Theories of criminology

1. TRAIT THEORY

2. DEVELOPMENT OF TRAIT THEORY
Crime is a function of internal forces such as chemical,
neurological, genetic, personality, intelligence, or mental
traits.
 Focus on individual and give many reasons of crime.
 The view that criminal have physical or mental traits (born
criminals) that make them different originated with the Italian
physician and criminologist Cesare Lombroso.
 In the early 1970s, spurred by the publication of
“Sociobiology”, the new synthesis, by Edmund O. Wilson,
biological explanation of crime once again emerged.
Trait theories today recognize crime-producing interactions that
involve both personal traits and environmental factors.

3. CNTEMPORARY TRAIT THEORY
Each offender considered physically unique. So, there
must be unique explanation for each criminal.
Some may have inherited criminal tendencies
Other may be suffering from neurological problems, blood
chemistry disorder, that height there anti social behavior.
Bernard Rim-land concur that what may appear to some as
the effect of environment and socialization may be
actually linked to genetically determined physical or
mental trait.

4. Biosocial perspective of criminology

5. TRAIT THEORIES OF CRIME
 BIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME
1. Biochemical theory of crime
2. Neurological theory of crime
3. Genetic theory of crime
4. Evolutionary theory of crime
 PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME
1. Psychodynamic perspective
2. Behavioral perspective/social learning theory
3. Cognitive perspective

7. BIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME
 Focus on biological human conditions that control
human behavior .
 Theory tells about :
 Biochemical behavior factors that are believed to affect
how proper behavior pattern are learned. That we
considered the relationship between brain function and
crime.
 Association between genetic factor and crime.
 Evolutionary view of crime causation.

8. BIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME
1- Biochemical conditions and crime
 Some biochemical conditions (genetically predetermine and
acquired through diet and environment) influence antisocial
behavior.
 Biochemical makeup and antisocial behavior is indirect:
chemical and mineral imbalancement leads to perceptual and
intellectual defect and problems, which may eventually
generate antisocial behavior.
 Researcher discover that blood mercury levels of children
diagnosed with ADHD(attention deficit/hyperactivity
disordered significantly higher then other population,
indicating a clear association between an environmental
pollutants and behavior disorder.

9. BIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME
 Diet:
 Improper diet can cause chemical and mineral imbalance and
can lead to cognitive and learning deficits and problems.
 Research shows that undersupply of chemicals(sodium,
mercury, potassium, calcium, amino acid, and iron) can lead to
depression, hyperactivity, cognitive problems, memory lose or
abnormal sexual activity.
 People whose diet lack of polyunsaturated fats, minerals,
vitamins and too much saturated fats seem to be at higher risk
of developing psychological disturbance, such as
schizophrenia, that directly related to anti social behavior.
 Kids with faulty diet tend to be starved for attention that may
led to school failure.

10. BIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME
 Hypoglycemia:
 A condition that occurs when glucose (sugar) in blood
falls below levels necessary to normal and efficient brain
functioning.
 Symptoms include irritability, anxiety, depression, crying
spells, headaches and confusion.
 Hypoglycemia outbursts of antisocial behavior and
violence.

11. BIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME
 Hormonal influence
1. Androgen:
 Male sex hormones.
 Aggressive behavior, sensation seeking, impulsivity, dominance,
and reduced verbal skills are androgen related male traits.
 Hormonal change also related to mood and behavior.
 Adolescence experience more intense mood swings, anxiety, and
restlessness then their elders, explaining in part the high violence
rates found among teenage males.
2. Testosterone:
 High level of testosterone is directly related to aggression in
both male and female.

12. BIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME
 Environmental containment:
 Prenatal exposure to PCBs(polychlorinated biphenyls)
to lower IQs and attention problem.
 Both considered risk factors for serious behavioral and
learning problem.
 Air pollution create cognitive deficits and change the
brain structure of healthy children's, that associated
with school failure, educational underachievement and
adult criminality.

13. BIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME
2- NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL CONDITIONS AND CRIME
 Inherited or acquired neurological and physical
abnormalities control behavior throughout life span.
 Both violent and criminals and substance abusers have
impairment in the prefrontal lobes, thalamus, medial
temporal lob, and superior parietal and left angular
gyrus area of the brain.
 There is suspected link between brain dysfunction and
conduct disorder(a pattern of repetitive behavior in
which the right of other or social norms violated.

14. BIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME
 Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder(ADHD)
 Lack of attention
 Frequently fails to finish projects
 Dose seem to pay attention
 Does not sustain interest in play activities
 Cannot sustain concentration on schoolwork or related tasks
 Impulsivity
 Frequently act without thinking
 Often call out in class
 Does not want to wait his or her turn in lines or games
 Shift from activity to activity
 Cannot organize task or work
 Requires constant supervision.
 Hyperactivity
 Constantly run around and climbs on things
 Shows excessive motor activity while asleep
 Cannot sit still: is constantly fidgeting
 Does not remain in his or her seat in class
 Is constantly on the go like a motor.

15. BIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME
3- GENETICS AND CRIME
 Parental deviance:
 Anti-social behavior is inherited
 The genetic make-up of parents is passed on to children
 The genetic abnormality is linked to variety of antisocial
behavior.
 Cambridge youth study says number of delinquent
youth have criminal fathers.
 Number of studies found that parental criminality and
deviance do, in fact, power fully influence delinquent
behavior.

16. BIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME
 Adoption studies:
 Several studies indicates that relationship between the
behavior of biological parent and their children remain
even if they are not in contact.
 when both biological and adoptive father are criminal,
the children would engage in criminal behavior.

17. BIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME
Twin behavior:
 Studies conducted on twin behavior have detected a
significant relationship between the criminal activities of
MZ and a much lower association between those of DZ
twins:
 MZ twin has higher risk of suicidal behavior then DZ twins.
 The score of MZ twins are more similar than DZ twins on
tests measuring psychological dysfunctions such as conduct
disorders, impulsivity and antisocial behavior.
 MZ twins are closer than DZ twins in such crime measures as
a level of aggression and antisocial behavior.
 Both member of MZ twins pairs who suffer child abuse are
likely to engage in later antisocial activity more often than DZ
pairs.

18. BIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME
4- EVOLUTIONARY VIEW OF CRIME
 The competition of scarce resources has influenced and
shaped the human species.
 Behavior patterns are inherited, impulsive behavior
become intergenerational, passed down from parents to
children.
 Evolutionary concept have been linked in gender
differences in violence rate are based loosely on
mammalian mating patterns.
 To ensure the survival of gene pool, it is beneficial for a
male to mate with any female as possible to bear his
offspring.
 Over the history of human being aggressive males have
greatest impact on the gene pool.

20. PSCHOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME
1. Psychodynamic model
 The development of the unconscious personality early in childhood
influences behavior for the rest of person’s life.
 criminals have weak egos and damaged personality.
2. Behavioral theories
 People commit crime when they model their behavior after others
they see being rewarded for the same act.
 Behavior is reinforced by rewards and extinguished by punishment.
3. Cognitive theory
 Individual reasoning processes influence behavior.
 Reasoning is influenced by the way people perceive their
environment.

21. PSCHOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME
1- PSYCHODYNAMIC MODEL OF CRIME
 Sigmund Freud(1856-1939)
 Human body has three part structure.
1. Id
 The primitive part of people mental make up, present at birth, that
represent unconscious biological drives for food, sex and other life
sustaining necessities.
 The id seeks instant gratification with concern for right of others.
2. Ego
 The part of personality develops in early childhood that helps
control the Id and keep peoples actions within the boundaries of
social conventions.
3. Super Ego
 Incorporation within the personality of the moral standards and
value of parents, community and significant others.

22. PSCHOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME
 The psychodynamic tradition links crime to a
manifestation of feelings of oppression and the
inability to develop the proper psychological defenses
and rationales to keep these feeling in control.
 Attachment theory:
 John Bowlby
 The ability to form an emotional bond to another person has
important psychological implications that follow people
across the life span.

23. PSCHOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME
2- THE BEHAVIORAL PERSPACTIVE: SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
 Behavioral perspective:
 Human action developed through learning experiences.
 People alter their behavior in accordance with the response it
elicits from other(supported by reward and extinguished by
negative reaction).
 Social learning theory:
 People learn to be aggressive by observing others acting
aggressively to achieve some goal or to being rewarded on
violent act.
 Watching violent TV shows makes kids behave more
violently.
 The evidence shows little association between viewing violent
media and acting an antisocial ways.

24. PSCHOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME
3- COGNITIVE THEORY
 Psychological perspective that focus on the mental
processes by which people perceive represent the
world around them and solve problems.
 Criminal behavior patterns change over time as people
mature and develop their reasoning powers.
 Crime-prone people may have cognitive deficits and
use information incorrectly when they make decisions
 They view crime as an appropriate means to satisfy
their immediate personal needs