Chapter 4 Psychological and Biological Perspectives

Chapter 4

Psychological and Biological Perspectives

Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Forensic Psychology – one of the fastest growing subfields of psychology

The application of the science and profession of psychology to questions and issues relating to law and the legal system

Forensic psychology is also known as criminal psychology


Psychoanalytic Theory The psychoanalytic theory of criminality attributes

delinquent and criminal behavior to at least three possible causes:

1. A conscience so overbearing that it arouses feelings of guilt.

2. A conscience so weak that it cannot control the individual’s impulses.

3. The need for immediate gratification.


Sigmund FreudThe three basic components of the human psyche:1. Id: consists of powerful

urges and drives for gratification and satisfaction

2. Ego: the executive of the personality, acting as a moderator between the superego and id

3. Superego: acts as a moral code or conscience



One way in which a person might be led into crime, according to the perspective of psychoanalysis, is as the result of a poorly developed superego

Sublimation – is the psychological process whereby one item of consciousness comes to be symbolically substituted for another.

Sublimation can be healthy according to Freud Crime can result from improper sublimation.


Thanatos – the existence of a death instinct. Freud postulated that all living things have a

fundamental desire to relax back into an inanimate state, or death.


Three Basic Principles of Psychologists Who Study Crime1. The actions and behavior of an adult are

understood in terms of childhood development.

2. Behavior and unconscious motives are intertwined, and their interaction must be unraveled if we are to understand criminality.

3. Criminality is essentially a representation of psychological conflict.


Lawrence KohlbergMoral Development Theory

Moral Reasoning1. Pre-conventional Level: Children’s moral rules

and moral values consist of do’s and don’ts to avoid punishment.

2. Conventional Level: Individuals believe in and have adopted the values and rules of society.

3. Post-conventional Level: Individuals examine customs and social rules according to their own sense of universal human rights, moral principles, and duties.


Moral Development Theory (continued) People at the lowest levels deterred from crime

because of their fear of sanctions Those in the middle consider the reactions of

family and friends Those at the highest stages refrain from crime

because they believe in duty to others and universal rights.

Kohlberg postulated that incomplete moral development was a major reason for criminal and other antisocial behavior.


Maternal Deprivation and Attachment Theory John Bowlby – English child psychiatirst• Research indicates that shortly after birth, mammals

form an emotional bond between infant and mother. • The strength of that bond, or the attachment, will affect

the child’s social development and ability to form attachments in the future

• A healthy personality requires for the infant and young child to experience a warm, intimate, and continuous relationship with his mother (or permanent mother substitute) in which both find satisfaction and enjoyment.


Social Learning Theory

Social Learning Theory maintains that delinquent behavior is learned through the same psychological processes as any other behavior.

Behavior is learned when it is reinforced or rewarded; it is not learned when it is not reinforced.


Observational Learning Albert Bandura, argues that individuals learn

violence and aggression through behavior modeling. Children learn how to behave by fashioning their

behavior after that of others. Parents who try to resolve family controversies by

violence teach their children to use similar tactics Observational learning takes place in front of the

television set and movies as well.


Differential Association-ReinforcementErnest Burgess and Ronald Akers:

1. The persistence of criminal behavior depends on whether or not it is rewarded or punished.

2. The most meaningful rewards and punishments are those given by groups that are important in an individual’s life: the peer group, the family and so forth.


Personality Theories

Personality theories stress that the possession of certain characteristics predisposes individuals to criminal behavior.

Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) Sometimes called sociopathic personality is

characterized by a history of continuous and chronic antisocial behavior that can be criminal.

Estimated that 3 percent of males and 1 percent of the female population has APD


Antisocial behavior may be attributed to factors such as

parental rejection, harsh discipline, early institutionalized living and frequent shifting of

parental figures between foster parents, relatives or stepparents.


Hans J. EysenckConditioning TheoryAll human personality may be seen in three

dimensions:

1. Psychoticism: aggressive, egocentric, and impulsive

2. Extroversion: sensation-seeking, dominant, and assertive

3. Neuroticism: low self-esteem, excessive anxiety, and wide mood swings


Mental Disorders and Crime

Estimates vary but between 20 to 60 percent of state correctional populations suffer from a type of mental disorder.

Psychopathy, sociopathy, or antisocial personality: a personality characterized by the inability to learn from experience, lack of warmth, and absence of guilt.

They show a disregard for truth; are insincere; and feel no sense of shame, guilt or humiliation.


Biocriminality

The study of the physical aspects of

psychological disorders.

1. XYY syndrome

2. Twin Studies

3. Adoption Studies

4. IQ Debate


XYY Syndrome

The XYY male receives two chromosomes from his father rather than one.

1 in 1,000 males have this. Supposed to make males

more aggressive, taller, and violent.



One of the first studies was done at a maximum-security mental hospital in Scotland.

They found that a statistically significant percentage of XYY men housed in the “subnormal” wing of the hospital had chromosomal anomalies.

Studies have discounted the relation between the extra Y chromosome and criminality.


Twin Studies Monoxygotic (MZ) Twins develop from a single egg

that divides into two embryos. Dizygotic (DZ) Twins develop from two separate

eggs. Johannes Lange found that in 10 of 13 pairs of

identical twins, both twins were criminal. In 2 of the 17 pairs of fraternal twins, both were criminal.


Was this genetics or social conditions? Karl Christiansen Studies. The chance of there being a criminal twin when

the other twin was a criminal was 50 percent for identical twins and 20 percent for same-sex fraternal twins.


Adoption Studies

Results from adoption studies have proven to be inconclusive.

Some studies have shown a connection between biological parents and criminality but others have shown no connection.


The IQ Debate

At least three major studies suggest that there is a connection between low IQ and criminality.

At least one of these studies found IQ a more important factor in predicting crime than race or social class.

Other studies have found that IQ level has negligible influence on criminal behavior.

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Chapter 4 Psychological and Biological Perspectives