THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CRIME. By David Abrahamsen.
BUREAUCRACY ON TRIAL, POLICY MAKING BY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. By William W. Boyer

Bunnell, Bradford N.

Rotenberg, Daniel L.

English

Duquesne University: Digital Commons

Duquesne Law Review Volume 4 Number 3 Article 13 1965 Book Reviews: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CRIME. By David Abrahamsen and BUREAUCRACY ON TRIAL, POLICY MAKING BY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. By William W. Boyer Bradford N. Bunnell Daniel L. Rotenberg Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/dlr  Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Bradford N. Bunnell & Daniel L. Rotenberg, Book Reviews: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CRIME. By David Abrahamsen and BUREAUCRACY ON TRIAL, POLICY MAKING BY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. By William W. Boyer, 4 Duq. L. Rev. 489 (1965). Available at: https://dsc.duq.edu/dlr/vol4/iss3/13 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Duquesne Law Review by an authorized editor of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. BOOK REVIEWSTHE PSYCHOLOGY OF CRIME. By David Abrahamsen. Pp. 358. WileyScience Editions, New York, 1964. $1.95.Dr. Abrahamsen is a psychiatrist who has studied and written exten-sively about crime and criminals.1 In The Psychology of Crime, he de-velops the thesis that criminal behavior is the product of a complex,dynamic interaction between the criminal's personality and his socialenvironment. The purpose is not only to identify and describe the causalelements which combine to produce criminal acts, but also to use theinsights gained from such an analysis to specify the direction which pre-vention and rehabilitation procedures should follow.For this review, the book may be divided into three sections, the first ofwhich presents an overview of the factors and processes which producecriminal behavior. According to Abrahamsen, the fundamental principleswhich operate to produce criminal acts are identical with those whichgovern normal social conduct. The difference between the offender andthe nonoffender is one of degree rather than kind, with the offender usingdifferent means for the expression of his basic needs and a different objectfor the expression of his aggressions.Behavior, be it social, antisocial, or criminal, is determined by aninteraction between the individual and the external pressures exerted byhis society at large, his community and its subcultures, and his family.The author cites a number of examples of social pathology such as theheavy emphasis on competition and material success in the Americanculture, problems created by deteriorated neighborhoods, dislocations dueto immigration and migration, and parental neglect of children. Thesefactors may all contribute to an increased crime rate, but some individualsexposed to a given set of factors become criminal while others, exposedto the same conditions, do not. The reason for this must depend, in part,on differences between individuals. Further, it is proposed that a reciprocalrelationship exists between the individual and the social field such that theindividual and his environment constitute a functional unit. This compli-cates the causal analysis of a criminal act because it means that not onlythe contributing elements themselves, but also the nature of the interactiveprocesses must be identified before an understanding of why the behavioroccurred can be achieved.1. Dr. Abrahamsen is Director of Scientific Research for the Department of MentalHygiene of the State of New York. He has served as Chairman of the U.S. Commissionon Juvenile Delinquency Section on Childhood Disorders and as a member of the New Yorkgovernor's commission to propose new legislation on the definition of legal insanity. Hisbooks include: CRIME AND TrE HUMAN MIND; MEN, MID AND POWER; and, WHO ARETHE GurLTY ?-A STUDY OF EDUCATION AND CRIME.DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEWThere are innumerable ways in which sociological and individual factorscan combine. This leads to Abrahamsen's first law for a science of crimi-nology: "A multiplicity of causative factors go into the making of criminalbehavior. Since these causative factors vary qualitatively and quantita-tively with each case, the causation of criminal behavior is relative"(p. 30). A second law is then built upon the first: "A criminal act is thesum of a person's criminalistic tendencies plus his total situation, dividedby the amount of his resistance" (p. 37).In the second portion of the book are several chapters devoted to adetailed application of this theory to problem areas that are particularlysalient for the field of criminology. Drawing extensively upon his ownstudies of criminals and of emotionally disturbed nonoffenders, Abraham-sen uses both case histories and experimental data in discussing juveniledelinquency, the relationship between psychosomatic disorders and crime,differences between offenders and emotionally disturbed nonoffenders andbetween acute and chronic offenders, the sex offender, and the murderer.The orientation to this material is Freudian, and the reader may findthe going rather heavy despite the fact that most of the terms are definedin the text. In addition, there is the danger that the psychoanalytic inter-pretation falls short of a satisfactory explanation of the dynamics ofbehavior. Psychoanalytic theory makes a number of assumptions aboutthe nature of man and the structure and development of his personalitywhich may or may not be valid. When the psychiatrist makes inferencesabout personality from the behavior and the past history of an individual,and does so in terms of such concepts as id, ego, and superego, psycho-sexual development, etc., the net result often seems to border on themystical. One is frequently forced to accept the assertions of the inter-preter on faith; there is no way of confirming the interpretation and itremains a subjective judgment no matter how experienced the interpretermay be. Furthermore, because the assumptions upon which Freudiantheory rests are accepted unquestionably by its practitioners, there is thepossibility that areas of significance to the understanding of behavior maynot be studied. For example, one may simply accept the statement: "Allour tendencies-social, antisocial, or criminal-are linked to our needs anddesires, which arise from our instincts (our libido, or life force) and whichhave been approved or disapproved by our ego and superego" (p. 36). Inthis case, the behavioral question becomes one of understanding the meansby which the "instinctual" needs and desires are controlled or regulated.If, on the other hand, the instinctive basis of needs and desires is left as anopen question, research may be directed toward achieving a fuller under-standing of the origins and ontogeny of the needs themselves. The pointis that classifying needs and desires as instinctive does not serve to explainthem, and the use of the term instinct as an explanation may blind theinvestigator to areas which need more intensive investigation.[Vol. 4:489BOOK REVIEWSAlthough one may take issue with the details of a strict psychoanalyticinterpretation of personality dynamics, there is much to be gained fromapproaching the material from this point of view. Part of our Freudianheritage is the deterministic philosophy which asserts that behavior islawful and that cause and effect relationships can be found for every actof man. In this sense, then, there is no such thing as "senseless" crime andcriminal behavior is always the resultant of factors which interact accord-ing to identifiable principles. If this is the case, then crime can be pre-dicted, and if it can be predicted then, theoretically at least, it can be con-trolled. In addition Abrahamsen is able to utilize an existing theory ofpersonality and its concepts to handle socially deviant behavior withoutfinding it necessary to introduce new postulates or concepts. The implica-tion is not only that criminal behavior is governed by a set of lawfulrelationships, but that the principles which operate are the same forcriminal and noncriminal acts.A second benefit to be derived from this approach is the emphasis itplaces on the importance of the early years in the development of theindividual. Quite apart from whether or not one accepts the Freudian ideasabout the stages of psychosexual development there is a substantial bodyof data from both psychology and biology which demonstrates the tre-mendous significance of early experience for the behavior of the adult.Finally, consistent differences can be detected between offenders andnonoffenders, between acute and chronic offenders, and between certaintypes of offenders. Whether or not these differences need to be specifiedin terms of the jargon of psychoanalysis is not essential to the major issue.The approach which has been used is sensitive to the detection of indi-vidual differences and the data which it produces are real. They may beorganized in terms of a psychoanalytic frame of reference, in terms ofsome other theory of personality, or simply taken at an empirical level.The last chapters contain a description of the proper procedure and useof the psychiatric examination, a discussion of the relationship betweencriminal law and psychiatry, and comments on the effectiveness of variousmethods for the rehabilitation of criminals and the prevention of crime.Abrahamsen has had considerable experience in the field of criminal lawand he provides an interesting discussion of the M'Naghten and Durhamrulings and of the current status of the law with respect to youthfuloffenders, sexual offenders, and mentally abnormal offenders from thepoint of view of the psychiatrist.He urges the passage of a law, similar to that of Norway where specialtreatment of mentally abnormal but not legally insane offenders is pro-vided. This would place maximum emphasis upon prevention and rehabili-tation as opposed to punishment, help to depopulate the prisons, and stillprotect society by providing differing degrees of custody during the1965-19661DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEWsentence depending upon the likelihood that a person will continue hiscriminal activities. The difficulty in differentiation between the abnormaloffender and the offender in which there is no apparent mental pathologyis acknowledged but Abrahamsen apparently feels that the problem canbe largely overcome with the aid of adequate psychiatric examinations.Abrahamsen does not believe in incarceration for the purpose of punish-ment or retaliation. Jailing an offender serves as a deterrent only whilethe offender is in jail-the personality of many criminals is such that:"The threat of punishment does not prevent a man from killing, robbing,raping, or committing any other crime. When a person commits a crime,he does not think of the consequences. The offender commits a crimebecause criminality is his outlet, just as the seriously mentally ill person'soutlet is a psychosis. This is why the argument for the maintenance ofcapital punishment on the grounds that fear of the death penalty will keepa potential murderer from committing his crime is invalid . . ." (p. 274).Incarceration, then, may be necessary to protect society, but in and ofitself it is not likely to attenuate a criminal's activities once he is releasedfrom custody. Rehabilitation procedures must be implemented and theauthor emphasizes the employment of psychotherapeutic techniques inaccomplishing this end. One wonders where the facilities and personnelneeded to implement this program will come from, but the high cost ofcrime in terms of both economic and humanitarian considerations are astrong argument for accelerating the implementation of the type of pro-gram he suggests.Since the development of criminal traits is seen to be closely related tothe individual's early experiences, Dr. Abrahamsen places considerableemphasis upon the elimination of juvenile delinquency and its causes as anecessary prerequisite for the prevention of crime. In his last chapter hepresents his proposal for a mental health program and defines the socio-logical and psychological responsibilities which must be met by the family,the schools, the community, and state and national programs in crimeprevention.This book is an interesting statement about the nature of crime fromthe point of view of a psychiatrist who is highly experienced in dealingwith problems of both criminal law and human behavior. Because herecognizes and accepts the dual nature of the responsibility of the psy-chiatrist who must uphold the law and protect society as well as concernhimself with the motivation, treatment, and prognosis of the criminal,Abrahamsen is able to offer a reasonable approach to the resolution of theconflicts which exist between existing laws and his judgment of whatconstitutes optimal psychiatric practices.One difficulty with the book is that there is an occasional lack of internalconsistency in some of the discussions of personality dynamics which can[Vol. 4:489BOOK REVIEWSbe disconcerting. For example, in one instance the psychopath is describedas a person who has not developed any superego structure (conscience);this is the type of person who may become a profit murderer (pp. 143-144). Later, profit murderers are described as persons who ". . . act inaccordance with their own special concept of life and the rules of society.As a result of this faulty concept, murder is condoned by their wholepersonality-by their ego and superego alike." (p. 205). The question ofwhether the profit murderer does or does not have a superego may berelatively unimportant for the main point at issue, but this sort of con-ceptual fuzziness does not enhance one's confidence in the author's asser-tions about the personality structure of the criminal. Nevertheless, theauthor's main points are expounded quite clearly, and The Psychology ofCrime deserves to be read by those who are concerned with problems ofcriminal behavior.Bradford N. Bunnell*BUREAUCRACY ON TRIAL, POLICY MAKING BY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.By William W. Boyer. Pp. 184. Bobbs-Merrill Company, Indian-apolis, 1964. $1.95.This volume is one of a series of advanced studies in political sciencepublished by Bobbs-Merrill "designed to provide a needed outlet forresearch at the frontiers of social science." Although the book is an out-growth of Professor Boyer's studies of the administrative process inWisconsin, it is not limited either to Wisconsin or state administrativeagencies but encompasses the administrative process as it exists at alllevels of American government.The book, as I read it, serves two separate purposes. At the descriptivelevel, it narrates the procedures of policy making; at the evaluation level,it cautions against omitting the "public" or "democratic" concept frompolicy making. The stress is on the second purpose. The book does notpurport to be definitive. It is to be rather an incentive to further researchand thought.The author's specific caveat is that there are at least two nerve points inadministrative policy making at which the voice of the public must beheard if administrative agencies are to function in conformity with theprinciples of American government. The first concerns the legislative dele-gation of policy-making authority to non-representative appointees-thebureaucrats.' He does not challenge the delegation but asks that the repre-* Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Florida.1. The author uses this word to refer to appointed administrative officials. In myopinion it should not be used. The word has too many meanings, and to some it is clearlya pejorative. Similarly, the title BuRAucRAcy oiN TRmIL communicates nothing and issaved only by its subtitle.1965-19661DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEWsentatives of the people, the legislature, keep watch on the way thisdelegated power is exercised. To allow the bureaucrats to make legislativepolicy without supervision by the public or its vicars is unacceptable.The second point concerns the formulation of policy by administrativeagencies. Here he mandates that the public be heard on the substantiveissue of what a given policy should be.Will administrative agencies be flooded with the light of public super-vision, public thought, public participation, or will they become autocraticinstitutions governing but not governed by the public? It is this typequestion that prompts the author to state in his title that "Bureaucracy[is] on Trial."The book dissatisfies the reviewer in several respects. The author treatshis subject for the most part in general terms, as he must if he is going towrite a short book and discuss policy making as a concept and not limitthe area to, for example, state administrative issues, or policy making byone or two agencies. The fact of generality weakens the author's contribu-tion. The central problems of the author are inherent in the administrativeprocess, and thus they seem to be at least twenty-five years old. Had hechosen to discuss "Administrative Policy Making Still on Trial" withemphasis upon recent policy-making efforts and innovations, the topicwould be timely. The conclusion is that little new is contributed by theauthor.There is another observation which this book prompts. If this worktypifies "advanced studies" in political science, then that discipline,speaking generally, has little to offer the lawyer audience; by contrast,sociology, often ahead of the lawyer in isolating and theorizing aboutsocial problems, has a great deal to contribute if sociologists would try tocommunicate their ideas.2 Certainly it is vital that the three disciplines oflaw, sociology, and political science, with their different perspectives, worktoward cooperative efforts in the solving of social problems.Notwithstanding these criticisms, the book does serve an importantpurpose in focusing on a current problem of great concern: the two-sidedissue of privacy for private affairs and publicity for public matters. Theprocess of drawing the line between these ideals is going on regularlytoday. The author calls our attention to the fact that administrative policymaking is a public matter requiring publicity. This is true, but the difficultchallenge is in carving out the respective areas of publicity and privacy inadministrative policy making.Daniel L. Rotenberg*2. In one instance (pp. 169-74) the author adopts an obfuscatory word from sociology:co-optation. In so doing he combines the weaknesses of both disciplines.* Associate Professor of Law, University of Houston, College of Law.

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