UNIT 5 THEORIES APPLIED TO Theories Applied

To Criminal
CRIMINAL PSYCHOLOGY1 Psychology

Structure
5.0 Objectives
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Psychological theories
5.2.1 Psychodynamic Theory and Criminal Behaviour
5.2.2 Cognitive Theory and Criminal Behaviour
5.2.3 Behavioural Theory and Criminal Behaviour
5.2.4 Personality Theory and Criminal Behaviour
5.2.5 Theories of Intelligence and Criminal Behaviour
5.3 Biological and Integrated Theories
5.3.1 Psychophysiology
5.3.2 Brain and Criminal Behaviour
5.3.3 Genetics and Criminal Behaviour
5.4 Let Us Sum Up
5.5 References
5.6 Key Words
5.7 Answers to Check Your Progress
5.8 Unit End Questions

5.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit, you will be able to,

• discuss the various theories applied to criminal psychology.

5.1 INTRODUCTION
The questions that are dealt with by criminal psychology are: “ Why are there
crimes in the society? Can any society be free of crime? Why does a person
commit crime? Can crimes be prevented?” To provide answers to these
queries, criminal psychology takes the help of psychology and uses some of
the theories that explain criminality and criminal behaviour. Before
proceeding to discuss the theories and provide explanations to criminal
behaviour, it is important to know what is a “theory”. Often we ask “Why?”
about many phenomena. Theory provides answers to these “Why” questions.
Theory helps enhance one’s knowledge of a subject area. Theory is a
combination of many ideas accepted by large number of persons in a
community or society as well by culture. Theories do not emerge overnight
but are developed by scientists, researchers and academics in a step by step
1
Prof. Vimala Veeraraghavan, Former Emeritus Professor, Discipline of Psychology, SOSS,
IGNOU, Delhi
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Criminal Psychology process, such as starting from observation onwards to description to
formulation of hypothesis, validate or reject the hypothesis through research
and experiments specially designed, and finally when the researcher
understands “why” based on the experimental or research results, the same is
shared with academics and other researchers and stake holders etc. through
peer reviewed articles in journals or in books, after which this becomes a
theory accepted by all in a community. Thus, theories are very important as
they scientifically find out the answers to “why”. Similarly to the “Why
crimes and criminal behaviours?”, various theories have been propounded to
answer these questions.
It is indeed well known that crime has existed from time immemorial. Many
social scientists such as criminologists, psychologists and others have
attempted to explain why a person commits a crime and why crime exists in
society, but no specific conclusive answers have been obtained. While
criminological theories try to explain crime and criminal behaviours in terms
of society and its environment, and many social changes that take place from
time to time in the society, psychologists try to explain crime and criminal
behavior in terms of personality traits and characteristics and
psychopathology in the individual. On the other hand biologists try to explain
crime and criminal behaviours in terms of certain biological, genetic,
chromosomal, neurological and other related deficiencies with which the
individual is born.
Let us take up the psychological theories first and consider criminal
behaviour from the point of view of these theories.

5.2 PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES

There are basically five major psychological theories that are associated with
criminal psychology which deals with the thoughts and behaviours of
offenders and criminals. These are psychodynamic theory, cognitive theory,
behavioural theory, personality theory and theory of intelligence. These
theories explain dynamics underlying crime and criminal behaviours. The
psychodynamic theory provides explanation for crime and criminal behavior.
Let us see in detail how this theory explains criminality.

5.2.1 Psychodynamic Theory and Criminal Behaviour

According to the psychodynamic theory, the early childhood experiences of
the individual are responsible for such behaviours. The proponent of this
theory was Sigmund Freud and this theory had three basic elements, viz., the
Id, the Ego and the Super Ego. While Id was considered the primitive part of
the individual’s mental makeup and was also present at birth onwards, the
Ego developed in the early years of the individual’s life. The Id functions on
pleasure principle, in the sense, it needs immediate gratification of its needs,
desires and wishes. Psychodynamic theorists are of the view that the
individual’s personality is controlled by unconscious mental processes
having their origin in the person’s childhood. Thus, the Id represents the
basic biological drives for food, sex and other needs for the individual’s very
survival. Ego on the other hand functions on the reality principle, in the sense
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that it looks for the available sources in the environment that could gratify the Theories Applied
To Criminal
Id’s needs. The Super ego is considered the moral arm of the individual’s Psychology
personality. It is the embodiment of all the ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’, imbibed by
the individual on the basis of do’s and don’ts, dictated by the parents and
significant others. The conscience is the sense of guilt when the person does
something wrong and the Ego Ideal is the idealistic view of all that which is
correct/right. While the Ego tries to gratify all the needs of the Id, it also
makes sure that the Super Ego’s requirements are not ignored and the ideal
self remains and the person is not overwhelmed by guilt feelings. Thus the
Ego strives to strike a balance between the Id’s desires and wishes and the
moral requirements of the Super Ego. So long as the Ego is strong and
capable, neither the Id nor the Superego becomes dominant or overpowering.
According to psychodynamic theory, the Id has been considered responsible
for criminal behavior. As mentioned above, Id is concerned with immediate
gratification of its needs with no concern for others or what is right and what
is wrong. For instance, criminals have no concern for their victims or the
society or its laws and regulations. They are generally lonely, interested in
getting what they want by forcibly taking away from others their possessions
in the process injuring, harming the persons, to such an extent that if situation
warrants, they may take away the victim’s life too. Thus, psychodynamic
theory explains criminal behavior in terms of a dominant Id, frustration,
provocation and childhood experiences such as being neglected, unhappy and
miserable, lack of love and nurturing and a very weak super ego and a weak ,
which is linked to immaturity, and dependency on others.

5.2.2 Cognitive Theory and Criminal Behaviour

The next theory to explain criminal behaviour is the cognitive theory.
According to this theory, criminal behaviour is explained in terms of the
mental processes of the individual. The focus of this theory is to understand
how criminals perceive the world around them, and how the individuals solve
problems. Cognitive theory has two sub disciplines, viz., a) moral
development, and b) information processing.
a) Moral development: The focus in moral development is to understand
how individuals morally represent the world and how do they reason
about that world. In information processing, the focus is to study how
people people acquire, retain, and retrieve information. According to this
theory, moral development goes through three different levels and six
different stages. Level 1 is called pre conventional which contains stages
1 and 2. Level II is called conventional and contains stages 3 and 4. The
third level (Level C) is called post conventional and contains stages 5
and 6.
In pre conventional level which covers kindergarten to class 5, stage 1
refers to obedience and punishment. Children will have to learn to
behave according to acceptable norms as laid by parents, teachers and
the school. Obedient behaviour in children at this stage is ensured
through punishment. In stage 2, the main characteristics to be developed
by children include individualism, instrumentalism and exchange. This
stage focusses on the child developing the ‘right’ behaviour, inferring 71
Criminal Psychology that the child behaves correctly and acts appropriately in his or her own
best interests.
The Level II is the conventional level. This covers stages 3 and 4. In
stage 3, the individual is able to understand and recognise that he/ she is
a member of the society and has certain roles to play and are concerned
with the approval and disapproval of people in the society. Stage 4 which
is contained in this level 2, focusses on the individuals accepting the
importance of laws, rules and customs of the society. Such an
understanding helps the individual to function properly in the society,
obey and recognise the social pillars of the society. In other words, the
child or the individual develops into a person who is reliable, who can
distinguish between right and wrong, is decent, hardworking, helpful and
compassionate towards others, engages in voluntary work and takes up
worthy causes to work on for the benefit of the society etc. The person is
law abiding and follows all norms.
At this point, it is important to remember that no society can function
without law and order and by punishing those who violate the law, the
society ensures obedience from its people. In other words, people obey
law and order due to fear of punishment. According to Kohlberg (1984),
most people in any society are at this stage of moral development,
wherein morality is driven by external force.
Level III is the post conventional level. This contains stages 5 and 6.
While stage 5 is referred to as social contract (decisions taken by
majority opinion with scope for compromise)and the stage 6 is known as
principled conscience (principled justice and human autonomy). For
explaining criminality and criminal behaviour, this theory states
criminals are significantly lower in their moral judgment development.
Thus one explanation for criminal behaviour based on this theory is that
those who are low in moral judgement, are more prone to criminal
behaviour as compared to those who are high in this characteristic.
b) Information processing and criminal behaviour: Under cognitive
theory, information processing is an important aspect. According to this,
people use their thought processes step by step to make a decision based
on the information that they received through their information
processing system. For instance, as the individual experiences an event,
he/ she gathers all the relevant information from the environment and
stores them for retrieval at a later time. Then the person searches for the
appropriate response and from amongst the responses, selects the most
appropriate one for action. Those persons who use the information
correctly and appropriately will avoid criminal or delinquent behaviours.
Also those who make reasoned judgements when encounter emotional
situations, would most likely avoid criminal or antisocial behaviours.
One of the reasons for inappropriate reasoning is the faulty cognitive
processes, that is the individual is following what he/ she had learned in
childhood. Also such inappropriate reasoning may result from a very
long period of exposure to violence and also can be the consequence of
rejection. and neglect experienced in childhood. These persons tend to
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 become hypersensitive and often resort to violent behaviours, as a coping Theories Applied
To Criminal
mechanism, in addition to becoming alcohol and substance dependent. Psychology

Thus, cognitive theories explain criminal behaviour as a defect in thought

processes, mental development and moral thinking.

5.2.3 Behavioural Theory and Criminal Behaviour

The main tenet of this theory is that all behaviours are learned and hence can
be unlearned and a new behaviour which is more appropriate and desired can
be learned in place of the undesirable behaviour. By the same logic, criminal
behaviour or violent behaviours too are learned and so can be unlearned, and
in their place new and desirable behaviours can be learned afresh.
Behaviourists opine that behaviours are not inherited but are learned during
growing up on the basis of their experiences in their environment. Violent
behaviours and criminal tendencies are learned by the individuals from their
experiences in their environment. For instance, the individual in his/her
childhood years if had been observing his father or any other adult or peer
being rewarded for violent behaviours, then the individual acquires and
internalises the violent behaviour, and uses it to get the desired outcome. This
is also termed “modelling”, as stated by Bandura(1977).
Thus, according to behavioural theory, criminal behaviour is a learned
behaviour. If on individual, during his childhood, had experienced a violent
environment or had witnessed time and again violence getting rewarded or if
he/ she had acquired criminality as part of socialisation in his community,
then one can expect such an individual to indulge in criminal and violent
behaviours.

5.2.4 Personality Theory and Criminal Behaviour

Every individual thinks, feels and acts. Personality can be described as the
individual’s pattern of thinking, feeling and acting (that is, the behaviour of
the individual). Basically personality deals with two areas, vizindividual
differences and how various parts of the person combine together as a whole.
Most definitions of personality focus on the characteristics and patterns of
behaviour of an individual. Personality is determined by the interaction of
hereditary and environmental factors. Other characteristics of personality
include consistency, its impact on individual’s behaviours, and its multiple
expressions in thoughts, feelings and close relationships with other people in
the environment. Thus, personality can be defined as the characteristic sets of
behaviours, cognitions and emotional patterns which evolve from both
biological and environmental factors. Thus, personality is relatively stable
characteristic of a person that helps behaviour consistent across situations.
There are many personality theories, but the one that could explain criminal
behaviour appear to be that of Eysenck’s theory of personality. This theory of
Eysenck is also known as personality theory of offending. It is also known as
the PEN model. Eysenck considered criminal behaviour as the outcome of
interactions between extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism. All these
three traits can be measured and interpreted. While E refers to the overall the
person being sociable, active, lively and sensation seeking etc. N stands for 73
Criminal Psychology persons being anxious, depressed and react strongly to adverse stimuli. P
refers to psychoticism and people getting high scores on this dimension are
considered to be relatively more aggressive, antisocial and more egocentric
and Eysenck related P to the functioning of the nervous system and according
to him/ her all the three E, N and P traits are determined largely by genetics.
On the basis of this theory, Eysenck considered criminal behaviour as arising
from immature development, selfishness and persons demanding immediate
gratification of all the desires and wishes which arise within. In almost all
societies many of these behaviours are intervened by socialisation process
and the individual is trained and made to learn to postpone his gratification
etc. However in the criminals, socialisation process does not have the needed
impact and such persons continue to act irresponsibly and remain immature
and cannot tolerate frustration arising due to the needs and wishes not getting
gratified immediately. These frustrations lead to anger, violence and
indulgence in criminality. One of the personality disorders associated with
criminality is the Anti Social Personality Disorder, characterised by
impulsive behaviour, excitability, lack of remorse, violating other people’s
rights, and linked closely to adult criminal.
The important factors of personality that influence criminal behaviour are
biological risk factors, adverse childhood experiences, negative social
environment and substance abuse.
As for biological factors, the variances and abnormalities in autonomic
arousal, neurobiology and neuroendocrine functioning have been found to
increase the probability of a person to commit a crime.
In regard to adverse childhood experiences, it has been noted that children
who are brought up or raised in bad situations are considered to be at greater
risk for indulging in delinquency during childhood and adolescence and
criminal behaviour during adulthood, as compared to those who are brought
up under favourable and good loving situations.
Another factor contributing to criminal behaviour is the social environment
such as the crime filled neighbourhood or living in a home with either or both
parents involved in criminal activities. Such persons by closely associating
with criminality develop personality which is anti social in all aspects and
thus indulge in criminal behaviour unmindful unremorseful of the damage
and injury they cause to the victim. Furthermore, extreme poverty and
struggling for food causes intense stress and such persons are more likely to
indulge in crime.
Substance abuse is another important problem that leads to criminal
behaviour. The substances which are intoxicants bring about an altered state
of mind losing all the inhibitions that a normal person would experience
when contemplating or indulging in wrongful behaviours. These intoxicants
cause physiological and psychological changes affecting adversely the
individual’s ability to control himself and also his decision making ability.
Furthermore, the person’s craving for the substance such as alcohol or heroin
etc. accompanied by extreme discomfort compels him/ her to obtain the drug
by any means including criminality.
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Thus, personality theory is able to explain criminal behaviour in terms of a Theories Applied
To Criminal
number of factors such as psychoticism trait, antisocial personality and Psychology
factors such as biological, physiological and psychological factors including
substance abuse, poverty etc.
There are different modalities through which criminality has been associated
with personality. The question in this regard is whether there is a typical
personality associated with criminal behaviour. Many researches in this area
have shown contradictory findings, even though the link between personality
and antisocial behavior has been fairly well established through research.
Many facets of personality or the traits of personality combine together to
form personality of an individual. More specifically, personality traits refer to
the persisting underlying tendencies in an individual to act in a certain way in
particular situations (Farrington and Jolliffe, 2004)
These personality traits are combined together into super traits which
characterise an individual’s underlying personality. Traits which also
contribute to the emotional and experiential spheres of life, define people’s
perception of the world and explains how that perception influences the
physical and psychological outcomes. As pointed out by Miller and Lynam
(2001), many structured models of personality exist, each consisting of a set
of traits and super traits.
As one considers crime and personality, it is seen that these two are linked in
two ways, viz., certain traits or super traits are linked within a structural
model of personality and on to antisocial behaviour. Of the structural model,
the main ones include the 5-factor model of McCrae and Costa (1990), the
PEN model of Eysenck (1977), the 3-factor model of Tellegen (1985) and the
Temperament and Character model of Cloninger et al (1993). The 5-factor
model has Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to experience,
Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Eysenck’s PEN model consists of
Psychoticism, Extraversion and Neuroticism. The 3-factor model of Tellegen
covers Positive Emotionality, Negative emotionality and Constraints. The
fourth model of Cloninger and colleagues contain traits such as novelty
seeking, Harm avoidance, Reward dependence, Persistence, Self
directedness, Cooperativeness, and Self transcendence.
Eysenck’s PEN model hypothesised that a typical criminal would possess
high levels of psychoticism, Extraversion and Neuroticism traits. Cloninger
on the other hand hypothesised link between anti social personality with high
novelty seeking, low harm avoidance, and low reward dependence.
Another way by which personality theorists link the personality with criminal
behaviour is by asserting that abnormal persons, and persons showing deviant
behaviours possess criminal personality. These personality include psychopathic
personality trait, sociopathic or antisocial personality trait. Persons with these
traits are generally highly self centered, grandiose, callous and lack remorse
or empathy for others in addition to being manipulative and superficial. They
are impulsive irresponsible, and antisocial in their behaviours. Some may
suffer from antisocial personality disorder as classified by DSM-5 of APA,
and this personality disorder persons do engage in criminal behaviour or kit
may be stated that those who indulge in criminal behaviours, may suffer from 75
Criminal Psychology this personality disorder. While personality is linked to criminal behaviour,
many researches have shown that the environment too plays a significant role
in criminality. For instance a person having anti social personality trait may
not necessarily indulge in criminal behaviour. However if the environment in
which he/ she lives and brought up is conducive to criminality, this individual
too would indulge in criminal acts.
According to Moffitt (2006), persistence in antisocial behaviour is the result
of the interaction between individual traits and environmental reactions to the
personal traits of the person concerned.

5.2.5 Theories of Intelligence and Criminal Behaviour

Until now we explained criminal behaviour by different psychological
theories, such as the psychodynamic theory, cognitive theory, behavioural
theory and personality theory. Now we will discuss criminal behaviour from
intelligence perspective, that is intelligence theory.
Before proceeding, let us define intelligence generally and from psychology
point of view. According to the general definition, intelligence is the ability
to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. The Merriam Webster dictionary
states that Intelligence refers to ‘having or indicating a high or satisfactory
degree of intelligence and mental capacity. Intelligence refers to ‘revealing or
reflecting good judgment or sound thought, that is skilful. Psychologists
define intelligence as the functioning of a number of related faculties and
abilities that enable the individual to respond to the different environmental
pressures appropriately. It may however be kept in mind that even though
there is no single or ‘correct’ definition of intelligence, most definitions have
certain common features . For instance, intelligence is a property of an
individual which interacts with its various aspects of the individual’s
environment. Intelligence is also related to the individual’s ability to succeed
in realising an objective or reaching a goal. The ability to adapt oneself to the
different objectives and environments. When these are combined, we obtain
the definition of ‘intelligence’ as one that measures an individual’s ability to
achieve goals with the ability to learn and adapt, to understand and succeed in
a wide range of environments.
Whether intelligence is in any way related to criminality, has been a topic
researched a great deal. The research results over centuries have
demonstrated that individuals with low intelligence quotient (IQ) tend to be
more likely to engage in criminal behaviour. An important research in this
regard is associating school performance with intelligence and criminal
behaviour. Studies that have worked on future delinquency and adult
criminality have demonstrated that the IQ and poor school performance are
linked to each other and the youngsters who fail or drop out of school due to
poor performance and low IQ and also having very few career options,
indulge in criminality and antisocial behaviours. Thus, it may be mentioned
that based on research work relating IQ with criminality and low school
performance, those youngsters who drop out of school without even
obtaining the minimum level of education, have relatively less opportunity to
get any suitable vocation or job and thus tend to indulge in crime. Some
76 studies have also indicated that low verbal intelligence (low verbal IQ) is
obtained in those children who are considered poor school performers and Theories Applied
To Criminal
who are also low in academic achievement, both of which together lead to Psychology
their likelihood of indulging in criminal activities. Many theories of
intelligence have shown that people with low IQ are likely to be impulsive,
break the law, do not have social bonding, struggle at school etc. all of which
are related to criminal behaviour.
At the same time people with high IQ also indulge in criminal behaviours. In
this context there are many examples of genius (high IQ) indulging in crimes
as for instance many white collar crimes that go undetected. Such high IQ
persons plan meticulously every detail so that their crimes go undetected and
even if detected they will be able to escape as no evidence of any kind is left
back. Many computer related crimes, money being drained out of someone’s
account etc. are thypical crimes committed by persons with high IQ.
Oleson (2003) took one group of persons with high IQ and the other control
group and compared crime rate between the two groups, for 72 types of
crime, that included minor offences as trespassing , copyright violation to
serious crimes like arson, kidnapping and fraud. he/ she concluded that the
high IQ offenders got away with their crimes and very few convictions for
the reported offences by them. Oleson interviewed these offenders, and
reported that the exceptionally bright persons appear to be more inclined to
commit crimes because they do feel alienated from others because of their
high IQ. They suffer from social maladjustment , and experience more
isolation, bullying by peers and difficulty in forming attachments and
bonding with significant others.
All these characteristics make them at risk for committing crimes. Despite the
fact they do commit crimes, the rate of crime committed by them is far lower
than those committed by persons with low IQ. Oleson’s book, “Criminal
Genius- A portrait of High offenders (2016) published by California
university press, has brought out the high IQ crimes and the findings has
implications for criminal justice and public policy. While there is a
relationship between IQ and criminality, the debate continues about the
extent or degree of this relationship between lower IQ and crime. One of the
criticisms against this relationship is the measurement of IQ itself. It is
argued that the IQ tests measures only middle-class knowledge and values
rather than innate intelligence. Furthermore those who score low on IQ tests
also belong to different cultural backgrounds and suffer from certain
structural disadvantages, as a result of which these persons are involved in
more criminality. However, there are explanations about IQ being a causal
factor in crime related behaviours.
However, research results to quite an extent appear to be contradictory with
some researches showing no significant relationship between IQ and
criminality. Despite all these, one may conclude this section by stating that
intelligence theories do indicate IQ being a correlational factor to crime. Low
verbal IQ and poor school performance and lack of education etc do lead
persons to take to criminal activities to survive and sustain living. However
IQ alone is not the deciding factor in criminality. As pointed out in this
section there are many biological, psychological and sociological theories
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Criminal Psychology which have put forward many factors which all combine together
contributing to criminal behaviour.

Check Your Progress I

1) How does cognitive theory explain criminal behaviour?
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5.3 BIOLOGICAL AND INTEGRATED

THEORIES
These theories focus on neurobiological factors contributing to criminality.
Amongst various factors, three biological factors have been found to be
associated with crime related behaviours, and these are psychophysiology,
brain and genetics. These are discussed in detail in this section.

5.3.1 Psychophysiology and Criminal Behaviour

This refers to the arousal levels within the individuals which can be
measured. Heart rate and skin conductance are the two common
psychophysiological measures, that explain antisocial and criminal
behaviours. While both these measures are related to autonomic nervous
system functioning, the skin conductance, reflects sympathetic nervous
system functioning whereas heart rate reflects both sympathetic and
parasympathetic functioning. Antisocial and criminal behaviours are
explained by the functioning of these physiological measures. Blunted
functioning of these systems causes antisocial and criminal behaviours.
(Choy, et al., 2015; Portnoy and Farrington, 2015, Choy, et al., 2018)
Elaborating the blunted physiology explanation, it may be stated that as the
physical and mental state is disturbed by the blunted physiology, the
individual feels extremely uncomfortable and wants to do something (even
indulging in criminal behaviour) that would relieve him/ her from the state of
discomfort. In other words, indulging in criminal behaviour, leads to higher
arousal level which reduces the state of discomfort.
When there is disruption to the autonomic functioning, the individual fails to
associate cognitively the physiological responses with his emotional state.
This leads to inappropriate behaviours such as antisocial behaviours due to
the so called “somatic aphasia” in which the individual cannot identify
accurately his own bodily state. Also, blunted autonomic functioning affects
adversely the emotional intelligence, thereby increasing the psychopathic
traits in the person, which in turn disrupts the development of moral emotions
such as shame, guilt and empathy. Such persons would not hesitate indulging
in anti social and unlawful activities.
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While biological factors do contribute to criminality as pointed out above, Theories Applied
To Criminal
there are different types of criminals and these different criminals may not Psychology
share the same kind of blunting of autonomous functioning. Research shows
that persons who are high on reactive aggression may manifest hyperactive
autonomic functioning (Hubbard et al., 2010).
Thus, one may conclude that dysfunctional or blunted autonomic functioning
appear to be an important correlate of antisocial and criminal behaviours.

5.3.2 Brain and Criminal Behaviour

In this section we will be discussing the functions of the brain and criminal
behaviour. Amongst the most important organs of the brain that appear to be
associated with criminal behaviours, prefrontal cortex, amygdala, striatum
and genetics will be discussed. The neuromoral theory of antisocial
behaviour explaining criminality will be taken up followed by an integrated
theory of biological, genetic, neurological and psychological aspects.
It is well known that research studies linking brain functions to criminality
had started somewhere in the late 17th-18th century. Since then there has been
no looking back and from associating mental retardation and abnormality in
brain function to criminal behaviour, the present day research has taken up
typical areas of the brain like the pre frontal cortex, amygdala etc to criminal
behaviour.
As for the brain, relatively recent research shows that antisocial and criminal
behaviours are found in those persons who exhibit reduced brain volumes
and impaired functioning in those areas related to executive functions in the
brain. (Meijers, Harte, Meynen, & Cuijpers, 2017)
Other researchers (for example, Banks et al., 2007) pointed out that impaired
functioning of emotional regulation is associated with criminal behaviour.
On the other hand researchers working on decision making , pointed out that
For example, Coutlee and Huettel, 2012) the executive functions of the brain
shows abnormality in decision making in cases of criminal behaviour.
Thus, brain has an important role to play in criminal behaviour especially
when the area related to executive functioning is adversely affected or is not
active or functions inappropriately, thereby impacting negatively the decision
making and emotion regulation functions thereby leading to antisocial and
criminal behaviours.
Most of these criminal behaviours are attributed to the prefrontal cortex
which is responsible for the executive functions of the brain such as the
decision making, attention, emotion regulation, impulse control and moral
aspects of behaviours. This prefrontal cortex in criminals and antisocial
persons, is considered to suffer from structural and functional abnormality,
affecting the executive functions of the brain (Yuvan and Raz, 2014)
Furthermore, findings from research (for example, Taber-Thomas et al.,
2014) on prefrontal lesions, categorically showed that these lesions at
younger age level, disrupt the moral and social development of the
individuals. Relatively more recently, Darby et al., 2018, studied 17 patients 79
Criminal Psychology who, developed criminal tendencies after they were found to have developed
lesions in the prefrontal cortex and other locations in the brain. They
concluded that even though brain lesions may be in different locations they
were all connected functionally to regions activated by moral decision
making, implying there on that disruption of neuromoral network and
criminality are associated.
However, it may be mentioned here that the prefrontal cortex malfunctioning
may differ amongst criminals. For instance, the lesions mentioned above and
the malfunctioning etc. are obtained more in the conventional criminals
rather than in white collar criminals and other high level operating criminals
like the drug lord etc. Hence, it is important to recognise that It is therefore
important to acknowledge that there may exist different neurobiological
causes in different types of antisocial and criminal behaviours. Hence
prefrontal cortex lesions or brain lesions need not necessarily lead to all types
of criminal behaviours. As of the present day research, it is more associated
with conventional criminality than other modern day white collar, cyber
crimes, IT (information technology) crimes, etc.
Another important region of the brain associated with criminality is the
amygdala. This organ of the brain is involved with emotional processes and
is implicated more for negative emotions such as fear etc. Normal
functioning of the amygdala is important for fear conditioning and when
amygdala is appropriately integrated with prefrontal cortex, it leads to the
development of morality in the individual. In cases where there is
maldevelopment of amygdala and where stimulus reinforcement learning is
not present, this leads to an increased aggressive and antisocial behaviours. It
has been pointed out that amygdala is associated with stimulus-reinforcement
learning that discourages anti social and criminal behaviours (Sterzer. 2010).
Also, it has been stated (Pardini et al., 2014) that if amygdala volume is
reduced in adulthood it may lead to aggressive and criminal behaviours, and
be also associated with increased risk for future antisocial and psychopathic
behaviour.
Another organ in the brain in explaining criminality, is the striatum, which is
involved in reward and emotional processing. Increased activity in the
striatum has been associated with impulsive and antisocial behaviours.
According to recent research findings (for example, Geurts, et al., 2016),
those individuals who are high on impulsive and antisocial traits, show also
higher level of activity in the striatum.
Under ‘brain’ abnormalities, neuromoral theory is an important theory that
explains criminality. According to this, impaired brain regions, other than
PFC, amygdala and striatum overlap regions, such as the frontopolar, medial,
and ventral PFC regions, and the anterior cingulate, insula, superior temporal
gyrus, etc. which are involved in moral decision making. (Raine, 2019)
One implication of the model is that significant impairment to the neuromoral
circuit could constitute diminished criminal responsibility.

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5.3.3 Genetics and Criminal Behaviour Theories Applied
To Criminal
Psychology
The aspect of hereditary factors associated with criminality has been
researched comprehensively though no specific conclusions could be arrived
at as many of these factors are impacted and influenced b y social and
environmental factors also. For instance, a large number of psychological and
psychiatric variables, such as intelligence, personality and mental disorders
etc. have been associated with criminal behaviours. Almost all these factors
are heritable and 40-60% of these heritable factors contribute to antisocial
and criminal behaviours (Raine, 2013).
Another important factor to note is the interaction of gene with the
environment. The predisposition of indulging in criminality by an individual
is determined by the gene. However, the individual may not necessarily
become a criminal or indulge in criminal behaviour due to this
predisposition. However if the environment is such that, as for instance,
residing in a criminal neighbourhood or community or being neglected and
maltreated by people, family and society, it would render the individual
susceptible to indulge in criminal behaviour. For instance a particular
genotype DRD2 (Dopamine genes) when combined with having a criminal
father increased the risk for serious delinquency , violent behaviours and
being apprehended by the police (Delisi et al., 2009).
Thus, the gene-environment interaction contributing to criminal behaviours
indicates, how the genotypes influence the sensitivity of the persons to
environmental stressors. Thus, one may categorically state that the gene
environment interaction is an important factor causing criminal behaviour.
Just as biological mechanisms influence environmental factors, so also the
environmental factors such as environmental stressors can influence
biological factors and their expressions.
While biological factors interacting with environmental factors are
considered to cause criminal behaviours, quite often the interaction between
and amongst different biological factors can also influence criminal
behaviour. For instance, as mentioned earlier the pre frontal cortex which
regulates the amygdala activity if disrupted or the connectivity between PFC
and amygdala is disrupted, it leads to increased antisocial /criminal
behaviours. It is therefore important to also consider the working together of
the different biological systems in producing criminal behaviours.
In addition to the above factors, based on the many theories discussed above,
another important factor is the social environment, which is unhealthy or
abnormal or criminalistic, may lead to criminality. Studies in this regard (for
for example, Tottenham, et al., 2011) have identified early adversity and
childhood maltreatment as two important risk factors that may lead to both
neurobiolgical and behavioural problems in the individuals.
Furthermore, it has been shown that for normative brain development and its
function, there is a need for a healthy social environment. This knowledge
regarding the association between healthy social environment, brain
functioning and criminality helps in changing the social environment in such
a manner that the criminal behaviours could be reduced in the individuals and
in turn in the society. 81
Criminal Psychology Check Your Progress II
1) List the most important organs of the brain that appear to be associated
with criminal behaviours.
…………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………….
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…………………………………………………………………………….

5.4 LET US SUM UP

To summarise in this section we discussed about the psychodynamic theories
and also cognite theories in order to explain criminal behaviour. While
linking personality with criminal behaviours, one may reiterate the statement
made by Miller and Lyman (2001), who used five factor model as a common
denominator, and stated that those who are low on agreeablenesstrait,
conscientiousness trait, and having poor control over impulsiveness and lack
motivation to change behaviour for the better, are more likely to indulge in
criminal or anti social behaviours as compared to those who are high on the
traits and have motivation to change their behaviour in a more positive
direction. Also, since environment too plays an important role in behaviours
of the individual, it may be stated that if an individual is brought up in an
environment wherein the child through early attachments and social bonds
learn to control his impulses, delay short term gain for long term personal
and collective interests, when interact with the personality traits within the
person, may explain the presence or absence of criminal behaviour.

5.5 REFERENCES
Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice
Hall.
Banks SJ, Eddy KT, Angstadt M, Nathan PJ, Phan KL. Amygdala-frontal
connectivity during emotion regulation. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci.
2007;2(4):303‐312.
Bartol, C.R. and Bartol, A.M. (2008). Introduction to Forensic Psychology.
Research and Application. (2nd edition). Barnes & Nobles, NY.
Canter, D. (2017). Criminal Psychology. New York: Routledge.
Choy O, Farrington DP, & Raine A (2015). The need to incorporate
autonomic arousal in developmental and life-course research and
theories. Journal of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology, 1, 189–
207.
Choy O, Raine A, & Hamilton RH (2018). Stimulation of the prefrontal
cortex reduces intentions to commit aggression: A randomized, double-blind,
placebo-controlled, stratified, parallel-group trial. The Journal of
Neuroscience, 38, 6505–6512.
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Coutlee CG, Huettel SA. The functional neuroanatomy of decision making: Theories Applied
To Criminal
prefrontal control of thought and action. Brain Res. 2012;1428:3‐12. Psychology

Delisi M, Beaver KM, Vaughn MG, & Wright JP (2009). All in the
family. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 36, 1187–1197.
Farrington D. P., & Jolliffe, D. (2004). Personality and crime. In N. J.
Smelser, & P. B. Balters (Eds.), International encyclopedia of the social &
behavioral sciences (pp. 11260-11264). Amsterdam: Elsvier Publications.
Geurts DEM, von Borries K, Volman I, Bulten BH, Cools R, &Verkes R-J
(2016). Neural connectivity during reward expectation dissociates
psychopathic criminals from non-criminal individuals with high
impulsive/antisocial psychopathic traits. Social Cognitive and Affective
Neuroscience, 11, 1326–1334.
Harmening, W and Gamez, A. M. (2016). Forensic Psychology. Delhi:
Pearson
Hubbard JA, McAuliffe MD, Morrow MT, & Romano LJ (2010). Reactive
and proactive aggression in childhood and adolescence: Precursors,
outcomes, processes, experiences, and measurement. Journal of Personality, 78,
95–118.
Meijers, Jesse & Harte, Joke & Meynen, Gerben & Cuijpers, Pim. (2017).
Differences in executive functioning between violent and non-violent
offenders. Psychological Medicine. 47. 1-10.
Miller, Joshua D., and Lynam, Donald (2001). structural models of
personality and their relation to antisocial behavior: a meta‐analytic review.
Moffitt, T. E. (2006). Life-course-persistent versus adolescence-limited
antisocial behavior. In D. Cicchetti & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental
psychopathology: Risk, disorder, and adaptation (p. 570–598). John Wiley &
Sons, Inc..
Pardini DA, Raine A, Erickson K, & Loeber R (2014). Lower amygdala
volume in men is associated with childhood aggression, early psychopathic
traits, and future violence. Biological Psychiatry, 75, 73–80.
Portnoy J,& Farrington DP (2015). Resting heart rate and antisocial behavior:
An updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Aggression and Violent
Behavior, 22, 33–45.
Oleson, J. C. (2003) : The celebrity of infamy: A review essay of five
autobiographies by three criminal geniuses. Crime, Law and Social
Change 40(4):391–408, 2003.
Raine A (2013). The anatomy of violence: The biological roots of crime.
New York: Pantheon.
Raine A. (2019). The neuromoral theory of antisocial, violent, and
psychopathic behavior. Psychiatry Research. 277: 64‐69.
Sterzer P (2010). Born to be criminal? What to make of early biological risk
factors for criminal behavior. American Journal of Psychiatry, 167, 1–3.
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Criminal Psychology Tottenham N, Hare TA, Millner A, Gilhooly T, Zevin JD, & Casey BJ
(2011). Elevated amygdala response to faces following early deprivation.
Developmental Science, 14, 190–204.
Yuan P, Raz N. Prefrontal cortex and executive functions in healthy adults: a
meta-analysis of structural neuroimaging studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev.
2014;42:180‐192.
Taber-Thomas, Bradley & Asp, Erik & Koenigs, Michael & Sutterer,
Matthew & Anderson, Steven & Tranel, Daniel. (2014). Arrested
development: Early prefrontal lesions impair the maturation of moral
judgment. Brain : a journal of neurology. 137.
Darby, R. & Horn, Andreas & Cushman, Fiery & Fox, Michael. (2017).
Lesion network localization of criminal behavior. Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences. 115.

5.6 KEY WORDS

Behaviour theory: The main tenet of this theory is that all behaviours are
learned and hence can be unlearned and a new behaviour which is more
appropriate and desired can be learned in place of the undesirable behaviour.
By the same logic, criminal behaviour or violent behaviours too are learned
and so can be unlearned, and in their place new and desirable behaviours can
be learned afresh.
Cognitive theory: According to this theory, criminal behaviour is explained
in terms of the mental processes of the individual. The focus of this theory is
to understand how criminals perceive the world around them, and how the
individuals solve problems. Cognitive theory has two sub disciplines, viz., a)
moral development, and b) information processing.
Psychodynamic theory: According to the psychodynamic theory, the early
childhood experiences of the individual is responsible for such behaviours.
The proponent of this theory was Sigmund Freud and this theory had three
basic elements, viz., a) The Id, b) The Ego and c) The Super Ego.
Psychophysiology: This refers to the arousal levels within the individuals
which can be measured. Heart rate and skin conductance are the two common
psychophysiological measures, that explain antisocial and criminal
behaviours.

5.7 ANSWERS TO CHEK YOUR PROGRESS

Check Your Progress I
1) How does cognitive theory explain criminal behaviour?
According to this theory, criminal behaviour is explained in terms of the
mental processes of the individual. The focus of this theory is to
understand how criminals perceive the world around them, and how the
individuals solve problems.

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Check Your Progress II Theories Applied
To Criminal
1) List the most important organs of the brain that appear to be associated Psychology
with criminal behaviours.
The most important organs of the brain that appear to be associated with
criminal behaviours are prefrontal cortex, amygdala, striatum and genetics

5.8 UNIT END QUESTIONS

1) Describe the psychodynamic theory, cognitive theory and behaviour
theory of criminal behaviour.
2) Explain personality theory of criminal behaviour.
3) Discuss the theories or intelligence and criminal behaviour.
4) Explain the biological and integrated theories of criminal behaviour.

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