criminal-behaviour
Human antisocial behaviour is complex and trying to understand it has always proven to be a daunting intelligent task, especially in modern culturally diverse societies. Crime, broadly defined as behaviour through which individuals obtain resources for others through uncouth means, presents as one of the most refractory internal social dilemmas. Understanding individual criminal acts such a murder, rape or motives behind them is intricate, rather their behavioral definitions and causes offers a more clear platform for argumentative reasoning. Criminal behaviour, regardless of manner, involves use of barbaric methodologies to obtain symbolic or material resources. Criminal behavior results from methodical processes that involve intricate interactions among isolated, societal, and environmental factors in people’s lives.
I now know that criminology prefer to highlight the correlations between crimes’ social climates and criminals’ psychological states of mind. While some argues that criminal behavior is a result of individuals’ association with criminal peers, other claims that crime is a reflection of an individual’s genetic disadvantages. I have come to learn that there are no universally agreed formulas on decoding crimes and criminal behaviors. What we have, however, is a manual full of academic opinions and subjective views that have emerged alongside of the development of criminology. At the same time, the volume of conflicting perspectives that I have stumble upon in studying criminology reminded me again that the success of our current assessment models has yet to be determined. Thus, the study of criminology is an appropriate practice that will further prepare me to conduct meaningful research on legal studies and to provide accurate and in-depth findings in the near