that underlie resilience may reveal deficits in those
who succumb to the harmful effects of their disadvan-
taged or abusive childhood—often becoming delin-
quent and criminal as a result.
Of course, the majority of poor people are not crim-
inals, and the majority of those growing up in abusive
homes or who are bullied do not go on to become
criminals, raising the question: What it is about those
who commit crime that distinguishes them from others
who experience similar circumstances but are law
abiding? Furthermore, why would individuals who do
not experience such adversity commit crime? The
answer to these questions is that social factors affect
different people differently. By and large it is the psy-
chological and biological makeup of an individual that
determines how and to what extent external forces
affect his behavior. Psychological and biological fac-
tors interact to render an individual more or less vul-
nerable to adverse social conditions. This should not
be taken to diminish the influence of social factors on
criminal behavior, for indeed they have a significant
role, but rather to highlight the fact that the effect they
have depends on the psychological and biological
makeup of the individual. Ultimately, it is the individ-
ual who acts—criminally or otherwise.Psychological Factors
By virtue of the requirement of mens rea, criminal
courts are concerned with the psychological elements
that underlie criminal behavior. Research teaches,
however, that the psychology of the offender emanates
from a biological substrate. And, one’s psychological
states affect various aspects of his or her biology. Mind
and brain have an indelible connection. An individual’s
psychological state or mental status—whether at the
scene of a crime or in a courtroom—involves biologi-
cal mechanisms.
Psychopathology—the study of diseases/disorders
of the mind—constitutes a major area of preparation
for the forensic psychologist. While the vast majority
of individuals with mental disorder do not commit
crimes, it is estimated that rates of serious mental dis-
order among prison inmates are three to four times
greater than they are for members of the general pop-
ulation. Although this cannot blindly be taken to mean
that the crimes of mentally disordered inmates were
due to their psychopathology, or that mental disorder
predated their incarceration, their disproportionate
numbers relative to the general population nonethelessconfer significance to mental disorder as a contributing
factor in criminal behavior.
The relationship between criminal behavior and
mental disorder is complex. Individuals who experi-
ence false perceptions (i.e., have hallucinations such
as hearing voices that have no basis in objective real-
ity) and/or hold false beliefs (i.e., have delusions such
as “people are out to kill me”) are considered to have
a major mental disorder, or psychosis. Recent research
has linked schizophrenia, a psychosis, to an increased
risk of committing violent crime—usually against sig-
nificant others in their lives (not the randomly encoun-
tered strangers portrayed in popular media). While it
is understandable how someone who is out of touch
with reality can harm another as a result (e.g., by hav-
ing a delusion that he has a divine mission to cleanse
the streets of vermin—say, by killing homeless
people), the majority of psychotic individuals do not
commit crimes.
Research on hallucinations in schizophrenics reveals
that the basis for their false perceptions is brain dys-
function. For example, the occurrence of auditory hal-
lucinations coincides with the firing of neurons in
brain regions normally involved in processing sound—
but in this case in the absence of sound. Instead of
asking the nebulous question, “Why does a schizo-
phrenic hear voices?” we are now positioned to ask
why neurons in particular regions of the brain misfire
in the absence of external stimuli. Thus, the impetus
for violence in a schizophrenic individual—when he
attacks because the voices say the other person
intends harm—appears to arise out of aberrant neural
activity.
Of the mental disorders currently recognized by
clinicians and researchers, most are not deemed psy-
choses. Rather, they are disorders of personality,
impulse control, and the like. Psychopathy, a form of
personality disorder, is exhibited as a cluster of spe-
cific affective, interpersonal, and socially deviant
behaviors. Although psychopaths make up only about
1% of the general population, they are estimated to
comprise approximately 25% of prison populations.
The nature of their disorder—lacking remorse for
their antisocial actions and emotional empathy for
those whose rights they violate—makes them espe-
cially well suited for criminal activity. While most
psychopaths are not criminal (nonetheless behaving in
ways that disregard consideration for others), of those
who are, recidivism rates tend to be significantly
higher than for nonpsychopathic offenders.154 ———Criminal Behavior, Theories ofC-Cutler (Encyc)-45463.qxd 11/18/2007 12:41 PM Page 154