The Biosocial and Psychosocial Roots of Criminal Behavior

There are various variables or factors that ought to be considered in order to define and understand the concept of criminal behavior. One way that is used to understand this concept is to gain information on criminogenic needs, which are the traits linked to criminal thinking. While crime remains inevitable in the modern-day society, many criminologists have used scientific approaches to find answers as to why some people commit criminal acts. In the 19 th century, crime was viewed as a symptom of psychological flaws among individuals. Current criminological research, however, suggests that crime is associated to certain social conditions that influence people to commit criminal acts. This paper discusses the biosocial and psychosocial roots of criminal behavior based on the criminological theory explained in the book, Crime and Human Nature : The Definite Study of the Causes of Crime by James Wilson and Richard Herrnstein (1998). 

As an influential theoretical work in the field of criminology, Crime and Nature compiles recent theories of crime that explain why people develop criminal behaviors or commit criminal acts. In general, the book provides evidence and knowledge on how developmental, cultural, biological, environmental and situational factors influence or predict crime. Situational factors are social factors such as school, community, community and people around you. Biological factors include genetics and personality. Developmental factors include families and schools. The book is centered on prior research studies that examine the individual-level variation in crime and the various factors that influence individuals engage in criminal activities (Wilson & Herrnstein, 1998). 

Wilson and Herrnstein (1998) believe that crime stem from within an individual. therefore, their theoretical goal in this book is to demonstrate the fact that the degree to which individuals are predisposed to criminality differs at birth. According to the authors, the interaction between social factors and constitutionals factors such as gender, age and personality creates or develops a human nature that affect how individuals perceive consequences of crime. They argued that, “there is a human nature that develops in intimate settings out of a complex interaction of constitutional and social factors, and that nature affects how people choose between the consequences of crime and its alternatives”. (Pg. 508). 

The authors used the aforementioned argument to assess Thomas Hobbes’ and Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s views on human nature. Hobbes’ view suggests that individuals are self-seeking rational calculators that have preferences among different alternatives. Rousseau’s view suggests that, although human beings are naturally good, they only realize their goodness when the social arrangements around them are decent. Borrowing from Hobbes’ view, Wilson and Herrnstein argued that committing a crime is just a matter of choice and that human beings’ actions must be controlled by social institutions. Borrowing from Rousseau’s view, the authors articulated that committing a crime is influenced not only by individual choices but also other social factors such as environmental influences, family members and socioeconomic class among others. A good example of an environmental influence that would predispose an individual to criminality is living in a high-crime neighborhood. A good example of a social class factor that contributes to criminal behavior is living in poverty. Poor people or individual from a lower socio-economic class are more likely to engage in criminal activities such as armed robbery and theft in order to earn a living. The authors, however, argued that exposure of a certain population to similar social forces does not mean that all individuals in that population group will commit crime. They based this idea on the concept that biological predispositions vary from one person to another. This means that circumstances or situations that activate criminal behavior in one individual may not do so in another individual. 

Wilson and Herrnstein’s book has prompted attention from many social scientists and modern criminologists, particularly those interested in learning more about the roots of criminal behavior. The fact that the authors used past research and borrowed ideas from multiple fields makes the book a reliable source of information pertaining crime and criminal behavior. Having reviewed the various theoretical arguments presented in this book, it would be reasonable to say that Crime and Human Nature has increased our ability to understand the concept of criminal behavior. The book compels criminologists to embrace or accept the idea that individual-level constitutional factors are essential in explaining the root of criminal behaviors. The book, however, demonstrates that criminal behavior cannot be understood by taking into account individual-level factors exclusively. Therefore, it is important to consider both constitutional factors and environmental influences in order to find answers to why some people are lawful and why others choose to commit crimes. 

Prior to this theoretical work, many criminologists explained the concept of criminal behavior pointing to sociological factors that shape people’s behaviors. More specifically, many experts believed that crime was a symptom of the social statuses held by individuals in the society. Such statuses include social class and employment status. Therefore, psychological of individuals was ruled out as a factor that could explain criminal behavior. Wilson and Herrnstein’s book, however, changed the course of research in the field of criminology as it brought forth new ideas that would help criminologists understand the concept of criminal behavior. For this reason, the book is considered to have made significant impacts on the field of criminology. 

Reference 

Wilson, Q. J., & Herrnstein, J. R. (1998). Crime Human Nature: The Definitive Study of the Causes of Crime . Simon and Schuster.