Introduction To

Human
Behavior
CHAPTER 1
This chapter presents an introduction to human
behavior, theories on human behavior, abnormal
behavior, criminal behavior, and intelligence and
crime.
SEGMENT 1: Overview on
Human Development
What is Behavior?
- Behavior refers to the actions of an organism or system,
usually in relation to its environment, which includes the other
organisms or systems around as well as the physical
environment.
- Behavior can also be defined as anything that you do that can
be directly observed, measured, and repeated. Some examples
of behavior are reading, crawling, singing, holding hands and
the likes.
What is Human Behavior?
- Human Behavior is the range of actions and
mannerisms exhibited by humans in conjunction
with their environment, responding to various
stimuli or inputs, whether internal or external,
conscious or subconscious, overt or covert, and
voluntary or involuntary.
- Factors that influence Human Behavior: attitudes,
emotions, culture, ethics, authority, motivation,
coercion, beliefs, reasoning, values, religion,
rapport, persuasion, and genetics
What is Human Development?

- Human development is the process of a person's growth and

maturation throughout their lifespan, concerned with the creation of
an environment where people are able to develop their full potential,
while leading productive and creative lives in accordance with their
interests and needs. Development is about the expansion of choices
people have in order to lead lives they value.

Four Pillars of Human Development

1. Equity - It is the idea that every person has the right to an

education and health care, that there must be fairness for all.

2. Sustainability - It encompasses the view that every person has

the right to earn a living that can sustain him or her, while
everyone also has the right to access to goods more evenly
distributed among populations.

3. Production - It is the idea that people need more efficient social

programs to be introduced by their governments.

4. Empowerment - It is the view that people who are powerless,

such as women, need to be given power.
Theories of Child (Human) Development

A. Personality Theory

I. Psychoanalytic Theory (Sigmund Freud)

The Structure of Personality (Tripartite Personal) - according to Sigmund Freud,

the structure of personality is made up of three major systems: the id, the ego and
the superego. Behavior is always the product of an interaction among these three
systems; rarely does one system operate to the exclusion of the other two.

1. Id - allows us to get our basic needs met. Freud believed that the id is based
on the pleasure principle i.e. it wants immediate satisfaction, with no
consideration for the reality of the situation.

2. Ego - The ego's job is to meet the needs of the id, whilst taking into account
the constraints of reality. The ego acknowledges that being impulsive or
selfish can sometimes hurt us, so the id must be constrained (reality
principle). Ego is the moderator between the id and superego which seeks
compromises to pacify both.

3. Superego - The superego develops during the phallic stage as a result of the
moral constraints placed on us by our parents. It is generally believed that a
strong superego serves to inhibit the biological instincts of the id (resulting in
a high level of guilt), whereas a weak superego allows the id more expression-
resulting in a low level of guilt. Superego internalizes society and parental
standards of "good" and "bad", "right" and "wrong" behavior
Levels of Awareness (Topographical Models by Sigmund Freud)
1. The Conscious Level - It consists of whatever sensations and experiences you
are aware of at a given moment of time.
2. The Preconscious Level - This domain is sometimes called "available memory"
that encompasses all experiences that are not conscious at the moment but
which can easily be retrieved into awareness either spontaneously or with a
minimum of effort.
3. The Unconscious Level - It is the deepest and major stratum of the human
mind. It is the storehouse for primitive instinctual drives plus emotion and
memories that are so threatening to the conscious mind that they have been
repressed, or unconsciously pushed into the unconscious mind.
Freud’s Model of Personality (Psychosexual Stage)
Stage Focus
1. Oral (0-18 months) Pleasure centers on the mouth (sucking, biting,
chewing).
2. Anal (18-36 months) Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder
elimination; coping with demands for control

3. Phallic (3-6 years) Pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with

incestuous sexual feelings
4. Latency (6 years – puberty) A phase of dominant sexual feelings
5. Genitals (puberty on) Maturation of sexual interest

Freud Psychosexual Theory believes that we are born with two basis instincts:
1. Eros - This is named after the Greek god for love. Eros includes the sex drives and drives
such as hunger and thirst.
2. Thanatos - This is named after Greek god for death. This includes not only striving for
death but also destructive motives such as hostility and aggression. These drives highly
influence the personality of a person.
II. Trait Theory
- Trait theories attempt to learn and explain the traits that make up personality, the differences
between people in terms of their personal characteristics, and how they relate to actual behavior.
- Trait refers to the characteristics of an individual, describing a habitual way of behaving, thinking,
and feeling.
Kinds of Trait by Allport:
1. Common Traits - These are personality traits that are shared by most members of a particular
culture.
2. Individual Traits - These are personality traits that define a person's unique individual qualities.
3. Cardinal Traits - These are personality traits that are so basic that all person's activities relate to
it.
4. Central Traits - These are the core traits that characterize an individual's personality.
5. Secondary Traits - These are traits that are inconsistent or relatively superficial, less generalized
and far less enduring that affects our behaviors in specific circumstances
Kinds of Trait by Goldberg (Big Five or Five Factor Theory)
1. Extraversion - This dimension contrasts such traits as sociable, outgoing, talkative, assertive,
persuasive, decisive, and active with more introverted traits such as withdrawn, quiet, passive,
retiring, and reserved.
2. Neuroticism - People high on neuroticism are prone to emotional instability. They tend to
experience negative emotions and to be moody, irritable, nervous, and prone to worry.
3. Conscientiousness - This factor differentiates individuals who are dependable, organized,
reliable, responsible, thorough, hard-working, and preserving from those undependable,
disorganized, impulsive, unreliable, irresponsible, careless, negligent and lazy.
4. Agreeableness - This factor is composed of a collection of traits that range from compassion to
antagonism towards others. A person high on agreeableness would be a pleasant person, good-
natured, warm, sympathetic, and cooperative.
5. Openness to Experience - This factor contrasts individuals who are imaginative, curious, broad-
minded, and cultured with those who are concrete-minded and practical, and whose interests
are narrow.
Personality Traits by Eysenck
1. Extrovert - It refers to a person that is sociable, out-going, and active.
2. Introvert - It refers to a person that is withdrawn, quiet, and introspective.
3. Emotionally Unstable - It is a trait that is being anxious, excitable and easily disturbed.
What is Temperament?
Temperament refers to the fundamental groundwork of character, generally presumed to be
biologically determined and existent early in life, inclusive of traits like emotional reactiveness,
energy level, reaction tempo, and motivation to explore.
Four Types of Temperament:
4. Melancholic – sad, gloomy
5. Choleric – hot-tempered, irritable
6. Phlegmatic – sluggish, calm
7. Sanguine – cheerful, hopeful
Psychological Studies in Relation to Crime and Delinquency
1. August Aichorn
• Aichorn in his book entitled Wayward Youth (1925) said that the cause of crime and delinquency
is the faulty development of the child during the first few years of his life.
• He identified two further categories of criminal: a) those with fully developed consciences but
identified with their criminal parents, and b) those who had been allowed to do whatever they like
by over-indulgent parents.

2. Cyril Burt (Young Delinquent, 1925)

• Burt gives the theory of General Emotionality.
• According to him many offenses can be traced to either in excess or a deficiency of a particular
instinct which accounts for the tendency of many criminals to be weak willed or easily led.
Psychological Studies in Relation to Crime and Delinquency
3. William Healy (Individual Delinquency, 1916)
• He claimed that crime is an expression of the mental content of the individual.
• Frustration of the individual causes emotional discomfort; personality demands removal of pain
and pain is eliminated by substitute behavior, that is, crime delinquency of the individual.

4. Walton Bromberg (Crime and the Mind, 1946)

• He noted that criminality is the result of emotional immaturity.
• A person is emotionally matured if he has learned to control his emotion effectively and who lives
at peace with himself and harmony with the standards of conduct which are acceptable to the
society. An emotionally immature person rebel against rule and regulations, engage in usual
activities and experience a feeling of guilt due to inferiority complex.
B. Psychosocial Theory of Development (Erik
Erikson)

Erikson’s Stages of Human Development

- Developmental psychologist Erik H. Erikson was best

known for his theory on social development of human
beings, and for coining the phrase identity crisis.

- The theory describes eight stages through which a

healthily developing human should pass from infancy to
late adulthood. de each stage the person confronts, and
hopefully masters, new challenges. Each stage builds on
the successful stages. The challenges of stages not
expected to reappear as problems completion of earlier
successfully completed may be in the future.
C. Cognitive Development Theory (Jean Piaget)
• Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development suggests that children move through four different stages of
mental development. His theory focuses not only on understanding how children acquire knowledge, but also on
understanding the nature of intelligence

Stage Characteristics

1. Sensorimotor (birth to 2 years)
2. Preoperational (2 years to 7 years)
3. Concrete Operational (7 years to 11 years)
The child learns by doing: looking, touching, sucking. The
child also has a primitive understanding of cause-and-effect
relationships. Object performance appears around 9
months.
The child uses language and symbols, including letters and
numbers. Egocentrism is also evident. Conservation marks
the end of the preoperational stage and the beginning of
concrete operations.
The child demonstrates conservation, reversibility, serial
ordering, and a mature understanding of cause-and-effect
relationships. Thinking at this stage is still concrete.

4. Formal Operational (12 years and up) The child demonstrates conservation, reversibility, serial
ordering, and a mature understanding of cause-and-effect
relationships. Thinking at this stage is still concrete.
D. Socio - Cultural Theory (Lex Vygotzky)
• Vygotsky's theory is one of the foundations of constructivism. It asserts three major themes regarding
social interaction, the more knowledgeable other, and the zone of proximal development.
• Social Development Theory argues that social interaction precedes development; consciousness and
cognition are the end product of socialization and social behavior.
Social Interaction
• Social interaction plays a fundamental role in the process of cognitive development. In contrast to
Jean Piaget's understanding of child development (in which development necessarily precedes
learning), Vygotsky felt social learning precedes development. He states: "Every function in the child's
cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first,
between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological)".
E. Bio Ecological Theory (Urie Bronfebrenner)
• This is known as the Human Ecology Theory, the Ecological Systems theory states that human
development is influenced by the different types of environmental systems.

The Five Environmental System

1. The Micro System – the micro system’s setting is the direct environment we have in our lives.
2. The Mesosystem – the mesosystem involves the relationship between the microsystem in one’s
life.
3. The Exosystem – the exosystem is the setting in which there is a link between the context where
in the person does not have any active role, and the context where in is actively participating.
4. The Macrosystem – the macrosystem setting is the actual culture of an individual.
5. The Chronosystem – the choronosystem includes the transition and shifts in one’s lifespan.
F. Moral Development (Lawrence Kohlberg)
• Developed by psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg, this theory made us understand that morality starts
from the early childhood years and can be affected by several factors.

Levels of Moral Development

Level 1: Pre - Conventional Morality
Stage 1: Punishment - Obedience Orientation - this stage includes the use of punishment so that the
person refrains from doing the action and continues to obey the rules.
Stage 2: Instrumental Relativist Orientation - In this stage, the person is said to judge the morality
of an action based on how it satisfies the individual needs of the doer.

Level 2: Conventional Morality

Stage 3: Good Boy-Nice Girl Orientation - In this stage, a person judges an action based on the
societal roles and social expectations before him. This is also known as the "interpersonal
relationships" phase.
Stage 4: Law and Order Orientation - This stage includes respecting the authorities and following
the rules, as well as doing a person's duty. The society is the main consideration of a person at this
stage.

Level 3: Post Conventional Morality

Stage 5: Social Contract Orientation - In this stage, the person is look at various opinions and values
of different people before coming up with the decision on the morality of the action.
Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principles Orientation - The final stage of moral reasoning, this
orientation is when a person considers universally accepted ethical principles.
SEGMENT 2: Abnormal
Behavior
What is Abnormal Behavior?
- Abnormal Behavior is something deviating from
the normal or differing from the typical, is a
subjectively defined behavioral characteristic,
assigned to those with rare or dysfunctional
conditions.
- Abnormal Behavior is behavior that is deviant,
maladaptive, or personally distressful over a long
period of time.
What is Psychopathology?
• Psychopathology is the scientific study of mental
disorders, including efforts to understand their
genetic, biological, psychological, and social
causes; effective classification schemes
(nosology); course across all stages of
development; manifestations; and treatment. It is
also defined as the origin of mental disorders,
how they develop, and the symptoms they might
produce in a person.
The 4 Ds – description for the four Ds when defining abnormality

1. Deviance - This term describes the idea that specific thoughts, behavior and
emotions are considered deviant when they are unacceptable or not common in
society.
2. Distress - This term accounts for negative feelings by the individual with the
disorder. He or she may feel deeply troubled and affected by their illness.
3. Dysfunction - This term involves maladaptive behavior that impairs the
individual’s ability to perform normal daily functions, such as getting ready for
work in the morning, or driving a car.
4. Danger - This term involves dangerous or violent behavior directed at the
individual, or others in the environment
Models of Abnormality

1. Behavioral
• Behaviorists believe that our actions are determined largely by the experiences we have
in life, rather than by underlying pathology of unconscious forces.
• Abnormality is therefore seen as the development of behavior patterns that are
considered maladaptive (i.e. harmful) for the individual.
• Behaviorism states that all behavior (including abnormal) is learned from the
environment (nurture) and that all behavior that has been learnt can also be 'unlearnt'
(which is how abnormal behavior is treated).
• Behavioral approach is on the environment and how abnormal behavior is acquired,
through classical conditioning, operant conditioning and social learning.
Models of Abnormality
2. Cognitive
• assumes that a person's thoughts are responsible for their behavior.
• The model deals with how information is processed in the brain and the impact of this on
behavior.
• The basic assumptions are:
a. Maladaptive behavior is caused by faulty and irrational cognitions.
b. It is the way you think about a problem, rather than the problem itself
that causes mental disorders.
c. Individuals can overcome mental disorders by learning to use more
appropriate cognitions.
d. The individual is an active processor of information. How a person, perceives,
anticipates and evaluates events rather than the events themselves, which will have an
impact on behavior. This is generally believed to be an automatic process, in other words
we do not really think about it.
Models of Abnormality
3. Medical/ Biological
• The medical model of psychopathology believes that disorders have an organic or
physical cause. The focus of this approach is on genetics, neurotransmitters,
neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, biochemistry etc.

4. Psychodynamic
• Abnormality came from the psychological causes rather than the physical causes that
unresolved conflicts between the id, ego and superego can all contribute to abnormality.
a. Weak Ego - Well-adjusted people have a strong ego that is able to cope with the
demands of both the id and the superego by allowing each to express itself at appropriate
times.
Models of Abnormality
b. Unchecked Id Impulses - If id impulses are unchecked they may be expressed in self-
destructive and immoral behavior.
c. Too Powerful Superego - A superego that is too powerful, and therefore too harsh and
inflexible in its moral values, will restrict the id to such an extent that the person will be
deprived of even socially acceptable pleasures.

Identification of Abnormal Behavior

1. Deviation from Statistical Norm - The word abnormal means 'away from the norm'.
Many population facts are measured such as height, weight and intelligence. Most of
the people fall within the middle range of intelligence, but a few are abnormally
stupid. But according to this definition, a person who is extremely intelligent should
be classified as abnormal.
Identification of Abnormal Behavior
a. Intelligence - It is statistically abnormal for a person to get a score about 145 on an
IQ test or to get a score below 55, but only the lowest score is considered abnormal.
b. Anxiety - A person who is anxious all the time or has a high level of anxiety and
someone who almost never feels anxiety are all considered to be abnormal.

2. Deviation from Social Norm - Every culture has certain standards for acceptable
behavior; behavior that deviates from that standard is considered to be abnormal
behavior. But those standards can change with time and vary from one society to
another.
Identification of Abnormal Behavior
3. Maladaptive Behavior - This third criterion is how the behavior affects the well-being
of the individual and/or social group.
a. Maladaptive to One's self - It refers to the inability of a person to reach goals or to
adapt the demands of life.
b. Maladaptive to Society - It refers to a person's obstruction or disruption to social
group functioning.

4. Personal Distress - The fourth criterion considers abnormality in terms of the

individual's subjective feelings, personal distress, rather than his behavior.
Identification of Abnormal Behavior
5. Failure to Function Adequately - Under this definition, a person is considered
abnormal if they are unable to cope with the demands of everyday life.
The following characteristics that define failure to function adequately:
a. suffering,
b. maladaptiveness (danger to self),
c. vividness and unconventionality (stands out),
d. unpredictably and loss of control,
e. irrationality/incomprehensibility,
f. causes observer discomfort, and
g. violates moral/social standards.
Identification of Abnormal Behavior
6. Deviation from Ideal Mental Health - Under this definition, rather than defining what
is abnormal, we define what normal/ideal is and anything that deviates from this is
regarded as abnormal.
The six criteria by which mental health could be measured are as follows:
a. positive view of the self,
b. capability for growth and development,
c. autonomy and independence,
d. accurate perception of reality,
e. positive friendships and relationships, and
f. environmental mastery (able to meet the varying demands of day-to-day situations).
Symptoms of Abnormal Behavior
1. Long Periods of Discomfort - This could be anything as simple as worrying about a
calculus test or grieving the death of a loved one. This distress is related to a real,
related, or threatened event and passes with time.
2. Impaired Functioning - Here, a distinction must be made between simply a passing
period of inefficiency and prolonged inefficiency which seems unexplainable.
3. Bizarre Behavior - Bizarre behavior that has no rational basis seems to indicate that
the individual is confused. The psychoses frequently result in hallucinations (baseless
sensory perceptions) or delusions (beliefs which are patently false yet held as true by
the individual).
4. Disruptive Behavior - Disruptive behavior means impulsive, apparently
uncontrollable behavior that disrupts the lives of others or deprives them of their
human rights on a regular basis.
SEGMENT 3: Mental
Disorder
What is Mental Disorder?
- Mental Disorder refers to the significant
impairment in psychological functioning.
- Mental disorder, also called a mental illness or
psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental
pattern that causes significant distress or
impairment of personal functioning.
- Mental disorder is a psychological syndrome or
pattern which is associated with distress (e.g. via a
painful symptom), disability (impairment in one or
more important areas of functioning), increased
risk of death, or causes a significant loss of
autonomy.
What is Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders?
• It is better known as the DSM-IV; the manual is
published by the American Psychiatric Association and
covers all mental health disorders for both children and
adults.
• It also lists known causes of these disorders, statistics in
terms of gender, age at onset, and prognosis as well as
some research concerning the optimal treatment
approaches.
• The book is typically considered the 'bible' for any
professional who makes psychiatric diagnoses in the
United States and many other countries.
What is American Psychiatric Association (APA)?
• APA is a medical specialty society with over 35,000 US
and international member physicians who "work together
to ensure humane care and effective treatment for all
persons with mental disorder, including mental
retardation and substance-related disorders.
• It is the voice and conscience of modern psychiatry. Its
vision is a society that has available, accessible quality
psychiatric diagnosis and treatment.“
• APA is the oldest national medical specialty society in
the US.
Relationship between Mental Disorder and Crime
The following are several results of studies that have found a relationship between mental
disorder and crime:
1. The risk of criminal behavior was significantly higher among subjects with mental
disorders, regardless of the socioeconomic status of the childhood family.
2. A review on the five epidemiological investigations of post- Second World War birth
cohorts, came to the conclusion that persons who develop major mental disorders are
at increased risk across the lifespan of committing crimes.
3. After examining data from national hospital and crime registers in Sweden,
researchers found that the overall population-attributable risk fraction of patients was
5%, indicating that patients with severe mental disorder commit one in 20 violent
crimes.
Relationship between Mental Disorder and Crime
4. A comparison on Swiss in-patients with the general population and came to the
conclusion that patients were more frequently registered in all crime categories,
although there were differences between the diagnostic groups: while alcoholics and
drug users of both sexes had a significantly higher criminality rate, a higher rate was
found among female, but not male, patients suffering from schizophrenia or related
disorders.
5. Finally, homicidal behavior appears to have a statistical association with
schizophrenia and antisocial personality disorder.
Relationship between Mental Disorder and Crime
The following are several results of studies that discard any relationship between mental
disorder and crime.
1. In a study which examined the ability of personal demographic, crim criminal history, and
clinical variables to predict recidivism in mentally disordered offenders in the United
Kingdom, researchers found that reconviction in mentally disordered offenders can be
predicted using the same criminogenic variables that are predictive in offenders without
mental disorders.
2. Researchers analyzed the relationship between violence and substance abuse among
patients with chronic mental disorder and found that major mental disorder alone with no
history of alcohol or drug abuse was associated with a considerably lower risk of violence.
3. Other studies suggest that the diagnosis of schizophrenia and delusional disorder, contrary
to previous empirical findings, do not predict higher rates of violence among recently
discharged psychiatric patients
4. Along the same lines, researchers found that the crime rate among male schizophrenic
patients was almost the same as that in the general male population.
What is Mental Retardation (MR)?
• MR is a condition of limited ability in which an individual has a low Intelligence
Quotient (IQ), usually below 70 on a traditional intelligence test, and has difficulty
adapting to everyday life; he/she first exhibited these characteristics during the so-called
developmental period - by age 18.
• MR is a developmental disability that first appears in children under the age of 18.
• It is defined as a level of intellectual functioning (as measured by standard intelligence
tests) that is well below average and results in significant limitations in the person's
daily living skills (adaptive functioning).
Four Different Levels of Mental Retardation
1. Mild Mental Retardation - Approximately 85% of the mentally retarded population is in
the mildly retarded category. Their IQ score ranges from 50-70, and they can often
acquire academic skills up to about the sixth-grade level.
2. Moderate Mental Retardation - About 10% of the mentally retarded population is
considered moderately retarded. Moderately retarded persons have IQ scores ranging
from 35-55. They can carry out work and self-care tasks with moderate supervision.
3. Severe Mental Retardation - About 3-4% of the mentally retarded population is severely
retarded. Severely retarded persons have IQ scores of 20 40. They may master very basic
self-care skills and some communication skills.
4. Profound Mental Retardation - Only 1-2% of the mentally retarded population is
classified as profoundly retarded. Profoundly retarded individuals have IQ scores under
20-25. They may be able to develop basic self-care and communication skills with
appropriate support and training.
Causes and Symptoms of Mental Retardation
Low IQ scores and limitations in adaptive skills are the hallmarks of mental retardation.
Aggression, self-injury, and mood disorders are sometimes associated with the disability.
Biological and environmental factors that can cause mental retardation include:
1. Genetic Factors - About 30% of cases of mental retardation is caused by hereditary
factors. Mental retardation may be caused by an inherited genetic abnormality, such as
fragile X syndrome.
What is Fragile X Syndrome?
• It is a defect in the chromosome that determines sex, is the most common inherited cause of
mental retardation.
• Single-gene defects such as phenylketonuria (PKU) and other inborn errors of metabolism
may also cause mental retardation if they are not discovered and treated early.
Causes and Symptoms of Mental Retardation
2. Prenatal Illnesses and Issues
• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) affects one in 3,000 children in Western countries. It is
caused by the mother's heavy drinking during the first twelve weeks (trimester) of
pregnancy.
• Maternal infections and such illnesses as glandular disorders, rubella, toxoplasmosis, and
cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection may cause mental retardation.
• Birth defects that cause physical deformities of the head, brain, and central nervous system
frequently cause mental retardation. Neural tube defect, for example, is a birth defect in
which the neural tube that forms the spinal cord does not close completely. This defect may
cause children to develop an accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid inside the skull
(hydrocephalus).
Causes and Symptoms of Mental Retardation
3. Childhood Illnesses and Injuries
• Hyperthyroidism, whooping cough, chickenpox, measles, and Hib disease (a bacterial
infection) may cause mental retardation if they are not treated adequately.
• Traumatic brain injury caused by a blow to the head or by violent shaking of the upper body
may also cause brain damage and mental retardation in children.

4. Environmental Factors
• Ignored or neglected infants who are not provided with the mental and physical stimulation
required for normal development may suffer irreversible learning impairment.
• Children who live in poverty and suffer from malnutrition, unhealthy living conditions,
abuse, and improper or inadequate medical care are at a higher risk.
Intelligence Tests to Measure Learning Abilities and Intellectual Functioning
1. Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
2. Wechsler Intelligence Scale
3. Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence
4. Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children

Prevention of Mental Retardation

• Immunization against diseases such as measles and Hib prevent many of the illnesses that can
cause mental retardation.
• All children should undergo routine developmental screening as part of their pediatric care.
• Newborn screening and immediate treatment for PKU and hyperthyroidism can usually catch
these disorders early enough to prevent retardation.
• Good prenatal care can also help prevent retardation. Pregnant women should be educated about
the risks of alcohol consumption and the need to maintain good nutrition during pregnancy.
SEGMENT 4: Criminal
Behavior and Intelligence
What is Criminal Behavior?
- Criminal Behavior refers to a behavior which is criminal in
nature; a behavior which violates a law. Thus, the moment a
person violates the law, he has already committed [exhibited]
criminal behavior.
- Criminal behavior refers to conduct of an offender that
leads to and including the commission of an unlawful act.
- According to Goldoozian, for human behavior to be
considered a crime, three elements are necessary:
1. Legally, the criminal act should be prohibited by law.
2. Materially, the criminal act should be executed or
realized.
3. 3. Spiritually, the criminal act should be accompanied by
criminal intention or guilt.
Origins of Criminal Behavior

1. Biological Factor
• Heredity as a factor implies that criminal acts are unavoidable, inevitable consequences of
the bad seed or bad blood.
• It emphasizes genetic predisposition toward antisocial and criminal conduct.
• The following are some studies and theories related to biological causes of crime:
a. Born Criminal (Cesare Lombroso)
b. Physique and Somatotype (Ernst Kretschmer & William Sheldon)
c. Juke and Kallikak (Richard Dugdale & Henry Goddard)
Origins of Criminal Behavior
2. Personality Disorder Factor
• Personality disorder factor refers to an act that exhibits a pervasive pattern of disregard for
and violation of the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and
continues into adulthood such as Anti-Social Personality Disorder (Psychoanalytic Theory-
Sigmund Freud)

3. Learning Factor
• Learning factor explains that criminal behavior is learned primarily by observing or
listening to people around us.
• The following are related learning theories, to wit:
a. Differential Association Theory (Edwin Sutherland)
b. Imitation Theory (Gabriel Tarde)
c. Identification Theory (Daniel Classer)
Origins of Criminal Behavior
4. Biological Approach
• Biological approach points to inherited predispositions and physiological processes to
explain individual differences in personality.
• emphasizes the role of biological processes and heredity as the key to understanding
behavior.

5. Humanistic Approach
• identifies personal responsibility and feelings of self-acceptance as the key causes of
differences in personality.
• This perspective focuses on how humans have evolved and adapted behaviors required for
survival against various environmental pressures over the long course of evolution.
Origins of Criminal Behavior
6. Behavioral/Social Learning Approach
• explains consistent behavior patterns as the result of conditioning and expectations.
• This emphasizes the role of environment in shaping behavior.

What is Behavioral Personality Theory? - is a model of personality that emphasizes

learning and observable behavior.
What is Social Learning Theory? - It is an explanation of personality that combines
learning principles, cognition, and the effects of social relationships.
What is Self-reinforcement? - This is the praising or rewarding oneself for having made a
particular response.
What is Identification? - It is a feeling from which one is emotionally connected to a person
and a way of seeing oneself as himself or herself.
Origins of Criminal Behavior
7. Cognitive Approach
• looks at differences in the way people process information to explain differences in
behavior.
• This perspective emphasizes the role of mental processes that underlie behavior.
Intelligence and Criminality
What is Human Intelligence?
• Human intelligence generally points to at least three characteristics. First, intelligence is
best understood as a compilation of brain-based cognitive abilities. According to 52 eminent
intelligence researchers, intelligence reflects "a very general mental capability that, among
other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly,
comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience.
Intelligence and Criminality
What is Human Intelligence?
• The earliest causal explanation, popular during the early 1900s, portrayed criminals as so
"feebleminded" and "mentally deficient" that they could neither distinguish right from
wrong nor resist criminal impulses.
• This feeblemindedness hypothesis, however, lost long ago as it became clear that few
criminals are actually mentally deficient and most recognize, though may not follow,
behavioral norms.
• Children with poor verbal and cognitive skills have greater difficulty completing the
socialization process, which puts them at risk of under controlled, antisocial behavior.
• Less intelligent students do less well in school, which results in academic frustration. This
frustration, in turn, weakens their attachment and commitment to schooling, and a weakened
bond to school, as per social control theory, allows for more criminal behavior.
Criminal Law and Intelligence

What is the McNaugthon (M’Naghten) Rule?

• McNaughton Rule requires that a criminal defendant
(a) not know what he was doing at the time or
(b) not know that his actions were wrong (because of his delusional belief,
McNaughton thought he was defending himself.
• The Rule created a presumption of sanity, unless the defense proved "at the time of
committing the act, the accused was laboring under such a defect of reason, from disease of
the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing or, if he did know it,
that he did not know what he was doing was wrong."
Criminal Law and Intelligence

What is the Durham Rule?

• The Durham rule states that, "an accused is not criminally responsible if his unlawful act is
the product of mental disease or mental defect.“
• also known as "irresistible impulse" recognizing some ill individuals may respond correctly
but may be unable to control their behavior.
• allows the insanity defense if, by virtue of mental illness, the defendant
(a) lacks the ability to understand the meaning of their act or
(b) cannot control their impulses. This is sometimes known as the "irresistible
impulse test"
Criminal Law and Intelligence

What is ALI “Substantial Capacity” Test?

• This test improved the M’Naghten and irresistible impulse test, states that a person
responsible for his criminal act if, as a result of the mental disease or defect, he lacks
substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality of his act or to conform his conduct to the
requirements of the law.

Insanity and Criminal Law in the Philippines

• Courts in the Philippines have established a more stringent criterion for insanity to be
exempting as it is required that there must be a complete deprivation of intelligence in
committing the act, i.e., the accused is deprived of reason; he acted without the least
discernment because there is a complete absence of the power to discern, or that there is a
total deprivation of the will.
The Revised Penal Code
Article 12 of the Code exempts a person from criminal liability in consideration of
intelligence:
Paragraph 1: Any person who has committed a crime while the said person was imbecile or
insane during the commission.
When the imbecile or an insane person has committed an act which the law defines as
a felony (delito), the court shall order his confinement in one of the hospitals or asylums
established for persons thus afflicted, which he shall not be permitted to leave without first
obtaining the permission of the same court.
Paragraph 2: A person over nine years of age and under fifteen, unless he has acted with
discernment, in which case, such minor shall be proceeded against in accordance with the
provisions of Art. 80 of this Code (Revised Penal Code).
Paragraph 3: Any person having an age of 9 years old and below.
Why raise the age of criminal exemption from 9 to 15 years old?
• Fifteen (15) years old is within the stage of adolescence the transition age which is
characterized by curiosity, tryouts, and identity crisis. These circumstances expose them to
risky and delinquent behavior. At this age, children are not yet emotionally stable and their
social judgment has not yet matured.