CRIMINOLOGY

PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS AFFECTING

INTRODUCTION
Crime means wrongs done by human beings. It authorizes the infliction of State punishment. A
human conduct that is believed to be inimical to the social interests is considered as crime.
According to Blackstone, ‘a crime is an act committed or omitted, in violation of a public law
either forbidding or commanding it’
But to constitute a crime certain elements are essential to be fulfilled

1. Actus Reus- it is such result of human conduct which law prohibits i.e. the guilty act.
2. Mens Rea- it is the guilty mind required for the commission of an offence. Mens Rea
is the evil intention or knowledge to do a wrongful act voluntarily in conscious state of
mind. It is the natural result of a man’s external act and not the condition of his mind.
3. Punishment- in order to call a wrongful act as crime it should not only be prohibited
by the law but should also be punishable by the State.

There must be a concurrence of mens rea and Actus Reus to constitute a crime and hence the
psychology of the person which leads to a crime needs to be studied in depth.

Psychological theories of crime

Criminal behavior is a result of individual differences in thinking processes. There are many different
psychological theories, but they all believe that it is the person's thoughts and feelings that dictate their actions.
There are four basic ideas when it comes to psychological theories of crime. These general assumptions are
that crime is a result of:
1. Failures in psychological development
Some people run into trouble because they didn't develop, or grow, the way that others normally do. And their
conscience plays a role in it wherein a person with active conscience is less prone to commit crimes than a
person with lack of conscience heeding ability and this happens when someone has an issue with psychological
development.

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2. Learned behaviors of aggression and violence
If someone is surrounded by violence and aggression, they are more likely to become violent and aggressive
themselves, because they have learned that those behaviors are okay.
For example, Children raised in an abusive parental environment wherein they learn that to abuse is normal.
3. Inherent personality traits
There are some characteristics that criminals tend to share with each other, and some psychologists believe
that there are certain personality traits that predispose someone towards criminal behavior. For example – A
likes to seek out dangerous and exciting activities while person B is happy to stay at home with a book. But, A
likes danger, which could lead him to act recklessly and perhaps in criminal ways.
4. Relationship of criminality to mental illness
Some people with psychological disorders end up committing crimes. While this isn't the case for all people
with mental illness, there are a higher-than-normal percentage of criminals with mental illness.
For example - A has been diagnosed with a personality disorder, which means that he feels less empathy than
other people.

All of these psychological factors could have an effect on a person. A considerable proportion of criminal acts
have something to do with a person’s brain function. That explains why several people with a mental condition
usually commit crimes. These individuals are in an unstable state where they can no longer identify right from
wrong.

Melitta Schmideberg, MD, wrote, “I believe that a large proportion of offenses arises as a reaction to sudden
mental stress.”

A lot of experts call that a mitigating factor that appears to take a toll during a particular criminal investigation
process and sentencing. That is why, in some unfortunate scenarios, these criminals with mental illnesses use
their condition to get often exempted from their illegal, violent, and unsatisfactory behavior.

FACTORS AFFECTING INDIVIDUAL MIND

1. Self-Interest – Self-interest mainly talks about greed and dissatisfaction. It is all about people’s inappropriate
attitude towards achieving their goals and life desires. These individuals do not necessarily need to commit a
harsh crime.

However, they are the ones causing it to gain a variety of benefits. Some of these people can be relatively well-
off but want more from others. Experts explain criminal behavior as something people do not do because they
have to, but because they only want to.

2. Social/Peer pressure – When looking at the causes of any particular crime, one of the factors that appear
often involved is the social aspect. It makes sense because when people hang around with a group of individuals
with an evil mentality, it somehow creates an effect on their behavior.

Examples – Teens indulging in Drugs and Mafias to reap short term benefits or a false sense of power.
The negative mindset of others somehow contributes to people’s way of thinking. Well, sometimes, it can also
happen in reverse. Meaning, those people who engage in criminal ways can potentially affect healthy thinkers.

3. Economical – A lot of small-time criminals typically come from the poor population. These individuals suffer
from poverty, which works hand-in-hand with a lack of education.

Also, in some instances, crimes committed by people depend on their employment status, most of these
individuals that do not have an occupation, with low-paying jobs, and unstable financial condition, are most
likely to become criminals.

4. Sense of entitlement – It may not seem to be as prevalent as it should be. But in modern society, entitlement
factors can become one of the biggest reasons for committing a crime. Some examples of this include treason,
assassination, riots, and even protests by taking advantage of their position and power.

5. Sins described in All religious books – The Seven sins of which are mentioned in all the religious books and
its punishment attributed and carried out in the fires of Hell are the root causes because of which a crime
happens either on individual or 2 or 3 sins done together as the sins depict the distracted version of a human
mind which ultimately drives it to commit a crime to rectify or cover up the sins which his mind was involved
in. So Crime is basically a physical manifestation of the sin.

• Pride – A sense of entitlement or Standing in the social groups which over the ages have given rise to
terms such as White Supremacy/ Racism/ Sexism which give a false sense of superiority leading to
crimes ranging from social boycott of underprivileged to sometimes even murder or lynching.

• Greed – Greed can be of anything ranging from Money to Power. Over the ages wars have been fought
and innocents were sacrificed on the altar of greed. Political murders or sacrifices in greed of power
and position is an everyday affair. Even a common man vies for better position at workplace.

• Wrath – Any of the sins can culminate into wrath which is most commonly an immediate pre cursor of
a crime unless until it is a cold blooded murder or a well thought out plan.

• Envy – Also called Jealousy go hand in hand with greed only difference is that in greed a person wants
what HE desires a more self-centered approach of mind while in envy he desires or longs for what the
others are enjoying and the seeds of crime are sown.

• Lust – Lust is an intense desire a craving for something but in the above context it denotes sexual
pleasures. Acid attacks, Unnatural sexual offences like necrophilia, auto-asyphyxial deaths,
Prostitution, child trafficking are the indirect crimes resulting due to this and it not only involves the
person but the society at large.

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 • Gluttony and sloth – they per se don’t affect the society but they can have a distant relation with
downfall of an individual along his life ,might be in his career path or his relationships which might
affect his mental and physical well bring leading to crime. Example – Person A has just got a job but he
is lazy and obese due to his eating habits, both factors affecting his productivity which in turn would
affect his future prospects in his career leading to getting fired from job leading to above factors
creeping in causing crime.

6. Mental Impairment – Mentally unstable person or impulsive person suffering from various reasons. Example
– Kleptomania, pyromania, Neurosis, Psychosis, Schizophrenia etc. which may or may not affect the cognitive
function of an individual or his reasoning capacity.

“Sec 84. IPC - act of a person of unsound mind. Nothing is an offence which is done by a person who, at the
time of doing it, by reason of unsoundness of mind, is incapable of knowing the nature of the act, or that he is
doing what is either wrong or contrary to law.”

PSYCOLOGICAL FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIETY ENMASSE

1. Social Media - In the information age the social media has played a major role in affecting
young minds at psychological level with major media houses trying to brainwash kids into
believing their own agenda and sowing seeds for future crimes.

2. Films – Violent, abusive and sexual content do affect the minds of the children in a
negative way who try to imitate the characters and trying to form their own world around
it by justifying it to be acceptable in their own way as shown in the films.

3. Religious Fanaticism – Religion is like an instrument, either one can use it as a tool to
strengthen his as well as society’s foundation or use it like a weapon to destroy. Brain
washing minds of people believing into percepts taken from books and justifying killing of
non-believers, which not only motivates the general public to crime but also creates a
perpetual rift in the society. History revolving around crusades, Genocides leading to
Exodus of Jews, Kashmiri Pandits and many such crimes are the result of the Religious
fanaticism.

To sum up, the psychological factors or deviation from stable state of mind triggers a person to
act in such a way as to harm self or others which is unacceptable to the society and the only way
to uproot crimes from the society entirely is to maintain stability not only in the society but also
at the individual level.