Chapter 6 Psychological and Psychiatric Foundations of Criminal Behavior

1. Chapter 6Psychological and Psychiatric Foundations of Criminal Behavior Frank Schmalleger PowerPoint presentation created by Ellen G. Cohn, Ph.D.

2. Key Terms Forensic psychology: The application of the science and profession of psychology to questions and issues relating to law and the legal system Forensic psychiatry: A medical subspeciality applying psychiatry to the needs of crime prevention and solution, criminal rehabilitation, and issues of the criminal law

3. Major Principles of Psychological Theories The individual is the primary unit of analysis Personality is the major motivational element within individuals Crimes result from abnormal, dysfunctional, or inappropriate mental processes within the personality

4. Major Principles of Psychological Theories Criminal behavior may be purposeful for the individual insofar as it addresses certain felt needs Normality is generally defined by social consensus Defective, or abnormal, mental processes may have a variety of causes

5. Theory in Perspective Psychiatric Criminology Also known as Forensic Psychiatry A complex set of drives and motives operating from recesses deep within the personality to determine behavior Period: 1930s – present Concepts: psychopath, sociopath, antisocial and asocial personality

6. Early Psychological Theories Two main threads: Conditioning The frequency of a behavior can be increased or decreased through reward, punishment or association with other stimuli Personality disturbances and diseases of the mind Psychopathy and mental disease

7. The Psychopath Psychopathy: A personality disorder characterized by antisocial behavior and lack of affect Psychopath/sociopath: An individual who has a personality disorder, especially one manifested in aggressively antisocial behavior and who is lacking in empathy

8. The Mask of Sanity Hervey M. Cleckley (1941) – developed concept of a psychopathic personality Psychopath as “moral idiot” Poverty of affect – inability to accurately imagine how others think and feel

9. Psychopathic Characteristics Superficial charm and “good intelligence” Absence of delusions Absence of nervousness Inability to feel guilt or shame Unreliability Chronic lying Ongoing antisocial behavior Poor judgment Self-centeredness and inability to love Social unresponsiveness Poorly integrated sex life Failure to follow a life plan

10. Antisocial Personality Disorder Antisocial/asocial personality Individuals who are basically unsocialized and whose behavior pattern brings them into repeated conflicts with society Individuals who exhibit an antisocial personality are said to be suffering from antisocial personality disorder (ASPD)

11. Causes of ASPD Somatic causes - based on physiological features Malfunction of CNS Psychogenic causes – rooted in early interpersonal experiences Inability to form attachments early in life Sudden separation from mother early in life Other forms of early insecurity

12. Personality Types and Crime Hans Eysenck – Crime and Personality (1964) Crime as the result of fundamental personality characteristics Three personality dimensions Psychotics – most likely to be criminal Extroverts Neurotics

13. Early Psychiatric Theories Psychiatric criminology Envisions a complex set of drives and motives that operate from within the personality to determine behavior Crime is caused by biological and psychological urges mediated through consciousness Little emphasis on the role of the external environment

14. Theory in Perspective Psychoanalytic Criminology Emphasizes the role of personality in human behavior Sees deviant behavior as the result of dysfunctional personalities Period: 1920s – present Concepts: id, ego, superego, sublimation, psychotherapy, Thanatos, neurosis, psychosis, schizophrenia

15. The Psychoanalytic Perspective Psychoanalysis: Criminal behavior is maladaptive, the result of inadequacies inherent in the personality of the offender Psychotherapy: The attempt to relieve patients of their mental disorders through the application of psychoanalytic principles and techniques

16. Psychoanalytic Structure of Personality

17. The Psychoanalytic Perspective Sublimation: A process in which one item of consciousness is symbolically substituted for another Improper sublimation may lead to crime Thanatos – a death instinct or death wish Neurosis: Individuals are in touch with reality but may be anxious or fearful of certain situations Most neuroses do not lead to crime but some may

18. The Psychotic Offender Psychosis: mental illness characterized by a lack of contact with reality Characteristics of psychotic individuals A grossly distorted conception of reality Inappropriate moods and mood swings Marked inefficiency in getting along with others and caring for oneself Schizophrenics and paranoid schizophrenics

19. Theory in Perspective Frustration-Aggression Theory Frustration is a natural consequence of living and a root cause of crime Criminal behavior as a form of adaptation when it results in stress reduction Period: 1940s – present Concepts: frustration, aggression, displacement, catharsis, alloplastic and autoplastic adaptation

20. The Link Between Frustration and Aggression Freud: Aggression is a natural response to frustrating limits Frustration-aggression theory (J. Dollard) Direct aggression toward others is the most likely consequence of frustration Aggression can be manifested in socially acceptable ways or engaged in vicariously by watching others act aggressively

21. Crime as Adaptive Behavior Alloplastic adaptation: Crime reduces stresses that the individual faces by producing changes in the environment (empowerment) Autoplastic adaptation: Crime leads to stress reduction as a result of internal changes in beliefs and value systems

22. Theory in Perspective Modeling Theory People learn how to behave by modeling themselves after others whom they have the opportunity to observe Period: 1950s – present Concepts: imitation, interpersonal aggression, modeling, disengagement

23. Modeling Theory Gabriel Tarde’s three laws of imitation and suggestion: People in close contact tend to imitate each other’s behavior Imitation moves from the top down New acts and behaviors either reinforce or replace old ones

24. Modeling Theory Albert Bandura’s modeling theory Everyone is capable of aggression but must learn how to behave aggressively Social learning factors determine what forms aggressive behavior takes, its frequency, the situations in which it is displayed, and the targets selected for attack People learn to act by observing others

25. Modeling Theory Aggression can be activated or provoked in various ways Disengagement: people who devalue aggression may engage in it by constructing rationalizations to overcome internal inhibitions Attributing blame to the victim Dehumanization Vindication of aggression by legitimate authorities Desensitization from repeated exposure

26. Theory in Perspective Behavior Theory Individual behavior that is rewarded will increase in frequency, while that which is punished will decrease Period: 1940s – present Concepts: operant behavior, conditioning, stimulus-response, reward, punishment

27. Behavior Theory Stimulus-response approach Operant behavior: behavior choices operate on the environment to produce consequences for the individual When behavior results in rewards, it will probably become more frequent When behavior results in punishment, the frequency of that behavior decreases

28. Behavior Theory Rewards increase the frequency of approved behavior Positive rewards add something desirable Negative rewards remove something distressful Punishments decrease the frequency of unwanted behavior Positive punishments add something undesirable Negative punishments remove something desirable

29. Attachment Theory Healthy personality development requires that children have a warm, intimate, and continuous relationship with their mothers Forms of attachment: Secure attachment (a healthy form) Anxious-avoidant attachment Anxious-resistant attachment

30. Theory in Perspective Self-Control Theory The root cause of crime is found in a person’s inability to exercise socially appropriate controls over the self Period: 1940s – present Concepts: self-control, general theory, criminal opportunity

31. Self-Control Theory Self control: A person’s ability to alter his or her own states and responses Four types of self control Impulse control Control over the contents of the mind Control over emotional and mood states Performance control

32. Self-Control Theory Gottfredson and Hirschi – general theory of crime Low self-control is the primary individual-level cause of crime Self control: the degree to which a person is vulnerable to temptations of the moment

33. Insanity and the Law Insanity (legal): A legally established inability to understand right from wrong or to conform one’s behavior to the requirements of the law Insanity (psychological): Persistent mental disorder or derangement

34. Insanity and the Law Foucha v. Louisiana (1992) Insanity Defense Reform Act (IDRA) - 1984 “Not guilty by reason of insanity” (NGRI)

35. Insanity and the Law M’Naughten Rule Irresistible-Impulse Test Durham Rule Substantial-Capacity Test Brawner Rule

36. Guilty But Mentally Ill Individual may be held responsible for a criminal act, even though a degree of mental incompetence is present Requirements for verdict Every statutory element necessary for conviction proven beyond a reasonable doubt Defendant found to have been mentally ill at the time of the crime Defendant not found to have been legally insane at the time of the crime

37. Federal Provisions for the Hospitalization of Individuals Found NGRI Mandatory psychological/psychiatric examination and hearing Individual committed if release creates risk to persons or property due to present mental disease or defect Individual discharged when facility director determines s/he has recovered from mental disease or defect

38. Social Policy and Forensic Psychology Psychological theories continue to evolve Focus on using past behavior to predict future behavior Assessment of dangerousness Identification of personal characteristics to predict future dangerousness

39. Social Policy and Forensic Psychology Selective incapacitation Policy based on the notion of career criminality Seeks to protect society by incarcerating individuals deemed the most dangerous Correctional psychology Diagnosis and classification, treatment, and rehabilitation of offenders

40. Social Policy and the Psychology of Criminal Conduct Donald Andrews and James Bonta (1994) Practical synthesis of psychological approaches to criminal behavior Not a new behavioral theory, a call for the application of what we understand We know something about what works, now we need to make use of that knowledge

41. Criminal Psychological Profiling Psychological profiling: The attempt to categorize, understand, and predict the behavior of certain types of offenders based on behavioral clues they provide Based on the belief that conscious behavior is symptomatic of personality Offender’s specific activities help clarify his/her personal characteristics, motivations, likely future behavior