It was believed that criminals were of little intelligence in the 1800 and early 1900's. (Bohm & Vogel, 2011). H. H. Goddard conducted IQ tests for feebleminded inmates to challenge this theory. Upon realizing that many inmates had a low IQ, Goddard concluded that most criminals are mentally challenged. However, when the Army accepted the same criteria for military admission this myth was debunked because the majority of applicants from the general population produced the same scores.
In 1931 Southerland studied the relationship between delinquency and intelligence and concluded that intelligence plays an important role in individual cases given the selection that takes place in arrest, conviction, …show more content…
(Bohm & Vogel, 2011). The genetic differences of intelligence and these differences explained racial differences in crime. Another theory said that intelligence determines an individual's ability to control and restrain their impulses. It also stated that most "street crimes: are committed by people who cannot restrain their impulses.
Fraud believed that human behavior and its various disorders where the causes for crime. (Bohm & Vogel, 2011). He believed that there are 5 stages of human psychosexual development and when there is a discrepancy with any stage it leads to a fixation or regression of a particular stage. Evidence that some criminal behaviors have psychological problems, but most criminals are not psychologically disturbed. Many people with psychological disturbances do not commit crimes and many people without them