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Trait theories of crime
Factor affecting criminal behavior
Factor affecting criminal behavior
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Hans Eysenck is notable for his theory of crime and personality, which explains how personality types are related to criminality. His theory is based on three traits affecting behaviour, holding that extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism in conjunction with social experiences produce personality (Center and Kemp 2002). The first dimension, extraversion, describes individuals as sociable and needing people around. Extraverts thrive off of excitement, take risks, and are impulsive and unreliable. Meanwhile, introverts are the opposite, have control of their emotions, and are rarely aggressive. Extraverts will usually have less well-developed consciences because of their poor conditionability, which is associated with their low arousal (Farrell
This model looks at five factors of personality, which have been categorised as neuroticism (emotional stability, anxiety), extraversion (sociability, energy), openness to experience (curiosity, broad-minded), agreeableness (trust, cooperative) and conscientiousness (reliability, discipline) (Black, 2000). According to research conducted by Detrick and Chibnall (2006), the most suitable candidates for recruitment as police officers would rank low on the neuroticism scale, average on the openness and agreeableness scale and levels of extraversion and conscientiousness would be
In comparing the two models there was hope "to validate a general personality structure within an offender sample to determine if there are any required adaptations of the FFM, and to ascertain if the FFM can offer some validation of Eysenck 's personality theory." With this study, the researchers had a few predictions that they hoped to prove. Researchers predicted that participants would show high levels of extraversion in their personalities and low levels of emotional stability in their scores which would prove high levels of neuroticism according to the PEN model. They also predicted that participants who had experienced a lot of time in prison would show low levels of extraversion. They predicted that younger prisoners would report higher levels of extraversion than the older prisoners and lastly they predicted that the FFM fits the data better than a three-factor PEN
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.
“My surrounding would trigger a panic attack, so I couldn’t go to the studio unless I was lying down in the car with a pillow over my face.” Goulding said. Eysenck’s personality theory explains the panic attack. Eysenck’s original research found two main dimensions of temperament: neuroticism and extraversion-introversion. We will be looking at neuroticism.
In personality disorders, psychologists argue that specific personality characteristics of an individual may influence crime. That is, depending on people’s emotional and behavioral qualities of an
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
...& Snipes, J. (2010). Biological Factors and Criminal Behavior.Vold's theoretical criminology (6th Ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Oskar Kokoschka Kokoschka was born in P^chlarn, a Danube town, on March 1, 1886. He studied at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts from 1905 to 1908. As an early exponent of the avant-garde expressionist movement, he began to paint psychologically penetrating portraits of Viennese physicians, architects, and artists. Among these works are Hans Tietze and Erica Tietze-Conrat (1909, Museum of Modern Art, New York City), August Forel (1910, Mannheim Art Gallery, Germany), and Self-Portrait (1913, Museum of Modern Art). Kokoschka was wounded in World War I (1914-1918) and diagnosed as psychologically unstable.
This theory is based on Sigmund Freud’s theories of juvenile behavior in relation to a specific psychological profile. This theory focuses on the immaturity of juveniles and their ability or inability to make a decision based on primitive drive, aggression and emotional experiences that can affect a juvenile 's psyche into adulthood. There are many other factors that play into Psychoanalytical Positivism such as familial conflicts, antisocial behaviors and difficulty with authority figures.(Bartollas, 2014, p.54-55) Jack Katz took this one step further stating in his book “Seduction of Crime” that many are seeking an exciting experience when committing crime. Katz states committing a crime to a juvenile establishes their place in society and the experience is sensual.(Bartollas, 2014, p.55) Another classification within the Psychoanalytical Positivism is the psychopath or sociopath personality. A complete clinical designation was written by Hervey Cleckley for a sociopathic personality. This personality is described as the undesired and spurn child, who is unable to make a trusted connection with others. Robert D. Hare took this one step further and created a personality checklist.(Bartollas, 2014, p.55) This list contained significant character traits for a sociopathic personality, such as lack of remorse, impulsivity, lack of responsibility for actions, lack of empathy, ability to manipulate others and
There has yet to be any determining evidence defines the characteristics of extraversion. The experimenters in this particular experiment have hypothesized that the facets of extraversion are somehow linked by reward sensitivity. This hypothesis was also tested against a model in which they are linked by sociability. There has been much work on this topic in the past, beginning with the works of Jung and James in the early 20th century—to the work of Watson and Clark in 1997. And even after a century of study, they are still unable to truly define the characteristics of the extraversion dimension of personality. In the many attempts to define extraversion, Watson and Clark have defined six basic facets of the personality trait. These are: venturesome, affiliation, positive affectivity, energy, ascendance, and ambition. Researchers Depue and Collins, in 1999, also offered a more succinct depiction of the characteristics of extraversion, this only having three basic parts. The first being affiliation, the enjoyment and value of close interpersonal bonds, also being warm and affectionate. The second, agency, being socially dominant, enjoying leadership roles, being assertive and exhibitionistic, and having a sense of potency in accomplishing goals. The final facet being impuslivity, but this one has been argued upon whether it should be included at all in the characteristics of extraversion at all.
Raine (1997 : 137) suggests that Eysenck was a decade ahead of his time when in developing a biosocial approach to crime as he writes, ‘for it is only now that this approach is beginning to be embraced by a wider scientific community.’ (Rafter, N. 2006, pp 49). The article is suggests this idea to be so because ‘the trend [is now] toward biosocial research' (Rafter, N. 2006, pp 48) even though this approach to crime was already introduced a decade ago by Eysenck. He is noted to be ‘the hero of biosocial research on offending’ (Rafter, N. 2006, pp 49) because he offered a new way to look at crime and deviant behaviour that was evolutionary to biological determinism and psychological influences.
The individual trait theory is a theory of criminology that believes that a person may be predisposed to crime because of certain personality traits. The individual trait theory has roots in the theory of atavism offered by Cesare Lombroso which states that criminals are throwbacks to a more primitive state of humanity, both physically and mentally. Both biological factors and environmental factors is what individual trait theory is based on.
Psychological theories of criminal behavior emphasize criminal thinking patterns or personality defects. These theories emphasize individual differences in behavior and the approaches to thinking, feeling, and decision-making that make some people predisposed to committing criminal acts.
Understanding Psychology and Crime; Perspectives on Theory and Action, New York. PENNINGTON, D ( 2002) , Introducing Psychology: Approaches, Topics and Methods, London, Hodder Arnold TANNENBAUN, B, (2007),Profs link criminal behaviour to genetics [online] , Available at: http://thedp.com/index.php/article/2007/11/profs_link_criminal_behavior_to_genetics [accessed 16th October 2011]. http://www.docstoc.com/docs/41182390/Explanations-of-Criminal-behaviour
Criminality constitutes strategic mannerisms characterized by apathy to misery inflicted on others, egocentricity and depressed self-control. Habitual criminal behaviour seeks to satisfy the offender’s desires for material prestige, power or pleasurable feelings regardless to damage inflicted to victim or society. Such behaviors extend mistrust, fuel prejudice, and largely corrupt social cohesion. Biological, psychological and environmental attributes are thought to heavily influence antisocial and criminal behaviour. Numerous studies have proven that active emulation, genetic predispositions and psychosocial labeling are all complementary to development and expressions of criminal behaviour. There has historically been a myriad of theories that attempt to explain criminal behaviour through different perspectives, all which constitute intricate paradigms that play a role in expressio...