Trait theory is one of the theories of criminal and deviant behaviors. The trait theory asserts that human personality is shaped by the interaction of a number of personalities such as extroversion, introversion and neuroticism among others. As a result, individual differences in behavior make some people more predisposed to committing criminal acts. The trait theory is further divided into different perspectives which include: psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, personality and intelligence perspectives (Siegel, 2007, p.92). This essay will examine the behavioral and cognitive theories, their development over time, as well as their similarities and differences.
Behavioral theory is based upon the principles of behavioral psychology and is the basis for behavior modification and change. It is also one of the approaches used in both institutionalized and non-institutionalized settings for changing behavior. According to this theory, behavior is learned and therefore can be unlearned (Siegel, 2007, p.109). This theory first came into being in the early twentieth century through the works of the American psychologist John B. Watson. Between 1920 and mid-century, this theory dominated psychology in the United States and also internationally but became more popular in the 1950s through the work of American experimental psychologists such as Edward C. Tolman, Clark L. Hull, and Burrhus F. Skinner who came up with their own theories of learning and behavior based on laboratory experiments instead of introspection. Skinner showed the power of reinforcement or rewards, where a specific response to a stimulus is increased so as to encourage a certain desired behavior.
Since 1950, behavioral psychologists have come up with a remarkable amount of basic research aimed at understanding how various forms of behavior are developed and sustained. These studies have included the role of; the interactions that come before behavior, for instance the attention span and perceptual processes; modification in behavior itself, such as the formation of skills; interactions that come after behavior, such as the effects of reinforcements or rewards and punishments; and conditions prevailing over all the events, such as prolonged emotional stress and deprivations of the basics of life. Behavioral therapy therefore tries to change or modify a person’s long established patterns of response to himself and others by dealing directly with deviant behaviors (Reid, 1994, p.158). If the reward value is not taken away people will behave defiantly.
Cognitive development theory was first propounded by Jean Piaget. This theory is founded on the belief that the way in which people organize their thoughts about rules and laws lead to either criminal/delinquent or non criminal behavior (Reid, 1994, p.157). Psychologists refer to this organization of thoughts as moral reasoning. When that reasoning is applied to law, it is called legal reasoning. Jean Piaget believed that there are two stages in moral reasoning. The first stage is the belief that rules are sacred and immutable. According to Piaget we leave this stage at around the age of thirteen. (Reid, 1994, p.158).The second stage is the belief that rules are the products of humans. This stage leads to more moral behavior than the first one. In 1958, Lawrence Kohlberg modified this approach. He named the first stage preconventional and the second conventional. He also added a third and higher stage known as the postconventional reasoning. Unlike Piaget, Kohlberg believes that most people move from preconventional to conventional reasoning or thinking between the ages of ten and thirteen. Those people who do not make this change are seen as arrested in their development of moral reasoning and they may become delinquents or criminals.
Kohlberg and other scholars advanced this position with a development of stages of moral judgment that can be applied to all kinds of behavior. The progression or development to higher stages should preclude criminal behavior but most criminals do not advance beyond the first stages. Other modern scholars have propounded the fact that both criminal and non-criminal behavior are related to cognitive development and that people decide on the behavior in which they wish to engage in. These scholars emphasize that although environmental factors such as family background, poverty, and peer relationships may bound one’s choices, they do not determine those choices. Hence criminal behavior is a result of the way people think and the choices they make i.e. the root causes of crime are thought and choice (Walters, 1989, p.8). Thus criminals must be taught how to change their ways of thinking.
Although both of these theories are trait theories they differ in the fact that behavioral theory believes behavior is learned and hence can be unlearned by taking away the reward value, while cognitive theory emphasizes the importance of stages that lead to the development of moral behavior and failure of completion of these stages lead to criminal behavior. Secondly, the behavioral theory asserts that the choices people make are significantly determined by their environmental factors. On the other hand, the influence of environment on people’s behavior is not strong in the cognitive theory. In both of these theories however, the environment plays some degree of role in influencing behavior.
References
- Reid, S.T. (1994). Crime and Criminology. Dubuque: Brown communications, Inc.
- Siegel, L. (2007). Criminology: The Core (3rd ed.). Florence: Cengage Learning, Inc.
- Walters, G.D., & White, T.W. (1989).The thinking criminal: A cognitive model of lifestyle criminality. Criminal Justice Research Bulletin, 4(4), 8.