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IJP 34:74-75 (1953)

Revue Française De Psychanalyse 15, 1951, No. 1.: Daniel Lagache. 'Psycho-Criminogenesis.'

Author: F. H. Edwards

Abstract

1The psychologist's position. Contemporary tendencies of human psychology are rarefied by a psychological exclusiveness which takes the form of 'psycho-genesis'. Furnished with fundamental concepts of behaviour, personality environment and groups, psycho-criminology is today characterized by concern for whole effects and the interaction of biological, sociological, and psychological determinants. Psycho-criminogenesis is thus placed in a setting which is very near to that of general criminogenesis. It benefits principally by the contributions from social and dynamic psychology.
2The resources of the psychologist. Psychocriminology utilizes the wide avenues of contemporary psychological approach: the naturalist and taxonomic approach, the clinical approach, and the psycho-analytic approach, which in spite of specific difficulties has been particularly fruitful. So far experiment has hardly been used; microsociology in return has given important results.
3Formation of the criminal personality. A situation can be significantly criminogenic only for a given personality, which enables us to consider the personality as a system of conditions of behaviour. The difficulties of the problem proceed first of all from the diversity of criminal personalities; the greatest number do not verify, in the first analysis, that there are any great differences from the general population; it is to these that the problem of the genesis of the criminal personality must be applied. Another great difficulty lies in the diversity of methods of interpretation. Here two main tendencies are in opposition, one putting the accent on constitutional determinants, the other on individual experiences and socio-cultural factors. The proper tendency is to admit the interaction of these two groups. The development of personality on the whole is conceived as a socialization in which the mechanism of identification is the principal factor. The genesis of criminal personality is conceived as a

IJP 34:74-75 (1953)

Revue Française De Psychanalyse 15, 1951, No. 1.: Daniel Lagache. 'Psycho-Criminogenesis.'

Author: F. H. Edwards

Abstract

1The psychologist's position. Contemporary tendencies of human psychology are rarefied by a psychological exclusiveness which takes the form of 'psycho-genesis'. Furnished with fundamental concepts of behaviour, personality environment and groups, psycho-criminology is today characterized by concern for whole effects and the interaction of biological, sociological, and psychological determinants. Psycho-criminogenesis is thus placed in a setting which is very near to that of general criminogenesis. It benefits principally by the contributions from social and dynamic psychology.
2The resources of the psychologist. Psychocriminology utilizes the wide avenues of contemporary psychological approach: the naturalist and taxonomic approach, the clinical approach, and the psycho-analytic approach, which in spite of specific difficulties has been particularly fruitful. So far experiment has hardly been used; microsociology in return has given important results.
3Formation of the criminal personality. A situation can be significantly criminogenic only for a given personality, which enables us to consider the personality as a system of conditions of behaviour. The difficulties of the problem proceed first of all from the diversity of criminal personalities; the greatest number do not verify, in the first analysis, that there are any great differences from the general population; it is to these that the problem of the genesis of the criminal personality must be applied. Another great difficulty lies in the diversity of methods of interpretation. Here two main tendencies are in opposition, one putting the accent on constitutional determinants, the other on individual experiences and socio-cultural factors. The proper tendency is to admit the interaction of these two groups. The development of personality on the whole is conceived as a socialization in which the mechanism of identification is the principal factor. The genesis of criminal personality is conceived as a