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Biological Trait Theory: Biological And Psychological Aspects Of Criminality

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According to Siegel (2015), trait theory is the view that criminality is a product of abnormal biological or psychological traits which can be subdivided into two major categories: those that stress biological makeup and those that stress psychological functioning (p. 109). Biological trait theories includes four different conditions: biochemical, neurophysiological, genetic, and evolutionary. Biochemical factors will include diet, hypoglycemia, hormonal influences, premenstrual syndrome, lead exposure, and environmental contaminants. Neurophysiological factors will include brain structure, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, brain chemistry, and arousal theory. Genetic causes could stem from parental deviance, adoption studies, and …show more content…

Bundy idolized his grandfather who was an abusive man. This also could have attributed to his antisocial behavior and violent tendencies if he was learning it from another family member. Even as a young child, he started showing violent behavior. His aunt woke up one day to find herself surrounded by knives and three-year-old Ted grinning at her (Ramsland, 2011, p. 110). Another aspect of behavioral perspective is social learning which is believed to be learned through acts of violence seen on television or movies. Bundy discusses possible environmental stresses that could have driven “the killer” to commit the crimes when he says, “You might be talking about conditions even after environmental stresses we’ve talked about. Sexual stimuli in the environment that he may be paying attention to on TV, or even a highly violent, stimulating kind of movie” (Michaud & Aynesworth, 2000, p. 232). Bundy admitted that part of his external stresses stemmed from the violence that watched on television in addition to the pornographic videos that he would see that depicted sexual violence. This would cause him to try to enact his own fantasies of sexual violence.

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While a few theories are not as regular, others have developed and are utilized as a part of numerous criminal reviews today. Cutting edge criminologists consolidate the most important aspects of sociology, psychology, anthropology, and biological theories to advance their comprehension of criminal behavior. Rational choice theory, psychological, biological, and strain theory are used to analyze the

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Theories such as, Inherited Criminality, Appearance, and even theories regarding the poor development of key areas of the Central Nervous System (CNS), could all be factors. But what really stands out, is how these biological factors may have interacted within the environment in which these children grew up (Bernard, 2016). Most of the children featured in the documentary were abused, delinquent, and often used drugs and alcohol. Any undetermined biological or physical factor as identified by the biological theories of crime, could very well have played a role when factored into the environmental conditions that the child was growing up

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The video about Tommy Lynn Sells is an interesting investigation into the brain of a serial killer. In the video, Dr. Adrian Raine discussed new research which suggests that killers have a genetic disposition to murder. The doctor explained how the brains of killers have structural impairment to the amygdala, which is involved in the generation of emotion, hence many serial killers and psychopaths lack conscience, guilt and remorse. Serial killers also do not have normal feelings of revulsion or disgust. Most interesting to me, the doctor described how it is a combination of biology and environmental factors that raise the odds of becoming a violent criminal offender.

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They seemed to have a normal middle class family but Bundy was interested in knives and things involving death at an early age. He was book smart but did not get along with classmates. Later he became was a peeping tom and would steal things from people without thought or regret. At college he was dating a rich, influential woman and he was happy until she broke it off with him because he wasn’t living up to his potential. He was extremely upset with her and this is just before the time the crimes began.

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Within the past couple of decades, criminologists have developed different criminological theories that apply to the social behaviors and decisions of criminals. One of the earliest theories developed regarding criminality is the rational choice theory, in which describes the rationalization of determining if the rewards from committing the crime outweigh the consequences. In Scarver’s case, his decision to engage in criminal activities outweighed the potential consequences, or the other alternatives if he did not engage in such criminal activities. In addition to the rational choice theory, Scarver’s criminality can be related to the social disorganization theory, which describes the influence of one’s social and physical environment on one’s decision to commit a crime. Lastly, the strain theory can be related to Scarver’s criminality as well, as it is used to describe an individual who lacks the means to obtain such goals, and aspirations, so therefore, he or she engages in criminal activities to acquire the goals.

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Ted Bundy was raised by his grandparents because his mom had him when she was 22 and she was not married. He was a part of a nice working-class family in Philadelphia. He had an odd fascinations with knives at the age of 3. He did well in school, but didn’t have many peers because he was shy and socially awkward. When he became a teenager a dark side of Bundy came out.

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Because of this, Bundy felt like he didn’t have anyone to talk to whenever he had issues or problems. He grew up not experiencing any love, which was part of the reason why he has antisocial disorder. “Children who fail to form a secure and loving relationship with their caregivers are believed to experience a range of issues including emotional, behavioural and social problems, which contribute to the antisocial personality

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His family issues Ted Bundy What his childhood looked like His family issues Conclusion Fowler 1 Serial killers are made by the life they are given and the family around them; they are not born evil. A lot of people who are serial killers have or had family issues, and, more times than not, they were also abused.

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Emily Decius Sociology 361 Term Paper November 16, 2017 Of the many serial killers that have terrorized the nation throughout history, there are a few that stand out from the rest, one being Theodore Bundy. He became much more famous than others, and his story is rather interesting but has been constantly changed and promoted by the media. In total, it is estimated that Bundy murdered anywhere between 36 to 100+ victims, and there are still many bodies that have not been found (Sullivan, 2009). Bundy had always seemed to be a somewhat normal person through his younger years, and it seemed to most people like he would be successful in life (Sullivan, 2009). He excelled in school, attended college, and at one point even enrolled in law school (Sullivan, 2009).

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This theory clearly rules out the effect of inherited or innate factors, and the last is the cognitive theory, which is based on how the perception of an individual is manifested into affecting his or her potential and capability to commit a crime. (Psychological theories of crime) Relating these theories to the case under study, it’s clear that the behaviour can be traced most times to faulty relationships in the family during the first years of

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Most was derived from the assumption that behaviors such as; criminal and otherwise, are inherited. Which means that criminals are biologically different than non-criminals. One of the earliest explanations was known as Phrenology which was in the mid-1700’s to mid-1800’s, which viewed the shape and size of the brain and skull as determinants of criminal tendencies. The next early positivist explanation for deviance was in 1876, Cesare Lombroso’s theory of “Atavism” and “The Born Criminal” This was the 1st Major Application of this new science to the study of criminals and deviance.

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It cannot be overlooked that developmental issues and life experiences play a major role as well. In the modern world, these issues and experiences are analyzed and studied by prevalent criminality and psychopathology fields within the criminal justice system. After all, trying to understand why individuals chose to commit crimes and break the law is necessary to prevent them and rehabilitate criminals. Since the nineteenth century, criminal defendants have used mental incapacity and insanity to excuse their criminal activity. This has resulted in the study of psychopathology and crime causation being of significant importance to criminal justice.

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Bundy had displacement, which is deflecting an impulse from its original target to a less threatening one. Bundy took down his build up anger from his girlfriend and mother toward other women by killing and raping them. Also, he had fantasies. Since he was a shy kid at school he was often bullied, which caused him to turned to fantasy in order to comfort himself. He started to become addicted to violent pornography.

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Today, there are proven facts that people who have parents that are criminals have a high chance of becoming criminals themselves. Not only can people become criminals because of their family but they can also become criminals because of the environment that they surround themselves in. This is where nature versus nurture comes into play. A person’s nature is their genetic makeup, basically meaning that a person’s nature is the genes they get from their parents. Also, a person’s genotype, one’s genetic makeup based on the sequencing of the nucleotides we term, provides them with physical traits that set the stage for certain behaviors (56).

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Adrian Raine, criminologist and author of "The Anatomy of Violence: The Biological Roots of Crime," has said before, is a very important factor in criminal behaviour that affects about 75% of a person’s criminal activity. In his book, Raine explores the many evidences that lead up to biological and genetic influences on crime

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