Areshia Streams
PSY- 310- H6325
Professor Matthew Lunsford
Southern New Hampshire University
August 20, 2022
6-2 Journal: Criminal Prosecution
Psychological theories focus primarily on the influences of individual and family factors
on offending (Farrington, 2022). Psychological theories are mainly based on the development of
an individual offending from childhood to adulthood, hence, the number of longitudinal follow-
up studies on individuals over time. The main limitation of psychological theories that can be
identified is the omission of the influence of mental, social, and cultural factors have on an
individual's behavior. This often leads to assumptions and bias about the criminal. For example,
racial bias and poverty. It is often assumed that an African-American child raised in poverty will
grow up to live a life of crime. When in actuality, the link between poverty and delinquency is
unsure. Growing up in poverty does not mean a child will grow up to commit a crime a child
raised in poverty could grow to become a successful individual. The use of psychological
theories can help to form a baseline for understanding a criminal's behavior, however, not all
criminals are "built" the same. Limitations of racial biases and assumptions can hinder a trial
causing the prosecution to make a mistake, but if we were to rectify these limitations by
including the influences of one's social, mental, and cultural factors, the prosecution could get
justice to prevail.
During my research for the case of Terik and Lori Katib, I was faced with many
limitations. It was unclear on what Terik was like as a child in grade school. Having a teacher
describe Terik's interaction with fellow students could have helped me to better understand if he
showed signs of having an antisocial disorder. Little information provided said he was shy and
calm, however, in school or at home was he a subject of bullying or abuse? There was also
information present on Lori. It was unclear if she came from the same background as Terik and if
she was the main influence behind his actions.
I believe that age does impact a person's motivation. According to Steinberg's Duel
Systems Theory, a child's (adolescent's) brain reaches its logical reasoning peak at the age of 16
and psychological maturity at the age of 25 (Bartol & Bartol, 2020). Between now and the age of
16, a child's mind is subject to manipulation. They are still vulnerable to peer pressure and will
participate so that they will fit in amongst their peers. By the age of 25, there is chance that they
may have matured enough to learn from their mistakes. If not, then they would be considered a
life-course persistent offender (Bartol & Bartol, 2020). The Moffitt theory defines a life-course
persistent offender as an individual who developed an antisocial behavior in childhood and
continued their antisocial ways through all kinds of conditions and situations (Bartol & Bartol,
2020).
References
Bartol, C. R., & Bartol, A. M. (2020). Criminal Behavior: A Psychological Approach (12th
Edition). Pearson Education