bbcsulb Discussion 2 Essays - Criminology, Crime, Psychology

bbcsulb Discussion 2 Which psychological and sociological factors do you believe have the most influence on the development of criminal behavior, and why? When it comes to sociological factors, I believe social interactions are the most significant in terms of criminal behavior development or lack thereof. The text states \"Deviant peer associations and socially disorganized neighborhoods are likely to propel residents toward antisocial behavior (DeLisi 2013)\". Following up on that, the sociological environment within the society of family within one's home can also influence development of criminal behavior if/when the examples within the home by family are criminally deviant. Psychological factors I believe would have influence in developing criminal behavior would be negative emotionality and temperament. The ability to experience negative emotions such as anxiety, fear, sadness, or anger is negative emotionality, according to the text (DeLisi 2013). The text defines temperament as \"aspects of personality that are innate rather than learned (DeLisi 2013). Negative emotions, especially those which are repressed, can spur an incident of rage or irrational, erratic behavior which could result in criminal activity. Temperament is considered significant because one's disposition theoretically stays consistent during his/her lifetime. Hence, is one is quick-tempered or hot-headed when young, the propensity to remain the same is likely and this would trend towards higher likelihood for involvement in crime of some sort. Do you believe that psychological factors or sociological factors have more of an influence over behavior, or is it a combination of the two? Despite the influence psychological factors may have on one's thinking or mental capacity, I believe sociological factors have more of an influence over behavior. If criminal-type behavior is the norm for an individual by way of family influence/involvement or peer and/or environment influence, the deviant behavior is more likely to be replicated than not. The text explains that social learning theoretically states behavioral consequences and reinforcement as responsible for continuation of behavior (DeLisi 2013). Provide an example of a criminal case to support your discussion. The criminal case and history of infamous serial killer Aileen Wuornos could an example of social learning theory and its effect. Aileen Wuornos was tried, convicted, and executed for the murder of seven men in Central Florida. Her upbringing could fit the category of social learning theory, which is a perspective that states that people learn within a social context. It seems that Wuornos growing up could be definitely in this category obviously, and was able to learn from her environment. People, especially children, learn from the environment and seek acceptance from society by learning through influential models The Social Control theory would suggest Wuornos's life experiences may have caused her to become a serial killer. Wuornos was abandoned by her parents, molested at youth and thrown out of the only home she knew as a teen. As result, she resorted to prostitution to survive. She dropped out of school at an early age and had to give up her child for adoption after getting pregnant at 14 yeard old of age. Her peers alienated her and she had little to no friends. School failed to provide the social life she hoped to have. \"Wuornos's childhood may hold the key to many of the reasons she behaved in such a violent, reckless, remorseless, manner\", (Adams, 2009). By using the social learning /social control theory, one could easily relate to the belief that Wuornos was a product of her environment References: DeLisi, M. (2013). Criminal Psychology. San Diego, CA. Bridgepoint Education Inc. https://bbcsulb.desire2learn.com/d2l/lms/blog/view_user.d2l?ownerId=72322 https://russiarobinson.wordpress.com/2015/11/05/serial-killer-aileen-wuornos-applying-sociology-theories-to-crime-and-behavior/ Adams, C. (2009, July). Crime 101: What is the link between self-control theory, serial killer, and aileen wuornos. The Examiner, Retrieved from http://www.examiner.com/article/crime-101-what-is-the-link-between-self-control-theory-serial-killing-and-aileen-wuornos-part-1