Research Methods in Criminal Law
Introduction and Literature Review
The criminal law appreciates logic and scientific thinking. One does not have to let emotions cloud the professional judgment uses in order to perform the assigned job. The element of fear operates in order to promote a sense of righteousness in society. People adhere to law out of fear that emanates from the perspective of the punishment. With the passage of time, lawmakers are moving in the direction of considering motivation as a method of correction for those who have chosen to commit criminal acts in the past. The jails are strongly moving towards rehabilitation. Psychological theory argues that the happy person will not commit a crime due to fear stemmed from the possibility of going to jail. They have enjoyable lives, and therefore, they do not want to sacrifice their upright existences by committing crimes.
Secondly, people with sound mental health would not become criminals because the full capacity of their brains would be intact. Sober individuals would apply rationality to weigh costs and benefits of their potential illegal actions. An individual’s political views would cause the element of emotionality to increase in one’s life. He or she might practice violence in order to support a favorite leader. The altercations conducted by mobs and enraged groups often have political reasons behind them. The study will examine the role of happiness, mental health, and political views to determine the level of public fear that would prevent them from exercising criminal behavior. The jailers will be the key target of this investigation because they will learn the effectiveness of mental health and happiness as measures of reducing criminal behavior. At the same time, the study may examine the destructive influence of political views on the likeliness of criminal behavior.
Happiness is defined as a psychological practice that one applies in order to live a productive and satisfactory life. The presence of happiness has two distinct mental outcomes. First, a happy individual will prevent the destruction of his or her own pleasure. Second, he or she would not do any harm to others as a civic responsibility to the society. Criminal behavior cannot be correlated with a happy person, since criminal behavior will cause annihilation of personal pleasure. At the same time, the social creation of sorrow would happen as well. In this way, happiness would cause criminal and violent thought to die away in the community.
The following defines the hypotheses for this study:
Ho: Happiness leads to fear reduction
Hi: Happiness does not have a significant relation to fear
Mental health is a psychological mindset that impresses oneself to maximize happiness and satisfaction within legal means. A person’s reasoning skills receive rational thinking support, and he or she ideally does not hurt others in order to gain advantage. The element of mental health would give a person a clear understanding of the results of his or her actions. As a consequence, the individual would not be motivated to cause damage to society. He or she would not willingly forego the freedom that might be compromised in the aftermath of committing a crime. The psychological threat of suffering would carry weight during the mental processing of a situation that might lead to criminal behavior. Apt mental health would give reason to a person. Normal mental processing would signal to a person that if he or she indulges into crime then social respect might be lost. The mentally stable person would not commit the crime, which is an established fact in the literature. Apt mental health resists the developmental process behind criminal behavior. This is because rationality would prevail. Sound mental health therefore supports legal behaviors and it promotes fear of public punishment. Therefore, the following hypotheses regarding mental health can be stated:
Hii: Mental health leads to fear
Hiii: Mental health does not lead to increase in fear
Political views are a set of methods that one thinks can solve society’s present problems. One’s personal thinking pattern may coincide with the views of a specific political party. Followers typically develop a emotional attachment with political leaders. Often, the followers’ commitment leads to irrational behaviors due to strong clouds of judgment. Followers’ emotions lead to anger and the presence of anger manifests as violence. The mentally impaired person considers his or her view as a noble one. As a result, the fear of law enforcement lowers in order to prompt the person to strive towards a higher purpose. The reduction of fear creates the potential for criminal behavior, as the following hypotheses explain:
Hiv: Strong political views lead to a reduction in fear
Hv: Strong political views do not have a significant relationship with fear of punishment
Methods
The following array of methods was used in order to develop the foundations for the study:
Secondary Data Review, Survey, Sampling and Population
The existing literature was reviewed in order to develop a conceptual framework that linked one construct to another. Afterwards, the researcher conducted a survey by using self-report measures. The investigator in the study has personally engaged in the above mentioned activity. The target population was residents of the local community. Convenient sampling was used in order to select 1,372 individuals.
Analytical Technique and Ethical Consideration
Regression analysis is used in order to determine the quality and health of the different conceptual linkages developed in this report’s preceding sections. The measures of Beta and R2 are used in order to measure the strength of the relationships. The latter measure signified the percentage change occurring in the dependent construct due to the modification in the independent variable. The participation of respondents was voluntary. Prior to its distribution, the researcher gave a complete briefing to the participants about the nature of the survey. In addition, the sample was given the option of leaving the survey blank if they found the questions to be offensive or unethical.
Descriptive Statistics
The following is a descriptive analysis of the sample:
The ages of the respondents ranged between 18 to 89 years. The median age is 45.96 with a standard deviation of 18.067. The racial identity moved between 1 and 3, with the numbers 1, 2 and 3 representing Whites, Hispanics, and Blacks respectively. The mean score of racial identity is 1.21 with a standard deviation of 0.507. The highest level of education completed by members of the sample ranged from 0 to 20. The associated mean score is 12.82 with a standard deviation of 3.097. Data about the respondents’ gender is relatively binary with scores between 1 and 2. The average for this category is 1.56 with a standard deviation of 0.497. Lastly, the occupational prestige score varies from 12 to 82. The average is 40.74 with a standard deviation of 14.42.
Results
The following table shows the results of linear regression analysis. The analysis was conducted to calculate the quality and strength of the relationships between the dependent variable of fear and the independent variables of health, happiness, and political views.
Findings
The findings of the study revealed that happiness and political views do not have significant relationships with the element of fear. This conclusion was drawn because of poor quality significance values. Yet, health does have a strong link with fear; therefore, the independent variable of health leads to reduction in fear. The results of the study are inclined to accept Hiii. The results of the study determined that we have to reject Ho and Hiv, while accepting Hi and Hv.
Discussion
General health does not lead people to believe they are vulnerable to any external threat. Citizens develop an internal locus of control to enjoy life to its fullest potential. General health covers all aspects of well-being, extending to the notion that a healthy physique promotes an equally fresh and active brain. People do not experience fear because they believe they can overpower their attacker, using the physical strength they develop as a result of regular exercise. General health gives individuals a positive energy that can aid them in living a happy life. The proficient mind gives little attention to life’s negativities. It is important to understand that fear is a presumptuous state of mind. It causes oneself to believe something horrific is going to happen, without any compelling material proof. The healthy and happy individual does not let his or her mind rumble in the past. He or she does not worry about potential future shortcomings.
Fear has two dimensions. The first dimension deals with the past transpired negative events. One thinks that history can repeat itself, so one becomes cowardly and fearful. At the same time, the person can think that he or she can experience future hardships. The individual might go through the feelings of fear and anxiety. On the other hand, according to the theory of positive psychology, a person who can focus on the essentials of the present moment will typically be fearless. The human body relaxes and enhances its productivity as a result of fearlessness. A person who is professionally engaged would experience greater level of health, because he or she would have internal satisfaction of serving the community. A selfish person would not have intrinsic happiness and contentment.
Developmental psychology also supports the prospect of living a healthy and fulfilling life by cherishing every moment to the fullest extent. The social circle one participates in at any given time determines a person’s level of fearlessness and pleasure. Humans are characterized as social animals and tend to pick up on vibes of happiness and sorrow from those around them. Fear is a by-product of a negative mindset. It is necessary for those who have an interest in living healthy lives to live among pleasant and positive people. With the passage of time, a person who has spent his or her entire life among positive people will develop negative thoughts if surrounded by depressed individuals.
Conclusion
The study has examined how the variables of joy, psychological well-being, and political perspectives determine the level of apprehension that would prevent criminal conduct. The prison guards are the key group of onlookers, and they will implant adequate emotional wellness and joy into the personalities of inmates in order to lessen criminal behavior. Joy is characterized as a mental practice one applies with a specific goal to produce a gainful and tasteful life. Criminal conduct cannot be associated with a happy individual on the grounds that criminal behavior will reduce or eliminate happiness. As the result of criminal behavior, the social formation and propagation of distress would happen simultaneously. Feelings of bliss would prompt less criminal behavior by advancing apprehension about the potential social and life consequences.
Psychological wellness is in direct opposition to criminal behavior, in light of the fact that sanity would prompt the individual to act in ways that are beneficial to society. Emotional wellness underpins non-criminal behaviors and promotes personal discipline. Regression analysis was utilized on the sample of 1,372. The discoveries of the study uncovered that happiness and political perspectives do not have significant relationships with fear. On the other hand, health does have a significant relationship with fear reduction. The study’s results lean towards the validity of the attached hypothesis. Fear is a side effect of a socially divergent attitude. As a result, it is important for individuals who have an enthusiasm for living sound lives to be among constructive-minded individuals. With the progression of time, individuals who surround themselves with mentally sound individuals will develop pessimistic thought patterns, if they end up living with those who are discouraged and negative.
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