Battered Woman Syndrome In Robert Agnew's general strain theory, he talks about how strain and stress could cause an individual to commit crimes that they wouldn't have committed without those circumstances. In his theory, he refers to negative affective states, which are the "anger, frustration, and adverse emotions that emerge in the wake of destructive social relationships". It is these negative affective states that are produced by strain. Agnew acknowledges that strain can be caused by negative situations, such as abuse or neglect, family conflict, or stressful life events. These situations can all be found to be extremely prevalent in households where domestic violence occurs. According to this theory, the negative stimuli presented causes, in this case, the woman to feel angry, frustrated, disappointed, depressed, and fearful. These negative feelings, in turn, are outwardly expressed through violence. In this paper, we will look at battered woman syndrome as a theory that has stemmed from Robert Agnew's general strain theory. In her 1979 book "The Battered Woman"; Dr. Lenore Walker first came up with what is now know as battered woman syndrome. Put simply battered woman syndrome, or BWS as it is sometimes called, is a group of psychological symptoms that are easily recognized in women who have been physically, sexually, or psychologically assaulted by their domestic partner. According to Dr. Walker, "Battered w...
First I would like to address the definition of Battered Woman Syndrome. Battered Woman Syndrome (BWS) is a condition often used by the defense in cases like this one to relieve the defendant of some or
Battered women constitute one of the most marginalized groupings in the social order. Their relationship incidents occasionally put these individuals into disagreement with the law, particularly when they murder their violent partners. The Battered woman syndrome (BWS) was created by clinical psychologist (1970’s) with an intention of depicting the series of occurrences that physically abused women frequently experience in their relationships.
Psych Central Staff -. Understanding the Effects of Domestic Violence | Psych Central. Psych Central.com. N.p., n.d. Web. The Web.
The proposal of Robert Agnew’s General Strain Theory in explaining criminal deviance is based on three concepts. The first concept is that people are not naturally inclined to commit crimes. Rather, their transition towards deviant behavior begins when they experience strain. The second concept is that once strain is present, depending on the severity of the stain, a person becomes victim to their own negative emotions like anger, jealousy, and frustration. Their response to those negative emotions may expedite their transition. The third concept looks at a person’s ability to cope with the strain and negative emotions. If a person has poor coping abilities they tend to become overwhelmed by the strain and the negative emotions they are feeling as a result of strain. Poor coping abilities may cause someone to commit crime in hopes of rectifying their situation. (Agnew, 2011)
The birth of classic detective fiction was originated just in the mid nineteenth century, and was producing its own genre. Classical detective fiction follows a set of rules called the ‘Ten commandments of detective fiction’. The genre is so popular it can bee seen by the number of sales in any good book stores. Many of these books have been created a long time ago and there is still a demand for these types of books. The popularity is still ongoing because it provides constant entertainment, and also the reader can also have a role of detective trying to solve the crime/case committed. Classical detective fiction has a formula, the detective story starts with a seemingly irresolvable mystery, typically a murder, features the astute, often unconventional detective, a wrongly accused suspect to whom the circumstantial evidence points, and concludes with a startling or unexpected solution to the mystery, during which the detective explains how he or she solved the mystery. Formula that includes certain elements such as, a closed location to keep the number of suspects down, red hearings spread around the stories to keep the reader entertained yet interacted.
The General Strain Theory scope has an intention of providing a clear explanation for why and why not crime occurs across all levels of society, while maintaining that stress is a major cause of criminal involvement. When people experience negative emotions, such as anger, frustration, or depression, they are in result unhappy and upset, thus experiencing strains or stressors (Ganem, 2010). Crime is then a way of reducing or escaping from these strains, and it is their method of coping with their emotions. According to Agnew, “Strains refer to events or conditions that are disliked by individuals (1992,
The human mind is one of the most complex structures the gods had created. It is difficult to understand each brain process as every human being possesses his or her own distinguished thought patterns with different levels of complexities. A person’s mind greatly influences his behavior, which eventually transforms into his habit by becoming embedded into his character. Today, the world of psychology tries to understand everything that a mind can create. However, even before the field of Psychology was introduced and brought into practice, some American writers threw a spotlight on the mechanism of the human brain in their works. On top of this list is an American writer, Edgar Allan
The idea of a detective catching an elusive convict or solving an improbable crime has been prevalent in all corners of the world, spread throughout many cultures and societies. The detective genre is held as the idea that an individual has to solve a crime. This detective usually has nothing to gain from solving the crime, but they see it more as an obstacle. The detective doesn’t always take every case, as human beings, we are too often curious of the impossible; our natural instinct is to question why and how things work in this world. People crave mystery, to taste a bit of improbable, to see what the detectives see, to see what is overlooked by many. The idea of an intelligent witty, sharp “sleuth” with an obedient sidekick has been prevalent
There are many cases where self- defense has been used as a plea where the victim felt they were in harms’ way or unable to escape a specific situation that ended badly. The definition for self- defense is: 1. Defense of oneself when physically attacked 2. Defense of what belongs to oneself, as ones work or reputation 3. (Law) the right to protect oneself against violence or threatened violence with whatever force or means reasonable or necessary. According to an expert on battered women, a woman must experience at least two complete battering cycles before being labeled a battered woman. (Walker) According to Dowd, “he believes the proper use of BWS assists the fact finder to understand the state of mind of the battered woman at the time she fought back against her abuser.”(1) Women should be able to use BWS as a plea when habitual abuse occurs within a relationship with a significant other and results in violence or worse death.
George Orwell said, “Of pain you could only wish one thing: that it should stop. Nothing in the world was so bad as physical pain. In the face of pain, there are no heroes.” Domestic abuse is a major issue in this country and world. However, the bigger issue is the long term effects any victim suffers from. Many persons suffer from an affliction known as Battered Person Syndrome. What is BPS? This condition is known today as, “a mental disorder that develops in victims of serious, longterm abuse” (citation #1). A battered person is very fragile. They are taught by their abusers that the offense being done to them is deserved. As if it is their own fault. Now, when someone suffering from BPS is still in an abusive relationship, and are put in
The psychoanalytic theory, Sigmund Freud is considered to be the founder of the psychodynamic approach psychology which looks closely at the unconscious drives that motivates an individual to act certain ways. In Sigmund Freud’s Creative Writers and Day-Dreaming he analyzes connections between literature and psychoanalysis. Freud stated that artist express themselves through art or writing often taking their built up aggression on to their on art just to relieve stress in their lives. Through their literature authors express their desires and can reveal something about the author. One of the most influential writers of the American Renaissance, Edgar Allan Poe is the most appealing to psychoanalytic theory because through his Gothic literature he reveals a darker side to his characters. Edgar Allan Poe shows how revenge is a powerful motivation that drives man to extremes in his short story “The Cask of Amontillado.”
“The Queen’s Square,” written by Dorothy Sayers, includes a character named, Lord Peter Wimsey, who is known as a “Golden Age” detective. A novel named, “The Big Sleep,” by Raymond Chandler, includes a character named, Philip Marlowe, who is known as a “Hard-Boiled” detective. These two types of detectives are different in several aspects of these mystery/crime stories. Peter Wimsey’s and Philip Marlowe’s motivation to solve their cases was one aspect that supported how these two types of detectives are different from each other. One seemed to be more selfish in a way, while the other wanted to figure out the truth about the cases for others. The Golden Age detective portrays Wimsey to be motivated by the enjoyment, while on the other hand, the Hard-boiled detective is motivated by doing a satisfying job.
This seminar paper will be focused on the work of 2 famous detective novel authors Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie. First there will be a brief introduction to the history of detective genre and its characteristics.Then the 2 authors will be introduced together with their work concentrated specifically on the 2 characters – Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Christie’s Poirot. Thereafter there will be comparison of these two characters. At the end their methodology and unique behavior will be described and conclusion of this paper will be made
Of all of the genres of fiction, the most recognizable one is the mystery genre. Due to its popularity it has been changed and its conventions critiqued. The detective fiction is a subgenre that stared in the mid-nineteenth century. One of the most famous heroes of detective fiction that came out of that era was Sherlock Holmes. Each of Holmes story lines centered on a “whodunit” theme which allowed the reader in the process of finding out who committed the crime. Throughout the story, the reader is given clues to help eliminate individuals as suspects. The “whodunit” theme was most popular between 1920-1950 which is considered the (Golden Age) of detective fiction.
Family is something that is prevalent in everyone’s life, whether it’s biological, non-blood or estranged. Eugene O’Neill’s play shows how his family of four deals -- or doesn’t deal -- with their issues with themselves and eachother. The autobiographical play serves as a catharsis for O’Neill as he reveals his inner thoughts and feelings through his own character, Edmund. Long Day’s Journey into Night illustrates the ironic but important life lesson that Edmund learns that results in a deeper understanding of life and family. While family is supposed to nurture you and love you the most, they’re the same people who hurt you the most. This is shown through the insight he gains while exploring his relationships with his father,