Chapter 5
Trait Theory
Criminology 9th edition
Larry J. Siegel
© 2003 Wadsworth Publishing Co.
Question
Do you think that people who commit crime
are physically or mentally abnormal?
Trait Theories

Trait theories are made up of biosocial and
psychological theories.

The primary focus of trait theories is human
behavior and drives, i.e., aggression, violence, and a
tendency to act on impulse – factors that are linked
to antisocial behavior (as opposed to legally defined
criminal acts).
Biological and Psychological Traits

Both biological and psychological traits have been
linked to criminal behavior, but not as causal linkages.

It is the “multiple factor” approach or the interaction of
mental and physical traits with environmental and
social factors that either suppress or trigger criminal
behavior.

The focus is generally on persistent or chronic
offenders.
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.
What is positivism?
Positivism

Positivism rejects the concept of free will.

Crime can only be understood if it is studied by the
scientific method.

Human behavior is a function of internal and external
forces, i.e., social, biological, psychological, or
economic forces.
Early Positivists

Early positivists included:

Lombroso - belief that certain physical characteristics
indicate a criminal nature, i.e., atavistic anomalies.

Garofalo - certain physical characteristics and psychological
characteristics indicate criminal nature, i.e., prisoner
tattooing.

Ferri – belief in biological, social and organic factors as a
cause of crime and delinquency, i.e., forces outside your
control.

Sheldon - belief in body types which were susceptible to
certain types of delinquent behavior, i.e., somatotype school.
Problems With Early
Positivist Theories
The research of the
earliest positivists
(who were
biologists)
was plagued by
poor:
Methodology
Testing
Logic
Biosocial Trait Theories

Biochemical Conditions and Crime

Neurophysiological Conditions and Crime

Genetics and Crime

Evolutionary Views and Crime
Biosocial Perspectives
on Criminality
Principles of Biosocial
Trait Theories

Genetic makeup contributes significantly to human behavior.

Not all humans are born with equal potential to learn and achieve
(equipotentiality).

No two people are alike (with rare exceptions, i.e., identical
twins), thus the combination of genetic traits and the
environment produces individual human behavior patterns.

How do these principles contrast with social theories?
Question
How does a biosocial theorist
explain learning?
Biosocial Theory:
Biochemical Perspective
CAUSE
Crime, especially
violence, is a function
of diet, vitamin intake,
hormonal imbalance,
or food allergies.
STRENGTHS
Explains irrational
violence. Shows how
the environment
interacts with personal
traits to influence
behavior.
Question
Is there a link between
sugar and antisocial behavior?
If so, explain.
What is the link between
hormones and antisocial behavior?
Explain.
Biochemical Considerations
Aggression and violence have been linked to
diet. Some believe diets high
in sugar and carbohydrates are culprits.
What do studies show?
Biosocial Theory:
Neurological Perspective
CAUSE
Criminals and
delinquents often suffer
brain impairment, as
measured by the EEG.
Attention deficit
disorder and minimum
brain dysfunction are
related to antisocial
behavior.
STRENGTHS
Explains irrational
violence. Shows how
the environment
interacts with
personal traits to
influence behavior.
Neurological Impairment

Neurophysiology – the
study of brain activity
suggests that physical
and brain
abnormalities are
acquired at the
prenatal stage or
through birth delivery
trauma – in turn, they
control behavior
throughout the life
span.
What is the link between
brain chemistry and
chronic offenders and
crimes of violence?
Biosocial Theory:
Genetic Perspective
Cause
The major premise
is that criminal traits
and predispositions
are inherited. The
criminality of parents
can predict the
delinquency of
children.
Strengths
Explains why only a
small percentage of
youth in a high-crime
area become chronic
offenders.
What do the results of
sibling and twin studies
show?
Contagion Effect?
Biosocial Theory:
Evolutionary Perspective
Cause
As the human race
evolved, traits and
characteristics have
become ingrained.
Some of these make
people aggressive and
predisposed to
commit crime.
Strengths
Explains high
violence rates and
aggregate gender
differences in the
crime rate.
Explain why violence
is often driven by
evolutionary and
reproductive factors.
Question
If there is a biological basis
to violence and aggression –
then how would a biosocial theorist
explain white collar crime?
Evaluation of Biosocial
Trait Theory

Criticisms

If there are biological
explanations for street
crimes then by
implication biological
theory says that member
of groups are
biologically different,
flawed or inferior. The is
also a lack of adequate
empirical testing.

Response

Rather than suggest that
there are born criminals
and non-criminals,
proponents maintain that
some people carry the
potential to be violent or
antisocial and that
environmental conditions
can sometimes trigger
antisocial responses.
Psychological Trait Theories

Social Learning

Mental Illness and
crime

Personality and Crime

Intelligence and Crime
Psychodynamic
Behavioral
Cognitive
Psychological Perspectives
on Criminality
Psychological Theory:
Psychodynamic Perspective
Major Premise…..
The development of the
unconscious personality
early in childhood
influences behavior for the
rest of a person’s life.
Criminals have weak egos
and damaged personalities
i.e., anger, sexuality,
tendencies. Created by
Sigmund Freud.
Strengths
Explains the onset of
crime and why crime
and drug abuse cut
across class lines.
What type of mood
and/or behavioral
disorders may affect
offenders?
Crime and Mental Illness
A great deal of early research efforts found that many offenders
who engage in serious, violent crimes
suffer from some sort of mental disturbance.
However, empirical evidence has contradicted this.
Research shows that upon release, prisoners who had prior
histories of hospitalization for mental disorders were less likely to
be rearrested than those who had never been hospitalized.
Mentally disordered inmates who do recidivate upon release
appear to do so for the same reasons as the mentally sound.
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, i.e., learning
processes.
Strengths….
Explains the role of
significant others in
the crime process.
Shows how family life
and media can
influence crime and
violence.
What is social learning
theory?
Social Learning Theory
(Life Experiences)
An event
that
heightens
arousal
Behavior and
values become
consistent
Factors that
help produce
violence and
aggression.
Expected
outcomes
rewards
Learned
aggressive
skills
Psychological Theory:
Cognitive Theory
Major Premise
Individual reasoning processes
influence behavior. Reasoning
is influenced by the way people
perceive their environment and
by their moral and intellectual
development, i.e., thinking,
memory, ethical values.
Strengths….
Shows why criminal behavior
patterns change over time
as people mature and
develop their moral
reasoning. May explain
the aging-out process.
Explain the relationship of
cognitive processes,
perceptions, and chronic
offending.
Personality and Crime
Personality can be defined as the reasonably stable patterns of
behavior, including thoughts and emotions that distinguish one
person from another. Personality reflects a characteristic way of
adapting to life’s demands and problems.
Psychopaths
Anti-Social Personalities
I
Abnormal Affect
Sociopaths
Intelligence and Crime
What is the difference between
nature theory and nurture theory?
Do you think IQ and crime are linked?
Explain.
If so, why are there more male than female criminals?
or,
Why does “aging out” occur?