Introduction
Criminal psychology studies mental phenomena and patterns manifested in the process of activities associated with crimes. These activities include the formation of a criminal attitude of the personality, the formation of a criminal motive, the personality of a criminal and a victim, and other means. However, it is the formation of a criminal stereotype of behavior that receives the most attention. Subsequently, theoretical understanding of criminal behavior lies in the existence of theories which try to explore and explain it.
Psychodynamic Theory
Among theories treating criminal behavior as instinctive, one of the most famous is the Freud’s psychoanalysis, which developed within the psychodynamic direction. Bornstein (2019) within his analysis of the theory states that “it explains personality in terms of unconscious psychological processes and contends that childhood experiences are crucial in shaping adult personality” (p. 1). In his early works, Freud claimed that all human behavior is direct or is indirectly determined by eros – the instinct of life, whose energy called libido is directed towards the affirmation of life. From this point of view, criminal behavior was seen as a reaction to blockage or destruction of libidinal impulses. Later, Freud also suggested the existence of the second basic instinct – thanatos, or the death instinct, whose energy is aimed at the destruction and termination of life. Thus, human behavior, including the criminal one, came to be viewed as the result of combinations of the action of these two instincts. In general, Freud’s view on the problem of criminal behavior and aggression is not particularly optimistic. He suggests that violence and mental illness are inevitable companions of the human existence, which come from instinctive, vicious human nature.
Behavioral Theory
A widely known generalized expression of behaviorist approach to understanding criminal behavior has become the famous S-R (stimulus-response) scheme. The position of behavioral psychologists is conducted through the thesis that behavior is a person’s response to appropriate stimuli from the external environment. Therefore, certain change in external conditions are able to either eliminate, or activate manifestations of deviance in an individual. All human behavior is considered a complex set of different stable or short-term reactions. Subsequently, the behavioral learning mechanism is based on the consolidation of typical reactions to typical incentives in the mind of a person. Validated behavior is reinforced and thus becomes natural. Rodriguez and Straus (2019) state with their scientific research that “families and couples who engage in violence have a distinctive history and pattern of behavior” (p. 13). From this point of view, criminal behavior is a learning outcome associated with different – mostly negative – set of stimuli from the person’s environment. In other words, deviant behavior, as well as “normal” behavior, is taught and reinforced through validating stimuli.
Cognitive Dissonance Theory
Social psychologists believe that deviant behavior is the result of stable laws actions on the mental organization of people. Most of these patterns are associated with the fact that people are social creatures and coordinate their behavior with each other. Moreover, a human being needs to feel the consistency of their actions with their beliefs. Maegherman et al. (2021) imply that “confirmation bias refers to the human tendency to seek and interpret evidence in ways that favour an existing belief, thereby influencing reasoning and decision-making” (p. 2). According to the cognitive dissonance theory, when individual’s actions conflict with their convictions, a special tension arises in the psyche, which is called a dissonance. The strength of the dissonance depends on how significant the disturbed beliefs were for the individual’s personal value system and overall worldview. Removal or reduction of the dissonance can be done in three ways: behavior or its consequences change, rationalization of dissonant behavior, or change of said beliefs. This mechanism can be used to purposefully change beliefs into deviancy, and even to engage a person into criminal activity.
Differential Association Theory
People become familiar with norms and values through socialization. It is widely known that norms and values in different societies and social groups vary considerably. Differential association theory is, essentially, based on the proposition that criminal behavior is a product of special deviant norms and values. This approach emphasizes the idea that individuals can be socialized by a group of people practicing deviant behavior and considering it as the norm. Accordingly, the title of the theory reflects the hypothesis that people behave in a certain way under the influence of their environment. Differentiated social influences determine the process of upbringing and maturation of a person. Maloku (2020) suggests that “the process of learning delinquent behavior involves all the mechanisms that are important for learning in general” (p. 171). For example, if a child grows up in a respectable society, then it will learn standards of socially acceptable behavior. On the contrary, if the child’s social environment is criminalized, then it will most likely adopt criminal behavior. Moreover, the antisocial behavior would be learned better when it is reinforced more strongly than socially approved behavior. The value of the differential association theory is that it represents an attempt to explain deviant behavior on the basis of an analysis of the usual, human way of learning.
Conclusion
Theories of criminal behavior represent value in understanding and explaining individual factors and characteristics influencing the human intentions to commit crimes. They complement and develop each other, and should be considered as a whole when studying criminal behavior. Subsequently, there is not universal theory which could explain each and every aspect of potential delinquency. Each of the theories discussed above remains of interest for exploring certain historical periods and social relations regarding criminal behavior. Thus, only the integration of knowledge from various fields of science and practice can contribute to the development of recommendations for the prevention and suppression of crimes.
References
Bornstein, R. (2019). The psychodynamic perspective. In R. Biswas-Diener & E. Diener (Eds), Noba textbook series: Psychology. Champaign, IL: DEF publishers.
Maegherman, E., Ask, K., Horselenberg, R., & van Koppen, P. J. (2021). Law and order effects: on cognitive dissonance and belief perseverance. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 1–20.
Maloku, A. (2020). Theory of Differential Association. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 9(1), 170.
Rodriguez, L. M., & Straus, M. A. (2019). Dyadic Conceptualization, Measurement, and Analysis of Family Violence. In V. B. Van Hasselt & M. L. Bourke (Eds.), Handbook of Behavioral Criminology (pp. 13–24). essay, Springer.