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

have a variety of causes.
The first major principle of psychological perspectives is that the individual is the object of interest to be analyzed. n short, crime control policy based on psychological principles targets individuals and tries to prevent criminal behavior from this point. Any policy aimed at preventing crime by targeting persons such as training, education, promotion of self-awareness, rehabilitation, resocialization or identification risks of criminal behavior are psychological in nature. In addition, psychologists have long recognized that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior of the individual
The second major principle is that personality is a major motive on the individual. Hans Eysenck explained crime as result of fundamental personality traits (supertraits). These supertraits he developed were viewed in three dimensions. The first dimension is Psychoticism. Individuals who had high psychoticism are associated with being aggressive, egocentric, antisocial and tough-minded. High psychoticism is also linked to criminal behavior,regardless of methodology. The second one is Introversion/Extraversion. Introverts tend to be characterized with being passive, cautious, and insociable. Extroverts were the opposite being active, sociable, and assertive. Most people, however, are found in the middle of introvert and extrovert rather than being either extreme. The last dimension is Neuroticism/emotional stability, which is linked to traits like anxiety, self-esteem, and emotionality (BOOK). We can also use the early psychological theory regarding criminal behavior by Freud’s psychological perspective as an explanation for personality being a motive. This deals with three aspects of an individual's personality: the id, ego, and superego. The id essentially is everything that is present at birth or instinctive drives. There are two types of instinctive drives, constructive and destructive. Constructive are the pleasures we get from things. Destructive refers to things like aggression or death. The ego is like a moderator between the id, superego and reality. It can be seen as the sanity or conscious of an individual. The last aspect is the superego, the subconscious domain of the psyche. This is learned and developed during the course of individual’s life.
The third perspective says that crimes are a result of a dysfunctional mental processes within an individual’s personality.

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

behavior.
The fourth perspective examines individuals as having a purpose for criminal behavior to fulfill certain needs.

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

individuals start to question why they should be moral. The last stage is the point that individuals consider various principles on the moral point of view, like living the highest quality of life.These relate to why individuals use moral development when it comes to committing crimes to fulfill certain needs.
The fifth perspective describes normality, which is what is accepted by society as as being normal. If someone commits a crime, they are punished based on the norms of society. Not all social norms that existed in the past exist today, so crimes now might of not been crimes back then. According to the social control theory, if the social bounds of a person is weak, they have a higher chance of committing a criminal act. They care what others thinks of them and try to conform with social expectations because of their attachment to others(Criminal Behavior website).