There are many theories that can be applied to different cases that have occurs in Americas history. The two theories that are choses for this paper are the trait theory and under the trait theory is psychological which is “abnormal personality and psychological traits are the key to determinant of anti-social behavior. There is a link between mental illness, personality disorders and crime (Siegel, 2014). The second theory is the Choice theory which “criminals weigh the cost and benefits and make a conscious, rational choice to commit crime” (Siegel, 2014). This paper will show how a theory can be applied to a person and a crime. Some of the cases that are being presented some will not agree but up us all about the person perspective.
Trait
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Eysenck ' identify three dimensions of personality which are extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism (McLeod, 2014). He came up with this theory while working in Maudskey psychiatric hospital in London. He was making "assessments of each patient before their mental disorders where diagnosed by a psychiatrist. He would ask questions too soldiers who were being treated for neurotic disorders. His technique is called the factor analysis. The factors are grouped into dimensions. The two dimensions are introversion and extraversion, neuroticism and stability which are also called the second order personality traits. The extraverts are sociable and crave excitement and change, and thus can become bored easily they tend to be carefree optimistic and impulsive"(McLeod, 2014). Introverts are "reserved planned actions and control their emotions. They tend to be seriously reliable and pessimistic"(McLeod, 2014). Neurotics and stables tend to be anxious worrying and moody. They are overly emotional and find it difficult to calm down one upset (). Stables are "emotionally calm unreactive and unworried. In 1966 Eysencks that is another trade called psychoticism. This trait exhibits "a lack of empathy, is cruel, a loner, aggressive and troublesome" McLeod, 2014 (McLeod, …show more content…
He grew up a household where is father was a drunk and would get beat with a razor strap if him and his siblings misbehaved. He became older he was well liked in his community and also performed as a clown in the neighborhood at kids parties. One day a fifteen year old named Robert Piest went missing in 1978. His mother said John had called him about a job in in construction. The police went to Gacy home and search his property and what they found was very disturbing. The discovered that he had killed 33 boys and young mean and the majority of them had been buried under the house and garage and other where discovers in the Des Plaines River. Gacy would invite his “victims to his house with promises of construction work and eventually strangled most of them and then rape them (“John Wayne Gacy Biography”, 2014). He would also dress up in his alter ego “Pose the Clown. Even though Gacy confess to the crimes the trial “focused on whether he could be declared insane and thus remitted to a state mental facility” (“John Wayne Gacy Biography”, 2014). Gracy told the police that his murder was committed by him but by his alter ego. He was sentence to 12 death sentence and 21 natural life sentence. While in prison he took up art and some of his work was displayed at a Chicago gallery. On May 10, 1994 John Wayne Gacy died of lethal injection at the Statesville Correctional Center in Crest Hill
Throughout John Wayne Gacy’s double life as a rapist and murderer, he exhibits the traits of a
John Wayne Gacy was a U.S. serial killer who was found guilty of killing 33 boys and young men (McCormick, 1998). Gacy was born on March 17, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois (Sullivan, 2013). John Wayne Gacy had two sisters, Joanne and Karen and had a difficult relationship with his father. His father was an auto repair machanic and World War I veteran (Jones, 2012). Whenever his father came home from work, he would go to the basement and drink. His father was an alcoholic and used physical punishment on all of his children (Jones, 2012). He would even beat the children with a razor strap if they misbehaved (Sullivan, 2013). Gacy’s mother tried her best to protect the children, but Gacy’s father physically assaulted her as well (Jones, 2012). Additionally,
Nature versus nurture has been argued in attempt to understand how criminals behave. The theory of what influences psychopath and serial killers’ violent and destructive pathways has not been agreed on till this day. Criminals such as psychopaths and serial killers have been researched for the past two decades. Scientists have found that genetics is a determining factor of who becomes a serial killer. It is important to understand the determinants involved within a serial killer, because if these social and environmental causes are discovered, they can be altered and controlled to reduce crime (Lykken, 1993). With more studies, we would therefore prevent mass murders and could assist in significant reductions of crime within society.
Infamous serial killer, John Wayne Gacy, was born on March 17, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois. Gacy, born into an abusive environment, was assaulted physically along with his siblings, with a razor strap if they were perceived to have misbehaved by their alcoholic father. In addition, Gacy’s mother was physically abused as well throughout her marriage and during the children’s upbringing. During John Wayne Gacy’s childhood education, he suffered further alienation due to a congenital heart condition that resulted in further feelings of contempt from his father. Furthermore, Gacy eventually came to the realization that he was attracted to men, which caused a great amount of mental turmoil over his sexuality.
Varying theories such as rational choice theory, trait theory, and social structure theory are commonly used to explain why crime happens. Application of these three theories in discussing the crimes of Richard Speck can help us to better understand which of the theories may apply and perhaps help give us insight into why he committed his crimes. But they are more beneficial when not looking at a single specific crime, but the person and all the crimes they may have committed throughout their criminal careers.
John Wayne Gacy was born on March 17, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois and grew up the same way that most serial killers have. He was one of three kids. He had two sisters, and they all lived with his mother and violent, alcoholic father. His father, John Stanley Gacy, would frequently beat his wife and three children.(John Wayne Gacy). Mrs. Gacy was thought to be crazy because when Gacy was younger, his dad would spend a lot of time in the basement walking and talking in different voices. In “John Wayne Gacy” it is stated that “ as a teenager, Gacy was a Hypochondriac; he fainted periodically and believed he had a defective heart. He also
Gacy became a suspect when Robert Piest's mother informed authorities that her son was last seen at a pharmacy with Gacy. The Des Plaines Police Department was able to obtain a search warrant because of Gacy's previous sodomy conviction, and when they searched the house. They collected driver's license, jewelry and college rings of missing boys. The detectives also noticed a strong, pungent odor coming from the vents of the house. Forensic evidence, traced one of the college rings back to the missing teenager, John Slye. A second search warrant allowed the Des Plaine Police Department to do a more meticulous search of the crawl space under his house, and that is when they found the corpses of 27 innocent teenage boys. Gacy was a sociable, charming and hard working man. The Des Plaines Police Department did not have knowledge of Gacy's crimes. On May 10, 1994, 15 years after being arrested John Wayne Gacy died of lethal injection at Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill, Illinois. Without the Illinois death sentences Gacy would have served 12 death sentences and 21 natural life
Erica Castillo Mrs. Olah English 10 March 2017 The Killer Clown and Lethal Injection John Wayne Gacy was an American serial killer and rapist. He tortured and killed thirty-three young boys between 1972 and 1978 in Cook County, Illinois. He was executed by lethal injection, however this act of execution was wrong. John Wayne Gacy was born on March 17, 1942.
Bartol, C. R. (2002). Criminal behavior: A psychosocial approach. (6 ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Eysenck believe there are three different dimensions of personality. They are extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism. He believed that extraversion was inherited from our parents and extroverts had a low levels of cortical arousal and high sensory thresholds. The sensory thresholds that they inherit from their parent s are what causes them to take more risks and not hold back in certain situations. Eysenck also believed that neuroticism is hereditary because it has to do with emotion and motivation. In the brain the amygdala and hypothalamus control these and the environment cannot control brain functions. Psychoticism was not in Eysenck’s theory of development. He believed psychoticism is what makes people angry, hostile, and antisocial which is caused by stress. Depending on how much stress is on someone the more likely they
Trait theory views criminality as a product of abnormal biological or psychological traits. It is based on a mix between biological factors and environmental factors. Certain traits alone cannot determine criminality. We are born with certain traits and these traits along with certain environmental factors can cause criminality (Siegel, 2013). According to (Siegel, 2013), the study of sociobiology sparked interest in biological or genetic makeup as an explanation for crime and delinquency. The thought is that biological or genetic makeup controls human behavior, and if this is true, then it should also be responsible for determining whether a person chooses crime or conventional behavior. This theory is referred to as trait theory (Siegel, 2013). According to Siegel (2013), due to the fact that offenders are different, one cannot pinpoint causality to crime to just a single biological or psychological attribute. Trait theorist looks at personal traits like intelligence, personality, and chemical and genetic makeup; and environmental factors, such as family life, educational attainment, economic factors, and neighborhood conditions (Siegel, 2013). There are the Biosocial Trait theories an...
Wilson, James and Herrnstein, Richard. "Crime & Human Nature: The Definitive Study of the Causes of Crime" New York: Free Press, 1998.
In this article the two authors research the connection between genetic factors and criminal behavior. They look at the causes that make someone act in a criminal way. There are several factors looked at in connection to the cause such as social factors and environmental variables. The social factors being the more examined of the two. They hypothesized that other factors in performance or alone with environmental variables would lead to better understanding of why some people become criminal. The genetic factor of influence due to mental disorders was posed to have a slight role in affecting people to show criminal behavior. Another cause looked at was the combination of genetic and environmental factors, with a possible result of having a higher risk for criminal behavior.
In today’s society, one will find that there are many different factors that go into the development of a criminal mind, and it is impossible to single out one particular cause of criminal behavior. Criminal behavior often stems from both biological and environmental factors. In many cases criminals share similar physical traits which the general population do not usually have. For example criminals have smaller brains than properly adjusted individuals. However biological reasons cannot solely be the cause of criminal behavior. Therefore, one must look to other sources as to how a criminal mind is developed. Social and environmental factors also are at fault for developing a person to the point at which they are lead to committing a criminal act. Often, someone who has committed a violent crime shows evidence of a poorly developed childhood, or the unsuitable current conditions in which the subject lives. In addition if one studies victimology which is the role that the victim plays in the crime, it is apparent that there are many different causes for criminal behavior. Through the examination of biological factors, in addition to the social and environmental factors which make up a criminal mind, one can conclude that a criminal often is born with traits common to those of criminals, it is the environment that exist around them that brings out the criminal within them to commit indecent acts of crime.
Criminals are born not made is the discussion of this essay, it will explore the theories that attempt to explain criminal behaviour. Psychologists have come up with various theories and reasons as to why individuals commit crimes. These theories represent part of the classic psychological debate, nature versus nurture. Are individuals predisposed to becoming a criminal or are they made through their environment.