NCJ Number
90787
Journal
Revue internationale de criminologie et de police technique Volume: 35 Issue: 1 Dated: (January-March 1982) Pages: 57-76
Date Published
1982
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This article reviews both psychological and biological studies that have sought to explain the causes of violent behavior and draws implications for the future treatment of deviance.
Abstract
The studies cited show that positive and negative reinforcements from the environment condition learned responses in both animals and humans. Thus, violence is an acquired characteristic, emanating from the adaptive mechanisms with which living beings respond to threatening environmental stimuli. Studies of neurobiologically damaged individuals show that emotional hyper-reaction can be elicited from incorrectly perceived stimuli. This insight is deemed important for parents, educators, psychologists, doctors, and criminologists to recognize. It implies that treatment methods should be developed to rectify the neurological distortions causing violent behavior rather than continuing to rely on practices of incarcerating and punishing delinquents who perpetrate acts of violence. The reference lists contains 63 items.