Sce1: Psychological Explanation of the Causes of Crime

Psychological Explanation of the Causes of Crime Psychological-pertaining to the mind or to mental phenomena as the subject matter of psychology. -To account for criminal motivation in people, criminologists have used various psychology theories that attempt to explain human intellectual and emotional development. These theories can be divided into three categories: a. Moral Development Theories describe a sequence of developmental stages that people pass through when acquiring the capacity to make moral judgments. According to these theorists, this development process may or may not completed and people who remain unable to recognize right from wrong will be more likely to engage in inappropriate, deviant, or even criminal behavior. b. Social Learning Theories emphasize the process of learning and internalizing moral codes. Learning theorists note different patterns of rewards and sanctions that affect this process. c. Personal Theories assume a set of enduring perceptions and predisposition’s (tendencies) that each individual develops through early socialization. These theorists propose that certain predisposition’s or personality traits, such as impulsiveness or extroversion, increase the chances of criminal behavior. -In contrast to biological and hereditary theories, there are a variety of psychological explanations for crime and emphasize the importance of personality and its role in criminal and delinquent behavior. Some psychological theories stress the importance of mental processes, childhood experiences, and unconscious thoughts. Others stress the importance of social learning or human perception.

Types of Psychological Theories: a. Psychiatric Criminology (Forensic Psychiatry) -Theories derived from the medical sciences, including neurology, and which, like other psychological theories focus on the