Criminal Psychology

Criminal behavior

any act that goes against the law of the land.

Social construct

society determines what is considered criminal behaviour, so it can change over time and place.

Deviation from norms

crime is when an act or behaviour goes against what is expected in society.

Role of culture

collective set of norms that determines a way of life for a group of people.

Crime

is measured using self-report methods, which may not be reliable.

Role models/modelling

people we look up to and respect who model behaviour for us.

Identification

we decide we want to be like these people.

Observation

we pay attention to their behaviours and retain them in our memory.

 Imitation

we recall these behaviours and copy them. Self-efficacy (belief in ourselves). 

Vicarious

observe someone being rewarded or punished for a behaviour

Direct

get rewarded or punished ourselves for a behaviour

Internalization

the behaviour becomes part of us and no longer needs to be reinforced for it to continue.

Criminal personality

personality traits associated with people who commit crimes. Something that is inherited through genetic inheritance and innate (born with it).

Extraversion

how outgoing an individual is (Criminals are often extroverts as they need a lot of stimulation from the environment and are often thrill-seekers.)

Neuroticism

how anxious/emotional an individual is (Criminals are often neurotic as they don’t easily learn from mistakes).

Psychoticism

how impulsive/aggressive an individual is (Criminals are often psychotic as they are aggressive and impulsive).

Cerebral cortex

becomes hungry for stimulation which is then gained from criminal behaviour.

Dopamine reward system

neural network that is responsible for people experiencing pleasure. 

Dopaminergic neurons

too many neurons cause overproduction of dopamine which leads to less inhibition of impulses during synaptic transmission (process where neurotransmitters are released by presynaptic neuron and bind to and activate the receptors of postsynaptic neurons).

Punishments

negative consequences to certain behaviours that aim to reduce the chance of these behaviours happening again. E.g. prisons, fines and community sentences

Deterrents

something that reduces the likelihood of a crime being committed.

Rehabilitation

promoting pro-social behaviour and teaching social skills.

Restorative justice

rehabilitating offenders by giving them the choice to be aware of the consequences of their actions, e.g. being introduced to their victims and seeing the effect their crime has had).