Super Trait Theory Essay

Words: 1243
Pages: 5

How Are the Lifestyle and Super Trait Theories Similar and Different? These two theories are similar because they both trying to figure out the root problem of why criminals commit crimes. One similarity they have in common is that they are both trying to figure out the lifestyle of the criminal. The lifestyle theory looks at the choices the criminal makes in the conditions they live in, and the cognitive factors. The super traits theory looks at the lifestyle by seeing how the criminal’s personality has an effect on other factors that go on in life, like school, work, and family. It also figures out why people continue to commit crimes throughout life. The next similarity is that they both mention the inattentive trait. The super traits theory …show more content…
It explains how some offender’s environmental conditions effect the decisions and choices the offender makes, and the cognitive styles that are developed because of the conditions, and the choices. Walters’s gets into the behavior patterns that he believes points to the creation of a criminal like: rule breaking, self-indulgence, interpersonal intrusiveness, and irresponsibility. This applies to the criminal justice system by giving out some potential reasons on why criminals are the way they are, and also some insight on how to find a potential offender. The strength of this theory is the 8 thinking errors. I said this was a strength because it got into detail about all eight. Another strength is the three main concepts, because those three concepts are a great layout if you were to try and break down why the criminal commits crimes in 3 steps. A weakness is that it doesn’t get into what happens when the criminal can’t help but live the life they live. For example, if the criminal lives in a bad condition due to their parents, and makes a choice to commit burglary of a store for food, or money, the theory only puts the blame on the parents. The theory stated that criminals can’t change their behavior unless they change the way they think, and I feel as if it would be better to get into the deep details of the criminal’s life like the super traits