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Biological theories of crimes
Biological theories of crimes
Biological theory of criminality
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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
The classical criminological theory was born during the Enlightenment Age. It highlights individuals having free will and choosing to make rational choices regarding criminal behavior. The theory assumes that individuals commit crimes based on possible benefits outweighing risks from their behavior (Tibbetts, pg. 5). 1600s English Philosopher, Thomas Hobbs, made the following assumptions about human nature. He said humans tend to act in logical way, but have a fundamental nature of self-interest.
In each decision made, something in an individual changes in order to make their choice. But what is it exactly that makes a person select an action? What can possibly determine the outcome of a situation so important that in that specific moment can change someone’s life path in an instant? There are many theories on what it could be, neurotransmitter, a desire for committing evil acts, or is it something completely random? One conclusion that could be drawn from this speculation is that a person’s prior experiences could be what sways the decision being made within the individuals mind.
Thus, the motives of serial killers have led to heated debates and challenged the nature vs. nurture theory. Many scientists believe that serial killers are genetically incline to commit murders, while criminologists associate violent crimes to childhood and surroundings. Essentially, exploring how and why serial killers commit crimes is an important area because it will help
As Ossorio and Duster explain, criminal behavior was due to a wide range of variables from family history to how strict the penal system of a certain area
There is no tell-tale sign of who becomes a criminal and who doesn 't. Many things factor into the development of a criminal. The debate between nature vs. nurture in this aspect cannot be blamed on a single element, instead both environment and genetics play a role in criminality of an idividual. The population of American jails has a high rate of individuals with mental disorders. Although, not everyone who has a mental disorder ends up in jail the vast majority of Americans who are incarcerated are likely to have inherited a mental disorder at some point in their life. At some point in American history, genes were said to be the sole reason a person became criminal however, this is not the case today.
Criminal justice, known as an interdisciplinary, liberal arts field of study that began in the late 1920s. August Vollmer, a police chief at the time convinced the University of California to offer courses on the subject of Criminal Justice. August Vollmer, considered the founder of the discipline (Jeffery, 1959). Ecological criminology was the first sociological criminology, developed during the 1920s. at the Department of Sociology at the University of Chicago.
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.
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,
However, long time before him many others divided people such as Carl Linnaeus, Samuel George Morton, Charles Darwin and others (Patel and Tyrer, 2011). This knowledge became known as scientific racism and tended to scientifically prove differences between people on basis of physical attributes. The 19th century was also significant with the first experienced science of society such as sociology. Thus, criminology was formed not aside from the mainstream of its modern scientific knowledge (Jackson and Weidman, 2004). However, this essay attempts to discuss the significance of scientific racism for criminology because it is clearly evident that, despite the full confirmation of the unscientific nature of racist theories, the ideas of racism and nationalism continue to actively live in contemporary society and tend to create the image of a criminal.
Odysseus’ Exceptional Trait of Critical Thinking Carries Him Home In The epic poem, The Odyssey, Odysseus would not have made it home alive if it was not for his significant trait, critical thinking, to return home to Ithica with his master eloquence, swift decision making, and acute thinking. Odysseus uses his first critical thinking trait of master eloquence when he is being held hostage on an island with the nymph Calypso. Zeus hears of this and he sends Hermes to go and let Odysseus go. Calypso at first resists, but then she receives a threat from the god.
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).
Criminal behaviour has always been an interest for psychologists, for they could never quite come to a conclusion between nature and nurture. Research concerning this topic has been organized for many years and due to the never ending debate, is still being conducted. I have decided to read and write about this myself, for I was genuinely curious about the matter and wanted to be a part of the research, as I felt responsible to do so. I believe that in order to stop something, it must be discussed and scrutinized. What effects do genes have on criminal behaviour, why do peer pressure and habitat influence a person to commit crimes and are men really more violent than women?
Furthermore, the psychology of criminal behavior, psychology, and criminology all have a primary objective of achieving an understanding of the variation in the criminal behavior of individuals (Andrews and Bonta , 2010). Empirically, the study of variation in criminal behavior is done by the studying of covariates (Andrews and Bonta , 2010). The primary covariates that PCC studies are biological, social, and psychological (Andrews and Bonta , 2010). Although, criminology tends to assess criminality at an aggregate level, in comparison to the psychology of criminal conduct’s focus on an individual level. Additionally, a psychology of criminal conduct involves applying what is learned by the studying of psychological information and methods to the predicting and influencing the propensity of criminal behavior on an individual
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