Milestone Two
Milestone Two
Southern New Hampshire University
June 4, 2022
Milestone Two
Milestone Two
Profile
Frank Timmons is a black male that is in his early 40s. He was born in 1964 in a large
metropolitan city and is the second youngest of thirteen children. He was a good football player.
however he had reputation for excessive roughness with opposing teams. Due to having to help
support his family and not having enough credits, Frank did not complete High School. Most of
his family's income came from DES subsidies and food stamps. When Frank was in his 20s, he
was sentenced to 15 years for abducting a woman and 21 years for a robbery, although he only
served thirteen years. After his release, he was able to get a job as a construction worker and
moved into a home with his wife.
Biological Factors
One can assume that Frank's aggression is hereditary, since his father and his
sister were both verbally abusive and alcoholics. Another biological factor that could have
influenced Frank's crimes is his testosterone levels. It is said that men with higher testosterone
levels tend to commit more aggressive crimes according to the National Library of Medicine.
The National Library of Medicine also claims that high testosterone levels affect behavioral
manifestations in the brain centers that are involved in aggression in various intensities and
forms such as thoughts, anger, verbal aggressiveness, competition, dominance behavior, and
physical violence. This could also explain why Frank was so aggressive towards his victims.
Developmental Factors
As for Frank's developmental factors, his traumatic childhood could play a major
role. Frank was verbally abused by his father and was also sexually abused by his older sister.
His mother was described as an absent parent and she also passed away when Frank was twelve
years old, which could cause developmental delays in a child due to grief and the way they
Milestone Two
3
process the death. It is possible that Frank had hard feelings against his mother or even blamed
her for leaving and felt abandoned by her which could be a reason his victims were women.
Environmental Factors
Due to living in a large metropolitan area and his large family living off of DES
subsidies and food stamps, this leads me to believe that he lived in poverty which could play a
role in his environmental factors. I came to this conclusion based on the fact that an increase in
poverty is linked to an increase in crime (Holzman-Escareno, n.d.). Large metropolitan areas
tend to have high crime rates which can have a negative effect on children and young teens
psyche.
Theory
I believe that Skinner's Theory of Behavior applies to Frank. Skinner's Theory of
Behavior claims that "environmental or external stimuli are the primary--if not the sole
determinants of all behavior" (Bartol, 2020). This backs up my belief that Frank's environment
as a child played a major role in his crimes. Franks brother was arrested alongside Frank when
Frank was a