CHAPTER 6:
Biological and Psychological
Theories
A. Introduction
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1) The emergence of the Positive school of thought shifted the focus of study
from the act to the actor
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a. Interested in the causality of crime
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b. The theory that free will was a motivating factor in the commission of crime was largely
discredited
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c. The three major schools of thought in the Positive School of criminology: Biology,
Psychology and Sociology
B. Biological school of thought
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WHICH ONE IS THE
MURDERER?>
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1) Is there any correlation
between physical appearance and
crime?
Can you GUESS?
• a. Cesare Lombroso was the first
researcher to come up with the
hypothesis that crime was connected
with human evolution
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b. Developed the notion that criminals
were atavistic or primitive and also
possessed a stigmata or distinctive
physical features that set them apart
from mainstream society
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2) What about body type and
crime?
a. 1949- William Sheldon concluded
that a relationship existed between
one’s body type and personality
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i. Endomorphs – soft roundness (relaxed,
comfortable, extroverted “softies”)
ii. Mesomorphs – square masculinity and
skeletal massiveness (active, assertive and
lust for power)
iii. Ectomorphs – linearity and frailty
(introverted, overly sensitive, and have a
strong love for privacy)
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b. Sheldon conducted studies and found that a possible link existed between mesomorphy and
delinquency, which lead other researchers such as Juan Cortes, Florence Gatti, John Q. Wilson
and Richard Herrnstein to conduct similar studies and experiments
c. Are juvenile delinquents classified as Mesomorphs more predisposed to a life of crime? Do
law enforcement officials hold a negative view of mesomorphs that could possibly influence the
way they are dealt with, (i.e. are they ‘picked on’ more?)
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3) Inherited delinquency?
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a. Some people in the late 19th century believed that criminality was inherited and that Bad
Blood or “germ-plasm” was spread through procreation
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b. Possible relationship between IQ & Delinquency?
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i. John Slawson claimed that IQ tests were culturally biased
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ii. After an extensive study in 1926 by Slawson, no link was found between Intelligence, (the ability to
learn), and criminality
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iii.An IQ test was developed by Binet/Simon and refined by Stem around the beginning of the 20 th
century (IQ score = ratio of mental age x chronological age w/ the mean score about 100)
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c. However, contemporary studies by Murray and Herrnstein have shown that, on average,
a delinquent’s IQ is around 8 points lower than a non-delinquent
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d. Several studies, (Kranz, Lange, etc.) have shown that monozygotic twins (identical
twins) are more likely to exhibit similar patterns of criminal behavior than dizygotic
twins (fraternal twins)
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i. Also, similar studies have shown that crimes such as bribery, forgery, and embezzling are
typically committed by offenders possessing relatively high IQ’s whereas crimes such as assault,
robbery and sexual assault are committed by offenders with relatively low IQ’s
i. However, this may be due to the environment rather than genetics. (nature v. nurture)
e. Studies on adopted children have shown that they exhibit similar patterns of
delinquency to their biological parents, rather than their adopted parents
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i. Though adoption studies are better than studies on twins at separating the effects of the
environment, there are some problems with this approach as well.
ii. The measures of criminality in these studies is not standardized, and children in these studies
have had varying levels of contact with their biological parents
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4) Brain function and behavior
a. New research has indicated that criminality may be linked with brain structure in
certain parts of the brain that effect abilities such as self-control and changes in the
environment
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i. Deficiencies of Serotonin levels in the brain have been linked with aggressive and impulsive
behavior
b. Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) occurs when a brain produces
too little serotonin, which may lead to delinquency
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i. Symptoms of ADHD include but are not limited to hyperactivity, inattention, and low selfesteem (Typically, symptoms show up in children as young as 4 years)
ii. Between 3 and 8 million children are estimated to have ADHD and it is being diagnosed at a
ratio of 3:1 (Boys/Girls)
iii. A study by John Satterfield has shown that children with this diagnosis are 25 times more
likely to be institutionalized for anti-social behavior than those who are not diagnosed with ADHD
iv. In 2000, sales of drugs such as Ritalin, (which is often used to treat ADHD), reached an
astounding $758 million dollars and over 90% of the world’s Ritalin is consumed by the United
States!
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c. Chemical poisoning
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i. Chemicals can indirectly affect behavior by altering brain chemistry, and can affect the ability of
an individual to react to the environment
ii. Particularly harmful is the chemical lead which was banned in paint products in the United
States in 1978
iii. Herbert Needleman conducted a study of leads effect on delinquency and determined that
there may be a connection between lead poisoning and juvenile delinquency.
iv. Other chemical exposure through pesticides, garbage disposal sites and poor air quality have
also been proven to have a negative impact on children
v. Exposure to these chemicals can lead to lower IQ’s, asthma, cancer and learning disabilities
d. The controversy over biological theories
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i. Can crime be controlled if we eliminate these so-called “bad genes” and is sterilization a viable
option? (Skinner v. Oklahoma 1942)
C. Psychological Theories
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1) Psychoanalytical Theory
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a. Sigmund Freud developed the idea that a personality consisted of 3 parts
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i. The id – present at birth, it consists of blind, unreasoning, instinctual desires and motives
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ii. The ego – grows from the id and is the problem-solving dimension of the personality which
deals with reality and differentiates it from fantasy
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iii. The superego - develops from the ego and is the moral code, norms and values that the child
has acquired
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b. When either of these comes into conflict with each other, then it is possible that children may be
more inclined to become a delinquent
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c. Freud’s psychoanalytical theory was applied to the study of crime and some theorists argued that an
under-developed or an over-developed super-ego could lead to delinquency
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i. underdeveloped superego – the socialization process has been inadequate (unconscious urges
may eventually translate into acts of delinquency)
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ii. overdeveloped superego- too much socialization (can lead to impulses and urges which in turn
can lead to a conflict between the id and the superego)
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d. The 3 main criticism of psychoanalytical theory
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i. No evidence that a causal link exists between a subjective internal state of mind and
delinquency
ii. Does the personality truly consist of an id, ego and superego?
iii. Is it possible to predict that a causal relationship exists between early childhood experiences
and future behavior?
2) Behavioral Theory
a. Behavioral theorist’s feel that children learn how to behave through reinforcement
(anything that increases the likelihood of a behavior reoccurring) and punishment
(sanctions that decrease the probability of a behavior being repeated)
b. B.F. Skinner postulated that environment shapes behavior
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i. Operant conditioning, (a type of learning where subjects do something and connect what
they do to a given response that they receive), was demonstrated by Skinner’s work with pigeons
ii. Skinner argued that juveniles repeat rewarded behavior and do not repeat behavior that is
punished
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c. Albert Bandura expanded on Skinner’s ideas and developed a theory of aggression
which states that behavior is learned by children through modeling and imitating others
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i. Bandura believes that children learn aggressive behavior through observation and through
imitating others
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ii. One of the more notable experiments he conducted focused on the effect of the mass media
on aggressive behavior (the Bobo doll experiment)
d. Does the media have an effect on delinquency?
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i. Examples – MTV’s jackass was blamed as the cause for a 13 year old Connecticut boy to lay
himself across a barbeque grill. A nine year old girl hanged herself with a shoelace after
watching the Man in the Iron Mask
ii. Beginning with Herbert Blumer in 1933, criminologists have sought to conduct interviews and
experiments to determine whether such a relationship exists
e. How does the viewing of violent material affect children?
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i. Children may get the notion from the mass media that violence can solve disputes, which may
lead to delinquency
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ii. Desensitization towards real life violence
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iii. Fears of victimization may increase since violence in entertainment can lead to a perception
that the world is a violent and hostile place
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f. Millions of children watch violent T.V. on a regular basis but don’t act out the violence
that they see, which leads many behavioral theorists to conclude that already aggressive
youths have their behavior reinforced by viewing violence in the mass media
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g. Critiques of behavioral theory
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i. Pays little attention to the effect of mental processes on behavior
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ii. How can pigeons being used as a test subject, (used in the Skinner experiments), accurately
predict human behavior?
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iii. Why is it that more children do not commit delinquency when they know the possible gains?
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iv. Behavioral theory completely ignores the idea that free will may influence behavior
D. Practical applications of psychotherapy and behavior
modification
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1)The possible benefits of psychotherapy
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a. It may be possible to control a child’s instinctual drive so that they will not experience
any of the internal conflict linked to delinquency.
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i. Psychoanalytic theory in juvenile justice became increasingly popular in the 1950’s due to
organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO)
ii. This school of thought gave rise to the notion that delinquency could be prevented by
identifying likely offenders early on in life, (often referred to as “at-risk” youths)
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2)Behavior modification theory
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a. The method for changing behavior through conditioning is referred to as behavior modification
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i. Widely practiced in the 1960’s and the 1970’s
ii. The two major modification techniques that are still practiced to this day are aversion therapy,
(which teaches children to correct unwanted behavior through punishment), and operant
conditioning, (which uses a system of rewards and consequences often through a token
economy which reinforce and punish behavior, respectively)
iii. A token economy is often effective since points are handed out for positive behavior that can
be used to gain privileges, which reinforces positive behavior. Similarly, privileges can be taken
away to punish negative behavior
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END (Chapter 6 Notes)