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Comparison Of Biological And Psychological Theories Of Crime

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This essay will begin by describing criminological psychology as a branch of applied psychology, which uses biological, psychological and sociological theories to study criminal behaviour (Howitt, 2017). In addition, a brief outline on the biological theories of offending will be discussed, specifically focusing on the genetic influences on crime. Subsequently, the examination of psychological theory will be presented with a detailed explanation on Eysenck’s theory and Psychosis. Finally, comparison and contrast will be provided with a clear conclusion drawn on the two theories, determining which theory explains offending behaviour more persuasively and why.
Criminological psychology is the study of causes and motivations for crime, as well …show more content…

Several researchers have looked at crime from a psychological perspective, starting with Sigmund Freud who believed that crime can result from irrational and unconscious processes (Sammons, 2018). While Freud’s approach is less popular than it once was, it still contributes to today's understanding of crime (Sammons, 2018). Similarly to Freud, Eysenck (1964) suggested that offending is linked to fixed personality features, and that the root cause of most criminality is an inability to control immature pleasure-seeking and selfish impulses. During his research, he approached theorising crime by attributing offending to three universal personality traits, extraversion (E), neuroticism (N), and psychoticism (P), claiming that those with high scores in all three traits are more likely to commit crimes. When taking this theory into consideration, it is clear that it generates predictions that can be easily tested. In general, however, studies of ‘average’ offenders proved this theory wrong, as the connections disappeared or diminished (Farrington et al., 1982). Nonetheless, Eysenck's thesis was perhaps the first completely developed psychological theory of offending, and it still stands out for going beyond a purely descriptive insight of offenders to present a causal explanation of criminality that incorporated genetic, biological, psychological, and social components (Sammons, 2018). Eysenck's ideas have influenced research in the biological tradition, as well as psychopathy, which has a strong connection to offending (Sammons, 2018). Psychopathy refers to a personality disorder characterized by callousness, narcissistic, impulsive, and irresponsible behaviour (Cooke et al., 2006). Some evidence suggests psychopathic traits may be influenced by genetic factors, as indicated in a twin study by Beaver et

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How do the various psychological and psychiatric approaches presented in this chapter differ from one another? Psychological theories of criminal behavior differ from other theories like social structure theories of crime in the sense that psychological theories of crime place the emphasis on the individual and their cognitive abilities as opposed to social institutions and larger groups. Nearly all psychological theories of crime focus entirely on an individual and their cognition as the explanation of crime as opposed to social processes and social life. Psychological and psychiatric approaches to deviant, criminal, and antisocial behaviors differ in the sense that psychiatric approaches tend to focus on treating the symptoms of antisocial behavior through varying means. Psychological approaches on the other hand tend to focus on determining the causes of crime from within and individual.

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It does not consider other factors such as criminal associations, individual traits, and inner strains, which plays a significant role in determining punishment for the individuals in committing crimes. It is observed that this theory endeavours to know that whether the activities of crime as well as the victim’s choice, criminals commit the activities on start from rational decisions. The theory also determines that criminals consider different elements before committing crime. They engage in the exchange of ideas before reaching on any final decision. These elements consist of consequences of their crimes, which include revealing their families to problems or death, chances of being arrested, and others elements, which comprises of placement of surveillance systems (Walsh & Hemmens, 2010; Lichbach,

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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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In the 2016 article, Personality correlates of criminals: A comparative study between normal controls and criminals, it was stated that “ … criminals are significantly different from noncriminals. He described that criminals had a lower self-esteem and social esteem indicating a lack of self-regard, thus exhibit neurotic traits such as anxiety, irritability, hostility, maladjustment, and insecurity.” These traits all fit under Neuroticism. In another article, Psychological Theories of Crime, noted members of research that supported this idea were Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck. Their research was conducted during the 1930sto 1940s and were targeted towards youth

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Where external and internal factors play a part and they are fated to be a criminal. The scientific grounds are offenders and people who have not yet offended can be given help, and they can be diagnosed by experts and receive treatment needed to not offend (Cavadino, 2007

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