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Assignment Individual Theories CJS/240 Juvenile delinquency has been an on-going issue for many years. There are many adolescents whom are motivated to commit crimes due to life circumstances. Then there are those individuals out there that have the same life situations that are not committing crimes. Over time these life situations are developed as theories. Two theories that are well-known all around the world are the Psychodynamic Theory and the Behavioral Theory. The Psychodynamic Theory was originated by the Austrian doctor Sigmund Freud. The Psychodynamic theory debates that a personality contains three key components.
The three components are the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is known to be the component of pleasure seeking. The ego is developed through life in which helps to restrain an individual’s desires for pleasure seeking behavior. Then there is the superego in which the morals and conscience of the individual come into play to help with the decision making process for the behaviors that led up to it (, 2005). With the three components of Id, ego, and superego being at a good balance within a person’s life that individual can lead a normal and productive life.
However, if there is not a good balance of these three components the individual will act out irrationally and impulsively with the inability of knowing that what he, or she is doing is wrong and that is where crimes may be committed. With the Psychodynamic theory it is not true for all adolescents behaviors there may be adolescents out there that have the off balance necessary to support the Psychodynamic theory and then there are those adolescents all around the world that do not contain the off balance of the three components at the same age and life situations (, 2005).
With the Behavioral Theory psychologists whom specialize in Behavioral Therapy debate that an individual’s mind set is learned throughout life situations and relationships with peers. Behavioral studies suggest that people acquire knowledge from watching how people at whom he, or she is interacting with behave in accordance to what he, or she is conducting his, or her-self. It has also been well-known in case studies that an individual’s behavior will change with his, or her environment when the environment changes (, 2005).
Even though behaviors on many aspects are not sought out or encouraged adolescents have the tendency to follow the crowd. If an individual observes his, or her peers doing a criminally mischievous behavior he, or she may decide to follow the crowd to fit in and commit a similar criminal act (Articles Base, 2006). It is important that criminal behaviors are punished and discouraged.
If people were to teach the adolescents that the criminal behaviors that are being acted upon are wrong and immoral and have severe consequences then maybe the adolescents will be reluctant to follow the crowd and be encouraged to do the right thing (Articles Base, 2006). From all that is known by the Psychodynamic Theory and the Behavioral Theory much of the information is alike. Both theories can be relatively connected in many aspects. However, there is not much being done to prevent the criminal acts of behavior being concocted from the Psychodynamics of adolescents that have this theoretical problem.
Instead of labeling the criminal behavior with a psychosis more should be done to help the individuals whom are committing the crimes to understand right from wrong and to teach him, or her that there is more to life than crime. References: (2005). Individual views of delinquency views and traits, Retrieved from https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/classroom/ic/classroom. aspx Articles Base, (2006), Juvenile Delinquency Theories, Retrieved from http://www. articlesbase. com/law-articles/juvenile-delinquency-theories-67589. html