Criminal Physiology

What makes people commit a crime? Many theories explain what makes one a criminal. There is no single approach to come to a valid conclusion on the answer to this question. There are several psychological theories of crime. These theories have a sound scientific basis and are not based on prejudice or experience from a given person. Seldom, the reasons for crime are of one cause or the other, they are a combination of some causes.

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The personality of a person comprises some traits. The character of a person is formed by the traits they possess. These traits may cause some individuals to engage in a felony. Disorders and personality traits that lead to odd behavior that is caused by biological genes or stem from the environment and disorganized families have been defined by studies (Figueredo et al 863). There are four personality theories which study the behavior of individuals. These include the humanistic theory, behavioral and social learning theory, psychoanalytic theory and the trait theory.

Trait theory

Trait theorists look into personality as a natural factor that is predisposed and are not permanent during the life of an individual. The personality of humans comprises several traits. The attitudes, behaviors, and actions that one possesses in their character are the personality traits. An individual may commit crimes due to the traits that make up their character. Personality trait theorists such as Eysenck suppose that unlawful behavior is the product of unusual personality types and is caused by specific traits (Funder 83). Eysenck believed that personality is caused by genetic influence. He, however, recognizes the importance of habits that are learned.

Eysenck acknowledged three significant scopes of personality. He held that those proportions would clarify the diverse behavior patterns in the personality of a person. The three traits include psychoticism (P), neuroticism-emotional stability (N) and extraversion-introversion (E). Extensive studies on fraternal and identical twins provide adequate evidence that supports the notion that these traits are indeed inherited.

According to Eysenck, extraverts are lively, friendly, impulsive, brave, dominant and sensation-seeking, unlike introverts who prefer to spending time all alone and are they are silent. People who have high neuroticism levels are likely to be bad-tempered, anxious, moody and have feelings of guilt. They often undergo numerous emotions that are negative and are depressed. Individuals that have high (N) and anxiety levels that are high find it difficult in conditioning, therefore resulting in hostile behavior. Persons with high psychoticism have an affinity to be self-centered, are aggressive, impulsive, lack in empathy for others and are antisocial (Schultz 116). Eysenck claims that high extraverts, psychotics, and neurotics, are more likely to take on illegal activities. The dominant feature of a person that has an antisocial personality disorder is that they ignore entirely the societal rules held and the views of other people, and have no guilt due to the wrongful behavior they demonstrate. These personality traits belong to criminals, and psychopaths, who would casually engage in killing and show great antisocial behavior patterns.

Psychoanalytic theory

Theorists center deeply on what motivates and drives deviant behavior in one's personality. They study the different behavior patterns in an individual's minds. Sigmund Freud held that someone could comprehend human personality by investigating experiences during their early childhood. Freud came up with the psychoanalytic theory to learn the types of abnormal behavior where he stated that individuals hold three prime factors that sturdily affect their behavior patterns (Swami et al 87). The id is the immature part of us. All the needs and desires cannot be met by the environment; thus the id divides into the ego. The rationality of the mind is the ego. The superego operates as the ego's judge; it is the guiding ethical sense. Some offenders probably have a personality that is id-dominated, therefore lose complete charge of their ego, and seek fulfillment devoid of other people's care.

Behaviorists and learning theories

Learning theories seek to explain behavior in a perspective that can be proved scientifically. Behavior personalities refute the suggestion that personality is hereditary, and claim that it is an effect of behavior that is learned and the experiences that they have had in the past. All behavior is attained as a product of condition that happens following one's interaction with their surroundings (Vachon et al 118). For the behaviorists, observational behavior is the most suitable method to investigate the psychological processes of a person's behavior pattern. Criminal behavior is consequently grounded by the response to motivation from the environment. For example, a criminal who is aggressive may behave the way he does for the sole reason that they have grown up watching that kind of behavior being tolerated in their family.

Humanistic theory

Humanists held that individuals have additional control over their reactions. Humanists are concerned with the way people's behavior can be subjective to their thoughts and emotions. Humanists bring out an approach that is more optimistic about the behavior of a person. They center on human feelings of personal charge, self-esteem, and self-acceptance to make out and clarify personality and the differences in individual behavior (Schultz 143). Carl Rodgers supposed that the treatment for human disorders lies in unconditional positive regard. This is absolute acceptance by other people, in spite of of-of their behavior. For example, a person with a past that is aggressive and is likely to start fights is acknowledged to be predisposed to the dangerous neighborhood he was raised in, and not a manifestation of his innate personality. Using unconditional positive regard, a person is enabled to be acquainted with their self-worth and ultimately amend their behavior.

Personality traits are useful in the evaluation of what makes one a criminal. The personality theories conclude the description of personality that is complete should contain intrinsic qualities and environmental influences. For that reason, essential genes in combination with certain conditions in the environment can cause the upbringing and birth of someone with criminal traits.

Works cited

Figueredo, Aurelio Jose, et al. "Evolutionary personality psychology." The handbook of evolutionary psychology(2015): 851-877.

Funder, David C. The personality puzzle: seventh international student edition. WW Norton & Company, 2015.

Schultz, Duane P.,& Sydney Ellen Schultz. Theories of personality. Cengage Learning, 2016.

Swami, Viren, et al. "Associations between belief in conspiracy theories and the maladaptive personality traits of the personality inventory for DSM-5." Psychiatry research 236 (2016): 86-90.

Vachon, David D., et al. "Teenagers as temporary psychopaths? Stability in normal adolescent personality suggests otherwise." Personality and Individual Differences131 (2018): 117-120.