PSYCHOLOGY OF CRIMINALITY

PSYCHOLOGY OF CRIMINALITY
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Introduction
There is reasonable understanding of what constitute to a crime with variation in respect to historians and cultural dimensions that rule different behaviors as criminal. The task of understanding criminal behavior poses significant challenges, as the development of criminology in the 19th century has seen a variety of theories that might endeavor to comprehend and consequently predict the existence of criminality (Horgan, 2002). There are theories included in criminology which propose the existence of genetic factors, instincts and the physical and mental abnormalities that might distinguish a criminal from a noncriminal. Existences of specific personality disorders have been proposed by other theories, where general traits associated with offenders behaviors, and other approaches suggest that the understanding, acquisition and development of these behaviors with respect to environmental influences.
There are possible contributing factors to criminal behavior complex as much as they are numerous in explanations, which frequently incorporate such factors as; early child rearing practices, the peer group pressure, subversion of self-awareness and self-consciousness to collective authority and character, presence of aggressive cues, frustrations, provocation, substance use, societal structures and influences, social learning and environmental dynamics (Horgan, 2002). The direction of these approaches to understanding criminality problem reflect the treads of persistence of unrealistic to explain the forms of criminality with reference to the exclusive theory of criminal behavior and the complex behavior in linear, static terms. The reality of contemporary theories in understanding criminal behavior does reflect the complexity of criminality, and the acknowledgement of separating conceptual causes of criminal involvement, and the factors that encourage the commission of individual crimes.
The Psychology of Offenders
Different approaches to criminology do not offer satisfactory answers to question posed regarding criminals, but psychological and biological approaches present themselves more successfully. The psychological approaches to criminality have provided searches explaining deviance within an individual far from the society, while biological approach focus on the physical features that are perceived to be predisposing factors of individuals to crime (Giddens & Griffiths, 2006). The psychological approach concentrates on the personality aspects of individual offenders where the settings of ideas regarding psychiatry are influential. The distinctive traits of a criminal have been emphasized which include the feeble mindedness and moral degeneracy, as suggested that abnormal mental state is inherited, and can be a predisposing factor for an individual to commit a crime in the process of socialization. There are suggestions that in a minority of an individual, an amoral personality develops (Giddens & Griffiths, 2006). These psychopaths are withdrawn and emotionless characters, whose acts are impulsively and rely on experience consciousness of guilt.
The commission of crimes are violent delight for own sake, but the major problem with this is that trait are inevitably criminal. People of these traits have been convicted due to negative presentation of their personality. The positivity description of these traits may seem different when presented positively, and thus, portraying no reason to regard such characters as criminals. Some aspect of criminality has been described well by the psychological theory where criminals possess distinct traits from the rest of society. The different kinds of crimes are implausible to suppose that all who commit the share a specific psychological characteristic (Abel, 1989). The psychological and biological approaches to criminality do presume that deviance is a sign of something wrong with an individual and not the society. Crimes commited due to factors beyond control are embeded on the mind and body, and the social explanation of criminality is primarily based on deviance which is closely related to acts of crimes.
Deviance is the nonconformity to a given set of norms by a significant society, which can be expressed in simple terms as who deviates and who conform to the set norms (Abel, 1989). Deviance and crime are not synonymous although they overlap at some time, but the concept of deviance is broad with reference to nonconformist conduct. Deviance is thus perceived as a by-product of economic inequalities and the lack of equal opportunities, where various reactions to the tension between socially endorsed values, and the means to achieve them.
Many behaviors and actions of an individual presently are triggered by traumas experienced earlier by the psyche, where the complexity of the mind has a driving power that form socially unacceptable thoughts that make dangerous decisions. The psychoanalysis model has classified the mind into three separate elements: the Id, the ego, and the super ego (Abel, 1989). The id is the primitive driving force behind the basest needs while the super ego is packed with the moral codes imprinted since birth (Abel, 1989). The waking mind is the ego, which is a motivating aspect for decision making on specific drives and needs. The conflict between the id and superego propels people to psychoanalysis through overworked ego struggling to make sense of the world around it. Thus, the criminal mind is evident when the id dominates the ulta-rigid moral behavior triggered by the superego.
Criminal Minds Contributors
Various factors contribute to the development of a criminal mind in society. These factors are well explained through the social conflict theory, which is the basis for understanding the reasons behind criminality. The existance of social conflict theory is the fact that individuals can not keep up with a society that exploits them. The struggle in the society historically is between the masters and the slaves distiguished by Karl Marx as capitalists and the working class. The structure of economic society control human relations and social violence are reponses to unhappy society (Athens, 1992).
Conflicts arise when an individual has a thought that he deserves to have a felt need, but can not seek a solution to achieve their goal thus, engage in crimes (Athens, 1992). The conditioning of this behavior due to the social inequality leads to the presence of criminals in the society. The social conflict theory is stemmed from demoralized worker by capitalists caught the in a vicious circle that resulted to crime and violence. It has been argued that childhood experiences and repeated psychological traumas in the early stages of growth are the cause of individuals to seek reprieve and relief by way of violence (Athens, 1992).
Rejection and abuse during childhood upbringing could result to individuals being criminals. This is because they end up killing small animals because they feel powerless against parents who have control over them. This is where they exert dominance, and power to things that please them. The rejection of many individuals who turn to be serial killers end up into diving to self indulgence due to inability to distinguish self-identity during puberty. This is a social experience makes individuals to be dangerous criminals rather than trivial ones, as they take their fantasies and making them a reality living their dream (Athens, 1992).
Crime is sometimes encouraged by the state and media as a way of deflecting attention from the growing unemployment, declining wages, and other deep flaws in the society. It is also argued that crafting of law is a tool that is used by the powerful in ...