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Criminal Behavior Analysis

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Recommended: Four psychological theories of juvenile delinquency

Both theories focus on the impact a child’s upbringing has on their development in terms of criminal behavior. Moreover, the early stages of life dictate the outcome of one’s particular behavior. The adolescent-limited theory proposes two paths an individual takes that lead to their criminal behavior, life course persisters and adolescent-limited. The life course persisters face a dual threat that can influence deviant behavior. The combination of neuropsychological disorders and the lack of a good family structure can cause their antisocial behavior that extends into one 's adulthood. In contrast, adolescent-limited points to factors, such as a maturity gap and a copy-cat mentality that leads to deviant behavior during an individual’s adolescences. …show more content…

Trajectory points to a pattern of behavior that if not noted and changed, will continue a similar pattern. For example, a young adult who sets a goal of being an honor student in high school and eventually goes to college to be a doctor is less likely to become a criminal than someone who has been expelled from high school and has no aspirations to further their education or start a family. The second factor the age-graded theory points to, are turning points. Turning points are the changes that influence one’s course of life that can impact their career as a criminal. Social capital is considered the determining result of whether an individual remains unlawful or chooses a new direction in life. For example, an offender that can’t break their cycle of behavior develops a romantic relationship has thus gained positive social capital by getting married and reduces the chance of reoffending. Developmental theories are called such due to the criminal behavior being a developmental process in one’s criminal career, from the early stages that follow the course of actions throughout the lifespan of criminal the criminal career until such activity desists. Included in this theory are forces such as biological, sociological, psychological and socioeconomic factors that impact an individual from the onset of deviant or criminal behavior through the lifespan of such activity until the behavior

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902 Words | 4 Pages

Essentially, this theory suggests that crimes and other comparable acts occur due to the lack of self-control (O’Grady 2014, 117-118). Thus, low self-control and criminal opportunity makes way for criminal acts (Broll, 2017). Moreover, the theory suggests that individuals lacking self-control are self-centered, risk-takers, impulsive and lack perseverance (O’Grady 2014, 118). According to Gottfredson and Hirschi, self-control is established early in life (O’Grady 2014, 118). An individual’s degree of self-control is influenced by the quality of parenting during childhood (O’Grady 2014, 118).

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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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Introduction Jennifer Ebarhardt who, through her collaboration with different experts in various fields such as law, criminology, novel studies that further law enforcements and judges as well as criminology discover in her studies found out that there is racial bias in today’s policing and sentencing of criminals such that black color is stereotype as group of people who are associated with violence and therefore they mostly received death sentence especially when their victims are whites and therefore they are blacks who are arrested. These behaviors can be best explains using the following theories: General Strain Theory According to this theory, people are involved in crimes because they are not in a position to achieve their goals making them to be frustrated and has the following sources: A person aspiring to become wealth and famous but these aspirations are impossible making them to engage in vandalism or physical attacks which are antisocial forms of behaviors, a person may experience strains due to removal of highly valued stimuli such as migration to new residence will make him/her to get involved in criminal activities in efforts to revenge the loss of highly valued stimuli. Black American youths are unable to meet making them to develop frustration and delinquency.

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1069 Words | 5 Pages

When young offenders enter the criminal system they are underdeveloped mentally and physically, they are never given the chance to reimburse as a mature, cultivated, and cultured adult before and during their sentence. Because of this, we do not see much anecdotal evidence of teen offenders evolving and thriving after prison. This lack of affirmation generates the common belief that there must be a genetic correlation with crime and that there is an absolutely nothing that can change a criminal into a law-abiding citizen. But because the general public

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1651 Words | 7 Pages

They found that these men desisted from crime when routine and structure was introduced to them. Routine and structure would be to focus on the offender’s family life and less time spending with peers who influence crime. Removing the individual from their criminal

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1004 Words | 5 Pages

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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1185 Words | 5 Pages

The social learning theory for instance shows Manson leant deviance in his early childhood from his mother, who was incarcerated when he was five. This implicates the environmental control and that of close persons. It depicts that behavior modification can be achieved through enhancing the social environment for criminals. The social conflict theory explains that individuals engage in crime when the legal system, which is under the control of the wealthy, identifies their acts as being unlawful (Lionell & Rawlins, 2005) Labeling theory

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1802 Words | 8 Pages

Developmental theories look at how offenders start and end their criminal behaviors. All developmental theories, including the two focused on in this paper, pull from social, psychological, and biological factors to find answers. Both of these theories follow along a trajectory or pathway for offenders. Sampson and Laub’s age-graded theory has offenders following along two possible trajectories. They can either follow along the high risk trajectory or the low risk trajectory.

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1336 Words | 6 Pages

Social learning theory and social bonding theory are two theories that may be compared and contrasted because they both overlap and differ. Although these theories have their similarities and differences, one theory may prove to be more convincing in terms of applying the theory to the understanding of crime and delinquency. Social learning theory refers to Akers’ theory of crime and deviance. Akers attempted to specify the mechanism and processes through which criminal learning takes place by explaining crime and deviance; he did this in such a way that the likelihood of conforming or deviant behavior based on the influence of an individual’s history of learning was accounted for. This theory was based off Sutherland’s differential association theory, which had nine propositions outlining the process by which individuals acquire attitudes favorable to criminal or delinquent behavior with the basic idea that people tend to associate with others in which they come into contact.

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1521 Words | 7 Pages

By researching this particular logic of the lifespan, the researchers are enabling the criminal justice system to better understand how variable such as marriage, gainful and fulfilling employment, post-secondary education, child-bearing, financial independence, all potentially have influence on a person’s development throughout their life, and what could possibly derail them. The interesting logic here, is that what used to be considered normal markers such as the variables listed above are altering due to a ever-changing society. For example, the researchers mentioned that single parents are now more prevalent however; this can still be a great marker in relation to desistance from crime through the

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1967 Words | 8 Pages

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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728 Words | 3 Pages

Andrews and Bonta (1994) have given a list of factors that may increase recidivism rates. Firstly, offenders may lack the skills required for holding a job and therefore have to resort to crime to support themselves. Secondly, many of them are school dropouts. They therefore lack the social skills that are learnt in schools such as conflict resolution, empathy, and team building. Thirdly, they often belong to dysfunctional families where they do not get much

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1476 Words | 6 Pages

responsibility of the individual committing or partaking in the crime. Though this is a common thought it is simply untrue because it eliminates many of the social and environmental factors that encourage deviant behavior. The truth is, society plays a significant role in whether or not deviant behavior stops or continues for a specific individual who has already committed a crime. Ideas and concepts under the Labeling theories emphasis society’s roles and states that, “efforts [of] social control (…) ultimately trigger processes that trap individuals in criminal careers” (Cullen, Agnew & Wilcox 2014). Essentially, society forces invasive labels and social reactions that then cause many Individuals with criminal past to create self-fulfilling

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267 Words | 2 Pages

A theory that explains juvenile delinquency is the Psychological theory. This theory focuses on the personality of the offenders rather than biological or social situations. This theory easily explains juvenile delinquency when looking at the three interrelated parts of the personality- id, ego, and superego. The id is the part of the personality that is supposed to destroy aggression which usually controlled as a person grows and learns social norms and rules; however, an over aggressive person may have an under regulated id which could cause them to be violent.

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1045 Words | 5 Pages

The set of the structural-functional theories are among the most widespread perspectives on the juvenile delinquency. The group of the theories regards that the behavior of the underage delinquent is caused by the breakdown of the social process that consequently results in the increase of conformity (Thompson & Bynum, 2016). The group of theories presumably blame institutions that are responsible for the socialization of the young delinquents for the way the socialize the individuals by causing them to conform to the values of the society. One of the central theories of the juvenile delinquency is the anomie theory that is rooted in the early studies by the sociologist Emile Durkheim.

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