Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on Criminal Behavior: Psychological And Personality Theories. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
10 pages in length. The impetus of criminal behavior - which follows a distinct and logical social, cultural and economic progression - is readily outlined by myriad theoretical models. The extent to which personality and psychological theories play an integral role in why some people commit crimes and others do not illustrates an inextricable connection between such instigators as upbringing, biological predisposition and mental illness. Bibliography lists 10 sources.
Page Count:
10 pages (~225 words per page)
File: LM1_TLCCrmBehThr.rtf
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
and psychological theories play an integral role in why some people commit crimes and others do not illustrates an inextricable connection between such instigators as upbringing, biological predisposition and mental
illness. II. BORN CRIMINAL THEORY The propensity for criminal behavior to originate from a biological perspective is the foundation of Lombrosos "born
criminal" theory, otherwise known as biological determinism. Italian prison doctor and proclaimed father of criminology, Lombroso recognized similarities between humans and rodents that led him to believe how people
can, indeed, exhibit criminal behavior based upon inherited defects. Research findings gleaned from autopsies and morphometric analyses rendered quite remarkable conclusions for Lombroso, who - when he discovered a
median occipital fossa "in the skull of a famous highwayman--a rare finding in human skulls but a common one in rodents" (Barondess, 2000, p. 308) - realized that the criminal
was "an atavistic being who reproduces in his person the ferocious instincts of primitive humanity and the inferior animals" (p. 308). In short, Lombroso asserted that the biological connection
of criminal behavior was no longer just an unsubstantiated conjecture, a precedence-setting contention that paved the scientific path toward a better understanding of the inherent connection between why some people
engage in criminal activity and others do not (Barondess, 2000). III. DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION AND OPPORTUNITY THEORIES The learning theory, also known as
the differential association theory, contends that criminal behavior is a learned behavior where the individual learns techniques of how to commit the crime, both simple and complex, as well as
"the specific direction of motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes" (Sutherland, 1978). The opportunity theory states that for an individual to display criminal behavior, there must exist "access to legitimate
...