NCJ Number
85053
Date Published
1980
Length
261 pages
Annotation
This study evaluates the applicability of a multidisciplinary model, namely Professor Vernon Reynolds' 'biology of human action,' to the study of criminality.
Abstract
The research links propositions from Reynolds' theoretical model with criminal behavior theory and examines empirical evidence on criminal and antisocial behavior. The study examines biologically deterministic theories, and then assesses the relative contribution of genetic input to criminality and antisociality. It considers whether criminals are different from noncriminals and if criminals could be characterized reliably. Based on the considerable anthropological evidence that man, in general, is not innately aggressive, the issue of innate aggression in criminals is explored. The physiological links mediating individuals' biology and their observable functioning are also discussed within the context of a learning model. The study reviews the literature dealing with the impact of an adverse family environment and, in particular, of parental deprivation, neglect, and abuse, and relates this to later criminal or antisocial behavior. Socialization and social organization are discussed, and a model for interdisciplinary investigation in criminology, based on those propositions supported by the research, is developed. Footnotes, data tables, and illustrations are supplied. About 300 references are appended. (Author abstract modified)