IV' POSITIVISM and PSYCHOGENIC CONSIDERATIONS

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IV. POSITIVISM and PSYCHOGENIC
CONSIDERATIONS
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A. Introduction

• 1. onset of the study of
• psychology
• gt the science of mental life
• feelings, desires, cognitions,
• reasoning, and decisions
• a. the study of humans and
• animals via their mental
• mental states and processes
• b. controversy is this art or
  science
• c. focus is always on the
  individual and how s/he processes
• information and behaves the way
  s/he does

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• 2.
  psychiatry a medical specialty
  
• 
  focusing on the diagnosis,
• 
  treatment, and prevention of
• 
  abnormal behavior
• 
  a. an extraordinarily value-laden
• enterprise
• 
  b. current debate
• 
  
• pharmacology v
• clinical treatment

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• 3. Early psychology
• a. Franz Gall (1758-1828) and Johann
  Spurzheim (1776-
• 1832)
• gt phrenology
• gt 26-52 features that
• predicted behavior
• b. Fundamentally, crime as symbolic
  behavior

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B. Does Psychology/Psychiatry Work?

• 1. the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
  Mental Disorders
• in various editions, currently in IV
• gt sample of chapters
• 1) Delirium, Dementia,
  Amnesiac, and other Cognitive
• 
  Disorders
• 2)
  Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders
• 3) Mood
  Disorders
• 4) Anxiety
  Disorders
• 5) Sexual
  and Gender Anxiety
• 6) Eating
  Disorders
• 7) Sleep Disorders
• 8) Compulsive-Control
  Disorders
• 9) Personality Disorders
• et al

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• 2. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
• a. formulated a theory on the origins
• treatment of mental disorders
• b. i.e., everyone has a storehouse of
• information about their entire life
• locked in their subconscious
• c. memories not brought to the
• surface of individual conscious
• are kept hidden through a process
  called defense mechanisms
• d. not examining these defense
  mechanisms could result in
• the development of neurosis
• e. the subconscious was unlocked
  through a process called
• psychoanalysis (1890s)

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• f. everyones behavior is based on the
  formation of his / her
• personality
• g. this formation is founded on the
  development of three central
• components of each individuals mind
  / personality
• 1) Id / Ego / Super Ego
• 2) William James (1842-1910)
• We have as many egos (selves)
  as we
• have viewers of those selves
• h. Western social science has spent
• considerable effort and resources
  
• attempting to either validate or
  invalidate
• Freuds theories
• gt projective tests

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• a) Rorschach Ink Blot Test
• 1 Tell me what you
  see

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(No Transcript)
10
(No Transcript)
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• 2 the test
• a examination of
  10 blots
• b evaluation
• 1 location
• 2 quality
• 3 content
• 4
  conventionality
• 3 tests individual
  fantasies without directly
• questioning
  what those fantasies are
• gt Are you a wacko
  or arent you?

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• b) Minnesota Multiphasic
  Personality Inventory
• 
  1 the test
• 
  a
  567 True / False Questions
• b statements
  address religious beliefs, sexual
• practices,
  perceptions of health, politics, family,
• education,
  occupations, mental illness
• 
  2 actual measures
• 
  
  a hypochondriasis (personal health)
• b
  depression
• c hysteria
• d psychopathic
  deviance (strange / abnormal
• thoughts)
• e masculinity
  / femininity
• f paranoia

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• g
  psychastenia (OCB, obsessive-compulsive-
• 
  behavior)
• h schizophrenia
• i hypomania
  (emotionally dull)
• j social
  introversion
• 3 for criminals or the
  Criminal Justice industry
• 
  gt job
  aspirants risk factors, i.e., what is being
• checked
• a frequent lying
• b running away
  (virtually and literally)
• c frequent truancy
• d instances of
  vandalism
• e arson
• f cruelty to animals
• g frequent fighting
• h forcing sex

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C. Memory / Cognition Exercise

• gt Problems that exist with eye-witness
  testimony

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D. Assorted Psychological Factors

• 1. HG Goddard (1921) feeblemindedness
• 2. Intelligence Quotient controversy
• 3. flawed personality traits
• a) psychopaths / sociopaths /
  anti-social personality disorders
• b) those suffering from clinical
  psychoses
• 1) a
  diagnostic evolution of similar psychopathologies
• 2) now includes bi-polar
  personality disorders
• 3) and AIDS sufferers
• c) PTSD, PMS, etc

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• 4. insufficient moral development
  (Lawrence Kohlberg,
• 1927-1987) (1973)
• a) Level I (2-10 years)
  emergence of the elementary phase
• 
  of mental and moral reasoning
• 
  
  1) morality is established by
  authorities
• 2) young do not
  have the mental capacity to process morality
• 3) questions the
  rationale for the juvenile justice system
• b) Level II (10-16) intermediate
  phase of maturity
• 1) beginning decision
  making phase
• 2) onset of morals
  / values recognition

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• 5. Insanity Defense
• a) issue is the burden of
  proof presumption of guilt or
• innocence
• 1) MNaughten Rule
  (1847)
• gt defendant
  cannot be held culpable of a crime if s/he does
• not realize that
  what s/he did was wrong
• 2) Durham Rule (also known
  as the American Law
• 
  Institute rule, 1954)
• a defendant is not
  culpable of a crime if, at the time of the crime,
  
• as a result of
  mental disease or defect, s/he lacks the capacity
  to appreciate the criminalityor to
  conform his/her conduct to
• the law
• b acts of
  depravity, viciousness, perversity, and all
  manner of

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• b) defendant lacks the
  capacity to appreciate the
• wrongfulness of his/her
  conduct
• c) current federal standard
  proof lies with the defense
• 1) defendant
  must provide clear and convincing evidence of
• his/her
  state of mind
• 2) is a lower
  standard than MNaughten or Durham
• 
  3) from U.S. v
  Hinckley (525 F Supp 1342 (DDC, 1981))

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• a shifted burden
  from State (prosecution) to
• defense
• b led to changes in
  the insanity defense at trial
• mandated in the
  1984 Comprehensive Crime
• Control Act
• gt and eventual
  enactment of the
• Brady
  Handgun Violence Prevention Act
• (1993)

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• 6. thinking like a
  criminal
• a. Samuel
  Yochelson and
• 
  Stanton Samenow
• The
  Criminal Personality
  (1980)
• 1)
  criminals are not victims
• of
  society, but victimizers of it
• 2) if I
  did not have enough
• 
  excuses for crime before, psychiatry gave
• me
  more.
• 3) because of the way
  practicing criminals THINK
• (process information) , they
  have little room for empathy
• 4) criminals see opportunities to
  exploit that non-criminals
• do not

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• b. Michael
  Gottfredson and
• 
  Travis Hirschi (1990)
• The General Theory of
  Crime
• 1) the
  core of criminal behavior is
• 
  improper / poor socialization
• and
  child rearing
• 
  
  2) risk taking, excitement,
• 
  short-term gain, little skill or
• planning, special knowledge,
  discomfort
• and/or pain for victims,
  opportunity based
• gt shared characteristics of
  all crimes
• 3) therefore criminals possess
  low self-control live in the here and now

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E. Summary

• 1. individuals and their personalities are
  unique, but
• commonalities exist
• gt i.e., everyone shares similar biology
• 2. people have the potential to develop
  themselves in
• extraordinary, or even ordinary ways,
  criminality is simply one
• of those
• 3. explanations of human behavior have
  evolved as science and
• the technology to examine that behavior
  has evolved
• gt as our curiosity became more
  sophisticated, so did the tools to advance
• that curiosity
• 4. psychological instruments provide
  explanation, or perspective
• to a true hidden mystery