Is Criminal Psychology Caused By Nature Or Nurture

906 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Nature vs nurture in criminal behaviour

Monsters are real! They are everywhere, hidden in plain sight. Anyone could be a “monster” because there are no physical characteristics we can see that are unique only to them to distinguish them apart from the rest of society. The study of what makes them tick and makes them who they are is called criminal psychology. Criminal psychology studies the causes, motives and statistics surrounding criminals and their evil deeds.
Causes
The root cause of crime has been a topic of heated debate for centuries. In all fields of psychology, there has always been debate about whether psychology is caused by nature or nurture. Some believe that psychology is the product of nature (genetics), while others believe it is the product of nurture (upbringing …show more content…

Combining all of this information helps predict potential high-risk individuals early on to try to prevent them from continuing on that path as well as profile unknown suspects who have already committed a crime so as to increase the ability of the police to catch criminals who were not caught during the process of their crimes. There are different types of crime statistics that criminologists and criminal psychologists look at: general crime statistics, victimological statistics and perpetrator statistics. General crime statistics don’t look into the details of victims or perpetrators. They focus on the types of crimes and compare prevalence of certain types of crimes compared to others. They compare violent to non-violent crimes, types of weapons within violent crimes, etc. One perpetrator demographic that is included in general crime statistics is age (Brennan & Dauvergne, 2011). This is because juvenile/youth crimes are a distinct category of crime defined within the law and can be treated as a type of crime on its own. Some crime statistics instead look at perpetrators, comparing age, race, gender, etc. to extrapolate trends within data indicating correlations between certain types of perpetrators and certain types of crimes. The purpose of this is to develop a list of probable characteristics for unknown suspects. This is called criminal processing. However, being stereotypical guesswork based upon trends, it is not an exact science and is, at best, an educated guess to go on until more information or a solid lead becomes available (Snook, Eastwood, Gendreau, Goggin, & Cullen, 2007). Victimological statistics look instead at the demographics of victims. Like criminal profiling, there are

Show More
Related

  • Nature versus Nurture: Criminal Behavior

    2165 Words  | 5 Pages

    Within the past decade there has been a wide range of research and evidence available based on both sides of the nature or nurture debate. Along with further research that identifies a number of determinants that have some form of influence towards criminal behavior and activity. This researc...

    Read More

  • Travis Hirschi's Social Bond Theory

    2547 Words  | 6 Pages

    In 2012, there were an estimated 14,827 murders and non-negligent manslaughter crimes reported by all agencies in the United States according to the Uniform Crime Report at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Murder and non-negligent manslaughter are defined “as the willful (nonnegligent) killing of one human being by another.” A 1.1 percent increase occurred from 2011 to 2012. But it should be noted, this is a 9.9 percent drop from the figure for 2008 and a 10.3 percent decrease from the number of murders recorded in 2003. Of the murders that occurred in 2012, it is estimated that 43.6 percent were reported in the south, 21.0 percent were from the Midwest, 21.0 percent were accounted from the west, and 14.2 percent were from the northeast of the United States. There were 4.7 murders for every 100,000 people in 2012. The murder rate went up 0.4 percent from 2011 to 2012. It went down in 2008 by 12.8 percent and dropped 16.9 percent from 2003. The majority of offenders were over the age of eighteen and they accounted for 9,096 of offenders in 2012. According to the Uniform Crime Report, the number of offenders who murdered in 2012 totaled 14,581. The majority of these offenders were male, totaling 9,425. Female offenders totaled 1,098, and 4,058 were unknown offenders. Black males topped the list as far as race was concerned with 5,531 committing murder. White males followed with 4,582 offenders. There were 4,228 classified as race unknown regarding offenders who murdered in 2012. The victim data reported was 9,917 male victims and 2,834 female victims. Of those victims, 11,549 were over the age of eighteen.

    Read More

  • Ted Bundy: Who Are The Most Faceful Serial Killers?

    2397 Words  | 5 Pages

    Are serial killers a result of nature or a casualty of upbringing? Many psychologists and criminal analysts have delved into answering this question; unfortunately, there is not a clear answer on the exact origin. On the other hand, many specialists have various theories that could contribute to the creation of these individuals. These theories include biological, psychological, social, and environmental factors. Though there are many ideas on the cause, on thing is clear: most individuals do not lose their grasp on reality without warning and become a brutal serial killer overnight (Simons 351). These individuals are complex and mysterious to many. Through a combination of various factors, serial killers are created; they are not simply born with a hunger to kill.

    Read More

  • Nature vs Nurture: Genetics vs Environment

    1611 Words  | 4 Pages

    The issue of whether or not criminal or aggressive behavior and violence is caused by biological or environmental factors has proven to be one that has caused a dispute for many years now. The biological or genetic factor of violent/criminal or aggressive behavior is certainly a much talked about topic. The idea that certain individuals could be predisposed to violence is something definitely deserving of doing research about. The nature vs. nurture topic has been a continuing debate for many aspects of human behavior, including aggression/violent behavior and criminal behavior. There have been many studies indicating that chemical relationships between hormones and the frontal lobe of the brain may play a key role in determining aggressive behavior as well as genetics, while other studies have explored environmental and social factors that have been said to control patterns in human aggression. Aggressive/violent behavior can’t be answered directly if it is caused by either nature or nurture; instead it is believed that both cause it.

    Read More

  • Nature and Nurture in Crime and Punishment

    1377 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the news today there is an article about a high-school boy who brought guns to school and shot several students. The parents of the victims are suing various computer game companies saying that the violent games present shooting and killing people as pleasurable and fail to portray realistic consequences. A representative of one of the companies released a statement saying that this is another example of individuals seeking to elude responsibility that has become so common in our society. This case is not about software. What is on trial is the age-old debate between nature and nurture, which also lies at the center of Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment.

    Read More

  • Is Criminal Behavior Determined Biologically?

    1188 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nature vs. nurture has been one of the oldest and most debated topics among psychologists over the years. This concept discusses whether a child is born into this world with their developmental work cut out for them or if a child is a “blank slate” and their experiences are what shape them into who they are. Over the years and plenty of research, psychologists have all mostly come to agree that it’s a little bit of both. Children are both born with some genetic predispositions while other aspects of the child’s development are strongly influenced by their surrounding environment. This plays into the criminal justice system when discussing where criminal behavior stems from. Is a criminal’s anti-social behavior just part of their DNA or is it a result of their upbringing? The answer to this question is not definite. Looking at research a strong argument can be made that criminals developed their anti-social patterns through the atmosphere in which they were raise, not their DNA.

    Read More

  • Age Crime Curve

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    When one looks at the relationship between age and crime at the individual level, however, one can see a great deal of variation. Therefore, the prediction of crime is not realistic. What seems like an easy question has no one simple answer at all. A lot of research has been done with regards to crime rates, but this indeed is a complex

    Read More

  • Which Trait Theory Most Explains Criminal Behavior

    1238 Words  | 3 Pages

    Criminal behavior can mostly be explained by the Biosocial Branch of Trait Theory. Individual traits by themselves cannot determine criminality. Outside factors such as the environment along with certain personality traits is what causes criminal behavior.

    Read More

  • Biological Approach To Criminal Behavior

    1267 Words  | 3 Pages

    1. Cesare Lombroso applied the methods of natural science (observation, measurement, experimentation, statistical analysis) to the study of criminal behavior. Lombroso rejected the classical theory of crime, associated with Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham, which explained criminal activity as freely chosen behavior based on the rational calculation of benefit and loss, pleasure and pain. Critically analyze both schools of thought and provide an opinion as to what theory you believe is more relevant.

    Read More

  • Is Crime a Biological or Learned Behavior?

    1281 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Crime Theory Essay

    1049 Words  | 3 Pages

    The world will always be full of crime, thus it is necessary for scientist to grow along with the gruesome and increasing amount of violations. Due to this it sparked scientist to develop crime theories in which emerged to explain why crime is caused by individuals. Some of the few theories that have advanced over the past century and provided many answers to why crimes are committed are biological theories, psychological theories and learning theories. These theories provide an insight to its first use and change in order to provide answers.

    Read More

  • Nature Vs Nurture Criminology

    2020 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Development of a Criminal Mind

    1330 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Are Criminals Born or Made?

    2147 Words  | 5 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Biological Factors And Criminal Behavior

    1112 Words  | 3 Pages

    Theories that are based on biological Factors and criminal behavior have always been slightly ludicrous to me. Biological theories place an excessive emphasis on the idea that individuals are “born badly” with little regard to the many other factors that play a part in this behavior. Criminal behavior may be learned throughout one’s life, but there is not sufficient evidence that proves crime is an inherited trait. In the Born to Be Bad article, Lanier describes the early belief of biological theories as distinctive predispositions that under particular conditions will cause an individual to commit criminal acts. (Lanier, p. 92) Biological criminologists are expected to study the “criminal” rather than the act itself. This goes as far as studying physical features, such as body type, eyes, and the shape or size of one’s head. “Since criminals were less developed, Lombroso felt they could be identified by physical stigmata, or visible physical abnormalities…characteristics as asymmetry of the face; supernumerary nipples, toes, or fingers; enormous jaws; handle-shaped or sensible ears; insensibility to pain; acute sight; and so on.” (Lanier. P. 94). It baffles me that physical features were ever considered a reliable explanation to criminal behavior. To compare one’s features to criminal behavior is not only stereotypical, but also highly unreliable.

    Read More

More about Is Criminal Psychology Caused By Nature Or Nurture

Open Document