Question

explain the value and limitation of biological and psycholgy explanations of crime.

also, explain the strength of sociological approach to understand crime.

Answer 1

I am going to discuss a biological and psychological theory of crime and to differentiate between the two perspectives, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each. The purpose of this assignment is to critically assess the strengths and weakness of various criminological theories. Crime is a phenomenon of deviant behavior, representing a high risk to people, and therefore punishable by law. In modern society, crime is considered to be a socially dangerous act, prohibited by law under the threat of punishment. Crime is the most dangerous kind of “a social pathology” deviating from the norm, deviant behavior. Therefore, the main backbone elements of crime are personality traits of a potential criminal and the social conditions of life.
Biological theory

The first attempts to explain the term “crime” were of a biological character. Scientists have searched for natural causes due to the tendency of some people to crime. In 1870 an Italian criminologist Cesare Lombroso concluded that some people were born with criminal tendencies. In his point of view, criminal types can be identified by their shape of skull. Lombroso did not deny the fact that society could influence on the development of criminal behavior, but believed that most perpetrators are biologically degenerative. Subsequently, the idea of a biological predisposition to crime has been subjected to criticism.
Lombroso’s general methodological position about the presence of a special type such as “a criminal person” with the congenital criminal traits and innate propensity to commit crimes. The fact that the study of juvenile delinquency has become an integral part of the work, which was presented Lombroso’s main theoretical concept – once again confirms that it applies to juvenile delinquency all the main provisions of the concept. It is important to mention that British researchers have concluded that the differences between criminals and criminals are practically absent, and therefore such a phenomenon as a “criminal type” does not exist.
Psychological theory

Psychological theory of crime, as well as biological one, associates with criminal inclinations of a particular type of personality. In the XX century some psychologists, based on Sigmund Freud’s ideas, have suggested that a small percentage of people develop “immoral”, or psychopathic personality. According to Freud, most of our moral values come from the self-restraint, which we are learnt from our early childhood. Due to the special nature of the relationship with parents, some children do not produce the similar self-restraint, and, accordingly, there is the lack of basic sense of morality. Psychopaths can be described as a closed people finding a big pleasure in violence.
Psychological theory of crime has, in contrast to biological one, the rational core. However, they only can explain some aspects of crime. Although a small minority of criminals do have the personal characteristics that are different from the rest of the population, but such features have not all violators of the law.