Criminal Pathology: Biology, Environment, and Rational Choice

Introduction to Criminal Pathology

Extreme pathological and antisocial criminal behavior is so shocking that those who study human behavior and deviance have long theorized about plausible explanations for how the human mind can become so dangerously warped. Many early theorists believed that some individuals are biologically predisposed to deviant and violent pathological behavior and that their minds differ fundamentally from those of ordinary human beings. Another early explanation of criminal deviance held that it is substantially attributable to the influence of psychologically relevant early experiences and the socialization process more generally. Finally, the classical approach to criminology has centered on various rational choice versions of concepts first introduced by theorists such as Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham. The modern explanation of pathological criminal deviance does not refute any of those prior explanations; rather, it draws elements of analysis from all of those perspectives to conceptualize contributing factors and circumstances in relation to their relative importance.

The Argument for Biological Predisposition

Before the era of modern neuroscience, endocrinology, and medicine more generally, criminologists imagined crude anatomical differences among individuals that were recognizable by visual inspection, such as in the case of phrenology, which was popular in Europe during the 19th and early 20th centuries (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2008). Texts of the time provided diagrams of external facial and cranial features and associated specific physical traits with deviant behavior. That view was definitively disproved in the middle of the 20th century but was resurrected in a far more empirically valid format in the last two decades before the turn of the century, in connection with advances in the scientific understanding of neurology and endocrinology. The field of psychobiology that emerged provided very useful methodologies for identifying anatomical structures and physiological differences known to be associated with specific behavioral tendencies (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2008).

In that regard, early anecdotal observational experiences — such as those connected to the case of Phineas Gage — clearly demonstrate that differences in anatomical brain structure can produce characteristic personality changes (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2008). Whereas that example was precipitated by traumatic accident, more sophisticated use of modern neural mapping and brain imaging diagnostic technologies illustrates the precise areas of the human brain responsible for various perceptions, emotions, and responses to stimuli. Likewise, modern endocrine science outlines predictable relationships between the relative activity levels of hormone-producing processes and corresponding differences in external behavior (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2008).

The Argument for Environmental Influence

The modern fields of criminology and sociology have also established significant direct connections between the external environment and the behavior that develops in the individual (Schmalleger, 2008). Regardless of the effects of physiology and biological processes, there is undoubtedly a tremendous influence exerted by the experiences, formative relationships, and role models to which the individual is exposed (Schmalleger, 2008). Many forms of modern crime are largely products of social circumstances and the norms that prevail in local communities (Pinizzotto, Davis, & Miller, 2007). With respect to criminally deviant individuals such as serial killers, specific types and patterns of formative experiences and psychological trauma are known to be associated with those forms of criminal deviance (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2008; Innes, 2007).

Conclusion

In many respects, the modern view of criminal deviance reflects a more refined approach to incorporating different avenues of analysis rather than refuting the major theoretical aspects of classical theories. Modern analysis simply applies physiological, environmental, and rational choice concepts where they are most appropriate, and recognizes the limits of those concepts within the overall understanding of deviant behavior. Generally, the modern approach recognizes that most aspects of human behavior are highly reflective of influences across a broad range of factors spanning all of those areas.

References

Gerrig, R., and Zimbardo, P. (2008). Psychology and Life. New York: Allyn & Bacon.

Innes, B. (2007). Serial Killers: The Story of History's Most Evil Murderers. London: Quercus.

Pinizzotto, A., Davis, E., and Miller, C. (2007). "Street Gang Mentality: A Mosaic of Remorseless Violence and Relentless Loyalty." FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, Sep/07.

Schmalleger, F. (2008). Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Century. Hoboken, NJ: Prentice Hall.