On The Essential Characteristics Of Criminals

Are criminals different from non-criminals? Does the criminal group bear its unique essential characteristics? These questions call for answers in the research of criminal psychology. Since the public has an irrational cognition of criminals, the whole society excludes them, which not only influences the justice of law, but also disrupts the rectification of criminals. In fact, neither the legal identity feature nor the extrinsic feature of criminal behavior is the essential characteristics of criminals. As a result, the in-depth study of the characteristics of criminals is of great significance both in theory and in reality.This dissertation adopts psychological, sociological and legal theories and integrates quantitative and qualitative analysis. Based on the conclusion and reference of the past research in this regard, it compares criminals and non-criminals in a multi-dimensional way so as to sum up and probe into the essential characteristics of criminals.Firstly this dissertation puts forward the multi-dimensional methodological principle that should be followed in the research of criminals. It induces four characteristics, namely existence, adaptability, purpose and relationship, from the corresponding four aspects of physical, biological, psychological and sociological attributes of men respectively. So the research of criminals should start from the attribute of men and proceed in consideration of the characteristics of individuals and interactive functioning between the above mentioned attributes and features rather than insist on single-dimensional or single-characteristic determinism. In terms of biological, psychological and sociological attributes possessed by individuals as human beings, distinct differences exist not only between criminals and non-criminals, but also between criminals themselves. The reason why the old conclusion of the characteristics of criminals lacks predictability lies in that the physical methodology attaches more importance to single-factor determinism.The essence of crime and even the essential characteristics of criminals are both caused by harmful behavior. However, different individuals have different characteristics. Anti-social nature, personal danger and other label methods can by no means represent the essential characteristics of criminals. The essential characteristics of the criminal individual or group can be shown in terms of its major independent variable—personality. Personality integrates the intrinsic psychological features and extrinsic behavior features of individuals in the process of adaptation to environment so that it is stable, integral and consistent. In this regard, individual differences can be observed. But it does not mean that the personality composition in a whole of criminals is different from the essential characteristics of non-criminals. Actually, the state and combination mode of different characteristics in personality of criminals is distinguishable from that of non-criminals so that they are more inclined to show social inadaptability in different environments than non-criminals.The characteristics of criminals can also be found in terms of rationality, especially in deduction by means of cognitive psychology. Rationality refers to selfish behavior in economics and autonomy in law while it means self-cognition in psychology. The shared characteristics of the criminal group can be concluded in all these aspects.Personality, as the entire feature of a specific individual, usually only represents the individual. The differences between the criminal group and law-binding group should be summed up in line with the individual characteristics of criminals. Such differences are manifested in individuality of criminals instead of the so-called personality. The essential characteristics refer to those that are in conflict with environment adaptation, can be measured and reflect the individual features of most criminals.