Personality and crime: Where do we stand

Abstract

This article argues for a central role for personality in mediating between the genetic and environmental forces which act as causal agencies on the one hand, and the criminal behaviour that is to be explained on the other. Such a causal chain must of course also incorporate the biological-hormonal intermediaries between DNA and personality. In addition we require an explanation for the specific behaviours that make up anti-social conduct, and it is suggested that this is to be found in Pavlovian conditioning. The evidence relating to these theories is reviewed, and suggests a fairly definite framework which also leads to some suggestions concerning the reduction of criminality.     

Personality,socioeconomics and crime: An international comparison

Abstract

Data from 37 countries were collected that permitted exploratory analysis of national profiles in terms of personality dimensions: psychoticism (P); extraversion (E); and neuroticism (N) and four socioeconomic indices: gross domestic product (GDP); human development index (HDI); economic growth (EG); and family size (FS) and their relationship to rates of criminal activity. Findings indicated that the socioeconomic indicators did correlate with national crime patterns. High crime nations were more likely to be the richer, industrialised countries having smalles average family size. Personality variables proved more elusive. P surprisingly was not correlated with incidence of crime rather E appeared mast closely linked to rate and type of crime. Findings are discussed in terms of measurement error and possible explanatory mechanisms.     

克隆人人格与权利问题研究——兼与甘绍平先生商榷

本文基于人权维度反思人们关于克隆人技术问题伦理论争中的一些基本论理.本文认为:尽管人们可以通过克隆技术复制出具有大致相同遗传基因的人的自然生命体,却无法复制出人自身.每一个人都有其独特的人格与尊严.人类关注克隆人权利问题,是在主体及其自由存在的权利、人类社会对于生命平等关爱及代际正义感的表达意义上而言,而不是在克隆人对于自身自然基质、生命出身及其选择要求的权利意义上而言.     

法律人格的伦理变革——来自罗马法又回到罗马法

法律人格与伦理的关系状态反映了法律对人的态度。人格属性历经古代罗马法、近代欧陆民法以及现代社会化民法的发展过程,分别表现为"反伦理化、泛伦理化、去伦理化"倾向。人格概念的伦理价值判断功能应该让位于它的法律技术功能。通过承继并改造罗马法人格制度建立现代民事主体制度。     

从许霆案和刘涌案看人格与人身危险性

人身危险性是影响量刑的因素,是实施宽严相济刑事政策的重要依据.而许霆案与刘涌案正好是根据人身危险性大小从宽与从严的典型案例.人身危险性的大小主要依靠人格特征来判断,人格具有整体性和可测性,共同性和差异性,自然性和社会性,稳定性和可变性,内隐性和外显性.     

Crime and reactions to crime in 34 Swedish birth cohorts: from historical descriptions to forecasting the future

This article analyses 34 Swedish birth cohorts with regard to their participation in crime as measured by data from the convictions database maintained by Statistics Sweden. Most existing cohort studies are limited to one or a few cohorts. By contrast, the present study includes 34 cohorts, i.e. all persons born in Sweden between 1958 and 1991. The article discusses methodological problems associated with this type of approach and examines the possibility of making forecasts. The central results are that the number of males with a criminal record has decreased, whereas the number of females has remained fairly stable. Forecasts indicate that the cohorts' participation in crime will continue to decrease. Research and policy implications of the findings are outlined. It is proposed to introduce cohort statistics as a standard branch within regular criminal justice statistics.     

Economic structure and vulnerability to organised crime: Evidence from Sicily

The economic analysis of organised crime suggests that some economic activities are particularly vulnerable to penetration by criminal organisations. This paper provides an analysis of the structure of the Sicilian economy and shows that, when compared with other Italian regions, it is characterised by a disproportionate presence of such activities. In particular, the economy of Sicily appears characterised by: (i) a large dimension of traditional sectors, such as the Construction sector, which also has a strong territorial specificity; (ii) a large presence of small firms; (iii) a low level of technology; (iii) a large public sector. The joint presence of these features creates fertile soil for the typical activities of organised crime, such as extortion and cartel enforcement. Hence, we propose an alternative explanation of the persistence of organised crime with respect to explanations based on cultural and social factors.     

Continuity and Pathways from Aggression in Childhood to Family Violence in Adulthood: A 30-year Longitudinal Study

Literature suggests that early patterns of aggressive behavior in both girls and boys are predictive of later violent behavior, including violence that takes place within family contexts. Utilizing the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project, a study of individuals recruited as children in the 1970s from inner-city schools in Montreal, this study examined different pathways whereby aggressive behavioral styles in childhood may place individuals at risk for continuing patterns of violence towards children and spouses. Childhood aggression directly predicted self-reported violence towards spouse for both sexes, with indirect routes through lowered educational attainment and marital separation. Aggression in childhood was also found to predict parents’ self-reports of using violence with their children. For mothers, educational attainment and current absence of the biological father from the child’s home also played important roles in predicting violent behavior towards offspring. These findings provide evidence of both continuity of aggressive behavior and indirect risk paths to family violence, via lower educational attainment and parental absence. In both men and women, childhood aggression may be an identifiable precursor of family violence and child abuse.     

Generating and using evidence to guide public policy and practice: Lessons from the Campbell Test-bed Project

This paper offers lessons from a three-year Test-bed project that tested systematic review practices developed by the Campbell Collaboration and the Cochrane Collaboration. Under the Test-bed project 14 systematic reviews were completed of interventions in crime prevention, social welfare, and education. (References to the products of these test-bed reviews are included in the reference list, preceded by an asterisk). Building on this experience, the authors recommend structuring future reviews around well-defined review topics more explicitly focused on particular interventions, and constraining literature search to evaluations of relevant interventions. Reviewers should analyze and report findings from RCTs separately from non-RCT studies and report on impact estimates in natural units, instead of relying solely on effect size metrics. Further, reviewers should report intent-to-treat estimates as the causally valid outcomes from RCTs. Analyses of impacts for treated sub-groups should be reported as non-experimental findings. More attention should be given to the minimum detectable effect a study can support, as well as any information on the possible costs and benefits of the intervention. Pooling results from studies of disparate interventions, populations, and contexts is not recommended. Meta-analysis should be reserved for homogeneous clusters of interventions studies. Forest plots are helpful for presenting study findings and confidence limits. However, simple bar charts preserve important information on the base levels for the outcomes. Finally reviewers should define a priori the minimum data set or required elements that allow study inclusion, and use this information systematically in making decisions about what evidence to admit into the review.     

法官判决的制度表达与实践——从制度经济学角度看法官判决时的非正式制度倾向

笔者通过一个案例,运用制度经济学的方法,分析了中国背景下法官判决时存在的非正式制度倾向问题。尽管制度表达上法官应以法律规则作为判案依据,但在实践上,法官基于成本收益的衡量,会发展出另外一套“行动规则”。国家、法官和当事人之间的博弈以及非正式制度的比较优势是造成目前现状的主要原因。