NCJ Number
136081
Editor(s)
J McCord
Date Published
1992
Length
346 pages
Annotation
This third volume in a 3-volume series that presents original work on criminological theory contains 12 papers that discuss data and theory on the biological, social, and psychological factors that influence criminal behavior.
Abstract
The first paper addresses how biological arousal systems, the gonadal axis, and serotonergic functioning interact with social conditions to influence criminal behavior. This is followed by a paper that identifies five "ideal types" of crime and discusses the implications of this typology for crime-prevention planning. Another study describes opponent-process theory in terms that explain behaviors as diverse as opiate addiction and parachute jumping, followed by a paper that integrates community-level data with family differences and individual-level explanations of criminal behavior. An experimental study of legal socialization among college students focuses on role-taking as a central means by which socialization occurs, and a consideration of studies of altruism and aggression uses data to test the relationship between criminal behavior and motives to injure and to help others. One paper argues that cognitive processes formed early in life account for the high degree of continuity in aggression found in many studies. Another paper links the results of animal studies with studies of aggressive and nonaggressive boys and girls. Four papers address the prediction of delinquent behavior from childhood behavior; a developmental perspective on drug use and delinquency; a theory that encompasses the onset, persistence, and termination of antisocial behavior; and the impact of levels of autonomic activity/reactivity on behavior. Seven longitudinal studies in four countries are covered in the papers. Chapter references, tables, and figures as well as subject and names indexes are included.