DETERMINANTS OF BEHAVIOR

The answer to these questions requires the study and understanding of the influences of
HEREDITY and ENVIRONMENT. As cited by Tuason:

Heredity (Biological Factors)

This refers to the genetic influences, those that are explained by heredity, the characteristics of a person
acquired from birth transferred from one generation to another. It explains that certain emotional
aggression, our intelligence, ability and potentials and our physical appearance are inherited.

It is the primary basis of the idea concerning criminal behavior, the concept that criminals are born. It
also considers the influences of genetic defects and faulty genes, diseases, endocrine imbalances,
malnutrition and other physical deprivations that can be carried out from one generation to another.

Environmental Factors

Family Background it is a basic consideration because it is in the family whereby an individual first
experiences how to relate and interact with another. The family is said to be the cradle of personality
development as a result of either a close or harmonious relationship or a pathogenic family structure:
the disturbed family, broken family, separated or maladjusted relations.

Childhood Trauma the experiences, which affect the feeling of security of a child undergoing
developmental processes. The development processes are being blocked sometimes by parental
deprivation as a consequence of parents or lack of adequate maturing at home because of parental
rejection, overprotection, restrictiveness, over permissiveness, and faulty discipline.

Pathogenic Family Structure those families associated with high frequency of problems such as:

The inadequate family characterized by the inability to cope with the ordinary problems of family living.
It lacks the resources, physical of psychological, for meeting the demands of family satisfaction.

The anti-social family those that espouses unacceptable values as a result of the influence of parents to
their children.

The discordant/disturbed family characterized by non-satisfaction of one or both parent from the
relationship that may express feeling of frustration. This is usually due to value differences as common
sources of conflict and dissatisfaction.

The disrupted family characterized by incompleteness whether as a result of death, divorce, separation
or some other circumstances.
In the environment, the following are also factors that are influential to ones behavior:

Institutional Influences such as peer groups, mass media, church and school, government institutions,
NGOs, etc.

Socio-Cultural Factors such as war and violence, group prejudice and discrimination, economic and
employment problems and other social changes.

Nutrition or the quality of food that a person intake is also a factor that influence man to commit crime
because poverty is one of the may reasons to criminal behavior.

OTHER DETERMINANTS OF BEHAVIOR

In order to further understand and provide answers on the question that why do some people
behave criminally, it is important to study the other determinants of behavior. These are needs, drives
and motivation.

Needs and Drives

Need, according to a drive reduction theory, is a biological requirement for well being of the
individual. This need creates drives a psychological state of arousal that prompts someone to take
action (Bernstein, et al, 1991). Drive therefore is an aroused state that results from some biological
needs.

The aroused condition motivates the person to remedy the need. For example, If you have had no water
for some time, the chemical balance of the body fluids is disturbed, creating a biological need for water.
The psychological consequence of this need is a drive thirst that motivates you to find and drink water.
In other words, drives push people to satisfy needs.

Motivation

Motivation on the other hand refers to the influences that govern the initiation, direction, intensity, and
persistence of behavior (Bernstein, et al, 1991). Thus motivation refers to the causes and whys of
behavior as required by a need.

Motivation is the hypothetical concept that stands for the underlying force impelling behavior and giving
it s direction (Kahayon, 1975).
Drives are states of comfortable tension that spur activity until a goal is reached. Drive and motivation
are covered in the world of psychology, for they energize behavior and give direction to mans action. For
example, a motivated individual is engaged in a more active, more vigorous, and more effective that
unmotivated one, thus a hungry person directs him to look for food.