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Psychological theory of crime causation
Psychological theory of crime causation
Psychological theory of crime causation
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The essay “The Brain on Trial” was published in the Atlantic in 2011. It goes into details about crimes and side effects of medication that caused mental illness. David Eagleman the author of “The Brain on Trial” is an American Neuroscientist and writer who was born in New Mexico and attended Rice University. In Eagleman’s essay, he argues that law enforcements should scientifically figure out if the convict has a mental illness so he/she can get the help they need. The two modes of discourse that Eagleman uses are cause and effect and description, he uses imagery and symbolism to portray how scientifically approaching the crimes can benefit both the law enforcement and the convict. David Eagleman also uses many data to make the research more reliable. There are many crimes till this day that are still left unsolved and has no tangible evidence to blame someone for the crime that has been committed. I have recently watched two documentaries on O.J Simpson and Amanda Knox. The two documentaries go into details about how they were the first to be blamed but yet found not guilty …show more content…
of the murders. There is no way to know if the crimes were really committed by these individuals because of the lack of evidence. Eagleman’s research could finally find the answer and the possible reason behind it. David Eagleman uses cause and effect as a mode of discourse to convey his message to convicts, law attorneys and people interested in the topic.
An example would be when Eagleman stated, “The amygdala is involved in emotional regulation, especially of fear and aggression. By the late 1800s, researchers had discovered that damage to the amygdala caused emotional and social disturbances” (pg.737). Before this statement, David Eagleman includes Whitman’s suicide note where he asked for an autopsy to be done. The damage that was done to Charles Whitman’s amygdala resulted in him committing such a horrible crime. Eagleman conveys the cause and effect by first stating the consequences and then the cause. Eagleman uses this mode of discourse many other ways throughout the essay. For example, the medication taken by patients to help with a certain disease affected the patients to do unusual
activities. Eagleman uses a descriptive mode of discourse to help the reader gain background knowledge about the disease before providing the side effects. Eagleman first states the disease and what it does to the brain, “Parkinson’s involves the loss of brain cells that produce a neurotransmitter known as dopamine. Pramipexole works by impersonating dopamine. But it turns out that dopamine is a chemical doing double duty in the brain.” (pg.738). The reader gets knowledge of the disease and the medication is taken to cure Parkinson. Not only does the description help the reader get an understanding but also gives them information about the medication. In that case, imagery plays a big role to get the reader to paint a picture. Eagleman starts of the essay by using descriptive details of Charles Whitman to get the reader’s attention. Eagleman states, “The 25-year-old climbed the stairs to the observation deck, lugging with him a footlocker full of guns and ammunition.” (pg.735). The text paints a clear picture in the reader's mind about the guy involved in the experiment. Throughout Eagleman’s essay, imagery is used multiple time for everything such as the diseases, side effects, and crimes committed. Another literary element is symbolism. Throughout the entire essay, Eagleman emphasizes “Free”. He goes on to talk about how people are not as “free” as they think they are. David Eagleman states, “The crux of the question is whether all of your actions are fundamentally on autopilot or whether some little bit of you is “free” to choose, independent of the rules of biology.” (pg.742). Eagleman describes how being “free” has a totally different meaning when it is put to test. No one is really “free” as he states. Most of the stuff that humans do on daily basis are automatic such as blinking, breathing and thinking. There is a lot of tangible evidence and data that Eagleman uses to prove his point. Eagleman states, “Consider Kenneth Parks, a 23-year-old Canadian with a wife, a five-month-old daughter, and a close relationship with his in-laws (his mother-in-law described him as a “gentle giant”)” (pg.741). David Eagleman utilizes this data to show that Kenneth Parks was a totally normal person who was affected by a disease that made him kill his in-laws while sleepwalking, driving, and waking up to not knowing anything about it. The use of data adds a credibility of how Eagleman provide evidence to make the essay more reliable Given these points, Eagleman has many ways to keep the reader’s attention throughout the entire essay and get his statement across. The essay ends with stating how there can be a scientific way to approach crimes committed. He uses the two modes of discourse and literary elements to argue that the prisons are overcrowded with mentally ill people who could get the help they want by going to a rehabilitation center rather than prisons. With this method, crimes can be solved much quicker and actually help the convicts get the mental help that is needed
In my opinion, the author defends a good but also complex perspective. '' The criminal activity itself should be taken as evidence of brain abnormality'', says Eagleman, however, what about the percentage of criminals that are not carriers of the genes that contribute to performing violent crimes? Are they going to be sent to rehabilitation too and exonerated from incarceration even when there is proof of no brain
In “The Brain on trial”, David Eagleman (2011) recounts the horrifying events which occurred on August 1, 1966. Charles Whitman entered the University of Texas with a rifle and secured himself in the bell tower. He then proceeded to shoot and kill 13 people and injure 32 more. Whitman was also shot and killed; however, during his autopsy it was discovered that a tumor was pressing against his amygdala. According to Eagleman, “The amygdala is involved in emotional regulation, especially of fear and aggression” (2011). Therefore, Whitman was possibly experiencing a fundamental change in his emotions and personality due to the tumor. Though Whitman did not survive, his case still poses questions as to whether or not he should be held accountable for his actions; moreover, should Whitman have received the maximum punishment for the murder he committed? Charles Whitman may not have had control over the feelings of “rage and irrational thoughts” (2011) he was experiencing; however, the precision of the attack indicates he was well aware of the actions he was committing.
Slobogin, Christopher. "The Integrationist Alternative to the Insanity Defense: Reflections on the Exculpatory Scope of Mental Illness in the Wake of the Andrea Yates Trial." American Journal of Criminal Law (2003): Vol. 30 Issue 3, p315-341.
In The article “Brainology” “Carol S Dweck, a professor of psychology at Stanford University, differentiates between having a fixed and growth mindset in addition how these mindsets have a deep effect on a student’s desire to learn. Individuals who have a fixed mindset believe they are smart without putting in effort and are afraid of obstacles, lack motivation, and their focus is to appear smart.. In contrast, students with a growth mindset learn by facing obstacles and are motivated to learn. Dwecks argues that students should develop a growth mindset.
Gray, J. /O'Reilly, R. (2009): Supreme court of Canada's "Beautiful Mind" case. In: International journal of law and psychiatry, Vol. 32, Issue 5, pp. 315-322.
McLellan, F. (2006). Mental health and justice: the case of Andrea Yates. The Lancet, 1951-1954.
David Eagleman, in his book Incognito: The Secret lives of the Brain, explores the relationship between the conscious and unconscious mind. Referencing many real-life stories and scientific experiments, Eagleman argues that we governed more by our unconscious. The book explores one main question: “If the conscious mind - the part you consider to be you - is just the tip of the iceberg, what is the rest doing?". We are not aware of what the rest of brain, the unconscious, is doing; rather, “the brain runs its show incognito” (Eagleman 7). In my book report, I have interwoven my synopsis and my reflection/connections to what we have learned in class so the essay flows more chronologically. Additionally, I chose the examples and case studies that I believed best reflected the central argument of the book. For quotes, I only included sentences that reflected a main idea and terms/phrases that
Psychologists have tried to understand the mind of criminals for as long as time. The mind of a criminal is a very difficult thing to comprehend because each criminal is different. Their minds think in different ways, they have different motives and they all have different backgrounds. No two cases are the same. Often times psychologist also have a challenging time figuring out why a person committed a crime, such as murder, is because the criminal will not be able to help them comprehend why they did the things they did. In the wrongdoers mind it seems completely rational but to a sane person it does not. One serial killer that many psychologists have found fascinating, is Theodore Bundy. Psychologist have studied the motives
The two most important fields of science that bind and give structure to the fabric of society is the nature of dissociative disorders such as schizophrenia and the associations to deviant criminal behavior. These fields are very intrinsically tied together to our criminal justice system and our social structure. The application of law within our legal system and the evaluation of a criminal's 'state of mind' are blended to provide safety for society. Determining the form of psychotherapy needed as a form of social rehabilitation is complex. Society needs deterrents for violent forms of crime associated with dissociative disorders but it requires a greater understanding of the functions of the brain. Even though each of these science fields are their own unique and complex structure of data, each of these fields are enhanced from the input of critical data from advancing fields of psychology and the study of the brain.
Seltzer, T., 2005, ‘Mental health courts – A misguided attempt to address the criminal justice system’s unfair treatment of people with mental illnesses’, Psychology, Public Policy and Law, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 570-586.
Much of my skepticism over the insanity defense is how this act of crime has been shifted from a medical condition to coming under legal governance. The word "insane" is now a legal term. A nuerological illness described by doctors and psychiatrists to a jury may explain a person's reason and behavior. It however seldom excuses it. The most widely known rule in...
“A common news account of mental illness, for instance, involves a sensationalized and violent crime in which an innocent person is killed by a mental health patient. The article is laced with graphic descriptions, emotional diction and a glaring headline. It also depicts the mentally ill person as devoid of social identity and dangerous, capricious, aggressive and irrational” (Fawcett, 2015). In prime time television “characters who were identified through behavior or label as having a mental illness were 10 times more likely than other TV characters to commit a violent crime – and between 10 to 20 times more likely to commit a violent crime than someone with a mental illness would be in real life” (Fawcett, 2015). Besides violence, there is also the inaccurate portrayal of mentally ill people never getting better. There is rarely ever a time where the recovery of a mentally ill person is shown. They often are not given any screen time that shows them integrated into society with jobs and friends (Fawcett,
...t: (http://www.psych.org/public_info/VIOLEN~1.HTM) Government Survey (1990) Violence and Psychiatric Disorders in the Community: Evidence from the Epidemiological Catchment Area Surveys. Hospital and Community Psychiatry (41:761770) Holy Bible (1998) Leviticus Chapter 19 verse 18, King James version (204:2049) Hudson, Thomas (1978) The Laws of Psychic Phenomena. Internet: (http://www.appi.org/pnews/sep20/jail.htm1) (pg.1 & 2) Illinois State Police (1999) Violence in the Workplace Characteristics. Internet: (http://www.state.il.us/ISPviowkplc/vwpp4.htm) Modestin, Jiri (1997) Is Depression A Risk Factor for Crime? Crime Times, Internet: (http://www.crime~times.org/97d/w97dp6.htm) (p.1) National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) (1999) The Criminalization of People with Mental Illness. Summary of the NAMI Policy Platform (1:8) National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) (1999) The Criminalization of People with Mental Illness. Summary of the NAMI Policy Platform (3:8) Taridiff, K. (1980) Assault, Suicide and Mental Illness. Archives of General Psychiatry (37:164169) Webster Dictionary (1988) Unabridged Yapko, Micheal D. (1997) The Art of Avoiding Depression. Psychology Today
In an article titled, What is Forensic Psychology, Anyway?, John Brigham attempts to explain the beginnings of psychology and law; Forensics Psychology. Brigham explains that, “forensic psychology involves the interaction of psychology and the legal process” (Brigham 274). Brigham further highlights a historical case and the precedent established by the House of Lords through the induction of the McNaughten Rule, which translates, “To establish a defense on the ground of insanity it must be clearly proved that, at the time of committing the act, the party accused was laboring under such defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as not to know nature and quality of the act he was doing, or he did know it, that he did not know he was doing what was wrong” (Finkel, 1988, p21; Brigham p275). Brigham explains that the concept of introducing psychology into the field of law ...
Crime can be described combination between both behavior and mental factors. This will prove incredibly crucial in the definition of crime in relation to mental illness. Many of those that commit crimes are not convicted due to their illness so it is important to note, for the purpose of this analysis, that all illegal activity is considered crime, regardless of conviction (Monahan and Steadman 1983).