Psychological Perspectives Of Criminal Behavior

In this paper I will discuss six major principles of psychological perspective as they relate to criminal behavior. The first principle is that the individual is the object of interest to be analyzed. Another major motivational perspective is personality, which points to the motives of the individual. The third perspective says that crimes are a result of a dysfunctional mental processes within an individual’s personality. Also, individuals may have a purpose for criminal behavior to fulfill certain needs. This behavior is considered inappropriate only when compared to social norms. The fifth perspective describes normality, what is accepted by society as as being normal. The last perspective is that defective or abnormal mental process may

This is explained through personality disturbances, such as sociopathy and psychopathy. David Lykken distinguished between the sociopath and psychopath. Sociopath refers to antisocial personalities that are due to social dysfunctions. Psychopaths refers to those whose antisocial behavior may result from a defect within himself. They can be intelligent, charming and manipulative, yet lack remorse or empathy. Research has focused on two subgroups of psychopathy: primary and secondary psychopaths. Primary psychopaths are born with psychopathic personalities and display maladaptive characteristics like irresponsibility and lack of conscience. Another subgroup is secondary psychopath. They are born with a normal personality but develop psychopathic tendencies due to personal experience. Events like drug abuse or suicidal gestures are very influential to secondary psychopaths. Other types of psychopaths are charismatic psychopaths and distempered psychopaths. Charismatic psychopaths are usually charming, attractive, and liars. Distempered psychopaths are easily offended and easily ticked off. Dysfunctional mental process within an individual can have a huge influence on their criminal

Donald Andrews and James Bonta defined criminogenic needs as dynamic attributes of offenders and their circumstances associated with rates of recidivism. They may not be actual needs but rather psychological symptoms of maladaptive functioning. Also, individuals may know what is morally right and morally wrong. In the moral development theory by Lawrence Kohlberg, moral judgement develops in three levels, each consisting of two stages. The first level is the preconventional level of morality. It is what is considered right and wrong. The first stage is the “punishment and obedience orientation”. Individuals follow the rules to their benefit as well as avoid punishments. The second stage is when they develop moral relativity. We acknowledge that others have different views on justifying their claims. The next two stages are in the conventional level of morality. It is considered the approach used to maintain a family and social order. At stage three, individuals understand the principle of the golden rule and appreciate things like generosity and forgiveness. In the fourth stage, values of justice are expanded to following the laws and initiating good citizenship. The last two stages are under the postconventional level of morality. That is when a person attempts to balance between individual rights and societal rules. For instance, the fifth level is when