Why People Commit Crimes According To Psychologists

Document Type:Essay

Subject Area:Psychology

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At times one wonders why people engage in crimes hence they have all the riches they want. For instance, it is common across the nations to see a government minister or top officials engage in crimes yet they own luxurious and wealth. On the other hand, there are those individuals who steal to have something to feed on and feed their families. These are different types of crimes by various individuals that leave many questions than answers. Crime can be described as the omission or action which equals to an offense and one that can be punishable by rules of law (Hawkes, 2015). From a few categories, there are crimes such as assault, robbery, burglary, arson, sexual assault, homicide, violent offenses and many other kinds of crimes that are committed daily in our societies (Corbett, 2013).

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Violent crimes are common and involve offenses that can cause harm or injury to others. They include weapons and merciless individuals and mobs that are out to assault others to get whatever they want. For instance, sexual assaults such as rape are common types of violent crimes that result in many women and men being killed, injured and traumatized. In this case, women are faced with higher rates of about 37% of sexual assault than men which are at 6% (Lianos, 2017). In many aspects of life, people consider crime as only those performed by rude and poorly dressed individuals. However, there are committed by cashiers, bankers, and bookkeepers who are of high level regarding organization and execution. For instance, corporate crimes have been evident in many nations regarding corruption and have cost countries vast sums of money (Farrell, 2015).

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Organized crimes are also common and involve gangs or groups that purposely come together to undertake certain types of crimes. For instance, there are groups such as mafia which terrorizes people and takes away the possessions of enormous value. On the contrary, another psychologist known as Gabriel Trade found that people laden with each other and then imitate one another and only a small percentage could think differently (Edelstein, 2015). Psychodynamic theory The proponents of psychodynamic theory observe that the personality of individuals is controlled and based on their childhood unconscious mental processes. Three essential features of this theory include the id, ego, and superego. The theory is essential in understanding the reasons people engage in crimes as it identified behaviour’s that gradually develop from a young age up to the adults.

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For instance, the theory states that when a child grows up in a crime-prone area, she acquires the aspects and knowledge of offenders and with years she starts practicing what she has learned. The study indicates that a weak ego comes with the absence or inadequate social etiquette, dependence, and immaturity. Further, when an individual has a fragile ego, there is a high likelihood of engaging in drug abuse which motivates an individual to commit crimes (Bowlby, 2017). Behavioural theory Behaviourism is another significant psychological theory that can explain the reason people commit crimes. Behaviours theory suggests that all human behaviour’s develop with time as a result of learning experiences. It indicates that people have a way of changing their practices in response to the reactions specific behaviour elicits in others.

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People in these regions also have no stable employment and engages in taking and selling of illegal drugs and alcoholism hence issues of obeying federal, state and local laws (Rizq, 2017). The next source of behavioural challenges is the mass and social media. Mass media and the modern social media play an essential role in making people in society to engage in crimes. The upcoming media such as video games, television, movies, and social media platforms portrays severe types of violence to children. For instance, during these games of films, violence is celebrated, and the character that commits many crimes such as killing others and driving into supermarkets and breaking from prisons is highly respected. However, when a person gets into the conventional stages, he develops critical moral reasoning as a young adult and believes that he belongs to the ways of society.

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People at this stage no longer care whether others prove or disapprove their actions hence the ease of engaging in criminal activities (Haun, 2014). The current post-conventional stage is known as the social contract where individuals recognize the moral importance of societal values and rules but only when they are about their liberty, humanity, and humanity. Thus, the cognitive theory explains that due to mental development at different stages in life forces some people to engage in criminal activities due to the independence of mind and lack of respects for social values (Gerber, 2012). The current ability of psychological theory and research in explaining reasons people commit crimes Today, psychologists agree that the reasons that make people commit crime are indeed complicated and involved complicated mechanisms of some factors. The psychologist has also understood that the only dependable way of predicting future criminal aspects in individuals is by looking at the past of individuals (Bruce, 2016).

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Conclusion Psychologists have essential theories that try to explain the reason people engage in crimes. These theories include psychodynamic theory which suggests that offense is based on a person's childhood expectances, then the behavioural theory which focuses on social learning and then there is a cognitive theory which deals with individual's perceptions and how they motivate one to become a criminal. The approaches are critical and can be adequately connected to various types of crimes such as violent, consensual, white collar and property crimes. Therefore, to efficiently control these types of crimes, it is vital for society to identify the causes of crimes by exploring these theories. pp. Informa UK Limited Cornwall, Warren, (2017). Did You Knowingly Commit A Crime? Brain Scans Could Tell". Science. American Association For The Advancement Of Science Edelstein, Arnon, (2015).

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Protective Processes: The Function Of Young People's Implicit Theories Of Crime In Offending Behaviour. Psychology, Crime & Law, vol 18, no. pp. Informa UK Limited Haun, Matthias, (2014). the Plea For Cognitive Solutions in efforts to Cognitive Robotic, the Cognitive Foundation, the Cognitive Solution. Emerald Lianos, Helen, and Andrew McGrath, (2017). Can The General Theory Of Crime And General Strain Theory Explain Cyberbullying Perpetration?". Crime & Delinquency, p. SAGE Publications, Lyon, Cate, (2013). A Brief Introduction To Psychoanalytic Theory. pp. Informa UK Limited Shore, Milton, (2014). Psychological Theories of The Causes Of Antisocial Behaviour. Crime & Delinquency, vol 17, no. pp.

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