INFORMATIVE SPEECH ALEXANDRA POLANCO Penn State Hazleton

Introduction

 Why would someone kill another (well-known or unknown, loved or disliked)?  At times it may seem as if those who commit terrible crimes do so because they are psychotic or just evil.  However, looking at it from a psychological perspective, it all starts to actually make sense.

What we will discuss  Main Point #1: These people want to reach a psychological goal.  Main Point #2: They want to achieve superiority.  Main Point #3: Their brains are different from those of other people. 2knowmyself.com

LET’S BEGIN WITH… POINT NO. 1

Main Point #1: Reach Psych. Goal  Every human behavior is done in order to serve a purpose and often to accomplish a certain psychological goal. This also includes the crimes people commit seeming completely rational to them.  When people strive to accomplish a certain goal, things like academic success or financial freedom, and don’t manage to achieve them, they decide to reach this psychological balance by doing other things (often participating in criminal behaviors).

Main Point #1: Reach Psych. Goal (Cont.)  Obviously not everyone who doesn’t reach their initial goals become criminals. Those that do have a significant lack of social interest do.  Social interest is developed primarily at a young age as a result of good parenting. Those who fail to develop this interest are at high risk of becoming criminals due to the fact that they have a psychological imbalance when it comes to using socially acceptable methods correctly.

THAT BRINGS US TO … POINT NO. 2

Main Point #2: Achieve Superiority  The ambition of achieving superiority is one of the most popular reasons that motivate many people to commit crimes.  Criminals usually target those who are weaker than them in order to feel powerful.  If the feeling of inferiority is something they went through at some point of their lives, superiority is something they will definitely love to experience in order to maintain a balance. 2knowmyself.com

Main Point #2: Achieve Superiority (Cont.)  It has been reported that some criminals commit stealing crimes just to prove to themselves that they are smarter than the police and wont get caught.  This is another attempt to maintain psychological balance by committing a crime.

LET’S CONTINUE WITH … POINT NO. 3

Main Point #3: Difference in their Brain  The latest neuroscience research is presenting evidence that the brains of certain kinds of criminals are different from those of the rest of the population.  Antisocial personality disorder is a condition that characterizes many convicted criminals (typically have no regard for right and wrong).

Main Point #3: Difference in their Brain (Cont.)  “Brain scans of these antisocial people, compared with a control group of individuals without any mental disorders, showed on average an 18% reduction in the volume of the brain's middle frontal gyrus, and a 9% reduction in the volume of the orbital frontal gyrus – two sections in the brain's frontal lobe.”

Main Point #3: Difference in their Brain (Cont.)  “Another brain study, published in the September 2009 Archives of General Psychiatry, compared 27 psychopaths — people with severe antisocial personality disorder — to 32 non-psychopaths.”psychopaths

Main Point #3: Difference in their Brain (Cont.) “In the psychopaths, the researchers observed deformations in another part of the brain called the amygdala, with the psychopaths showing a thinning of the outer layer of that region called the cortex and, on average, an 18-percent volume reduction in this part of brain.”

Main Point #3: Difference in their Brain (Cont.)  "The amygdala is the seat of emotion. Psychopaths lack emotion. They lack empathy, remorse, guilt," said research team member Adrian Raine, chair of the Department of Criminology at the University of Pennsylvania, at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C., last month.

AND IN CONCLUSION …

So, what’s the psychology behind criminals and their deviant behaviors? Conclusion

 First of all, they want to reach a certain psychological goal.  Secondly, they want to achieve superiority.  Lastly, their brains are different from those of other people.

Sources  "Criminal Minds Are Different From Yours, Brain Scans Reveal | Neuroscience & Psychology of Criminal Minds & Psychopaths | LiveScience." Science News – Science Articles and Current Events | LiveScience. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Oct  Clip Art Pictures  Google Images  "Why do people commit crime psychology | 2KnowMySelf." 2KnowMySelf | The Ultimate Source for Understanding Yourself and others. n.d. Web. 4 Oct < psychology>