According to the lifestyle theories of crime, criminal behavior results from a triadic interplay among three factors. The definitions and meanings of motivation, opportunity, and choice change at each destructive life stage. The first step towards a life of crime is motivated by existential dread. Once involved in a potential offender, the motivation to keep going is the fear of missing out on the perks. When someone reaches the third stage of a destructive lifestyle, they have shifted from being motivated by fear of transformation to acting on their illegal impulses. After years of living a sinful life, people reach a point of exhaustion and maturity, at which point they are motivated by the prospect of meeting an untimely end.
In 1989, Glenn Walters, an American forensic psychologist and Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania, developed the concept known as Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS). As its title suggests, the idea describes the behaviors that lead someone to commit criminal acts. The physiological elements that affect a person's likelihood of committing a crime are given much attention in theory. The theory is developed concerning three key ideas: circumstances, agency, and thought. It is believed that a combination of biological and environmental influences plays a substantial part in triggering a person's descent into criminality. Therefore, controlling these factors is essential to prevent this downward spiral. The pressures of their natural vicinity may explain a person's propensity to commit a crime. According to proponents of this notion, one's lifestyle choices also make one a potential victim. A person's criminal propensity, criminal associates, and criminal circumstances are all products of the choices they make in their daily lives. Society forms a user's potential personality wherein he or she is immersed. It is possible, for instance, that being surrounded by criminals may persuade someone to adopt their behavior. This is because dwelling in such a dangerous neighborhood makes otherwise law-abiding citizens easy targets.
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According to lifestyle theorists, because criminals and their victims have similar tendencies, the latter are lumped together. Associating with a murderer may lead others to assume that one, too, has chosen this path in life and be judged accordingly. From a different perspective, a person's way of life might be the impetus for committing a crime. Since the beginning of recorded history, women have consistently been the victims of sexual assault, while males have consistently committed the crime. New avenues of inquiry into criminal behavior were made possible by the advent of the livelihood concept.
The hypothesis posits that victimization may result from the victim's actions, for example, when he or she chooses to adapt to the oppressor's methods. A person's conceptions of criminal acts have shifted due to this fresh perspective. One way a female's lifestyle might put her at risk of rape is by wearing clothing that draws attention to her body. The man was an easy target for accusations of wrongdoing at the outset, but the lifestyles hypothesis affords a fresh look at the situation. The main idea behind the lifestyle hypothesis is that the more social circles a person chooses to mingle in, the greater the likelihood they may encounter criminals. That is, they are setting themselves up to be a more convenient victim. According to this line of thinking, a lady who often dresses suggestively invites a prospective rapist into her life. However, although the male may have been the initial impetus for the crime, the lady initiated it. This kind of restriction on one's way of life might affect one's behavior toward others. Lifestyle theory is much more criminal offenses. Thus a patient's overall surroundings and outward appearance might sway onlookers' perceptions of who could be responsible for a crime.
For example, think about a woman who chooses to live a lifestyle where she often bares her body. In addition, she enjoys going out to bars and taverns. When a woman like her goes out for her regular pint at the bar, She goes out to a bar and, unhappily encounters a guy who has not experienced sexual assault before; he takes her glasses, starts a conversation, and then rapes her as she walks away. The issue is who was at fault, the guy or the woman. The characteristics of the perpetrator's environment that make them susceptible to the perpetrator are explored in more depth in the lifestyle hypothesis. When seen through the lens of society, the male who assaults the woman is seen as breaching the choice she made; these inconsistencies between those who broke cannot be identified as right via the implementation of lifestyle theory. The lady's preference violates the rights of the other party. The man's actions were not justifiable, but the woman's way of life may have led him to them. The function of a person in society is the first thing that pops when contemplating the loosening of some of the restrictions on one's way of life.
Ultimately, the lifestyle hypothesis has helped to open up new avenues of comprehending the victimization of a criminal, particularly being more precise on criminality. This has allowed us to investigate the victim's perspective and the factors contributing to the crime instead of simply punishing the perpetrator. The concept has moved past the difficult phase in victimology known as "victim-blaming," where it was believed that victims were to blame for their misfortune, to one where it is recognized that victimization is not an accident and can serve as a marker to reveal the causes of crime, particularly rape. No matter what we choose, we are either bringing prospective criminals closer or pushing them farther apart from us. So, it all relies on the choice we make as well as the attitude we choose. Whom we hang out with has a significant impact on whom we become. If one hangs around with a gang that's continually getting into trouble, one may as well join them. It is possible that most sexual assault victims who have been convicted were unfairly convicted. Still, the cultural approach allows us to zero in on the true reason for the criminal behavior, leading to a more justified conclusion.