Criminal Behavior and Environmental Factors
Student Name
Institution
Criminal Behavior and Environmental Factors
Environmental factors inform criminal behavior. The environmental factors such as education, family relationships, economic status, and race an individual is exposed to influence the traits the individual develops. Therefore, I think environmental factors may nurture criminal behavior in an individual where such behavior is normalized and accepted within the society the individual exists in. This assertion is why genetic predisposition to criminality is irrelevant since such an individual can be steered away from crime by being placed in a conducive environment that promotes lawfulness (Joseph, 2001). To analogize, an individual born into poverty is more prone to criminal behavior as a survival response based on the environmental factor of socioeconomic status. Additionally, a student surrounded by friends that shoplift is likely to also shoplift due to the resulting peer pressure from friends as an environmental factor. Therefore, environmental factors influence and inform criminal behavior.
Criminal behavior is not justified, even when the environment promotes it. I believe criminality goes against social norms that all members of society are aware of. Thus, criminal behavior cannot be justified even when environmental factors promote criminality. In my opinion, crime is impermissible since criminals know what they are doing is wrong even when their environmental context promotes such criminal behavior. Allowing for criminal behavior based on environmental factors will result in an influx of crime justified by this exception. For instance, if we were to make it lawful for poor individuals to steal from the rich because of the former’s disadvantageous environmental factors then the immediate social implication danger. The long-term effect would be discouraging hard work due to the option of theft that is legitimized by environmental factors.
Response One
Hey K.C, I agree with your view that crime cannot be justified even when the environmental factors promote it. Additionally, I agree that a lot of the causes of criminal behavior are environment-based. I notice that you stated biological factors are a possible ground for understanding criminality. Expounding on this point, I think even mental illnesses can be understood as a source of criminality when considered biological factors. While these factors do not justify criminal behavior, they may mitigate the punishments for those individuals who are mentally ill. To add to your contribution, I think environmental factors affect more behaviors than criminal behavior. For instance, environmental factors also result in social stratification where people of the same economic class socialize with each other to the exclusion of other groups. In this case, the environmental factor would be access to wealth that influences socialization as a human behavior.
Response Two
Hey A.A, I entirely agree with you that environmental factors are a huge determinate of behaviors. I also agree that social relationships such as friendships influence behavior by creating peer pressure. I find it interesting that you have stated occupational stress as a determinate of behavior. Thinking further on the point, occupational stress can be both an environmental and mental factor that influences behavior. The mental element is in the negative coping mechanisms adopted to deal with the stress, which, may include the abuse of illegal substances or violence. Additionally, on the point of peer pressure as an influencer of behavior, I think you are right. This point can be expounded on further by creating a distinction between ingroups and outgroups. Within the ingroup that consists of the deviant friends who do drugs, the behavior of drug abuse becomes a factor in their social identity, and members will try to align with this social identity to create a sense of belonging. Members who discourage the behavior will be cast into the outgroup and excluded.
References
Joseph, J. (2001). Is crime in the genes? A critical review of twin and adoption studies of criminality and antisocial behavior. The Journal of Mind and Behavior, 179-218.