Assessment 2 Case Study Martin Bryant PDF

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Essay, 68%, average marks and average understanding. Don't copy too much! Just make sure you have the word count :P...

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2002CCJ Psychology of Crime Assessment 2 Case Study Name: Madeline Gentle Student Number: s5174341 Course Convenor: Paul Harnett Word Count: 2512 Word Count including Reference List: 3006

One of the most common approaches to evaluate human personalities and behaviours is traits theory to which it’s common use has rapidly increased in recent years (Caspi, Roberts & Shiner, 2005). This paper will evaluate the criminal behaviours and the life of Australia’s worst mass murderer, Martin Bryant. The purpose of this paper is to prove the association between trait and Eysenck’s personality theory and Bryant’s behaviours as well as these theories and their association with other general criminal behaviour. This essay will identify and evaluate Bryant’s personality, his behaviours along with the crimes he committed. This paper will then identify trait and personality approaches to assist in the explanation of Eysenck’s Personality Theory in addition to Antisocial Personality disorder (ASPD) and intelligence quotient (IQ). This essay will subsequently apply Eysenck’s theory along with ASPD and IQ to Bryant’s behaviours with a view of explaining how his traits led to his criminal behaviour which can assist in understanding this as a general concept; how behavioural traits can lead to criminal behaviour. This essay will conclude that there is a significant relationship between trait along with Eysenck’s personality theory and the behaviours Martin Bryant presented throughout his life. Using the PEN model psychoticism and neuroticism, a clear link between Bryant’s actions and ASPD and IQ can be identified. In April 1996, Martin Bryant conducted the worst mass shooting in Australia killing 35 people and injuring an additional 23 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania (Sydney Morning Herald, 2021). At the time, the ‘Port Arthur massacre’ was declared to be the world’s worst mass murder committed by a lone gunman (Sydney Morning Herald, 2021). Bryant opened fire upon victims in various locations around Tasmania. A couple Martin Bryant was familiar with were among the victims, David and Noeline Martin. David & Noeline owned the Seascape guesthouse to which Bryant’s father had been rejected for the purchase of previously due to issues gaining finances for the property (Wikipedia, 2021). Bryant believed that this led to his father’s depression, which resulted in his father’s death (Wikipedia, 2021). Bryant intentionally stopped by the Seascape guesthouse to murder the couple prior to continuing to Port Arthur to have lunch and commence his massacre. Martin Bryant, male, and 29 years of age at the time he committed the massacre, was born in Tasmania into what seemed to be a regular family, to which he had one sibling (Jackson, 2008). From a young age, concerned was raised by Bryant’s parents and teachers regarding his detached, emotionless and erratic behaviour (Greenwood, 2000). One of Bryant’s teachers had stated that he was isolated within his own world (Waihuini, 2012). In his younger years, Bryant had been described to break his toys, launch stones, and destroy property (Waihuini, 2012) (Wainwright & Totaro, 2009). Members of his local community recall Bryant stabbing a spear into a friend whilst diving, in addition to once pulling a boy’s snorkel from him whilst diving in a separate incident (Wainwright & Totaro, 2009). Bryant demonstrated violent and disruptive behaviour and was suspended from school in 1977 for torturing animals (Mullen, 1996).

After completing his suspension, Bryant continued to poke fun at children in younger years. He declined academically in addition to the deterioration of his social behaviour (Mullen, 1996). As a result of an intellectual disability, Martin Bryant had a significantly lower IQ than average being at level 66 (Greenwood, 2000) (The Age, 2006).

Due to his disability, Bryant was eligible for the disability pension upon his departure with school. Bryant struggled to keep jobs to which he ultimately received a job as a gardener/handyman (Wainwright & Totaro, 2009). Through his employment, Bryant met and commenced a relationship with his wealthy employer, Helen Harvey (Wainwright & Totaro, 2009). During the period of their relationship, neighbours remarked about his fascination and ownership of firearms and complained about his criminal behaviours to which it was mentioned that he had threatened people with his firearms and invaded other people’s properties (Wikipedia, 2021). Neighbours had also mentioned that Bryant had previously shot at dogs barking in the area (Wainwright & Totaro, 2009).

In 1992, Bryant and his partner, Helen Harvey, had a serious car accident to which Bryant remained in hospital for seven months and Helen lost her life (Wainwright & Totaro, 2009). It was then that Bryant received Helen’s inheritance. Many believe that Bryant may have caused the accident as Helen had mentioned to friends that he had previously grabbed the steering wheel and drove her off the road (7 News, 2021). Friends of Helen’s had mentioned this to the police and were able to provide details of three separate incidents of this occurrence, however, friends believe that Bryant may have never been questioned about the incident (7 News, 2021). According to Helen’s friends, she had previously stated, in her own words, “that little bastard is going to kill me” (7 News, 2021). Unable to form proper relationships following Helen’s passing, Bryant resorted to hiring prostitutes and women for sexual relationships to which they commented about his disturbing cruel and depraved sexual tendencies (Greenwood, 2000). Within the year following Helen’s death, Bryant’s father, Maurice Bryant, went missing and was later found deceased in a small dam with Martin’s weight belt found around his neck (7 News, 2021). A note was found on the front door of the Bryant property, seemingly in Maurice’s handwriting reading “call the police” (7 News, 2021). Despite the comments and strange findings between both Helen’s death and Maurice’s death, the car crash was ruled as an accident and Maurice’s death ruled as a suicide (7 News, 2021). According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Bryant’s mother admits to him being a “different” and “annoying” child (The Sydney Morning Herald, 2011).

In the late months of 1995, Bryant increased his alcohol consumption, and began to participate in suicidal behavior (Mullen, 1996). Six months following this, on Sunday 28th April 1996, Bryant began a siege in Port Arthur lasting 19 hours. Within these 19 hours, Bryant managed to murder 35 people, injure 23 and set fire to the Seascape cottage (Wikipedia, 2021). Bryant began his rampage at the Seascape cottage which it is believed that he had murdered the owners, David and Noeline, prior to his shooting massacre at the Historic Site. Bryant began shooting at the Port Arthur Historic Site in the Broad Arrow Café, then through to the gift shop, followed on through the car park and

continued to stop his car, shooting at anyone that came in his path on the way out of the Historic Site (Wikipedia, 2021). On his way back to the Seascape cottage, Martin murdered a woman at a service station and forced her boyfriend into the boot of their car as a hostage to which Bryant later took him into the cottage with him (7 News, 2021). A siege continued through the night at the Seascape Cottage to which Bryant eventually set fire to, while he was inside, early in the morning of 29 th April 1996 which resulted in him surrendering to the police with severe burns (7 News, 2021).

After Bryant’s conviction of 35 life sentences without parole, he was further tested and proved the intellectual capacity of an 11-year-old (Jackson, 2008). Following this, he was further tested by Paul Mullen, a psychiatrist, to which it was deemed that Bryant was intellectually impaired and socially impaired (Mullen, 1996). Mullen believed that Bryant has a personality disorder (Mullen, 1996). Psychology approaches commonly address a biological unitary notion as a means of explaining crime (Wortley, 2011). Nevertheless, trait theory will be explored to assess criminality through an amalgamation of specific personality characteristics. Personality can be best detailed as being the constant characteristics of an individual’s behaviour, habitual behaviour, rational thinking and emotional responses (Pervin & John, 1994). A trait can be described as a factor, response or behaviour in which is repetitive in nature, and merges to create a general pattern made up of all substantial habitual behavioural patterns (Pervin & John, 1999). An individual’s personality is made up of varying different traits which are combined within a matrix, to form a personality trait. Personality traits are internal and remain consistent over time despite age and situations and circumstances, nevertheless, the expression of these trains can vary over time (Robert & DelVecchio, 2000) (McCrae, 2002) (Caspi, Roberts, & Shiner, 2005).

The three-factor model developed in 1970 by Han Eysenck is the greatest method to use when evaluating specific PEN model traits. These include Psychoticism, Extraversion, and Neuroticism in addition to a sequence of primary traits (Eysenck, Eysenck, 1970). In regard to this theory, psychoticism relates to the primary traits such as lack of empathy, low conscientiousness and agreeableness, and egocentrism (Eysenck, Eysenck, 1970). For the purpose of Eysenck’s theory, extraversion consists of unreliability, the seeking of sensation and reckless behaviour as a purpose of gaining a certain amount of arousal as such (Eysenck, Eysenck, 1970). Eysenck’s neuroticism trait refers to the negative and anxious emotions, unpredictability, and the stimulation of the autonomic nervous system (Eysenck, Eysenck, 1970).

A personality disorder, within The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), can be defined as clinically significant disturbances in an individual’s behaviour or emotional regulation that form stress either within social or employment activites (Burke, Waldman, & Lahey, 2010). The focus of DSM-V is a scale of five personality disorders which are valued on a dimension. These are outlined to be avoidant, borderline, antisocial/psychopathic,

schizotypal, and obsessive-compulsive (Skodol et al., 2011). From these five personality disorders, this essay will examine borderline and antisocial disorders to which include erratic and emotional behaviours. Common significant factors present in individuals with borderline personality disorder types are the struggle to maintain relationships, and an unhealthy and unstable self-structure (Skodol et al., 2011). Individuals with this type of personality disorder demonstrate unsuitable and aggressive anger and struggle to control their aggression (Skodol et al., 2011). Excessive dependency is the foundation for relationships for individuals which suffer from borderline personality disorder due to fear of rejection (Skodol et al., 2011). The impulsivity characteristic and fierce distress from the disorder often result in the partaking of risky behaviours such as substance abuse and dangerous driving among other dangerous acts (Skodol et al., 2011). Common factors of Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) consist of irritability, irresponsibility, aggressiveness, non-conformance with social norms, impulsivity, lack of remorse, disregard for other individuals’ rights, and deceitfulness (Patrick, Fowles & Krueger, 2009) (Skodol et al., 2011). ASPD has been identified to link with a variety of different mental illnesses and other addiction disorders such a bipolar, sexual disorders, substance abuse, depression, and anxiety (Black, 2015) (Skodol et al., 2011). Skodol et al. identified that ASPD can be simply predicted during childhood through the recognition of the presence of a conduct disorder (Skodol et al., 2011). It has been found that antisocial behaviour can commence from the young age of eight-years-old and factors known to contribute to this type of disorder include but are not limited to early imprisonment, marriage, family, community involvement and the level of the individual’s socialisation (Black, 2015).

A separate trait which should be taken into consideration is IQ. IQ involves the undertaking of varying tests to which the individuals mental age is divided by their physical age to which the result is then multiplied by 100 (Carey, 1985). The Stanford-Binet method is the most common method of measurement to which most people’s IQs vary within 90 and 110 when used. This method was utilised in studies across Europe and Asia to which most individuals received an IQ between 92 and 108 (Templer & Rushton, 2011). It is recognised that individuals displaying IQ levels lower than 70 are understood to be somewhat delayed or impaired (Flynn, 1984).

The traits behaviours demonstrated by Martin Bryant throughout are evidently associated with Eysenck’s personality theory and trait theory. It can be argued that Bryant demonstrated constant sequences of psychoticism such as impulsive and aggressive behaviours throughout his childhood, as mentioned previously in this paper, such as torturing animals and jabbing a friend with a spear whilst diving. Bryant’s psychoticism can also be demonstrated by the lack of empathy he showed during the search for his missing father and, eventually, the lack of empathy displayed once it was known that his father committed suicide. Bryant’s aggression towards others at school when he was a child, along with his actions of destroying toys place emphasis upon his psychoticism.

Eysenck has proven that a particular percentage of criminals demonstrate these behaviours therefore, identifying the significant connection between criminals and psychoticism (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1970). Martin Bryant’s violent massacre alone is a clear delineation of his psychotic behavioural traits. The link between psychoticism and criminality is understood to be caused by the individual seeking arousal through the mentioned risky behaviours to which they would otherwise have a lower level of arousal (Farrington, 1982). As stated by Helen Harvey’s friends, Bryant had attempted to run her off the road on multiple occasions by grabbing the steering wheel (7 News, 2021). This dangerous and reckless act is a significant example of Bryant’s extraversion. This was also demonstrated by Bryant’s history of shooting barking dogs and threatening others with his guns. In a similar way to psychoticism, researchers have provided connections between extraversion and criminality through identifying extraverts to have lower levels of arousal as opposed to introverts, ultimately resulting in the individual seeking arousal through risky behaviours (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1970). Neuroticism, the final factor within Eysenck’s personality theory, was demonstrated through the life of Martin Bryant as he demonstrated unpredictability along with anxious and negative emotions. His unpredictability was proven through the carnage caused during the massacre. Setting fire to the Seascape cottage was unexpected to which police officers had originally understood the act to be an act of suicide, though, this was then overturned once Bryant decided to surrender himself, running from the cottage with severe burns. His unpredictability is a significant delineation of Bryant’s neuroticism. However, in this regard, the presence of neuroticism is weaker than the other Eysenck’s personality factors when applied to Martin Bryant as he rarely presents anxious emotions. When Bryant’s father passed away, it is said that Bryant remained very emotionally detached and was somewhat excited when searching for him whilst he was missing (7 News, 2021). This is an example of how Eysenck’s theory is inconsistent with criminal behaviour in some ways.

Throughout this paper, it is evident that Martin Bryant is a significant demonstration of the link between trait, Eysenck’s three factor personality theory and criminality. From the acts Bryant committed as a child, through until the acts he committed at the Port Arthur Historic Site, Bryant has delineated his psychotic, extravert and neurotic tendencies. Testing during Bryant’s imprisonment including his IQ test has assisted in understanding his low intellectual capacity. Bryant’s antisocial behaviours demonstrated through his impulsiveness (exemplified through the Port Arthur massacre), along with his inability to form stable relationships after Helen Harvey’s and his fathers passing. Martin Bryant exemplifies the Eysenck’s theories through clearly demonstrating the psychological links within criminality.

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