Psychological Positivsm PDF

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An assignment that discusses the importance of personality disorders in causing crime, through a psychological and biological positivist lens....

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Personality Traits and Crime This essay argues that despite the numerical correlation between some personality traits and violent crimes, these disorders are neither necessary nor sufficient factors of causation. This question of how, and to what extent personality traits are linked to certain crimes is a debate which has greatly puzzled criminologists. It focuses on whether perpetrators of particularly violent and heinous crimes like rape, murder and molestation are psychologically and/or biologically different to those without a criminal record, and how these deviant behaviours can be explained. The study of these crimes is closely related to positivist theories, which utilise a scientific methodology to observe and analyse the behaviours and thought processes of these perpetrators. The results of these studies are used to help rehabilitate past offenders and possibly identify some factors that could cause influence future offenders, naturally lending itself to restorative justice policies. Schizophrenia is a mental illness that has been highly studied in relation to violent crimes and has displayed several varying results. Positivism is a theoretical framework, that recognises multiple causes of deviant behaviour. Central to the concept of positivism, is the existence of a moral consensus that distinguishes between deviant and ‘normal’ behaviour (Burke et al., 2019, p.45). In the search for an explanation for these deviancies in behaviour, two main schools of thought have dominated; psychological and biological positivism. Though these concepts contrast in many ways, they share the same foundational ideals that focus on a ‘medical model’; the use of observation as tools for diagnoses (Whitehead, 2006, p.50). Biological positivism assumes that people are ‘born criminals’, and act in deviant ways because of physiological differences to noncriminals (Walter, 2017, p.4). Famously, the positivist criminologist Dr Lombroso believed that criminals were not as evolved as non-criminals and developed a pattern of physical attributes found across several committed criminals. Psychological positivism believes that people are ‘made criminals’, and that their deviant behaviours are a result of their upbringing. One of the pioneers of psychoanalysis, Freud, believed that "deviance is the result of unconscious desires and drives being manifested in behaviour" (Whitehead, 2006, p.63). Though these frameworks contrasting significantly in their core beliefs, the implications of a positivist model in the study of the relationships between personality traits and crime, are profound, especially when compared to the classical school of thought. Firstly, positivism places the focus on the offender rather than the crime itself. The purpose of a positivist study is to discover why a crime was committed, to prevent future deviancies and identify those likely to act in deviant ways. Secondly, a positivist study is always necessarily retrospective, 1

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analysing the motives of the perpetrator post-committal. Finally, positivism acknowledges a definition of crime that is not a social construct. For positivists, crime extends beyond the existence of the law and instead in a pre-conceived moral framework of what is ‘good’ and ‘bad’ (White, 2017, p.43). Classicalism, however, believed strongly in hedonism and freewill, assuming everyone is an equal moral agent. Thus, whilst Classicalism tended to focus on finding a punishment to prevent crimes, the product of the positivist approach is the hope of rehabilitation or early detection. Though Australia and a large majority of countries follow a punitive model for their justice systems, one of its largest pitfalls is its inability to account for differences in the psychological processes of humans. The study of different personality traits and disorders has greatly influenced biological positivist criminology work and resulted in numerous studies. For example, ‘twin studies’ and ‘adoption studies’ have been conducted to study the relationship between genetics and behaviour (Whitehead, 2006, p.55). Though twin research papers, including Christiansen (1974, p.75), have found correlations between biology and behaviour in “the most serious types of offenders”, it is widely accepted that there are no specific genes that cause specific crimes. Despite this, biological positivism remains an important part of criminology and the identification and explanation of deviant behaviours. This includes studies that analyse the relationship between personality disorders and crime. Schizophrenia “is the most widespread” (Walsh & Yun, 2013, p.189) psychopathic disorder, and has been studied by biological positivists at great depth for its links to deviant behaviour. The idea that schizophrenia ‘causes crime’ is not new, and has been present for almost a century now (Raine, 2006, preface), supporting the biological positivist belief that criminals are born and think differently to non-criminals. Though the exact causes of schizophrenia are unknown it is believed to be a “complex interplay of genetic and environmental risk factors” (Pickard, 2011, p.1). Symptoms of schizophrenia include difficulty distinguishing between what is real and not real and psychosis (hallucinations and delusions). Psychosis can come in both auditory and visual forms, often disparaging and threatening (What is Schizophrenia? | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2020), making it easy to label perpetrators of violent crimes as having schizoid symptoms. However, the true numerical correlation between schizophrenia and violent crimes is difficult to study and hence often debated. Large sample sizes are required for accurate results and given that there is a large dark figure of crime within this sector, accurate results are not always guaranteed (Munker et al., 2003, p.351). However, several studies using the Swedish and Danish Crime Registers have been 2

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able to produce quantitative results. One study conducted in 2003 found that 41% of the Danish population with schizophrenia had a criminal record, and 17% had committed at least once violent crime (Munker et al., 2003, p.349). However, a different study in Sweden found that “male schizophrenics did not, in general, commit more criminal offences than that expected” (Lindqvist, 1990, p.348).

More interestingly, however, for most of the

schizophrenic community within Munker’s study, their criminal career started before their first contact with the psychiatric system (71%). Meaning it took the committal of the crime, for the identification of the mental illness to occur. This data has significant policy implications. The goal of most criminal justice proceedings is to make society safer and reduce crime rates. And with this focus on Schizophrenia, two key periods need to be focused on, pre-committal and post-committal. An early detection of schizophrenia is crucial, as most crimes are committed before diagnosis and the importance of rehabilitation post offence is highlighted by the high recidivism rates of those with schizophrenia (Zgoba et al., 2020, p.1). The correlation between mental illness and crime is attributed to “criminogenic factors, such as hostility, impulsivity, and antisocial attitudes and peers” (Zgoba et al., 2020, p.1), especially prevalent with schizophrenic patients suffering from psychosis. Hence, for those suffering from these external influences, the use of punitive measures like prison sentences fail to act as a deterrent. This means the focus should be on education, especially for workers within the criminal justice system, on the symptoms and characteristics of Schizophrenia and other mental disorders. Walsh and Yun suggest the importance of educating probation/parole officers about mental health disorders to become better adept at treating mentally ill offenders (2013, p.197). Or, a method popular in Canada is the use of a Mobile Crisis Team, where mental health professionals work with the police on distress calls. Most importantly, however, is making sure that those with schizophrenia are properly identified and diagnosed when entering the judicial system, as a large proportion, 18.5% (Munker et al., 2003, p.353), are not given proper psychiatric rehabilitation, and are instead sentenced to prison. Despite the correlation between specific personality traits and crime rates, factors outside biological differences also largely influence the perpetration of violent crimes. There are large bodies of literature that attempt to explain deviant behaviour through a psychological positivist framework, by focusing on early childhood experiences. Within a psychological positivist model, observed actions like domestic abuse, or violent behaviour as a child would influence the individual and manifest itself as deviant behaviour later in life. For example, the 3

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causes of sociopathy, a strain of antisocial personality disorder (APD), are accepted to be physical or emotional trauma suffered during early developmental periods (Duignan, n.d., para 6). However, the fact that social factors are only accounted for as causes of personality disorders is precisely one of the critiques on psychological and biological positivism. The positivist model also pre-conceives an assumed moral ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, or ‘deviant’ and ‘non-deviant’ behaviours as causes of crime. It fails to acknowledge the influence of other social factors like low socio-economic status and other forms of discrimination. Restorative justice-based criminal proceedings are most closely related to psychological positivism. It focuses on helping criminals fit back into society, instead of discouraging people to recommit with the threat of punishment. Randall and Haskell argue that “traumatic life experiences are widespread and damaging” and influence how perpetrators behave (2013, p.505), subsequently requiring a ‘trauma focussed’ criminal justice system. Some prison systems in Europe, like Norway, Sweden and Denmark, have adopted these beliefs, by creating ‘humane prisons’. For example, the philosophy behind Halden Prison in Norway is that the sentence itself is already a reduction of ones’ freedom, so everyday life shouldn’t have to be one (Vox, 2019). The architecture is designed in such a way that simulates life outside the prison, including communal living spaces, and outwards facing windows onto parts of nature. Undoubtedly, according to clinical studies, there is a numerical relationship between specific personality traits and the perpetration of violent crimes – as illustrated with schizophrenia. And biological and psychological positivism provides contrasting explanations for the deviant causes of these crimes. Though each school of thought is associated with different criminal justice policy beliefs, they both focus on a model that aims to rehabilitate offenders. However, despite the link between the rate of violent crimes and certain psychological disorders, there remains a large amount of other contributing factors unrelated to mental disabilities that influence the commitment of crimes like poverty, or substance abuse. Thus, by removing all occurrences of mental illness induced crime, would not greatly affect overall crime rates.

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References Burke, A.S., Carter, D., Fedorek, B., Morey, T., Rutz-Burri, L. and Sanchez, S., 2019. 1: Crime, Criminal Justice, and Criminology. SOU-CCJ230 Introduction to the American Criminal Justice System. Christiansen KO, 1974, Seriousness of criminality and concordance among Danish twins , In Crime, Criminology and Public Policy (ed. R. Hood ), pp. 63 -77 . The Free Press : New York . Duignan, B., n.d. What’S The Difference Between A Psychopath And A Sociopath? And How Do Both Differ From Narcissists?. [online] Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: [Accessed 24 September 2020]. Häfner, H., Gattaz, W.F. and Janzarik, W. eds., 1987. Search for the Causes of Schizophrenia (Vol. 5). Springer Science & Business Media. Insel, T.R., 2010. Rethinking schizophrenia. Nature, 468(7321), pp.187-193. Kiehl, K.A. and Hoffman, M.B., 2011. The criminal psychopath: History, neuroscience, treatment, and economics. Jurimetrics, 51, p.355. Lindqvist, P. and Allebeck, P.,1990, Schizophrenia and crime. A longitudinal follow-up of 644. Munkner, R., Haastrup, S., Joergensen, T. and Kramp, P., 2003. The temporal relationship between schizophrenia and crime. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 38(7), pp.347-353. Nami.org. 2020. What Is Schizophrenia? | NAMI: National Alliance On Mental Illness. [online] Available at: [Accessed 20 September 2020]. Pickard, B., 2011. Progress in defining the biological causes of schizophrenia. Expert reviews in molecular medicine, 13. Raine, A., 2006. Crime and schizophrenia: Causes and cures. Nova Publishers. 5

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Randall, M. and Haskell, L., 2013. Trauma-informed approaches to law: Why restorative justice must understand trauma and psychological coping. Dalhousie LJ, 36, p.501. Vox, 2019, How Norway Designed a more Human Prison, https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=5v13wrVEQ2M&ab_channel=Vox, [Accessed 24 September 2020] Walsh, A. and Yun, I., 2013. Schizophrenia: Causes, crime, and implications for criminology and criminal justice. International journal of law, crime and justice, 41(2), pp.188202. Walter, D., 2014, Biological theories of crime versus psychological theories of crime — Comparison and evaluation of their contributions to our understanding of crime and/or criminal justice, Research Gate White, RD, Robert D, Haines, F, & Asquith, NL 2017, Crime & criminology , Sixth edition., Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, Victoria. Whitehead, J.T., 2006, Explaining Delinquency--Biological and Psychological Approaches, Lexis Nexis Zgoba, K.M., Reeves, R., Tamburello, A. and Debilio, L., 2020. Criminal Recidivism in Inmates with Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders. The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

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