Criminal Justice Research Paper
solomonongauh
Format.docxRunning head: THE ANATOMY OF CRIME 1
[Type text] [Type text] [Type text]
4
THE ANATOMY OF CRIME
The Anatomy of the Crime
Senior Project
One of the most persistent issues in society is the need to understand and explain crime and criminal behavior. The threat and fear of crime are constant concerns within society, leading sociologist, psychologist, and biologist to controversial arguments regarding human development.
develop answers for questions such as: What triggers these acts of violence? Is it genetics? Is it social influences? Are environmental factors affecting these individuals? for their violent behavior. Questions such as
One of the most persistent issues in society is the need to understand and explain crime and criminal behavior. The threat and fear of crime are constant concerns that impact many people causing sociologist, psychologist and biologist to raise questions such as what triggers these acts of violence? Is it genetics? Is it social influences? Is it the environment? Are criminals at the mercy of their malfunctioning brains? Criminology traditionally has a multidisciplinary character. Sociology was the reigning paradigm that dominated the study of crime during the 20th century, however as the sciences developed controversy arose between the biological and sociological perspectives of criminology.
Mass killings have always happened and people try to understand why
The dominant model for understanding criminal behavior has been based on either nature or nurture, however the sole reliance of one perspective is fundamentally flawed. Criminal behavior is based on several different factors, which includes physiological brain features, sociological early childhood influences and biological composition.
The Anatomy of the Criminal Mind:
Understanding Violence and Deviant Behavior
I. Introduction
A. Criminology History
a. Classical School View
i. People choose to behave wrongly when they believe the benefits outweigh the costs
ii. Plato/Aristotle
b. Positive School View (modern)
i. Emphasizes the understanding of criminal behavior by uncovering factors which account for criminal behavior
ii. Use the scientific method and empirical data to aid understanding of crime
1) Physiological explanations
2) Biological explanations
3) Sociological explanations
c. The Scientific Method
B. The Problem
a. Thesis: The dominant model for understanding criminal behavior has been based on either nature or nurture, however the sole reliance of one perspective is fundamentally flawed. Criminal behavior is based on several different factors, which includes physiological brain features, biological composition and sociological early childhood influences.
II. Anatomy of the Body
A. Nervous system
a. Autonomic Nervous System
b. Sympathetic Nervous System
i. Flight, Fight
B. Brain Structures and Functions
a. Limbic System
i. Thalamus
1) Nearly all sensory information passes through the thalamus, it is considered the sensory “way station” of the brain, passing information on to the cerebral cortex (forebrain)
(i) Lesions of, or stimulation to the thalamus are associated with changes in emotional reactivity
ii. Hypothalamus
1) A region of the forebrain below the thalamus that coordinates both the autonomic nervous system and the activity of the pituitary, controlling body temperature, thirst, hunger, and other homeostatic systems, and involved in sleep and emotional activity
iii. Pituitary
1) Takes messages from the brain and uses these messages to produce hormones that affect many parts of the body, including stimulating all the other hormone-producing glands to produce their own hormones
iv. Amygdala
1) Located in both hemispheres, plays a key role in the processing of emotions
2) Helps the brain recognize potential threats and helps prepare the body for fight-or-flight reactions by increasing heart rate and breathing rate
3) Also responsible for learning on the basis of reward or punishment
4) Close proximity to the hippocampus, the amygdala is involved in memory consolidation, particularly emotionally laden memories.
5) Emotional arousal following a learning event influences the strength of the subsequent memory of that event, so that greater emotional arousal following a learning event enhances a persons retention of that memory. In fact, experiments have shown that administering stress hormones to individuals immediately after they learn something enhances their retention when they are tested two weeks later
v. Hippocampus
1) Plays an essential role in the formation of new memories about past experiences
2) Damage results in difficulties forming new memories (amnesia) and access to memories formed prior to the damage (retrograde amnesia)
C. Brain Imaging
D. Abnormalities
a. Lesions
b. Mental Illness
III. Biological Make Up
A. Human Traits and Characteristics
B. Heredity and Evolution
C. Social Darwinism
D. Trait Theory
a. Personality traits are influenced by both nature and genetic factors and nurture or environmental factors
E. Physical Trait Theories
a. Pysiognomy
i. Definition: assessment of character or personality from a persons outer appearance especially the face
b. Phrenology
i. Definition: belief that human behavior originated in the brain Francis Gall
ii. Johann Spurzheim
iii. Francis Gall
F. Body Physique and Crime
G. Genetics in Modern Biological Theories
a. Chromosomes
b. Twin Studies
c. Adoption Studies
H. Biochemical Explanations
a. Testostrone
b. Premenstrual Syndrome and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder
c. Neurotransmitters
d. Diet, Food, Allergies, Sensitivities, Vitamins and Minerals
e. Enviromental Toxins
IV. Biosocial Perspective
A. Behavior and social sciences that describes personality disorders and mental illnesses and disabilities as biological-determined personality trais reacting to environmental stimuli
B. MORE
V. Developmental Psychology
A. Theories of Development
a. Jean Piaget
i. 4 universal stages of cognitive development
b. Lev Vygotsky
i. Fundamental role of social interaction in the development of cognition
c. John Bowlby
i. Theory of attachment: children come into the world biologically pre-programmed to form attachments
d. Freudian
i. Stressed that the first five years of life are crucial to the formation of adult personality
e. Erikson’s
i. Psychoanalytic theory of psychosocial development, the person experiences a psychosocial crisis which could have a positive or negative outcome for personality development
VI. Sociological Influence
A. Theories of Crime
a. Functionalist
i. Deviance is necessary as it contribute to the social order
b. Social learning theory: Theories that aid the explanation of why people engage in criminal behavior
i. Differential association
1) Edwin Sutherland
(i) Proposed that through interaction with others, individuals learn the values, attitudes, techniques, and motives for criminal behavior
ii. Differential reinforcement
1) Fact that rewards and punishment shape behavior
iii. Social control Theory
1) Travis Hirschi
(i) Exploiting the process of socialization and social learning builds self-control and reduces the inclination to indulge in behavior recognized as antisocial
iv. Labeling theory
1) How the self-identity and behavior of individuals may be determined or influenced by the terms used to describe or classify them; self-fulfilling prophecy and stereotyping
VII. HOW THEY FUNCTION TOGETHER
VIII. Criminal Individuals
A. A
a. History of Individual (killings)
b. Brain Scan
c. Genetics
d. Social Life
B. B
a. History
b. Brain Scan
c. Genetics
d. Social Life
IX. Conclusion
A. Interventions (Stopping the cycle)
a. Biological
b. Sociological
c. Combination of both
B. In conclusion the dominant model for understanding criminal behavior is a combination of biological and sociological influences that lead to violent behavior..
References
Inside the brain: Revolutionary discoveries of how the mind works
Criminologist Believes Violent Behavior is Biological. (2014). Fresh Air (NPR).
Merrill, M.A (1939). Review of Causes of crime: Biological theories in the United States,
1800-1915. Psychological Bulletin, 36(9), 799-800. doi: 10.1037/h))49935
