1. Biological and Psychological Perspectives
Chapter 4
Biological and Psychological Perspectives
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2. Chapter Outline
Biology and criminality Crime and human nature Psychology and criminality Mental disorders and crime

3. Biocriminology
Study of the physical aspects of psychological disorders Research suggests that crime has psychobiological aspects and that there is a strong genetic predisposition to criminality

4. Genetics and Criminality
XYY Syndrome
XYY male receives two Y-chromosomes from the father rather than one
Tend to be tall, physically aggressive, and violent

5. Genetics and Criminality (continued 1)
Twin Studies - Based on Lange’s research:
10 out of the 13 identical pairs, both twins were criminal as opposed to just 2 out of the 17 fraternal twins

6. Genetics and Criminality (continued 2)
Study by Karl Christiansen and Sarnoff A. Mednick
Chance of there being a criminal twin when the other twin is a criminal is half for identical twins and 20 percent for same-sex fraternal twins

7. Genetics and Criminality (continued 3)
Adoption studies
Findings suggest that criminality of biological parents influences the child more, compared to adoptive parents

8. National Academy of Science (NAS)
Lists risk factors related to violence
Hyperactivity
Poor early grades and low IQ
Fearlessness
Inability to delay gratification

9. Biochemical Factors Influencing Criminality
Food allergies
Irritability, hyperactivity, seizures, agitation, and out-of-character behavior
Diet
Food high in sugar and carbohydrates, vitamin deficiency or dependency, and excessive food additives
Hypoglycemia
Symptoms - Anxiety, confusion, headache, fatigue, and aggressive behavior
Hormones
Abnormal levels of male hormones may prompt criminal behavior

10. Neurocriminology
Disruptions of prefrontal and frontal lobes are associated with aggressive behavior
Brain imaging techniques offer insights into the brains of criminals
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
Positron emission tomography (PET)

11. Neurocriminology (continued)
EEG (electroencephalogram) tracings
Minimal brain dysfunction (MBD):
Produces asocial behavioral patterns
May explain criminality but an overlooked diagnosis

12. Psychoanalytic Theory of Criminality
Attributes delinquent and criminal behavior to:
Conscience so overbearing that it arouses feelings of guilt
Conscience so weak that it cannot control the individual’s impulses
Need for immediate gratification

13. Sigmund Freud: Psychoanalysis
Components of the human psyche
Id: Consists of powerful urges and drives for gratification and satisfaction
Ego: Executive of the personality, acting as a moderator between the superego and id
Superego: Acts as a moral code or conscience
Criminality results from an overactive superego or conscience

14. Principles of Psychologists Who Study Crime
Actions and behavior of an adult are understood in terms of childhood development Behavior and unconscious motives are intertwined and their interaction must be unraveled to understand criminality Criminality is a representation of psychological conflict

15. Moral Developmental Theory
Preconventional level
Children’s moral rules and moral values consist of dos and don’ts to avoid punishment
Conventional level
Individuals believe in and have adopted the values and rules of society

16. Moral Developmental Theory (continued)
Postconventional level - Individuals examine customs and social rules
According to their own sense of universal human rights, moral principles, and duties
Moral Reconation Therapy and Reasoning and Rehabilitation
Aim to improve the moral reasoning of offenders and alter underlying criminal attitudes

17. Bowlby: Features of Attachment
Specificity Duration Engagement of emotion Ontogeny (course of development)
Learning Organization Biological function

18. Family Atmosphere and Delinquency
Variables related to the commission of crimes
Inadequate maternal affection and supervision and parental conflict
Mother’s lack of self-confidence
Father’s deviance
No evidence that deprivation directly causes delinquency

19. 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
Not learned when it is not reinforced

20. Observational Learning
Bandura argues that individuals learn violence and aggression through behavior modeling
Behavioral modeling: Children learn how to behave by fashioning their behavior after that of others

21. Instigators of Aggression
Aversive
Physical assaults, verbal threats, and insults
Incentive
Rewards
Modeling
Violent or aggressive behaviors observed in others
Instructional
Observations of people carrying out instructions to engage in violence or aggression
Delusional
Unfounded beliefs that violence is necessary

22. Differential Association-Reinforcement Theory
Suggests that:
Persistence of criminal behavior depends on whether or not it is rewarded or punished
Most meaningful rewards and punishments are those given by groups that are important in an individual’s life
Peer group, family, teachers, and so forth

23. Eysenck’s Conditioning Theory
All human personality may be seen in three dimensions
Psychoticism: Aggressive, egocentric, and impulsive
Extroversion: Sensation-seeking, dominant, and assertive
Neuroticism: Low self-esteem, excessive anxiety, and wide mood swings

24. Eysenck’s Conditioning Theory (continued)
Suggests that humans develop a conscience through conditioning
Criminal’s poor conditionability
Extroverts are difficult to condition and have greater difficulty in developing a conscience
Differences in conditionability are dependent on certain physiological factors

25. Mental Disorders and Crime
Psychopathy
Called sociopathy or antisocial personality
Personality characterized by the inability to learn from experience, lack of warmth, and absence of guilt
Fundamental psycholegal error
Occurs when individuals identify a psychopathological cause for criminal behavior

26. Mental Disorders and Crime (continued)
Assume that any behavior resulting from mental disorders must be excused by law
Integrated theory
Behavior results from a person’s perception of the potential rewards and/or punishments that accompany a criminal act