Criminal Thinking Styles in Criminals and Non-Criminals Social Reasoning Empathy and Control

INTRODUCTION

Criminal behavior has been associated with a number of factors related to

one's environment and circumstances. It is also related to the decision making

process which is based on person's cognitive processing capabilities. Socialcognition

is an approach which tries to understand these cognitive capabilities along

with social contexts and situations. The situation, in which a person finds himself,

how he perceives and understands his social environment, will all be processed by

his cognitive processes. His ability to analyze all this information is dependent on

his socio-cognitive skills. People arrive at conclusions based on this information.

Hence, this enables us to understand that perhaps more than the social contexts,

these socio-cognitive skills are responsible for the way we perceive the world. It can

also be stated that deficits in these socio-cognitive skills can therefore lead to

criminal behavior.

Review states that the kind of thinking styles a person possesses will

influence his behavior. Anti-social attitudes and higher levels of criminal thinking

styles will predict anti-social behavior in an individual. Moral development theorists

suggest that moral reasoning deficits can also lead to criminal behavior. Delays in

moral behavior development can predict antisocial behavior in an individual.

Psychologists also believe that empathy underlies pro-social behavior and its

absence can result in aggressive behaviors. Hence, empathy is considered as a

central component of social functioning for maintaining social relationships and for

achieving the psychological wellbeing of a person. Locus of control also has a

significant role in a person's life as it helps in making choices and decisions.

1.1 CRIME AND CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR

Crime and Criminal Behavior are not simple phenomenon to understand and

deal with. In legal terms, crime can be defined as an intentional act which violates

law of a particular society. According to Tappan (1947), crime can be understood

"as an intentional act in violation of the criminal law committed without defence or

excuse and penalized by the state as a felony or misdemeanour". Tappan (1960) has

defined crime as "an intentional act or omission in violation of criminal law

committed without defence or justificatio,