Biological Factors of Criminal Psychology
The mind is among the most convoluted structures out there. Psychology categorizes the brain as a decisive element that molds our personalities and traits. It’s the key to how one interacts with their environment and finalizing their decisions, notably when it comes to illegal behavior. Many of the reasons a person commits criminal actions is a consequence of their behavior and mind have been conditioned, damaged, or undeveloped.
These parts of the brain may include:
Frontal Lobe — Functions emotional responses, rational thinking, memory, judgment, sexual behaviors, and language.
Amygdala — Functions emotions, survival instincts, and memory.
Hippocampus — Long-term memory.
When any of those cerebrum parts are impaired or underdeveloped, it creates more aggressive outcomes, the making of poor decisions, and alters the perception of the past. It completely changes how one responds to their stimuli. Considering the brain overall shapes a human, psychology can explain why a criminal may be a criminal. This can do with their biological structure and the treatments of the environment around them.
Biological Factors
Biological structures and substances cause given behavior such as our thoughts and emotions that guide us. These sensations and brain dysfunctions can become delinquent. So, how come others do not have these criminal impulses but others do?
Much of the biological nature of criminality is within genetics, brain abnormalities, and neurochemical imbalances. People with biological irregularities are preexposed to symptoms that could result in illegal behavior. Although, it is important to note people with these symptoms are not and may not become criminals so it is difficult to pinpoint a criminal in their youth.
Genetics — When a parent who has disorders/mental illnesses in their DNA, their offspring are at the potential of being exposed to such disorder or mental illness. Genetics can carry disorders such as Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD). People who have APD “typically have no regard for right and wrong. They may often violate the law and the rights of others,” stated by Mayo Clinic. Other disorders like Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (ODD), Conduct Disorder (CD), or Adjustment Disorder (AD) may cause neurological deficiencies in self-regulation which promotes the risk of antisocial personality disorder. James Dabbs discovered many violent male perpetrators have high testosterone. Higher rates of testosterone have been proven to create hostility and many male prisoners have been recorded with high testosterone. It maintains different types of “forms from; thoughts, anger, verbal aggressiveness, competition, dominance behavior, to physical violence,” (National Center for Biotechnology). Low Birth Weight was also responsible for criminality. Being that small size creates the nervous system to attack itself and create malfunctions and disrupt development.
Brain Abnormalities — The size of certain parts of a person’s brain corresponds to their personality psychological scientists discovered. Much of the cerebrum can be born with abnormalities or become damaged over time. Consequently, Antisocial Personality Disorder populace has been identified with a thinning layer on the outside of the cortex. A study conducted by Jame Blair [Blair et. al (1999)] identified an impairment between the pathways of the amygdala and frontal lobe in brain scans of psychopaths. This brought upon the frontal brain hypothesis: a malfunction with the frontal cortex and the limbic system (a critical set of structures that work with emotions and the formation of memories). Brain dysfunctions that result to criminality can come from underlying brain lesions, “area of tissue that has been damaged through injury or disease,” (Web MD). The potential risk of lesions bringing about illegal behavior started after Charles Whitman was found with a lesion after committing the 1966 Texas Tower shooting. There is a complicated amount of types of brain lesions and most reasons they come about is unknown. Any variety of abnormalities can impact the strong interrelationship between emotions and decision-making and create negative responses to stimuli.
Neurochemical Imbalances — There are multitudes of neuropsychological disorders that attack the neurons and nerves in the brain and body. Neuron and nerve cells are one of the building blocks of behavior and create the most complex behaviors that are still difficult to indicate. It is known that many felons have unbalanced neurotransmitters, enzymes, and transporters in their brain. If genetics are impaired it has a correlation of neurons being out of balance and producing criminal deeds. This is because “Genes control the production and regulation of proteins that function as neurotransmitters, enzymes, and hormones,” (Solveig Abrahamsen). Serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine and other neurotransmitters are the brain’s basic messengers to the body. They collaborate with receptors to “influence and regulate a wide range of processes such as mental performance, emotions, pain response and energy levels,” (Carolina Integrative Medicine). According to Carolina Integrative Medicine, imbalances with neurotransmitters cause symptoms and morbidities such as:
- “Mood disorders; depression, anxiety
- Adrenal dysfunction; fatigue, insomnia
- Loss of mental focus; ADD, ADHD, cognitive fog
- Addiction and dependency
- Hormonal imbalances; E2 dominance, E2 deficiency, low androgens
- Loss of appetite control; insulin resistance”.
Low levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin have been correlative with antisocial personality disorder and impulsive behavior. It is very common among men to have lower levels of serotonin and with the pairing of testosterone, that is why many males are recorded as criminals.
A 2017 FBI report claims that 76.0% of crimes were committed by males in the United States. Enzymes that assist the works of crucial neurotransmitters can cause imbalances. Reduction of the enzyme MOA-A (Monoamine oxidase) “…is an enzyme that normally functions in neuronal mitochondria by breaking down several key neurotransmitters: serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine which are important in aggression, emotion and cognition,” (Dolores Garcia-Arocena) can link one to APD. Many other genes that associate with APD include genes that code for the enzyme catechol-O-methyltransferase that breaks down dopamine and can be associated with aggressive behavior. Those genes are “dopamine transporter 1 (DAT1), dopamine receptors (DRD2 and DRD4), and the serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR),” (PubMed Central).
These factors cannot be enough to rule a person’s life to criminal choices. In most cases, there is always social and cognitive elements that finalize the decision and impulsion of delinquent actions. Although, severe brain damage can be an exception to those elements.
Work cited
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Adjudication of Criminal Behavior.” National Center for Biotechnology Information, 1 Jan. 2015, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3955018/.
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Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. “Can Brain Lesions Contribute to Criminal Behavior?” Medical Xpress — Medical Research Advances and Health News, Medical Xpress, 18 Dec. 2017, medicalxpress.com/news/2017–12-brain-lesions-contribute-criminal-behavior.html.
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Garcia-Arocena, Dolores. “The Genetics of Violent Behavior.” The Jackson Laboratory, www.jax.org/news-and-insights/jax-blog/2015/december/the-genetics-of-violent-behavior.
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Morton, Kati. “The PSYCHOLOGY of a CRIMINAL.” YouTube, YouTube, 2 July 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_LOMWZfpwo.
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Tabitha M. Powledge. “Do the MAOA and CDH13 ‘Human Warrior Genes’ Make Violent Criminals-and What Should Society Do?” Genetic Literacy Project, Genetic Literacy Project, 12 Jan. 2018, geneticliteracyproject.org/2016/07/29/does-the-human-warrior-gene-make-violent-criminals-and-what-should-society-do/.
“The Importance of Neurotransmitters in Brain Health.” Carolina Integrative Medicine, 5 Apr. 2017, www.carolinaintegrativemedicine.com/the-importance-of-neurotransmitters-in-brain-health/.
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