The Psychology of the Criminal
- Type:
Book Reviews By
- Author:
Hamblin Smith, M.A., M.D.
Medical Officer of H.M. Prison, Birmingham. Methuen & Co., London, pp. 182. Price 6s. net.
The Psychology of Misconduct, Vice and Crime.” By Bernard Hollander, M.D. George Allen and Unwin, London pp. 220. Price 7/6 net.
With the growth of the science of psychology, current ideas regarding the causes underlying conduct or misconduct have undergone a very important development and in no direction is this more apparent than in our views concerning the criminal. From being a person to punish he has become one to understand and reform. To do this obviously necessitates a psychological study of the individual criminal and Dr Hamblin Smith’s book gives the results of such a study which he has made in a considerable number of cases.
Dr Hamblin Smith, for the past three years, has had the opportunity of examining many offenders in and around Birmingham to which city, as is well known, belongs the credit of having taken the lead in this country in the psychological investigation of criminals. In addition Dr Smith has had twenty years experience as Medical Officer in local and convict prisons, so that we looked forward to reading his account with much pleasure and with great hope that we should find in it a valuable exposition of the subject.
The book consists of six chapters; Chapter I is a general statement of the problem, and in it the author briefly discusses the various theories which have from time to time been advanced as to the cause of criminality, the problems of punishment and of responsibility.
He emphasizes here, and throughout the book, the absolute necessity for a study, not of crime, but of the individual criminal, if we are to make any advance in our knowledge and methods of treatment. Chapter II deals with the physical examination and investigation of the offender’s conscious mind. It contains a useful account of the mental tests which he has found of value, which, in the main, are the same as those in ordinary use in the examination of defectives. Chapters III. & IV. whicfl deal with the investigation of the offender s unconscious mind, are taken up with an account of the doctrine of Freud, of the abnormal states which may result from repressed complexes and of the methods of psycho analy* sis. Chapter V. gives a short description of such offenders as Mental Defectives, Epilep” tics, Psychopathies, Moral Imbeciles, etc.* and the final chapter deals with the attitude of society to the offender and makes some useful and practical suggestions.
Whilst much in this book will be found of decided value to those entering upon a study of criminology, or who are called upon, in either a medical or legal capacity, to deal with offenders, we must confess that on the whole we come to the end with a feeling of disappointment. For it seems to us to have one grave defect which militates against its general usefulness, and that defect lies in the general want of balance and undue prominence which is given to Freudism and Psychoanalysis. With regard to this doctrine DrHamblin Smith is obviously a fervid enthusiast. Nearly two fifths of the book deal with the criminal from this aspect alone and even when describing him from other standpoints the author seems to be in the predicament of Mr. Dick with regard to the head of King Charles. Thus, even in the case of the constitutional inferiors, whose real trouble surely depends upon their innate imperfections, we are told that ” it is quite possible that some sexual conflict is often at the root of the trouble.” We are informed that a repressed sex conflict “is always to be found” in cases of kleptomania and that even the dipsomaniac probably owes his craving to a repressed sex conflict. This is not the place to enter upon a criticism of Freud’s doctrines, but we may remark that many of them are purely hypothetical and are very far from being accepted by many psychologists of eminence and experience. Personally, we do not deny the possibility of repressed conflicts being a cause of crime, but we feel that there is more in the psychology of the criminal than this and we could wish that a somewhat better balance had been preserved in the author’s presentation of the subject.
There is one other matter to which we would Venture to allude, namely, that of moral sense. ? Hamblin Smith denies that this exists; “ut does he appreciate what is meant by this term? If Dr Hamblin Smith, or any other ^ell brought up, self-respecting person, should j)appen, whilst walking at night along an unfrequented road, to stumble upon a bag of sovereigns, why does he give notice at the P?lice station or take steps to discover the owner? The circumstances are such that he ^ight appropriate them without the slightest chance of detection and it may be that his first Impulse is to do this. But this primitive instinct is inhibited by certain emotions, (repugnance, shame, self-esteem, etc.), crystalled round the idea of theft. This system of emotional dispositions centred round an idea institutes a sentiment, a sense?in this case moral sense? and we believe that there is not ?nly ample evidence that such exists, but that plays a very important part in the inhibition ?f primitive instincts and consequently in the regulation of conduct . We may add that we regard the absence of this sense as one of the Rental defects present in that class of persons known as moral imbeciles, regarding whom Dr. mith seems in such perplexity.
^ hilst we consider that Dr Smith’s account the criminal attaches undue importance to ?ne mental aspect, nevertheless the book is ?hviously the result of much thought and observation and is conceived in a scientific spirit. We cannot say the same of Dr. Hollander’s production. It is in the main a c?nglomeration of trite sayings, obvious facts and inaccurate statements put together in an extremely loose manner and giving no evidence of either scientific knowledge or original thought. The book might well have been Written by a journalist who had read up the subject, indeed it is doubtful if a modern edueated journalist would have perpetrated many absurdities as it contains. For mstance, resentment is surely an emotion, the author speaks of it as a propensity or impulse, he calls suspicion an instinct. He says: There are many geniuses in the world who remain undeveloped and obscure for lack of opportunity; there are many imbeciles whose defects are hidden because they are never called upon to do anything requiring intelligence, and there are many criminals in the world who remain honest solely because they have never been subject to temptation.” If he is using the terms genius, imbecile and criminal in their proper meaning this is sheer nonsense. We fancy that most people will also think the same of the statement “most people could not get drunk if they tried.’’ We are told that “in the struggle for existence among men, it is not the fittest that survive, but those who most readily adapt themselves.’’ It does not seem to have occurred to Dr. Hollander that these latter are the fittest. It is interesting to learn that ‘ ‘the morally sound will grow up normally even amongst criminal surroundings”; but it would be still more interesting if Dr Hollander would produce evidence in support of this statement.
Dr Hollander would appear to have such a unique knowledge of ‘ ‘phrenology’’ that he has surely missed his vocation. He can detect thieving propensities merely by the shape of the head. What an asset for a criminal investigator! He gives a whole catalogue of alterations in conduct which may happen after injury or disease of various brain areas, and he claims to have discovered the actual localisation of various propensities. What a virtue there is in that ‘ ‘may’’ instead of ‘ ‘do.” Of course such changes may occur, but equally of course the} may not. And upon such observations as these he bases the cerebral “localisation of conduct!’’
One final small point. On Page 42 Dr. Hollander says, as if it were his own idea, “Even in the case of tests which are tests of character and most nearly approach social situations, there is still a great difference between passing them in a laboratory or under the stress and strain of real life.” The words seemed strangely familiar so we looked up the “Lancet” of November 16th, 1920 and there we read, ‘ ‘Even in the case of tests which most nearly reproduce social situation there is still a great difference between passing them in a laboratory or under the stress and strain of real life.” But the author of the words was not Dr Hollander! A. F. Tredgold. 24 STUDIES IN MENTAL INEFFICIENCY. The New Psychology and the Parent . By H. Crichton Miller, M.A., M.D. Jarrold, 6s. net.
Dr Crichton Miller has summarised the recent advances in the knowledge of analytical psj^chology and the unconscious with special reference to the child and his management. It is from the parent’s point of view that the following remarks are made.
The whole ground covered is still highly controversial and we may still doubt after reading the book whether the public will benefit from having in its hands the tools of the expert mind-analyser. But Dr Crichton Miller disarms much criticism. For, as he says, it is not psycho-analysis for the young he advocates, but rather a method by which we are helped to think clearly and to know ourselves. His principles are often not much more than intelligent commonsense, and are practised by many who would repudiate all knowledge of psychology. He enters a more debateable realm in the chapter on dreamsymbolism, which we can only feei, will deter many from further study and will afford amusement to more.
But questions as to the application of this new psychology must be answered, and we must be thankful that we have here a reply written in such a spirit of sanity and fairness. He has placed within public reach much that must tend towards a more commonsense view of mental hygiene. The chapters on sexinstruction and his recommendations on the treatment of the sensation-mongering child are especially important in emphasising the need for an unemotional treatment of the topics which will arise, and the paramount importance of not relegating subjects unpleasant to the parent to mental cupboards.
All this and much else in the book must help towards mental health, even though there lurks in it a very real danger that as parents we shall introduce a new self-consciousness, unnaturalness, and exaggerated anxiety into our relationship with our children?especially with our amateurish efforts?which they will be the first to detect and to resent. Again and again neurotic conditions revealed in the consulting-room are directly attributed to some early, usually parental, mismanagement. The lay reader cannot judge of the fairness ox this estimate, but we question whether the inherent weakness, even after perfect mental surroundings, would not have found some peg on which to hang the complex.
Lastly, will the psychologist never learn that the lay public dislikes his particularly irritating slang ? N. Barlow. Remembering and Forgetting. By Pr?” fessor T. H. Pear, M. A., B .Sc. Methuen, 7s. 6d.
This book is difficult to review; one reason is that in his preface Professor Pear has disarmed criticism. The defect of the work lieS in that the author has tried to deal with too big a subject in a too limited space?the trees in the wood are too closely crowded togetherSuch a defect has this merit for many of us, that interest, stimulated, but not satisfied by one or other aspect of the subject matter of the book, must find satisfaction in a wider reading of the whole subject. A sufficient justification in itself for the publication.
There is one important point which could do with greater elaboration, because of its legal importance, that is the value of crossexamination in aiming at the truth of a recalled experience. It would be of great interest to ascertain if the emotional state of the person actually participating in an experience has any marked effect on the appreciation of that experience.
Would a person very highly emotionally affected by the witnessing of an accident get a different impression?even actual visual impression?from that of a less emotionally affected spectator? It seems a point of practical importance.
In his chapter on the “Intellectual Ptespectability of Muscular Skill” there is much food for thought and research. The idea of what might be termed a Kinaesthetic memory almost distinct in itself is new to me. But even in its shadowy form it opens up the possibility of answering certain questions that have hitherto been unanswerable or only answerable in a vague unsatisfactory way. It is to be hoped that Professor Pear will some day soon give a detailed account of any research j*e has or is carrying out regarding this possibility of a defined kinaesthetic memory. r The book is an excellent starting point for m&ny lines of psychological reading and as such can be sincerely recommended. It is not too technical and yet sufficiently so to form a s^ep to more detailed study.
E. A. Hamilton -Pearson . The Local Government of the United Kingdom” and “Social Administration Including the Poor Laws,” both by John J. Clark, IvI.A., F.S.S. Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons. 7s. 6d. net each.
^ should be considered as important for Cental welfare workers as it is for social Workers in any of the older branches of that Profession to have, as a background, a knowledge of activities outside their own special Province, with some idea of the “early history” in which the multifarious social movements of the present day have their roots. These two volumes should do much to supPly for the much occupied worker without time ^?r prolonged study what he needs in this direction, for whilst being brief and to the Point, they give a comprehensive account of the movements constituting “Social service” and of the powers and duties of the public anthovities concerned with Local Government and of the various Acts of Parliament which they severally administer.
One does not, of course, expect a work of this kind, surveying such a wide field of social activity, to enter into detail with regard to each of its subdivisions. But in the treatment of the subject of the care of the mentally defective to which we, whose chief interest it ls> naturally pay special attention?we note s?nie misstatements and omissions serious enough to warrant the author’s attention being drawn to them.
Each of the volumes contains some account of the Mental Deficiency Act. In Chapter ~pll. of “Social Administration including the ?^?or Laws,” the act is described in so far as it affects the position and duties of Boards of Guardians. The description given is substantially correct, but it is perhaps a pity that the account of procedure under Section 30 (ii) Was not carried a step further in order to completo it by showing exactly how it achieves its end?a point upon which the general reader is now left in doubt.
There is also an account of the Act?this time in its relation to Local Government?in Chapter XX. of ‘ ‘Local Government in the United Kingdom.” The criticism we would make here is that no indication is given as to there being any limitations in its application. Indeed we read, in the paragraph headed “Duties of Local Authorities,” “The first duty of a local authority is to ascertain which persons within their area are defectives and therefore subject to be dealt with under Section 2 (2) (b) of the Act” which implicitly rules out the idea of limitation. Moreover included in this category of defectives who must be “ascertained” by the local authority are “persons already in prison or undergoing detention in a place of detention, or a reformatory or industrial school or a lunatic asylum,’’ and ‘ ‘pauper mothers of illegitimate children” whereas all these are cases which Local Authorities cannot touch unless they are requested to do so in the manner provided by Section 9, 16 and 30 (ii).
With regard to the Finance of the Act, the writer is evidently unaware that an Amending Act passed in 1919 repealed the provision by which a limit of ?150,000 was put to the money which could be expended by Parliament thereon.
Voluntary Associations for Mental Welfare receive no mention in either of these volumes, although in Chapter XXII. of “Social Administration,” which deals with the ‘ ‘organisation of Social Service,’’ the ‘ ‘gradual drawing together of the work of voluntary organisations and that of the organised staffs of local authorities” is especially noted as a healthy sign of the times. Nor is there anywhere any mention of the emergence of Mental Hygiene as one of the newest factors in the problem of social service?a point which it is specially regrettable to find omitted in the chapter dealing with “The Delinquent.”
To the Mental Welfare worker, however, whether administrator, Secretary, or visitor who wants to gain a knowledge of the genera l machinery of our social administration and of the principles underlying it, we can confidently recommend both these volumes.
4’Mental Deficiency,’’ 4th edition. Bv A. F. Tredgold, M .D., M .R .C .P., F .R .S .Ed Bailliere, Tindall & Cox. 21s. A book with the reputation of Dr Tredgold’s and whose third edition we reviewed in these columns as recently as October, 1920, needs from us no further recommendation. Its appearance, however, in a fourth edition is something of an event to those concerned with Mental Welfare work and we cannot let the occasion pass unnoticed.
A number of new illustrations, many of them supplied from Dr Nicoll’s and Dr Brushfield’s unique collection of photographs at the Fountain Mental Hospital, together with much new material, have been added to this edition and the size of the volume has increased by 39 pages. The chapters on Moral Deficiency, Criminal Aments, Clinical Examination, Mental Tests and Diagnosis have been entirely re-written whilst considerable additions have been made to the chapters on Psychology, Mentally Defective Children, and the Clinical Varieties of Primary and Secondary Amentia.
There has also been a re-arrangement of some of the old material and the sequence of Chapters 16 and 17 (Moral Deficiency and “Vicious and Criminal Aments”) has been reversed.
An addition to which we should particularly like to draw attention as we feel it to be of great practical value, is the inclusion, in the Chapter on “Moral Defectives,” of the diagrams which Dr Tredgold first showed at the University of London Post Graduate Course for Medical Officers in the spring of 1921. They are concerned with the normal evolution of mind and with its evolution when abnormal or incomplete and they give an indication of the meaning and the precise significance of mental abnormality so vivid that it can be grasped almost at a glance.
In his review of the Third Edition in this journal Dr Turner referred to the large number of laymen to whom?as well as to medical men?this book is indispensable. May we, on behalf of the laymen concerned, make one humble suggestion, viz., that when the time comes for a Fifth Edition to be issued it shall contain a Glossary of the more technical medical terms for their special benefit ?
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