1. (Biological and Psychological Theories of Crime)
Trait Theory
(Biological and Psychological Theories of Crime)

2. Biology, Psychology, and Crime
Criminological Classifications
Early Trait Theories (Foundations)
Demise of Biological Explanations
Contemporary Trait Theories
Causes for re-emergence
Core Principles
Subranches

3. Foundations of Biological Trait Theory
Biological explanation of criminal behavior first became popular during the middle part of the 19th Century with the introduction of positivism.
Early positivists included:
Lombroso (belief in certain physical characteristics indicate a criminal nature)
Ferri (belief in biological, social and organic factors as a cause of crime and delinquency)
Sheldon (belief in body type)

4. Foundations of Trait Theories Lombroso
DEVIATION IN HEAD SIZE AND SHAPE FROM TYPE COMMON TO RACE AND REGION FROM WHICH THE CRIMINAL CAME
ASYMMETRY OF THE FACE
EYE DEFECTS AND PECULIARITIES
EXCESSIVE DIMENSIONS OF THE JAW AND CHEEK BONES
EARS OF UNUSUAL SIZE, OR OCCASIONALLY VERY SMALL, OR STANDING OUT FROM THE HEAD AS DO THOSE OF THE CHIMPANZEE
NOSE TWISTED, UPTURNED, OR FLATTENED IN THIEVES, OR AQUILINE OR BEAK-LIKE IN MURDERERS, OR WITH A TIP RISING LIKE A PEAK FROM SWOLLEN NOSTRILS.
LIPS FLESHY, SWOLLEN, & PROTRUDING
ABUNDANCE, VARIETY, AND PRECOCITY OF WRINKLES
INVERSION OF SEX CHARACTERS IN THE PELVIC ORGANS
EXCESSIVE LENGTH OF ARMS

5. Foundations of Trait Theory Sheldon
The view that criminals have physical or mental traits that make them different or abnormal
Somatotype (body-build) makes people susceptible to delinquent behavior
Mesomorphs – muscular/athletic (aggression)
Ectomorphs – tall/thin (intellectual)
Endomorphs – heavy/slow (fences)

6. Sheldon (Somatotype Theory)
Endomorphic
Ectomorphic
Mesomorphic

7. Debunking Early Positivist Theories
The research of the earliest positivists (who were biologists) was plagued by poor:
Methodology
Testing
Biophobia
Lack of attention to sociological constructs

8. Foundations of Trait Theory
Impact of Sociobiology
Sociobiology reemerged in the 1970s
Edmund O. Wilson
Sociobiologists view the gene as the ultimate unit of human destiny
Ensuring of survival
reciprocal altruism

9. Contemporary Biological Perspectives
Core Principles
Equipotentiality
Correlates
Operationalization
Sub-branches
Biochemical
Neurophysiological
Genetics
Biosocial/Evolutionary

10. Biochemical Perspective
Crime, especially
violence, is a function
of diet, vitamin intake,
hormonal imbalance,
or food allergies.
CAUSE
Explains irrational
violence. Shows how
the environment
interacts with personal
traits to influence
behavior.
STRENGTHS

11. Neurophysiological Perspective
Criminals and
delinquents often suffer
brain impairment, as
measured by the EEG,
Attention deficit
disorder and minimum
brain dysfunction are
related to antisocial
behavior.
CAUSE
Explains irrational
violence. Shows how
the environment
interacts with
personal traits to
influence behavior.
STRENGTHS

12. criminality of parents
Genetic Perspective
Criminal traits and
predispositions are
inherited. The
criminality of parents
can predict the
delinquency of
children.
CAUSE
Explains why only a
small percentage of
youth in a high-crime
area become chronic
offenders.
STRENGTHS

13. Evolutionary Perspective
As the human race
evolved, traits and
characteristics have
become ingrained.
Some of these make
people aggressive and
predisposed to
commit crime.
CAUSE
Explains high
violence rates and
aggregate gender
differences in the
crime rate.
STRENGTHS

14. Biological Trait Theories
Evaluation of the Biological Branch of Trait Theory
Critics charge biological theories are racist and dysfunctional
Biological explanations do not account for geographical variations in crime
Lack of empirical testing

15. Contemporary Psychological Perspectives
Contemporary Psychological Perspectives n          Core Principles - Psychological Traits Matter - Learning Process (Imitation and Modeling) n          Operationalization   n          Sub-branches - Controlling the Feebleminded - Psychodynamic/Freudian psychology - Cognitive - Behavioral - Social Learning

16. Psychological Trait Theories
Defective intelligence
Charles Goring
Crime could be controlled by regulating reproduction of the feebleminded

17. Psychological Theory: Psychodynamic Perspective
Major Premise…..
The development of the unconscious personality early in childhood influence behavior for the rest of a person’s life. Criminals have weak egos and damaged personalities.
Strengths….
Explains the onset of crime and why crime and drug abuse cut across class lines.

18. Psychological Trait Theories
Psychodynamic:
Freud  suggested people carry the residue of childhood attachments that guide future interpersonal relationships
ID (pleasure principal): unconscious biological urges for food, sex and other life-sustaining necessities
Ego (reality principal): helps guide the actions of the Id within boundaries of social convention
Superego (conscience): the moral aspect of one’s personality

19. Psychological Trait Theories
Psychodynamic:
Freud (Cont.)
Eros:
The most basic drive present at birth
Conflicts during psychosexual stages of development
May lead to “fixations”

20. Psychological Trait Theories
Psychodynamics of Abnormal Behavior
Inferiority complex:
Adler  People with a drive for superiority
Bipolar disorder:
Moods alternate between depression and elation
Disruptive Behavior Disorder:
DBD includes Oppositional Defiant Disorder
ODD: Defiance toward authority figures
Conduct Disorder:
CD is more serious
Viewed as severely anti-social

21. Psychological Trait Theories
Crime and Mental Illness
Personality disorders are referred to as psychosis
Paranoid Schizophrenia:
Delusions of wrongdoing and persecution
Despite evidence of mental illness
Recidivism among mentally disordered is less than the general population

22. Psychological Theory: Cognitive Perspective
Major Premise…..
Individual reasoning processes influence behavior. Reasoning is influenced by the way people perceive their environment and by their moral and intellectual development.
Strengths….
Shows why criminal behavior patterns change over time as people mature and develop their moral reasoning. May explain aging-out process.

23. Psychological Trait Theories
Cognitive Theory
Focuses on  how people perceive and mentally represent the world around them and solve problems
Moral development (6 stages):
Jean Piaget
People obey the law to avoid punishment
Humanistic psychology:
Self-awareness approach, getting in touch with feelings
Information Processing:
How people process, store, encode, retrieve, and manipulate information

24. Cognitive Theory cont’d
Information Processing (3)
Encode information
Search for proper response and decide on next action
Act on decision
So, why do some folks commit crime and others do not? Scripts and use of cues can make a difference!

25. Psychological Theory: Behavioral Perspective
Major Premise…..
People commit crime when they model their behavior after others they see being rewarded for the same acts. Behavior is reinforced by rewards and extinguished by punishment.
Strengths….
Explains the role of significant others in the crime process. Shows how family life and media can influence crime and violence.

26. Psychological Trait Theories
Bobo Dolls Experiment
Behavioral Theory
Human actions are developed through learning experiences
Social Learning Theory:
People learn aggression through life experiences
Violence is learned via behavior modeling
Examples  family interactions, environmental experiences, and mass media
An event that heightens arousal
Aggressive skills
Expected outcomes
Consistency of behavior with values

27. Social Learning Theory
An event
that heightens
arousal
Behavior and
values become
consistent
Factors that
help produce
violence and
aggression.
Learned
aggressive
skills
Expected
outcomes -
rewards

28. Psychological Theories Summary (Concept summary 5.2)
Psychodynamic, Behavioral, Cognitive
Major Premise?
Strengths?
Research focus?

29. Psychological Traits and Characteristics
Personality and Crime
Personality:
The reasonably stable patterns of behavior, thoughts, and emotions that distinguish one person from another.
Research has identified personality traits
Eysenck  extroversion/introversion and stability/instability scales

30. Psychological Traits and Characteristics
Personality and Crime
Antisocial personality (unique set of characteristics):
Psychopath
Sociopathy
Antisocial persons suffering defects or aberrations
Research on personality:
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

31. Psychological Traits and Characteristics