Various
Perspectives on
Human Nature &
Crime
Biological, Sociological and Psychological
(Tehreem Fatima)
Human Nature
• Human nature comprises the fundamental dispositions
and characteristics.
• Including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting.
• A broader problem is that dispositions and traits are
natural and which are the result of some form of learning
or socialization.
• The psychological and social qualities that characterize
humankind, especially in contrast with other living things.
Human Nature and Crime
• Crime is the result either of conditions external to the offender
or of his being an abnormal psychological type.
• crime is a result of those unchanging aspects of human nature
that make any human act possible.
• Societies and individuals, they continue, attach various positive
and negative reinforcements to different crimes.
• Psychological, environmental, and biological factors help to
explain why “individuals differ in the value they assign to such
reinforcements
Key Criminological Perspectives that
Seek to Explain the Causes of Crime
• Each of the theories covered has its own strengths and
weaknesses.
• There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ theory.
The theories covered can be categorized into three main
approaches.
1. Biological
2. Sociological
3. Psychological
Biological Perspective
• Before we define Biological Perspective, we should explain
what biological positivism is.
• Biological positivism is a broader school of thought that
biological perspective of crime fall under.
• Biological positivism Perspective attempts to explain
human behavior via physical causes.
Cont…
• Biological theories of crime assume a person’s biological
characteristics predetermine criminal behaviors.
• Biological explanations of crime assume that some people are
‘born criminals’.
• Biological Perspective of crime focus more on the biological
factors influencing a person's behaviors.
• This Perspective try to explain what causes someone to
commit a crime by analyzing their physical, genetic, and
neurological features.
• All biological perspective of crime can be divided into
three categories:
1. Approaches that identify criminals according to their
physical appearance
2. Theories that link criminal behavior to genetics
3. Ideas that try to explain criminal tendencies by looking at
distinguishing features in the brain and the body
Biological Theories of Crime
(Examples)
• Biological theories of crime focus on two key theories, as
well as exploring certain types of studies.
• To identify the environment or a person's biology which
influenced their behaviors.
Biological theories of crime examples include:
1. Lombroso's atavistic form.
2. Sheldon's Somatotypes.
3. Adoption and twin studies.
Lombroso's Atavistic Form
• One of the oldest biological explanations for crime is
the atavistic form.
• In 1876, Cesare Lombroso proposed that criminals are
genetically different from other citizens.
• They also look different as compared to normal citizens.
Cont…
According to Lombroso, criminals have the characteristics:
• High cheekbones
• Facial asymmetry
• A narrow, sloping brow
• A strong, prominent jaw
• Drooping eyelids
Cont…
• Large ears
• Dark skin
Sheldon's Somatotype
• William Sheldon was an American psychologist and
physician.
• In 1940s, he developed the theory that different body
types, or somatotypes, are associated with different
personality types.
• Somatypes are categories of body types.
• These body types are someone's innate physique and are
not changed by overeating or dieting.
Cont…
• Also known as constitutional psychology.
Constitutional Psychology:
• The sum of an individual's innate characteristics.
• The basic psychological and physical makeup of an
individual,
Cont…
Sheldon proposed that there are three somatotypes:
1. Ectomorphic
2. Mesomorphic
3. Endomorphic
Ectomorphic:
• People who are very skinny and
tall, with fine bones and
statures.
Mesomorphic
• People with a strong, square,
muscular body type.
• They have even weight distribution,
a good posture and a narrow waist.
Endomorphic
• People who are rounded and soft,
overweight and typically short.
• They have a hard time losing weight.
The personality types that Sheldon proposed
for the three somatotypes are as follows:
Genetic and Neural Explanations
of Offending Behavior
• Genetic and Neural Explanations of Offending Behavior.
• A genetic predisposition to crime increases the likelihood
of offending behavior.
• Which is often coupled with environmental factors,
increasing the chances of a person developing into a
criminal.
Cont…
Scientists have identified several genes they believe may be
involved:
• MAOA Gene
• CDH13
Cont…
MAOA Gene CDH13
• Monoamine oxidase A • Cadherin 13
• The MAOA gene is • CDH13 linked to substance
the warrior gene, involved abuse and attention deficit
in encoding an enzyme disorder.
that breaks down
dopamine and serotonin
and has been linked to
aggressive behavior.
Cont…
• Criminals have decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex.
• Prefrontal Cortex: An area of the brain involved in
regulating emotions.
• They also have difficulty empathizing with others.
Deep Dive
• Neural explanations usually focus on brain dysfunction as
the cause of criminal behavior.
• In 1997 Raine found that, in the brains of 41 murderers,
there were observable abnormalities in the prefrontal
cortex.
• Asymmetrical activity in the hemispheres.
Adoption and Twin Studies
• One of the best ways to study the effects of genes on a
person’s behaviour is to analyze monozygotic (MZ) and
dizygotic (DZ) twins.
Monozygotic: Identical Twins
Dizygotic: Non-Identical Twins
• Adoption studies are also a great source of information.
• They show the influence of biological and psychological
explanations on behavior.
Strengths of the Biological
Theories of Crime
• One great strength of adoption studies is that it helps us
identify and rule out the environment as an influence.
• Studies have also linked the genetic origins of aggression
and the genetic basis to crime, suggesting it can lead to
offending behaviors.
• The studies cited often provide clear proof of
some correlation or connection between biological factors
and offending behaviors.
• Biological theories are observable and measurable.
Weaknesses of the Biological
Theories of Crime
• When using genetic studies, the concordance rate of
criminal behavior should be 100% if criminal behavior was
purely genetic, this isn’t the case.
• This outright shows biological factors are not the only
factor in offending behaviors and crime.
• Example: In monozygotic twins, there was a
concordance rate for males of 35% for criminal behavior
and 21% for females for criminal behavior.
Cont…
• These low rates indicate that biological factors are less
important than we may suspect
&
• Environmental factors are more important than we first
thought.
Sociological Perspective
• Sociological Perspective of crime try to interpret crime
through societal conditions.
• Explain deviant or criminal behavior.
• Through the circumstances in which they occur.
• sociologists suggest that societal conditions trigger
individuals to commit crime.
• criminal behavior is not natural. It is not innate to humans
but rather circumstantial.
Cont…
• Sociological approaches suggest that crime is shaped by
factors external to the individual.
• Their experiences within the neighborhood, the peer
group, and the family.
Sociological Theories of
Crime
Functionalist theories on crime:
1. Durkheim’s perspective on crime
2. Merton’s strain theory of crime
• Social control theory of crime
• Subcultural theory of crime
sociological positivism
Functionalist theories on crime
• Functionalists believe that society needs a certain level
of crimes.
• It performs significant positive functions.
• All crime should not be prevented.
• Two influential functionalist sociologists are
Émile Durkheim (1964)
Robert Merton (1949).
Durkheim’s perspective on
crime
• Durkheim stresses that not all members of society can
commit to shared norms, values and beliefs
• Exposure to different experiences or circumstances is
what makes them different to one another.
• As a result, some end up breaking the law.
Cont…
There were three functions of crime according to Durkheim
which are:
1. Regulation
2. Integration
3. Change
Regulation
When a person is apprehended for a crime:
• Everyone else in society becomes aware of which actions
are socially acceptable and unacceptable.
• Mass media, e.g. newspapers, the courts and other
institutions in contemporary society broadcast the
boundaries of admissible behavior.
Integration
• When the whole community unites against a crime,
protests and expresses their outrage together.
• A sense of belonging to a particular community is
strengthened.
Change
• The law clearly states what is or isn’t permissible in
society, but it isn't fixed.
• People notice when the laws don’t line up with the shared
values and beliefs of the majority.
• Offenders constantly test the boundaries of permitted
action.
• If their "crimes" reflect the wishes or changing attitudes
of the population, this can lead to legal reform. Eventually,
this can spur social change.
Merton’s strain theory of crime
• Strain theory suggests that crime occurs when there
are insufficient opportunities available to achieve the
goals set by society
e.g. financial success.
• This can happen to people from low income backgrounds,
those who were not well educated.
• Those who lacked social networks and career
opportunities, and so on.
Cont…
• People become frustrated that they cannot succeed in life
conventionally, such as by obtaining a good job or working hard.
• A ‘strain’ or tension develops between the goals and the means of
achieving them.
• Producing ‘anomie’ (Normlessness).
• A social condition characterized by the destruction of the moral
principles, guidelines, or standards that people generally aspire to.
• Without these moral standards, people turn to crime to achieve
their goals.
Social control theory of crime
• Social control theory sees crime as an outcome of social
institutions, such as family or the local community, losing
control over individuals.
• This would also include a breakdown of trust in the
government and the police.
• Hirschi (1969) suggests that criminal activity occurs
when the strength of attachment between the individual
and society (social bonds) weaken.
Cont…
There are essentially four types of social bonds:
• Attachment
• Commitment
• Involvement
• Belief
Cont…
• According to social control theory, the ‘typical delinquent’
can usually be assumed to be a young, single and
unemployed individual instead of a married and employed
individual.
• This is because the theory suggests that those who have
well established bonds of attachment and are employed
and involved members of social institutions are unlikely to
go astray.
Subcultural theory of crime
• This perspective explains crime and deviance as an aspect of certain
subcultures and mainly focuses on crimes specific to the working class.
• It argues that deviance is the outcome of individuals who
experience status frustration.
Status frustration:
• A concept created by A. Cohen (1955), describes the feelings of
individuals who desire social status but who lack the opportunities or
means to succeed, which causes a feeling of inadequacy and personal
failure.
Cont…
• As a result, these people, who feel excluded from
mainstream culture, end up joining subcultures.
• Which have their own rules and ways of attaining high
status, often related to deviant acts.
• Subcultural theorists, in contrast to social control
theorists, highlight the peer group that encourages
individuals to commit crimes.
Sociological Positivism
• The sociological theories of crime are also collectively
known as the sociological positivist view on crime.
• This refers to a school of criminological thought.
• Which suggests that societal factors such as poverty, lack
of education, and the negative influence of subculture
influence the individual to commit criminal acts.
Cont…
• Sociological positivism is not to be confused with positivist
criminology.
• Positivist criminology argues that criminals are not
shaped by nurture or society but are born that way.
Marxist theories on crime
Marxists generally agree on the fact that most crime can be
prevented but disagree on the origins of crime.
1. Traditional Marxism on crime
2. Neo-Marxism on crime
Traditional Marxism on crime
• Marxists believe that capitalism is ‘criminogenic’.
• That it creates crime, and that although all social classes
break the law, the criminal activities of the elite are what
cause the most harm.
• They emphasize the class structure in explaining crime.
• The ruling class are the lawmakers and benefit from the
laws, as they are less likely to get caught or punished for
the crimes they commit.
Cont…
• Conversely, the working classes commit crimes due to the
values of the capitalist structure.
• Such as selfishness and materialism. They are punished
and portrayed as criminals.
Neo-Marxism on crime
• Unlike classical Marxists, Neo Marxists believe that crime
is an after-effect of capitalism, not caused by capitalism.
• Theorists such as Taylor, Walton (1973) believe that not
all working class criminals are forced to break the law.
• Some of them actively choose to do so.
Interactionist theories on crime
• Interactionism or social action theory stresses that crime
is socially constructed.
• That there are no inherently deviant acts.
• Certain acts are labelled by society as criminal or deviant, based
on who is performing the act. Thus, not everyone who is labelled
a criminal has actually caused harm, and many who have caused
harm are not labelled as criminals.
• The two key theories within interactionism are labelling theory
and moral panic theory.
Labelling Theory
• This theory claims that the agents of social control often
label the powerless in society as criminals based on
stereotypical assumptions.
• From their class background to their appearance and
attitude.
• Young, working class individuals who do not conform to
middle ideas of respectability, looking "rough", not having
a posh accent, etc.
• Are more likely to be suspected and punished.
Moral Panic Theory of Crime
• Created by S. Cohen (1972).
• Moral panic theory puts forward the argument that
deviant subcultures are common targets of moral panics.
• Which are exaggerated outbursts of the public over the
morality or behavior of a group or individual.
• Interactionists argue that the media plays a crucial role
in creating moral panics
Realist Theories on Crime
• Sociological realist theories on crime originated as a
response to the increased rates of victimization of
disadvantaged groups.
• Which also often went unreported.
• Since previous conceptions of crime tended to neglect the
victim.
• The birth of right realism and left realism was a reaction
to this.
Cont…
Left Realism on Crime Right Realism on Crime
• Left realists believe that • Right realists believe that
social inequality is the poverty and deprivation
prime reason for crime. are not to be blamed.
• And the community • Instead holding individuals
interventions can reduce responsible for crimes.
crime.
Psychological Perspective
• Psychological theories of crime see offending behaviour as
a result of the individual's mind and behaviors.
Psychological theories of crime focus on
• personality types.
• cognitive approaches.
• Psychodynamic.
• learning approaches.
