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Psychological and biological way to understand crime
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Many theories of crime are macro theories, which are used to explain crime based on a large group of people or society. While macro theories are the predominant type of theory used to explain crime, there are also a variety of “individual”, or micro, factors which are equally important. Two such individual factors s are maternal cigarette smoking (MCS) and cognitive ability, or Intelligence Quotient (IQ).
MCS has been shown to negatively impact the neurological development of a fetus, with serious damage to the nervous system. Medical studies have also concluded that smoking during pregnancy is a known cause of fetal hypoxia, or lack of oxygen, which can stunt fetal brain development. Studies have suggested that these physical impacts can stunt the development of cognitive abilities and cause anti-social behavior, which in turn can be linked to criminal behavior. (Piquero, Gibson, et al, 2002, Pg. 232) In 1999, a study conducted by Patricia Brennan concluded that maternal cigarette smoking was a predictor for both violent and nonviolent crime. (Piquero, Gibson, et al, 2002, Pg. 235) This study also concluded that a lack of cognitive abilities due to maternal cigarette smoking can lead to the development of antisocial behavior. Children who suffer from these effects grow into adults who are less likely to resist the temptation of crime and show signs of deviant behavior.
Cognitive abilities, or our IQ, are basic skills which enable us to learn, solve problems, and carry out simple tasks. Cognitive ability is important when attempting to explain crime because it has been suggested that individuals with low cognitive ability may not be able to understand the lasting effects or consequences associated with their action...
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who used cigarettes and alcohol while pregnant and kids who are exposed to high levels of
McCarthy, B. (2002). NEW ECONOMICS OF SOCIOLOGICAL CRIMINOLOGY. Annual Review Of Sociology, 28(1), 417-442. doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.28.110601.140752
Nature and nurture are no longer a debate; we see the two working together in concert to produce a genuine expression of the individual. The personalities and habits humans acquire in their lives is as much a biological evolution as it is a social or cultural acclimatization. While some people still have the argument that it is nature or it is nurture many people have come to the realization that is has to be both. Both nature and nurture developed who we are and what we become. So the question would remain which one influences us more on if we become a criminal. In that it is meant people that live outside the acceptable social norms of that society that may involve punishment or rehabilitation. The impression that people become criminals due to their inheritable factor has not been a popular idea amongst criminologist and has incited anger amongst a lot of them. There have been amazing findings in the fields of genetics that have encouraged a biological evaluation in other social sciences. This has also steered to the appearance of a criminology sub-field called Biocriminology.
Siegel, L. J. (2013). Trait theories. Criminology: theories, patterns, and typologies (11th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Daly, Kathleen, Goldsmith, Andrew, and Israel, Mark. 2006, Crime and Justice: A guide to criminology, third addition, Thomson, Lawbook Co.
Wilson, James and Herrnstein, Richard. "Crime & Human Nature: The Definitive Study of the Causes of Crime" New York: Free Press, 1998.
Ritter, Malcolm. “Experts Link Teen Brains’ Immaturity, Juvenile Crime.” Usatoday. Associated Press, 2 Dec. 2007. Web. 16 Dec. 2013.
This theory however as some have argued has emerged from social disorganisation theory, which sees the causes of crime as a matter of macro level disadvantage. Macro level disadvantage are the following: low socioeconomic status, ethnic or racial heterogeneity, these things they believe are the reasons for crime due to the knock on effect these factors have on the community network and schools. Consequently, if th...
It is a fact that criminals have a smaller brains than law abiding citizens. Often, offenders share particular physical traits such as, being young males, muscular, having lower than average IQ, and a impulsive personality. Serial offenders are usually hyperactive and difficult children If a person has a low IQ, it is proven to be directly related to their tendency to be commit impulse actions that provide an immediate payoff. For instance, a rape or a mugging would provide a criminal with an immediate payoff. It is proven that crime often runs in families. In fact, chronic criminals are proven to be three times more likely to have criminal children. However, despite this information, scientists have no basis to come to any conclusions with this data. Therefore, one must consider other possible factors that may create a criminal mind, to come to a reasonable decision as to how one is developed.
Studies indicate that positive parenting, including normative development, monitoring, and discipline, clearly affects whether children will become delinquent. Adequate supervision of free-time activities, whereabouts, and peers are critical to assure that children do not drift into antisocial and delinquent patterns of behavior. Surprisingly, little is known about normative and moral development with the family as they relate to delinquency. Single-parent families, and in particular mother-only families, produce more delinquent children than two-parent families. Research indicates that parenting practices account for most, but not all, of the ...
In developing countries, it is estimated that only 8 percent of expectant mothers smoke. These percentages may sound low, but together they equal up to one million babies born worldwide each year to mothers who smoked while pregnant (Smoking during Pregnancy, 2009). One study found that about one in four women who smoked while pregnant deny it. Maternal smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of birth complications and has long-term developmental consequences for child development, including deficits in general intelligence, academic skills, and cognitive functioning. As social inequalities in smoking have increased over time, maternal smoking during pregnancy has become concentrated among women with lower levels of education (e.g., more than 20% among women without a high school degree)
JOSEPH, J (2001), Is crime in the genes: A Critical review of Twins and Adoption Studies of Criminality and Antisocial Behaviour.
I now know that criminology prefer to highlight the correlations between crimes’ social climates and criminals’ psychological states of mind. While some argues that criminal behavior is a result of individuals’ association with criminal peers, other claims that crime is a reflection of an individual’s genetic disadvantages. I have come to learn that there are no universally agreed formulas on decoding crimes and criminal behaviors. What we have, however, is a manual full of academic opinions and subjective views that have emerged alongside of the development of criminology. At the same time, the volume of conflicting perspectives that I have stumble upon in studying criminology reminded me again that the success of our current assessment models has yet to be determined. Thus, the study of criminology is an appropriate practice that will further prepare me to conduct meaningful research on legal studies and to provide accurate and in-depth findings in the near