Determinism And Criminal Behaviour

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Determinism argues that human behaviour is accounted for by external or internal forces that is beyond our control, therefore suggests that behaviour is predetermined and humans cannot be held responsible. Free will, however, argues that humans are free to live in whatever way we choose. Free will suggests that humans are free from independent influences, and our actions and behaviours are a result of our choices, therefore making it our responsibility. (Alexander & Staub, 1956). Criminals are not responsible for their actions as criminal behaviour is predetermined by independent forces such as genetic vulnerability and is not a result of free will.
The psychodynamic approach argues that mental processes are affected by the force of the unconscious …show more content…

Genetic vulnerability to criminal behaviour will make an individual much likely to act in anti-social ways. (Clive Hollin, 1989). Twin studies have been conducted into criminal behaviour and genetics (Clive Hollin, 1989), and it found a 75% concordance rate between MZ twins and only 24% concordance rate within DZ twins. This suggests that genetics does play an important part in the development of criminal behaviour, however, a much more updated study has shown that there if a significant decrease in the concordance rate. (Clive Hollin, 1989) Furthermore, it should be noted that many MZ twins share the same environment and may display similar social responses as a result, such as criminal and anti-social behaviours. MZ twins tend to have the same peer groups and share the same experiences compared to DZ twins, which may explain the concordance rate more than the role of genetics. (Clive, Hollin 1989). It may be prudent to suggest that an interaction of both genetics and the environment may be responsible for behaviour. Furthermore, there are also indications that males are more aggressively charged than females, thus more likely to perform criminal acts. The argument suggests that hormone levels may influence behaviour indirectly within early adolescent development (Denno, 1988). An association has been found between testosterone levels and the history of …show more content…

It suggests that criminal behaviour develops due to what children observe at home during early childhood and they then demonstrate these behaviours when they are older. One study illustrated the effects of modelling and how it can influence anti-social behaviours in children. Bandura (1965), showed a video clip to children of an adult attacking a bobo doll violently, for example kicking and punching. The results showed that children who observed this were more aggressive towards the bobo doll than the control group. This suggests that behaviour is a result of modelling and that children are easily influenced and will imitate what they observed. Therefore, arguing that criminal behaviour is a result of behaviour we learned during early childhood. (Christi Bergin & David Bergin,

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