"Much criminal behavior derives from logical, if not laudable, sources. The criminal obtains money or property. It's also true that there are many other types of gain than the monetary or the material, and a variety of crimes may be committed for gain in the realms of sex, power, or revenge for real or imagined offences."
"Yet many crimes appear to make no sense in terms of gain for the perpetrator, and may in fact prove actively disadvantageous for that individual. Various forms of vandalism, punching people out in bars, impulsive acts of road rage or assaults on fellow passengers in overcrowded aircraft; all achieve nothing for the perpetrator except the prospect of criminal prosecution, civil suits, and prison sentences in the worst cases."
"So why would anybody do these things? This is a very complex question, and we obviously won't be able to answer it comprehensively here. However, in this first post of three on major psychological influences on crime, we will focus on a factor that at least correlates with psychological processes involved in crimes of impulse: damage to the prefrontal areas of the brain."
Many crimes are committed for gain, including money, property, sexual advantage, power, or revenge. Other crimes arise from pure impulse and provide no benefit to the perpetrator, often producing legal and personal harm. Examples include vandalism, bar fights, road rage, and assaults on crowded transportation. Damage to the prefrontal cortex, including undetected injuries, frequently correlates with rises in impulsive behaviors and may contribute to these disadvantageous actions. Understanding the role of prefrontal damage offers insight into psychological influences on impulsive criminal behavior and the distinction between gain-motivated and impulse-driven offenses.
Read at Psychology Today
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