1. Describe and the biological and psychological factors that contribute to crime and deviance within our society today. There are many factors that suggest that abnormal human traits tend to lead someone to the life of crime. The trait theories are divided into two groups – biological makeup and psychological ideals. The biological makeup tends to say that they the physical and mental makeup of someone tends to make them either lead a life of crime or know the difference. Cesare Lombroso studied “scientific” factors of crime and came up with some very interesting theories about the mental/physical aspects of criminal traits and activities. These studies say that biological traits can be inherited and these inherited traits have been formed by natural selection. These traits evolve and then shape the environment and the life that the people live in. These behaviors replenish the gene pool and make the next generation of criminals. “Biology, environment, and learning are mutually interdependent factors,” (Siegel, 2014).…
Biological theories of crime causation follow the principle that many behavioral tendencies, including aggression and criminality, are constitutionally or physiologically influenced. Most of the usual sociological suspect would have come from a broken or abusive home, is a part of a family below the poverty or has a parent who is convicted criminal. All of these examples support the biological theories and most of the time people living in those conditions are more susceptible to…
An in-depth knowledge of theories is not required at this level, rather demonstration of knowledge of two of the biological, sociological and psychological explanations for criminal behaviour and how factors such as negative family influences, lack of education, poverty and unemployment may impact on the behaviour of the offender and how society’s views of criminal behaviour have changed over time.…
This can be applied to the behaviors of criminals. According to Fishbein (1990, pg.37), “behavior [is] primarily attributed to inherited predispositions and genetic influences.” Nurture is the environmental influence that shape human behavior (Fishbein, 1990, pg.37). Human genetics and environmental factors contribute to the uniqueness to a person’s behavior. However, there are underlying qualities in a criminal’s historical background. Aspects of the nature and nurturing of a criminal behavior includes some problems with earlier biological explanations and some recent biological explanations which have overcome the weaknesses of the earlier ones. These two aspects can be applied in criminology for the prevention of the development of criminal minds.…
Developmental theories, such as the Latent Trait Theory explain criminal behavior through life-course fundamentals. Violent crimes, such as murder and battery are accordingly the result of behavior that has been shaped starting in one’s childhood. This paper explains violent behavior and it’s causes through the Latent Trait theory and gives insight into the theory’s origin, as well as highlights how criminal behavior can be rehabilitated.…
Criminal behavior results from a complex combination of social and biological factors. Social factors are reflection of environmental sources of influence, like socioeconomic status. Biological factors are more inclusive,…
In criminology, biological and psychological explanations of behavior have been out of style for some time. In fact, the authors of the leading criminology text from the 1920’s to the 1970’s, Edwin H. Sutherland and Donald R. Cressey, “clearly rejected the importance of biological factors” in explaining criminal behavior. Scholars such as Glenn D. Walters and Thomas W. White developed the thesis that both criminal and noncriminal behavior are related to cognitive development and that people choose the behavior in which they wish to engage. They have concluded: “the root causes of crime…are thought and choice (Walters and White 8). I agree wholeheartedly with Walters and White that people choose the behavior they wish to engage in and if its criminal behavior then they will have to accept the consequences.…
Allowing for normal and abnormal behavior to be analyze separately will allow for unbiased opinion, analysis and treatment of Psychological and Biological finding that contribute to criminal behavior. The root in identifying the Psychological or Biological approach to criminal behavior lays on the Social and environmental cognition that surround the specific stereotypes and prejudice theories claims.…
Crime theories are still in a development stage; it is an evolutionary process that continues to this day. Crime is still a complex and misunderstood phenomenon with no concrete evidence when it comes to human behavior. Throughout time there have been endless amounts of crime theories, few of which revolve around biological explanations. We have Cesare Lombroso and the Positive School who thought that criminals were genetically different from the rest of the general population, that they were biologically aggressive, had criminal traits and/or born as criminals. There is also William Sheldon’s theory of body types, called the somatotype theory, that argued the mesomorph body type to be the most prone to commit crime or deviant behavior. Most recently is the studies on twin adoption used by behavioral geneticists to identify genetic and environmental influences. Although the question still lies, which factor gives more insight to criminal behavior: biological explanations or criminological theories. There is no concrete evidence to suggest that biological explanations have made a significant improvement since the days of Cesare Lombroso, the Positive School, William Sheldon’s somatotypes theory or the twin adoption studies. However arguments within biological explanations have advanced much further; it is arguable that biological explanations does not provide as much insight into criminal behavior as criminological theories, such as rational choice theory, routine activities theory or lifestyle exposure theory.…
Athleticism, otherwise know as an active interest in sports or an obsessive participation in physical activity seems to engulf my life. This characteristic resembles active, but includes the athletic and a physical activity associated with engaging in an action. Although being athletic seems as simple as tossing a ball around the backyard, it’s difficult to measure the amount fitness and effort required for a completive competition such as a marathon. It’s also important to consider calculating the athletic statistics and achievements of an individual throughout a game or even an entire career. Athleticism can be evaluated be observing an athlete’s performance levels during multiple stages of a football or soccer match.…
Humans are born with innate characteristics that are unique to each individual person. These biological qualities can lead individuals to commit crime or engage in criminal behavior more often than others with a different physical or physiological makeup.…
Psychological theories of criminology share several similarities with biological theories. Firstly, they see criminals as different from the population as a whole. Second, the criminal is abnormal in a normal population. Third, the criminal's abnormality predisposes him to crime (Harambolos & Heald, 1980, p. 409). However, they differ in the respect that psychological theories of criminality claim that the criminal's abnormality is learned as opposed to being genetically determined. They see abnormal experience rather than abnormal genes as the basis for crime (Scully, 2012).…
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.…
Crime is bad behavior displayed by citizens who reject societal norms and instead chose to commit crime. However, there are many types of theories of why crime occurs the most prevalent cause for crime involves the social environment of the criminal offender. Psychological theories discusses that these interruptions in childhood development is the cause for crime but because the delays developmental is the effect of the criminal’s environment. The same goes for biological theories that find genetic or biological factors that make a person more prone to become a criminal but require certain environmental factors for the person in reality to become a criminal.…
Human dna, environmental contaminants, nutrition, hormones, physical trauma and body chemistry all combine to contribute to criminal behaviour.…