Psychology As A Tool To Understand Crimes
- IJLLR Journal
- Jul 16
- 1 min read
Poloumi Bajpai, University of Lucknow, Lucknow
ABSTRACT
Crime in itself is a complex concept to understand. It involves various components that are interdependent. Criminals are often out casted from the common people living in a society. However, it is important to understand the root causes of humans turning into criminals by disregarding basic human tendencies like empathy and morality.
This paper aims to analyze such causes through the lens of psychology as a discipline. Psychology, the study of the human mind, studies different behaviours showcased by individuals. Personality, a subtopic that falls under the study of psychology, can be instrumental in understanding the behavioural complexities showcased by the offenders and all possible reasons that led to such behaviour among them. This paper explains certain theories by Sigmund Freud, a widely recognised psychologist and Karen Horney, a Neo-Freudian. Sigmund Freud’s idea of the ‘structure of personality’ and Karen Horney’s theory of ‘basic anxiety’ among children are analysed in the paper. Emphasis has been laid on the early life, mainly childhood, of the offenders who commit heinous crimes and how parents play a major role in building a child’s outlook towards life. The research paper also includes a case study of Jeffery Dahmer, an American serial killer stressing on his early childhood conditions that later shaped him into a criminal, merciless yet calm.
Keywords: Crime, psychology, Sigmund Freud, Karen Horney, personality, Jeffery Dahmer
