Criminal Psychology

(Understanding Criminal Behavior in Criminological Perspective)

Mr. Lorenzo Ramirez, RCrim, MSCrim(u), CSP

What is Criminal/Forensic Psychology?

The term criminal psychology or forensic psychology may those terms used
interchangeably, has defined in number of different ways. Gudjonsson and
Harvard (1998) defined as branch of applied psychology which is concerned with
the collection, examination, and presentation of evidence for judicial
purposes. Also stated by Wrightsman (2001), criminal psychology is application
of knowledge and method of psychology in a legal system. Those definition
emphasized the involvement of legal system and law enforcement duties
specifically for investigation matter. In studying criminal psychology, were
not just focused in analyzing and/or predicting criminal behavior it also
includes the would-be offender. In the field of psychology, criminal
psychologist has a role in assisting the criminal investigators thru profiling
(Crime analysis) or determining what kind of individual is based on what they
left at the scene of the crime.

In criminology disciple as multi-disciplinary science, criminal

psychology is the use of science of psychology to understand cause or origin
of criminal behavior and deviant act perpetrated by man.

What is crime?

There is no fix definition of crime, it defines in different concept and

views. As stated by Reyes (2012), is an act omitted or committed in violation
of a public law forbidding or commanding it. Crime maybe also defined
according to Walsh (2012) is an intentional act in violation of the criminal
law committed without defense or excuse and penalized by the state. In these
definition there is no crime if there is no formal laws that prescribed a
punishment as to legal maxim “nullum crimen nulla poena sine lege”, and it
must not fall under those circumstances stated under Art. 11 of our RPC.

How do Criminologist views crime?

1. Consensus view

According to Siegel (2013), crimes are considered behaviors that are

essentially harmful to most citizens living in society and therefore
have been controlled or prohibited by the existing criminal law. It
implies that the criminal law represents the consensus of public opinion
and there is general agreement about which behaviors society needs to
control and which should be beyond state regulation. Therefore, crimes
are behaviors believed to be repugnant to all elements of society.

2. Conflict view

The law is the instrument that enables the wealthy to maintain their
position of power and control the behavior of those who oppose their
ideas and values or who might rebel against unequal distribution of
wealth. Crime, according to this definition, is a political concept
designed to protect the power and position of the upper classes at the
expense of the poor (Siegel, 2013)
 According to this conflict view of crime, "real" crimes would include
the following acts (Siegel, 2013, p. 13):

 Violations of human rights due to racism, sexism, and imperialism

 Unsafe working conditions
 Inadequate childcare
 Inadequate opportunities for employment and education
 Substandard housing and medical care
 Crimes of economic and political domination
 Pollution of the environment
 Price-fixing
 Police brutality
 Assassinations and war-making
 Violations of human dignity
 Denial of physical needs and necessities, and impediments to self-
determination
 Deprivation of adequate food
 Blocked opportunities to participate in political decision making

3. Interactionist view

According to this perspective, there is no objective reality. People,

institutions, and events are viewed subjectively and labeled either good
or evil according to the interpretation of the evaluator. In this view,
the definition of crime reflects the preferences and opinions of people
who hold social power in a particular legal jurisdiction. To the
interactionist, crime has no meaning unless people react to it
negatively. The one-time criminal, if not caught or labeled, can simply
return to a “normal' way of life with little permanent damage.

Howard Becker argued, “the deviant is one to whom that label has
successfully been applied; deviant behavior is behavior people so
labeled." (Siegel, 2013)

What is criminal behavior and how it differs from deviant behavior?

The prominent criminologist Edwin Sutherland and Donald Cressey have

taken the popular stance of linking crime with the criminal law; that criminal
behavior is behavior in violation of the criminal law. It is not a crime
unless it is prohibited by law. Deviant behavior may refer to the broad range
of activities that the majority in the society may view that does not conform
to the expectation of the society. In other words, behavior that departs from
the social norm but is not necessarily criminal. In addition, Criminal
Behavior is intentional behavior that violates a criminal code—it did not
occur accidentally, and the person’s action cannot be justified (as in self-
defense) or excused (as in the person was insane). A deviant act becomes a
crime when prohibited and punished under the criminal law. As we always heard,
not all deviant act are crimes but all criminal act are deviant.

What may influence criminal behavior?

1. Biological risk factors

 Includes therein is the faulty function and structure of the brain that
may increase the likelihood of committing criminal acts also those
something wrong within the body either neurological or physical that may
precipitate to crime.

 The amygdala which is part of the brain that involves in fear,

aggression, and social interaction. Individuals who has a lower
volume of amygdala may tend to be more aggressive and impulsive
than those who has a normal size.

“Pardini (2013) found that 26-year-old men with lower amygdala

volume were more than three times more likely to be aggressive,
violent and to show psychopathic traits than men of the same age
with normal size of amygdala. Including the factors of social
background and history of violence.”

 The prefrontal cortex, the reasoning part of the brain responsible

for self-control. Individuals who exhibit antisocial behavior tend
to have undeveloped prefrontal cortex. Prefrontal cortex doesn’t
fully developed until mid-20s that may explain delinquent behavior
among adolescent.

 Testosterone the principal male hormone, the most abundant

androgen (male sex hormone), which controls secondary sex
characteristics such as facial hair and voice timbre, has been
linked to criminality. High level of hormones are related to
levels of aggression and violence. Other androgen-related male
traits include sensation seeking, impulsivity, dominance, and
reduced verbal skills; all of these traits are related to
antisocial behavior.

2. Adverse childhood experience

Children raised in particularly bad situations are at an increased risk

for criminal behavior in both their juvenile and adult years. In fact,
research shows that convicted criminals are likely to have experienced
four times as many adverse childhood events than non-criminals (see
Reavis et. al., 2013).

3. Negative social environment

Who were around can influence who we are. Being in a high crime
neighborhood may increase the chances of turning to crime. Research
reveals that simply living in poverty increases our likelihood of being
incarcerated (see FBI report 2018).

4. Substance Abuse

Literally substance abuse may link to criminal behavior.

63-83% of individuals who are arrested for most crimes test positive for
illegal drugs at the time of their arrest (NIDA, 2020).

Some drugs may lower our inhibitions such as alcohol were some of the
Filipinos “sa alak kumukuha ng lakas ng loob”. In all cases, intoxicant
may affect our self-control and decision making that may lead to crime.
And those addicted to intoxicant may turn to crime to support their
habit or vices like theft or robbery.
What are those theories related to criminal behavior?

1. Sociological Theories

 Social disorganization theory focuses on the urban conditions

that affect crime rates. A disorganized area is one in which
institutions of social control, such as the family, commercial
establishments, and schools, have broken down and can no longer
perform their expected or stated functions. Indicators of
social disorganization include high unemployment and school
dropout rates, deteriorated housing, low income levels, and
large numbers of single-parent households. Residents in these
areas experience conflict and despair, and as a result,
antisocial behavior flourishes.

 Strain theory holds that crime is a function of the conflict

between people’s goals and the means they can use to obtain
them.

 Social control theory, in contrast to other theories. This

theory explains why an individual do not commit crimes. It
includes the containments the inner and outer control and the
interaction to social bond that may an individual use as their
defense like belief, involvement, attachment, and commitment
to achievement.

2. Psychological Theory

 Behavior theory maintains that human actions are developed

through learning experiences. The major premise of behavior
theory is that people alter their behavior in accordance with
the response it elicits from others. In other words, behavior
is supported by rewards and extinguished by negative reactions,
or punishments.

The branch of behavior theory most relevant to criminology is

social learning theory. Social learning theorists argue that
people are not born with the ability to act violently; rather,
they learn to be aggressive through their life experiences.
These experiences include personally observing others acting
aggressively to achieve some goal or watching people being
rewarded for violent acts on television or in movies. People
learn to act aggressively when, as children, they model their
behavior after the violent acts of adults. Later in life, these
violent behavior patterns persist in social relationships.

Social learning theorists view violence as something learned

through a process called behavior modeling (The process of
learning behavior (notably, aggression) by observing others.
Aggressive models may be parents, criminals in the
neighborhood, or characters on television or in movies). In
modern society, aggressive acts are usually modeled after three
principal sources:

 Family interactions. Studies of family life show that

aggressive children have parents who use aggressive tactics
when dealing with others. For example, the children of wife
batterers are more likely to use aggressive tactics
 themselves than children in the general population,
especially if the victims (their mothers) suffer
psychological distress from the abuse
 Environmental experiences. People who reside in areas where
violence occurs daily are more likely to act violently than
those who dwell in low-crime areas whose norms stress
conventional behavior.
 Mass media. Films, video games, and television shows
commonly depict violence graphically. Moreover, violence is
often portrayed as acceptable, especially for heroes who
never have to face legal consequences for their actions

 Psychodynamic Theory, Sigmund Freud argued that everyone has

instinctual drives called the "id" that demand gratification.
Moral and ethical codes called the "superego" regulate these
drives, and adults later develop a rational personality called
the "ego" that mediates between the id and superego. Based on
this idea, criminal behavior is seen primarily as a failure of
the superego and poor reality testing.

“The ego is like a man on horseback, who has to hold in check

the superior strength of the horse.” (The ego and the id.
Freud, S. [1923].)

 Attachment Theory, According to psychologist John Bowlby’s

attachment theory, the ability to form an emotional bond to
another person has important psychological implications that
follow people across the life span. Human are born with a need
to form a close emotional bond with a caregiver and such bond
will develop to a child if the caregiver is appropriately
responsive.

Failure to develop proper attachment may cause people to fall

prey to a number of psychological disorders, some of which
resemble attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Such
individuals may be impulsive and have difficulty concentrating
and consequently experience difficulty in school. As adults,
they often have difficulty initiating and sustaining
relationships with others and find it difficult to sustain
romantic relationships. Criminologists have linked people who
have detachment problems with a variety of antisocial
behaviors, including sexual assault and child abuse.

Maternal deprivation is the separation or loss of mother as

well as failure to develop an attachment