NCJ Number
63172
Date Published
1980
Length
446 pages
Annotation
THIS TEXTBOOK EMPHASIZES PSYCHODYNAMIC AND SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN THE STUDY OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR AND DISCUSSES RELATED ISSUES OF CONTROL, SELF-ESTEEM, MORAL DEVELOPMENT, AND COGNITIVE INTERPRETATIONS.
Abstract
THE BASIC PREMISE IN THIS BOOK FOR COLLEGE-LEVEL COURSES ON CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR IS THAT HUMAN BEINGS REACT TO A SITUATION ACCORDING TO THEIR INDIVIDUAL PERCEPTIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS OF THAT PARTICULAR SITUATION, AND THAT THOSE PERCEPTIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS ARE STRONGLY INFLUENCED BY EXPERIENCE AND THOUGHT. A VIABLE PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR, THEREFORE, REQUIRES ATTENTION TO PERSONALITY FACTORS AND HOW THEY INTERACT WITH SITUTIONAL VARIABLES, RATHER THAN A SIMPLE EXAMINATION OF SITUATION-FREE OR SITUATION-BOUND PERSONS. THIS TEXT DISCUSSES PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS IN CRIMINALITY; DEVELOPMENTAL FACTORS IN JUVENILE DELINQUENCY; PHYSIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS AND SEX DIFFERENCES IN PSYCHOPATHS; THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN 'MENTAL ILLNESS' AND CRIME; AND THE DEFINITION, THEORETICAL CAUSATION, AND PHYSIOLOGY OF AGGRESSION AS WELL AS ITS RELATION TO HEREDITY, THE XYY CHROMOSOME, AND EPILEPSY. CRIMINAL HOMICIDE AND ASSULT ARE ALSO DISCUSSED AS ARE VARIOUS TYPES OF SEXUAL OFFENSES AND FEMALE CRIMES. SPECIAL OFFENSES, INCLUDING HOSTAGE-TAKING, ARSON, BOMBING, AND ROBBERY ARE DESCRIBED, AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CRIME AND SUCH DRUGS AS AMPHETAMINES, HEROIN, AND ALCOHOL IS DISCUSSED. TREATMENTS OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR ARE DETAILED, AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE REHABILITATION-TREATMENT APPROACH IS ANALYZED. THE AUTHOR CONCLUDES THAT REHABILITATION HAS NOT BEEN EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING LONG-TERM CRIME BECAUSE OF FAULTY IMPLEMENTATION OF AN ALTERNATIVE-SUPPRESSIVE MODEL OF BEHAVIOR CHANGE, OR RESISTANCE FROM INSTITUTIONAL LEGAL, POLITICAL, SOCIAL, ARE INCLUDED. (AOP)