Criminals have been committing crimes for many centuries. Crimes that stemmed from stealing, murder, rape, and abduction and many more as the years accumulated. Over many centuries people have been speculating theories as to why people commit crimes. The people normally were educated either in the criminal field or related field, and wanted to find out the answer to criminal behavior. The people or theorists believed certain reasons were what caused a person to commit crime. They knew those reasons had to not be prominent in everyone, because not everyone turned into criminals.
As the years have passed the increase in criminal behavior and acts of crimes have increased significantly. The types of crimes committed has escalated and exceeding law enforcements expectation. Criminologists are still analyzing the many different theories and find a solution to criminal behavior. The need for decreased crime is prevalent because the prisons and jails are overcrowded with inmates.
It is hard to pin point just one theory to explain criminal behavior. Crimes that are committed are of different type, and nature which would not put all criminals in one theoretical label. Criminals have committed various types of crimes for various reasons. What one criminals’ intentions are to commit a crime may not be the same as the next criminal committing a different crime. The same speculations is relevant for criminals who commit murder. Not every murder has the same reason for committing that act, and not every crime is done in the same manner.
One example is of a serial killer who committed crime in daylight. He was well educated and very sociable. He was able to major in a psychology major at college, and have a normal life. The only difference was is that he was a long time serial killer. If you were to meet him face to face on the street there would be no evidence to prove that he was. He did not have a monster sign on his forehead to let people know. He was knowledgeable, and acted normal on a daily basis.
One theory that is well known in the criminal justice field for helping explain criminal behavior is psychological theory. The psychological theory portrays several different kinds of psychological reasons that would cause a person to turn into a criminal. This theory does not explain every criminal but can be directed at many instances in the behavior of criminals. There may be other theories that play into the reasons why people commit crime along with psychological theory also.
In regards to psychological theory this could be an issue with how a person relates process of thought into his criminal behavior. The thought process may not be like majority of society, and therefore the criminal would not be relevant of the consequence of the crime. Mental issues can be a huge factor in criminal behavior. If a person has a mental illness that could cause this thought process to be delayed, impaired, or different; then this could be why he chose to commit a crime.
“There are numerous psychological reasons why someone could commit a crime, but all those reasons point in one direction” . That direction is that a person’s emotions, feelings, and thought process are what triggers a person to act on those thoughts. This could be true in a crime of murder. A man walks in on his wife sleeping with his friend and he gets angry. His feelings and thought process is to kill him for sleeping with his wife. The thought of someone else with his wife engulfs is rage and anger. The man then proceeds on murdering his friend. His emotions look over and his thought process changed into a rage. He then killed him and at the moment the murder was occurring the man did not think about his actions or the consequences of taking a life.
There are several theories that fall in with psychological theory. These theories will be entailed when examining a person’s psychological behavior and crime. The three theories that are related to psychological theory is psychodynamic theory, cognitive theory, and behavioral theory. There are two other theories that can play a role in relating psychological theory to crime. Those two other theories are personality and intellectual theories. Looking at how these theories relate in the psychological theory will help understand the relationships of criminals and psychological thought process and behaviors.
The psychodynamic theory relates to psychological theory because the theory focuses on a person’s young childhood experiences that can encourage criminal behavior. Psychodynamic theory relates to studies that show a person’s personality is influenced by thoughts of early childhood occurrences. This relates to people choosing to commit crime because of the things that occurred to them in childhood. This theory originated from Sigmund Freud back in the late 1800’s. He was the person who founded and established psychoanalysis.
His belief and theory of criminal behavior was induced by the “ego, super ego, and id” . Freud believed that the id was related to a persons’ unconscious senses of what we want to have throughout our lives. This assumption was believed why people choose different types of foods to live, and sex for pleasure. Our subconscious thought process was related to how we live our lives and acquire things we need and want. The id is supposed to be a thought process from birth through the rest of life. The id represents the gratitude and pleasurable enjoyment that we get from sex and food. Those types of pleasurable things in life is what we seek. For a criminal the pleasure may not stem from sex or food but will come from the criminal act itself. This is true for people who suffer from sexual performance issues, and may not be able to enjoy the pleasure that sexual relations offer, but may enjoy murder as a sexual pleasure. The criminals who show no signs of remorse may be experiencing criminal activity due to the id. They want that instant pleasurable gratification, and do not feel those feelings of regret or remorse.
The second process is the ego. The ego portrays psychological theory that also relates to criminal behavior. The human actions a person acquires are stemmed from early youth. The ego represents guidance in children as they grow older. It makes them see the reality in society, and teaches them how to act upon the reality of life. A child believes that his dog will live forever, and when the child grows up his dog dies. He then realizes that want he wanted as a child was not realistic, and he realized this as he grew older. When his dog died as a young man he knew that was to be expected, and did not throw a fit as when he was a kid.
The super ego is another part of the human personality that relates to human interaction and criminal activity. The super ego is also an element in the mental thought process of psychodynamic theory. The super ego relates how we are morally, and how those morals are expected in relations to friends, family, and the community. Judgment is caused by the super ego, and allows a person to judge others actions and behaviors. Freud believes that if a person has good id and ego that their super ego will be fine. People who commit crimes are more apt to have a super ego that is not working properly. He believes that the super ego may not have developed properly, and this causes criminals to commit acts of crime. They do not have morals that are to held to in society. The morals would allow a person to know the wright and wrong that is expected in society. The morals may not be as prominent in a persons who is a criminal, and commits criminal acts of violence and behavior. These types of criminals may either not realize the crime is bad, or may not care that committing a crime is not legal. The psychological theory of criminal behavior relates to psychodynamic theory in the ways a persons’ thought process has developed, and reacts to society.
The psychodynamic theory aspect of psychological theory for criminal behavior has to do with people who are agitated, angry, and frustrated. These types of people are repressed from their youth growing up, and tend to let their childhood control their future. They may have been shown little affection, comparison, love, and may not have had a stable environment. This is the item a child is shaped and needs those things. When a child is raised with little interaction it can cause psychological issues. The ego is determined to not exist or exists very little. This is why a child who grows up may feel no emotion, reaction, or feelings towards others or situations. They lack social and moral lesions in life, and may not be mature enough mentally to make logical decision regarding crime. Many people of this type of theory are also highly likely to use drugs.
Psychological theory of criminal behavior can result from different mental situations from within the mind and neurological issues. These issues such as early youth experiences, lack of social interaction can result in a non-reliable thought process. “The thought process can then be reversed into a criminal mind and way of thinking” . This result can be associated with under developed cognitive skills.
There are many ways criminologist study and look at different elements of psychological theory. First they need to research and investigate what defeats are associated with the development of a criminal psychologically. Some of the developments examined would be lack of morals, absent parents or mother, conflict, and lack of conscious. Criminal behavior that shows violence and anger is learned from others, and being directly in the middle of that kind of behavior. These types of behavior stem from other areas of the psychology theory. The learned behavior of aggression is taught in early child hood, and expressed throughout life.
Criminal behavior has been studied to have more of a defiant behavior, and lack responsibility. These types of criminals are not as productive in social, work, family, relationships, and do not care about the law or the consequences. Criminal behavior has also been associated with the mental illness a person may suffer from. Mental illness such as PTSD and psychosis are just a few of mental disorders that can be related to people who commit crimes.
Psychology theory relates to the mental disorders that person may have. The mental and psychological aspect of the thought process can be distorted in different ways relating to a person’s mental health and well-being. Mental health can effect anyone in different ways. A person might have a mental illness that can cause unrationed thinking and actions. A person who has depression may be commit crime for a habit, or for the lack of caring about anything. Depression can also be a reactor for suicide, or drug and alcohol dependency. The dependency can fuel the fire in a person who has depression and is using drugs and alcohol. The thought process gets more distorted and actions may occur differently than when that person was sober.
“Mental illness can also reflect disorders of a person’s mood” . The disorder is related to mental illness and the psychological theory of criminal behavior. A person who commits certain crimes may be experiencing a mood disorder. The disorders could range from narcissistic, depression, anger, and non-social behaviors. These moods or disorders can lead a person to commit crimes. The thought process or mental state is not working properly. The thought process is censored and causes a person to do criminal behavior even though the consequences are high and risky. Mental illness can be a disorder, or a disease. Drugs and alcohol dependency is related to a mental disease or illness. A person is dependent and hooked on the feeling and pleasure they receive from addiction. The person may feel like a different person and can do anything without consequences and guilt. Criminals are more likely to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol when crimes are committed. Not all criminals but the majority of those in prison was under the influence of a substance when their crimes were committed.
Psychological theory has been proven useful in court, and for medical use. A person’s mental state can identify if that person is capable of harming himself or someone else. A person may need a psychological mental evaluation to see if he was competent at the time the crime was committed, and if he is competent enough to stand trial for his actions. A criminal may need an evaluation of mental illness which could be associated with the psychological theory.
A Psychological Theory has been tested, analyzed, researched, and experimented enough for a hypothesis to be determined that criminal behavior can be linked to the theory of psychology. The scientific method of this type of theory has been proven, and compared to other tests done on this same theory. The findings are proven to be scientific in nature, and can be related to crime and criminals.
Mental illness had been detected in research that one in every 16 kids had a mental illness. Mental illness in a young kid can proceed in more intense behavior that is violent, or defiant. Kids who have mental illness are more likely to interact in illegal drugs, and alcohol dependencies. The youth grow up with mental illness at a young age and mix drug abuse together it can cause violent tendencies and irrational actions. This type of behavior can come from the psychological theory. Kids who abuse drugs, and suffer from illness psychologically are more often to have other psychological problems as the year’s progress without proper treatment. The mental state that is sick or broken can become increasing unstable as that individual grows through life.
The psychological theory has been used in defining criminal behavior, victimology, mental illness and competency in the legal system. The theory has a high basis for crime, and is related to many criminals psychologically reasoned. The impact of this theory has been evolved and utilized in many aspects of criminal behavior and reasoning.
The criminal behavior has turned psychological theory into a criminal science. The theory is used in different aspects of criminology. Psychology and criminality are a lot alike in the aspects of the mental crazy world. If a person has psychological issues then they are more likely to become a criminal and commit criminal acts. A person who is not stable or rational will be more likely to not care or disregard the laws and do as they want to. The consequences do not matter because of a psychological illness that he is suffering from.
A judge may have a psychological evaluation done before a person can stand trial, or to see if they are in the right mind to understand the charges being brought forth. A hospital may need to do a psychological evaluation on a person who was a victim of a crime. Patients at a mental facility has psychological examinations done to see if they are progressing. “Psychological theory is used in determining the different ways the mind can be examined for different issues and illness” .
A person who has come back from a war, or experienced a traumatic experience may have a psychological evaluation to see if anything has changed or went wrong in the thought process. This will tell if a person has mental illness or other cognitive or behavior issues. Psychological tests can be used for children who have mental illness, or is a victim of a crime. These test can be more kid friendly, and be explored on a child’s level of thought process and absorption. The Psychological Theory has been proven as a scientific method of study, and is used in many different aspects of criminal behavior and crimes.
References
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