...Biological Theories and Criminal Behavior Biological theories address deviant behavior as a relationship between biological factors, and social norms in respect to crime. The theories address behavior of an individual based upon his or her biological impact. Schmalleger, (2008) points out a connection to social environments and the impact upon human behavior. The connection has validity because of human thoughts and activities are constantly flowing through the brain providing an impact relating to behavior. Researchers base biological theories on flaws relating to heredity, dysfunction of the brain’s neurotransmitters, injuries, trauma, or abnormalities involving the brain affecting behavior (Raine, 2002). Brain development is a biological theory providing information connecting damage of the frontal lobes located in the brain’s cerebrum to criminal behavior. The brain is similar to a computer sending messages to the body and when the messages cannot be delivered it is because of a dysfunction that has occurred in the brain. The frontal lobes and the limbic system are two of the major areas of the brain involving behavior. The frontal lobes are responsible for reasoning, problem solving, and emotions (Allen & Harper, 2010). The limbic system contains electrical circuitry controlling emotions and motivation (Allen & Harper, 2010). The amygdala when stimulated produces behavior related to emotions, memory and fear. When the amygdala is functioning properly it produces the...
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... effects, and patterns of criminal behavior. The studies of such involve developing theories; this is the development of criminology. Scientific research is conducted to better understand individuals in societies. Criminology is the foundation of the justice system where crime is studied along with issues related to crime. This paper is intended to discuss the sociobiological theory that will explain the relationship between personality and criminal behavior, to compare key elements of sociobiological with biological and psychological theories, and finally, to identify the philosophical basis to each of these theories. The Relationship between Personality and Criminal Behavior Sociobiological theory is based on the combination of human behavior that occurs naturally with the effects of society. Researchers have thought of this theory by means of learning behaviors that are genetic compared to the environments that individuals are surrounded by. Founded by E.O. Wilson, the sociobiological theory used principles are Darwinism, in that human behaviors are evolutionary (Stanford, 2009). There are predisposition behaviors that will separate a criminal from an upstanding citizen. One example can be found among gang members as they have developed territorial traits which lead to violence. Criminal behavior is can be argued to be a learned behavior, however often times, the genetic line is often over looked. Those who have been labeled as criminals may have certain personality...
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...Criminological Theories of Crime Causation: Biological, Sociological, and Psychological Carrie Siewert, CJ499 Kaplan University Author Note October 5, 2015 Criminological Theories of Crime Causation: Biological, Sociological, and Psychological For centuries, documentation of criminal cases filled the inboxes of the numerous police officers’, investigators’, and forensic laboratory analysists’ exceeding the limits of caseloads possible for any given criminal justice professional responsible for solving criminal cases. Each giving everything they have to catch the guilty and thus, providing justice to the victims who suffered because of someone’s criminal behaviors and actions. Each with the same or similar inquiries; why do people commit the crimes they commit? Why do they behave this way? What is their purpose? Were the born this way? What, if anything, happen to them to make them behave in such a heinous manner? Are they a victim of their own environment and/or social status? Of course, these inquiries cover only a minute number of possible indications as to answering the “Why?” people commit these criminal behaviors and actions. Criminology identifies ascertains three amalgamations of theories, each of which attempt to justify inquiries by working exuberantly to establish a high level of credibility and reliability; the following will address how these biological, sociological, and psychological theories of crime causation affect human behavior and/or actions. ...
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...Running head: UNDERSTANDING THE CRIMINAL Understanding the Criminal Understanding the Criminal Crime is an activity that societies around the globe have had to experience from close to the beginning of manhood. Crime is nothing new to us but the extent of criminal behavior has evolved over the centuries. We will probably never live in a world that is free of crime, but learning more about the criminal aspects in our society may one day make our world a much better place to live. To help resolve criminal behavior becoming more familiar with the biological and psychological explanations of crime, the way criminals learn to commit crimes and the criminal justice system in place to deal with criminals must be understood. Understanding the explanations of crime is a controversial issue by many researchers. What is understood is that the crime rate over the last century has increased and that this is largely due to the criminals in our society. If the criminal could be understood then perhaps that would be a large step in the combat against crime. Criminologists study factors to explain why and individual would commit crimes. Although one explanation does not supersede the other when considering the causes of crime, research has shown evidence of biological and psychological factors resulting in the criminal characteristics. Often people experience both contributing factors that drive them into the world of criminal behavior. Biological causation of crimes used to be an instrumental...
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...endeavored to clarify criminal behavior. These categories are Psychological, sociological and Biological speculations. All three theories attempted to make great efforts to establish credibility and dependability. In spite of the fact that ideas that included crime causation and establishment of current criminology started with a basic and reasonable methodology of classic criminology. Recognizing the reason for criminal behavior from the hypothesis stance turned into a particular and significant assignment of criminology. Classic theorists accepted that criminal conduct is represented by an independent and free choice and their perspectives were simply philosophical. Enrico Ferri, an Italian Criminologist Suggested a characterization of criminal sorts. These classifications were: • Born or instinctive • The insane • The passionate • The involuntary • The occasional • The habitual...
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...Ari Denburger AJ-1 Mr. Lacasso 2/16/2014 Deviance related to crime Deviance is a title that insinuates the violation of social norms in society which has been defined through law. Deviance can be described as adjacent to criminal and improper behavior imposed by the people who break the social norms of a society, thus becoming subjective to a label of “deviant”. Deviants often have punishment bestowed upon them by law enforcement officers and their local court systems. The question asked by criminologist throughout time is, “what is the underlying cause of crime?” “Is crime a learned behavior forced by strain due to the depleting environment an individual inhabits?” “Are individuals with a genetic mutation destined to become deviant?” All of these may be a result of biological and social constructionist theories of deviance, this essay will define the opposing differences and the relation of the two in this essay. Both hold contributing factors to the construction of deviance in society, but are both highly conflicting theories. Before going into the theories of deviance, the definition of deviance must be further explained. The codification of deviance can vary widely between different cultures, a norm in one culture can be considered deviant in another. For example, the notion of cannibalism has been proved by anthropologists to be a spiritually divine form of ritualistic sacrifice in the ancient Aztec culture of Mexico. Yet in Western culture murder and...
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...Theories on Crime Comparison Angelika L. Arnold AJS/542 May 20, 2013 Marcela Morales Theories on Crime Comparison For several years, theorists have come to the conclusion that people commit crimes for several different reasons. Some say that criminals are born; some say that it is because of self gratification and the need to be rewarded. Theorists believe that there is a psychological, biological, and sociobiological theory that will explain the genuine thought, behavior, and action of the common criminal. This paper will contain information regarding the relationship between personality and criminal behavior; the key elements of the psychological theory, and the philosophical basis of each theory. Key Elements of the Psychological Theory Psychological theory focuses on the involvement among personality, the learned behavior, and criminal behavior. The question is raised concerning the actual criminal behavior that an individual displays and why these people commit crimes. Although theorist believe that what they believe is true there could be many different aspects that develop the makeup of a criminal. By looking back into the criminal behavior of some serial...
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...The question of what causes people to exhibit criminal behavior is a question that continues to puzzle and intrigue scholars of criminology even after centuries of study. Many theories of crime exist. A couple of these concepts are the Classical, whose supporters insist that humans freely choose to commit crimes, and those which maintain that biological, psychological, and social characteristics influence criminal behavior. All philosophies attempt to explain the causation of criminal behavior, in different ways. Classical Theory The classical school of crime causation came about in the eighteenth century as a result of the Enlightenment and emphasized free will and reasonable punishments. Classical thinkers from this time period strongly believed that in order for punishment to be effective, it must outweigh the pleasure that may be derived from crime. There are certain basic assumptions associated with the Classical school. Among them are the individual action of free will, and most human behavior comes from the process of rational thought coupled with the ability to act freely. Another one of these assumptions were that punishment defined as a necessary evil required to deter law violators from repeating their crime as well as to present an example to potential criminals. Cesare Beccaria ( 1738-1794) was one of the first classical thinkers i noted in my studies. His publication of “Essays on crime and punishment” was an immediate success in it’s release in 1764, and...
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...are the parents of a 16-year-old son. Coming home after work, I noticed the door is ajar. Our son’s friend is in the house without our son, and the friend is also looking through the kitchen drawer. John states he is looking for a pad to leave our son a note. On the kitchen counter I notice a lock pick, and some jewelry from my bedroom drawer. The scent of marijuana permeates the air. The dilemma that must be addressed is do I tell John to leave immediately, call John’s parents, tell our son and my husband or call the police to our home. Our young people often find themselves faced with delinquent or criminal behavior as they go from childhood to adulthood. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) compiles arrest information provided by law enforcement agencies each year and creates reports examining the trends, rates and, statistics of juvenile criminal activity. More than half of youth arrests are for assault, drug abuse, and disorderly conduct, and curfew violations. Theft was the highest reported crime of young people getting arrested. In 1999, “2,468,800 juvenile arrests were recorded; of these arrests, 380,500 were for theft. In 2000, 2,369,400 arrests were recorded; of these, 363,500 were for theft. Drug abuse violations accounted for 198,400 of the 1999 arrests, and 203,900 of the 2000 arrests. Violent crime accounted for 103,900 of the 1999 arrests and 98,900 of the 2000 arrests. Arrest rates dropped across the board 5% between 1999 and 2000”...
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...Psychology Unit 2 Project: Differentiate Criminal Behavior Kaplan University July 17, 2011 Talking about crime and the role of a forensic psychologist in order to understand crime, and the various theoretical theories to describe, track, and understand the different criminal behaviors, we can forget some of the pioneers of the nineteenth-century, Charles Goring (1870-1919), Gabriel Tarde (1843-1904) and Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909), and their contribution to the development and studies of the Sociological, Biological, Psychological, and Social-Psychological theories. The Sociological theory studies social behavior and cultural factors, such as gender, race, socioeconomic status, moral values, friends, environmental, situational factors, poor education, and how these factors contribute to criminal behavior. The basis of the Sociological theories is that certain groups within society have fewer opportunities than others to achieve their goals. For example; Kids that are raised by a single parent, with financial limitations have a highly propensity to join gangs, and commit robbery than a kid that have been raised by both parents. Biological Theories are focused primarily in the study of physical and biological conditions that control human behavior. It was in this area where Cesare Lambroso focused his studies. His theory was based on the assumption that criminals have specific physical feature abnormalities. His theory implied that prisoners had common...
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...Kaplan University Donna Brown119 Monday, November 23, 2015 Deviant behavior is any behavior that is contrary to the dominant norms of society. There are many different theories on what causes a person to perform deviant behavior, including biological explanations, psychological explanations, and sociological explanations. Numerous theories have been established to explain criminal behavior. While some theories are not as common, others have evolved and are used in many criminal studies today. Up-to-date criminologists combine the most relevant characteristics of sociology, psychology, biological, and social-psychological to advance their understanding of criminal behavior. Professionals in this field study factors that contribute to criminal activities, make relevant policy recommendations and draw conclusions based on those assessments. (Varying Theories on Crime, 2015) Several theories attempt to explain criminal behavior. Most theories assume: * Crime is part of human nature. * Crime is based on biological, psychological, and/or economic aspects. One of the earliest approaches to explaining the causes of crime was the classical theory, which is defined as a product of the Enlightenment, based on the assumption that people exercise free will and are consequently completely responsible for their actions. In the classical theory, human behavior, including criminal behavior, is motivated by a self-indulgent wisdom, in which actors with the potential pleasure...
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...Theories on Crime Comparison Frank Canini AJS/542 Criminological Theory Angela Dudley April 13, 2015 Many experts will argue that behavior and personality traits contribute to criminal behavior. Theories exist that provide sufficient evidence of these arguments, leading criminal justice professionals to seek alternative methods to preventing crime other than implementing harsh prison sentences. As we begin to understand the relationship between personality and criminal behavior, we begin developing rehabilitation programs intended to treat the underlying psychological issues that motivate people to commit certain crimes. By rehabilitating these individuals without incarceration, we can help keep prison populations down while benefitting society by allowing rehabilitated criminals to integrate back into their communities. Theories exist that can provide evidence linking behavioral traits to criminal behavior. Experts believe there biological, sociobiological, and psychological traits that contribute to the criminal behavior of an individual. Studies show that even all three traits combine to create a cocktail that leads to dishonest and unethical acts that can be defined as crime. As we examine these behavioral traits our focus will be on the psychological aspects of criminal behavior. Psychological behavior can be classified as conduct disorder that is usually identified in early childhood. These psychological disorders act as a precursor to possible criminal...
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...genetic, biological, neurochemical and mental. Which, in all of the cases mentioned before, it is possible for the child to not have any self-inflicted control within the immediate or prolonged future. The first one to establish a study focusing on biological traits was Cesare Lombroso, who explained the theory about the called “born criminal”. This theory emphasized that it is accurate that biological traits could in fact influence the process of development in a person’s behavior. Afterwards, in 1970, all of the theories studied in the previous years were “revitalized” in a book called Sociolbiology wrote by Edmund Wilson which suggests how there is not only one or a set of traits, but numerous biochemical and psychological factors that along with social environment indeed have enormous impact in the individual’s conduct. First of all, what could possibly influence a person’s conduct when it comes to genetics? It is confirmed by various studies how crime is inter-generational, therefore we could ask ourselves: it is actually about genes or about environment? A Danish study had clarified for us how it does not matter if a child lives in a safe environment it will always be more inclined to criminality if he or she have biological parents with criminal records by examining approximately 4,000 male children placed in adoptive homes. The result of the research previously mentioned demonstrated that the most vulnerable ones toward criminality were the ones who had a biological father...
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...and movies. We will address the issue of whether being a criminal is an inherent trait or learned behavior, the average age group of most dealers and their family and social environments. I will only use data as it pertains to cocaine, whether it is powder or crack, heroin and methamphetamine since they are the preferred choice. What constitute criminal behavior Criminal behavior is a behavior in which the offender commits an offense that has been deemed as being unlawful act and punishable by the government and usually it is against individuals or property. Criminal behavior is seen as being prohibition or possession that constitutes a menace against the general public or society. In hope of confining and understanding criminal behavior researcher begin to study the brain of violent crime and compare their findings to the brain imaging “normal” individual. Through doing this they came up a new field of study called neurocriminology. Adrian Raine has studied the brain image of murders, violent criminals and psychopaths and from this research, he is convinced that there is a social and environmental cause to violent behavior. Although he is also convinced there exist a biology side of this type of behavior (npr.org, 2013). Believing that just as it is a biological reason for schizophrenia and anxiety disorders and depression and there exist biological recidivists violent offending. Raine re-visioning of violent criminals would hypothetically be of help how we approach crime prevention...
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...The basic criminology for biological positivists has been biological inferiority, which is indicated by physical or genetic characteristics that distinguish criminals from noncriminal. Past policy implications of biological theories of crime allowed the use of isolation, sterilization, or even execution for individuals deemed to be the vagrant part for these theories of crime. Modern biosocial theories of criminology focus on identifying and understanding the unique qualities or characteristics of individuals. These new age theorist attempts identify how the presence or absence of some chemicals, hormones, or physical brain structure is related to criminal activity. Biological theorists advocate that drug treatments, improved diets, and better...
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