Nature VS Nurture – Are Criminals Born or Made?
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Nature VS Nurture – Are Criminals Born or Made?
Declaration of original work:
By submitting this work, I am declaring that I am the originator of this work and that all other original sources used in this work have been appropriately acknowledged. I understand that plagiarism is the act of taking and using the whole or any part of another person’s work and presenting it as my own without proper acknowledgement. I also understand that plagiarism is an academic offence and that disciplinary action will be taken for plagiarism.
Intro
The search for causes of crime forms the basis of most criminological studies. There are numerous explanations for crime: psychological, evolutionary, genetical, sociological, economical and a mix of factors; and many have debated over the primary influence of criminal behaviour—whether criminals are born or made. Truth is, in the constitution of criminal behaviour, it is the amalgam of both nature and nurture. And this paper will present how crime behaviours can be hereditary but are influenced by the society.
Nature
The first theory that will demonstrate that criminals are made is Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of crime (1961), which posits that all humans have natural basic biological needs and urges such as hunger and sex repressed in the unconscious called Id which is irrationally expressed to derive satisfaction. More importantly he also claims that all humans have criminal tendencies. Typically, we can curb these urges and tendencies and express them appropriately according to social norms through socialisation (Eysenck, 1996); where we learn to develop conscious inner controls called SuperEgo—which is our moral conscience repressing the Id and Ego— which mediates the expression of Id. However, when faced with the lack of basic need, the unconscious Id is stimulated, and the improperly socialised child who has failed to acquire and develop the Ego and SuperEgo, will then
Nature VS Nurture – Are Criminals Born or Made?
Declaration of original work:
By submitting this work, I am declaring that I am the originator of this work and that all other original sources used in this work have been appropriately acknowledged. I understand that plagiarism is the act of taking and using the whole or any part of another person’s work and presenting it as my own without proper acknowledgement. I also understand that plagiarism is an academic offence and that disciplinary action will be taken for plagiarism.
Intro
The search for causes of crime forms the basis of most criminological studies. There are numerous explanations for crime: psychological, evolutionary, genetical, sociological, economical and a mix of factors; and many have debated over the primary influence of criminal behaviour—whether criminals are born or made. Truth is, in the constitution of criminal behaviour, it is the amalgam of both nature and nurture. And this paper will present how crime behaviours can be hereditary but are influenced by the society.
Nature
The first theory that will demonstrate that criminals are made is Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of crime (1961), which posits that all humans have natural basic biological needs and urges such as hunger and sex repressed in the unconscious called Id which is irrationally expressed to derive satisfaction. More importantly he also claims that all humans have criminal tendencies. Typically, we can curb these urges and tendencies and express them appropriately according to social norms through socialisation (Eysenck, 1996); where we learn to develop conscious inner controls called SuperEgo—which is our moral conscience repressing the Id and Ego— which mediates the expression of Id. However, when faced with the lack of basic need, the unconscious Id is stimulated, and the improperly socialised child who has failed to acquire and develop the Ego and SuperEgo, will then
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