NCJ Number
118464
Journal
Criminal Justice Research Bulletin Volume: 4 Issue: 4 Dated: (1989) Pages: 1-10
Date Published
1989
Length
10 pages
Annotation
The development, pattern, and process of faulty, irrational thinking which is at the root of criminal behavior are examined.
Abstract
Lifestyle criminality exists because of the way a criminal thinks, and although environmental factors may limit his options, these influences do not determine criminal behavior. Society must either be prepared to confine lifestyle criminals in perpetuum or develop programs which will help these individuals change their thinking; anything else overlooks the root causes of crime of thought and choice. Eight cognitive characteristics of lifestyle criminality are discussed: mollification, cutoff, entitlement, power orientation, sentimentality, superoptimism, cognitive indolence, and discontinuity. It is suggested that no matter how long an individual has been a lifestyle criminal, the capacity for change continues to exist.