Criminal Behavior

Criminal Behavior - is a form of antisocial behavior and is
any behavior that has criminal intent. This may result in a crime being
committed, which if detected may lead to a criminal conviction as the result
of an adjudication within the criminal justice system.
Three Broad Theoretical Models of Criminal Behavior:

1. Psychological
2. Sociological
3. Biological
But these cannot be separated because all these three factors play a role in
the expression of behavior. Each of them has some specific control policies.
Psychological Approaches
- different models were adopted as early as the work of Sigmund
Freud (Austrian Neurologist; famous of his work on Psychoanalysis –
1880s)
- fundamental assumptions of psychological theories of criminality
and human behavior in general.
Six principles to establish psychological explanations of criminal behavior:

1. The individual is the primary unit of analysis in psychological theories.
2. Personality is the major motivational element that drives behavior
within individuals.
3. Crimes then would result from abnormal, dysfunctional, or
inappropriate mental processes within the personality of an
individual.
4. Normality is defined by social consensus.
5. Criminal behavior may be purposeful for the individual insofar as it
addresses certain felt needs.
6. Defective, or abnormal, mental processes may have a variety of
causes.
With the six principles to establish psychological explanations of criminal

behavior, we can suggest first that traditional imprisonment, fines and
other court sanctions are based on operant learning models of behavior for
crime control.
Operant Conditioning is a type of learning where behavior is controlled by

consequence, either by:
1. Punishment
2. Reinforcement
Popularized by B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) – the operant conditioning
chamber or Skinner Box
However, Skinner himself recognized that punishment was generally

ineffective in behavior modification and that reinforcement worked better.
But it is important to understand that punishment is effective if it is applied

properly, but unfortunately it is rarely applied properly.
Punishment must be:
1. Applied immediately,
2. Inescapable, and
3. Sufficiently unpleasant
But harsh forms of punishment have not significantly reduced recidivism

rate, so other psychological principles were applied such as:
1. Rehabilitation,
2. Relearning,
3. Retraining, or
4. Educational programs.
Other psychological methods used such as maintaining a visible presence

of law enforcement and other methods to maintain self-awareness in
tempting situation.
Criminal profiling is based heavily on psychological principles and represent

an effort to either apprehend criminals or to identify persons at risk for
certain behavior.
According to psychologists, the best predictor of future behavior is the

individual’s past behavior. So policies that are specifically designed to deal
with repeat offenders are also based on psychological principles of
criminality.
Thus, methods of crime control policies based on psychological principles

target the individual and attempt to reform or prevent criminal behavior
from that perspective.
Any policies requiring therapeutic intervention, retraining, or education are

psychological in nature. Any policy designed at preventing crime by
targeting individuals such as raising consciousness, promoting self-
awareness, or identifying individuals at risk are also psychological.
Sociological approaches
Sociological and psychological principles of criminality are intertwined and

technically not independent. As with psychological theories, there are
numerous sociological formulations of the cause and control of criminality.
Sociological notions of criminality are viewed as attempting to connect the

issues of the individual’s criminality with broader social structures and
cultural values of society, familial, or peer group. They are viewed from
social interactions in the cultural and historical developments, including the
view of social construction of criminality and its social causes .
Traditional sociological theories proposed that crimes was a result of

“anomie” which means social instability from a breakdown of standards and
values.
According to Emile Durkheim, the term means “normlessness” or a

feeling of lack of social norms, lack of being connected to society.
Emile Durkheim, French sociologist 1858-1917, said that criminality results
from the failure to properly socialize individuals and by unequal
opportunities between groups. He believed that crime was inescapable
fact of society and advocated maintaining crime within reasonable
boundaries.
A feature of sociological theories is that society “constructs” criminality.

Crimes are harmful but there are crimes which do not result in harm, called
“victimless” crimes. Recommendation:
1. Decriminalization
2. Reduction of penalties according to the severity of the effect to the
society.
An important sociological control :
- Increase legitimate opportunities for advancement and obtainment

of goods and wealth.
This means equal opportunities to all individuals.
Other related sociological controls for crime:

- organizing and empowering neighborhood residents with
projects like crime watches,
- providing law-abiding models,
- support to parents
- stronger and harsher penalties for serious crimes
- appropriate law enforcement and functional justice system.
Biological Approaches
Biological theories of criminality basically purport that criminal behavior is

the result of some flaw in the biological makeup of the individual. This
flaw could be due to:
1. Heredity
2. Neurotransmitter dysfunction
3. Brain abnormalities (caused either by above),
4. Improper development or trauma
Brain surgery was used to control criminal behavior.

It is used to treat wide range of brain problems from depression to
schizophrenia.
Depression – serious medical illness that negatively affects how a person

feels, think and act. It causes feelings of sadness and loss of interest in
activities once enjoyed.
Schizophrenia – a mental disorder characterized by abnormal behavior,

strange speech, and a decreased ability to understand reality. Other
symptoms may include false beliefs, unclear or confused thinking, hearing
voices that do not exist, reduced social engagement and emotional
expression, and lack of motivation.
Psychosurgery – brain surgery
Lobotomy- a neurosurgical treatment of mental disorder that involves
severing connections in the brains prefrontal cortex. It is an invasive
physical therapy.
Other therapies are insulin shock therapy, deep sleep therapy,

electroconvulsive therapy,
Other biological methods

- Deep brain stimulation – for some disorders such as Parkinson’s
disease
- Administration of proper diet
- Modification of genetic combination
Some biological techniques in controlling crimes are proven effective but it

comes with a price. More likely, biological criminal behavior only manifests
or being discovered after the commission of the crime, which damage has
already been done.
Biological theorists also endorse stricter penalties and better law

enforcement techniques for crime control.

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Criminal Behavior - is a form of antisocial behavior and is

Three Broad Theoretical Models of Criminal Behavior:

Six principles to establish psychological explanations of criminal behavior:

With the six principles to establish psychological explanations of criminal

Operant Conditioning is a type of learning where behavior is controlled by

However, Skinner himself recognized that punishment was generally

But it is important to understand that punishment is effective if it is applied

But harsh forms of punishment have not significantly reduced recidivism

Other psychological methods used such as maintaining a visible presence

Criminal profiling is based heavily on psychological principles and represent

According to psychologists, the best predictor of future behavior is the

Thus, methods of crime control policies based on psychological principles

Any policies requiring therapeutic intervention, retraining, or education are

Sociological and psychological principles of criminality are intertwined and

Sociological notions of criminality are viewed as attempting to connect the

Traditional sociological theories proposed that crimes was a result of

According to Emile Durkheim, the term means “normlessness” or a

A feature of sociological theories is that society “constructs” criminality.

An important sociological control :

- Increase legitimate opportunities for advancement and obtainment

Other related sociological controls for crime:

Biological theories of criminality basically purport that criminal behavior is

Brain surgery was used to control criminal behavior.

Depression – serious medical illness that negatively affects how a person

Schizophrenia – a mental disorder characterized by abnormal behavior,

Other therapies are insulin shock therapy, deep sleep therapy,

Other biological methods

Some biological techniques in controlling crimes are proven effective but it

Biological theorists also endorse stricter penalties and better law

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