HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND VICTIMOLOGY

Human Behavior
- Anything an individual does that involves self-initiated action and/or reaction to a
given situation.
- the sum total of man's reaction to his environment or the way human beings act
- is the voluntary or involuntary attitude a person adopts in order to fit society’s idea of
right or wrong. It is partly determined by heredity and environment and modified
through learning. It is also the way human beings act. Many people use the word
behavior to mean conduct.

Human Beings
Human beings are intelligent social animals with the mental capacity to comprehend,
infer and think in rational ways.

Objectives of Human Behavior

- Aims to understand others
- To determine how and why people behave the way they do

Views in Human Behavior

1. Neurological View – deals with human actions in relation to events taking place inside the
body such as the brain and the nervous system.
2. Behavioral View – emphasizes on external functions of the human being that can be
observed and measured.
3. Cognitive View – it is concerned with the way the brain processes and transforms information
into various ways.
4. Psychoanalytical View – emphasizes unconscious motives that originate from aggressive
impulses in childhood.
5. Humanistic View – focuses on the subject’s experience, freedom of choice and motivation
toward self-actualization.

Two Basic Types of Behavior

1. Inherited (Inborn) behavior – refers to any behavioral reactions or reflexes exhibited by
people because of their inherited capabilities or the process of natural selection.
2. Learned (Operant) behavior – involves knowing or adaptation that enhances human
beings’ ability to cope with changes in the environment in ways which improve the
chances of survival.
Learned behavior may be acquired through environment or training.

Classifications of Human Behavior

 Habitual – refers to motorized behavior usually manifested in language and emotion.
 Instinctive – are generally unlearned and simply comes out of man’s instinct which can
be seen among instinct-instinct survival behaviors.
 Symbolic – are behaviors that are usually carried out by means of unsaid words and
shown through symbols or body signs.
 Complex – are those behaviors that combine two or more of the classified ones.

Causes of Human Behavior

 Sensation – is the feeling or impression created by a given stimulus or cause that leads
to a particular reaction or behavior.
Human Senses:
a. Visual – sight
b. Olfactory – smell
c. Cutaneous – touch
d. Auditory – hearing
e. Gustatory – taste
 Perception – refers to the person’s knowledge of a given stimulus which largely help to
determine the actual behavioral response in a given situation
 Awareness – refers to the psychological activity based on interpretation of past
experiences with a given stimulus or object.
Factors that affect Human Behavior
 Heredity – it is the passing of traits to offspring (from its parent or ancestors). This is the
process by which an offspring cell or organism acquires or becomes predisposed to the
characteristics of its parent cell or organism.
 Environment – refers to surroundings of an object. It consists of conditions and factors
that surround and influence behavioral pattern.
 Learning – is the process by which an individual’s behavior changes as a result of
experience or practice.

Personality Traits that Affect Human Behavior

1. Extroversion – characterized by interests directed toward the external environment of people
and things rather than toward inner experiences and oneself.
2. Introversion – characterized by direction of interest toward oneself and one’s inner world of
experiences. Introverts, in contrast, tend to be more reserved, less outgoing, and less sociable.
3. Ambiversion – is a balance of extrovert and introvert characteristics. An ambivert is normally
comfortable with groups and enjoys social interaction, but also relishes time alone and away
from the crowd.
4. Neuroticism – persons high in neuroticism react intensely and are generally moody, touchy,
depressed, sensitive and anxious or nervous. They respond more poorly to environmental
stress, and are more likely to interpret ordinary situations as threatening, and minor frustrations
as hopelessly difficult.
5. Psychoticism – is characterized by cold cruelty, social insensitivity, disregard for danger,
troublesome behavior, dislike of others and an attraction towards unusual. A person high on
psychoticism tends to be impulsive, aggressive individual without appreciable concern for
others.

Eysenck’s Personality Theory

 Eysenck proposed a theory of personality based

on biological factors, arguing that individuals
inherit a type of nervous system that affects their
ability to learn and adapt to the environment.

1. Extraversion/introversion
 Extraverts are sociable and crave excitement
and change, and thus can become bored
easily. They tend to be carefree, optimistic and
impulsive. They are more likely to take risks
and be thrill seekers.
 Introverts on the other hand lie at the other end
of this scale, being quiet and reserved.

2. Neuroticism/stability
 A person’s level of neuroticism is determined by the reactivity of their sympathetic
nervous system. A stable person’s nervous system will generally be less reactive to
stressful situations, remaining calm and level headed.
 Someone high in neuroticism on the other hand will be much more unstable, and prone
to overreacting to stimuli and may be quick to worry, anger or fear. They are overly
emotional and find it difficult to calm down once upset.

3. Psychoticism/normality
 Eysenck (1966) later added a third trait / dimension - Psychoticism – e.g., lacking in
empathy, cruel, a loner, aggressive and troublesome. This has been related to high
levels of testosterone. The higher the testosterone, the higher the level of psychoticism,
with low levels related to more normal balanced behavior.

Symptoms of Mental Disorder

1. Physical
 Physical symptoms of mental and emotional disorders include rapid changes in pulse,
temperature, respiration, nausea, vomiting, headaches, dizziness, loss of appetite, marked
changes in weight, excessive fatigue, pain, coughs, lack of motor coordination, and speech
disturbance.

2. Mental
Symptoms of mental and emotional disorders include flights of fancy; aphasia-loss of
understanding or of producing language; amnesia-loss of memory; phobias-strong, irrational
fears, such as the fear of dark, high in some form of behavior – kleptomania, pyromania;
obsession like end of the world; false perception – illusions, hallucinations, delusions and false
beliefs.

3. Emotional
Some symptoms of mental and emotional disorders are apathy – indifference,
accompanied by expressions of worry, crying, refusal to eat or speak; unnatural state of
happiness; behavior symptoms – psychomotor activity, crying, laughing, constant, repetition of
acts, and profane language.

Several Types of Mental Disorders

1. Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Neurodevelopmental disorders are those that are typically diagnosed during infancy, childhood,
or adolescence. These psychological disorders include:
 Intellectual Disability 
 Global Developmental Delay 
 Communication Disorders 
 Autism Spectrum Disorder 
 Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

2. Bipolar and Related Disorders

Bipolar disorder is characterized by shifts in mood as well as changes in activity and energy
levels. The disorder often involves experiencing shifts between elevated moods and periods of
depression. Such elevated moods can be pronounced and are referred to either as mania or
hypomania.
 Mania
 Depressive Episodes

3. Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders are those that are characterized by excessive and persistent fear, worry,
anxiety and related behavioral disturbances. Fear involves an emotional response to a threat,
whether that threat is real or perceived. Anxiety involves the anticipation that a future threat may
arise. Types of anxiety disorders include:
 Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
 Agoraphobia 
 Social Anxiety Disorder 
 Specific Phobias 
 Panic Disorder 
 Separation Anxiety Disorder 

4. Stress-Related Disorders
Trauma and stressor-related disorders involve exposure to a stressful or traumatic event. These
were previously grouped with anxiety disorders but are now considered a distinct category of
disorders. Disorders included in this category include:
 Acute Stress Disorder
 Adjustment Disorders
 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
 Reactive Attachment Disorder

5. Dissociative Disorders
Dissociative disorders are psychological disorders that involve a dissociation or interruption in
aspects of consciousness, including identity and memory. Dissociative disorders include:
 Dissociative Amnesia
 Dissociative Identity Disorder
 Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder

6. Somatic Symptom Disorder

Formerly referred to under the heading of somatoform disorders, this category is now known as
somatic symptoms and related disorders. Somatic symptom disorders are a class of
psychological disorders that involve prominent physical symptoms that may not have a
diagnosable physical cause.
In contrast to previous ways of conceptualizing these disorders based on the absence of a
medical explanation for the physical symptoms, the current diagnosis emphasizes the abnormal
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that occur in response to these symptoms. Disorders included
in this category:
 Somatic Symptom Disorder
 Illness Anxiety Disorder
 Conversion Disorder
 Factitious Disorder

7. Eating Disorders
Eating disorders are characterized by obsessive concerns with weight and disruptive eating
patterns that negatively impact physical and mental health. Feeding and eating disorders that
used to be diagnosed during infancy and childhood have been moved to this category in the
DSM-5. Types of eating disorders include:
 Anorexia Nervosa
 Bulimia Nervosa
 Rumination Disorder
 Pica
 Binge-Eating Disorder

8. Sleep Disorders
Sleep disorders involve an interruption in sleep patterns that lead to distress and affects daytime
functioning. Examples of sleep disorders include:
 Narcolepsy
 Insomnia Disorder
 Hypersomnolence
 Breathing-Related Sleep Disorders
 Parasomnias
 Restless Legs Syndrome

9. Disruptive Disorders
Impulse-control disorders are those that involve an inability to control emotions and behaviors,
resulting in harm to oneself or others. These problems with emotional and behavioral regulation
are characterized by actions that violate the rights of others such as destroying property or
physical aggression and/or those that conflict with societal norms, authority figures, and laws.
Types of impulse-control disorders include:
 Kleptomania
 Pyromania
 Intermittent Explosive Disorder
 Conduct Disorder
 Oppositional Defiant Disorder

10. Depressive Disorders

Depressive disorders are a type of mood disorder that include a number of conditions. They are
all characterized by the presence of sad, empty, or irritable moods accompanied by physical
and cognitive symptoms. They differ in terms of duration, timing, or presumed etiology.
 Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder
 Major depressive disorder
 Persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia)
  Other or unspecified depressive disorder
 Premenstrual dysphoric disorder
 Substance/medication-induced depressive disorder
 Depressive disorder due to another medical condition

11. Neurological Disorders

Neurocognitive disorders are characterized by acquired deficits in cognitive function. These
disorders do not include those in which impaired cognition was present at birth or early in life.
Types of cognitive disorders include:
 Delirium
 Neurocognitive Disorders

12. Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a chronic psychiatric condition that affects a person’s thinking, feeling, and
behavior. It is a complex, long-term condition

13. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders

The diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5 specify that in order to be diagnosed with obsessive-
compulsive disorder, a person must experience obsessions, compulsions, or both.
 Obsessions: defined as recurrent, persistent thoughts, impulses, and urges that lead to
distress or anxiety
 Compulsions: repetitive and excessive behaviors that the individual feels that they must
perform. These actions are performed to reduce anxiety or to prevent some dreaded
outcome from occurring.

14. Personality Disorders

Personality disorders are characterized by an enduring pattern of maladaptive thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors that can cause serious detriments to relationships and other life areas.

Factors that Affect Mental Disorders

1. Heredity
This is the most frequent with family histories revealing mental illness.

2. Incestuous Marriage
Blood incompatibility of parents, maternal infection during the early stages of pregnancy
are some disorders associated with incestuous disorders.

3. Impaired Vitality
Mental worry, grief, physical strain, unhygienic surroundings, infections and birth trauma
may predispose a person to mental disorders.

4. Poor Moral Values Training and Breeding

Improper breeding and poor moral values training particularly those affecting free will
and self-control undesirable associations, etc. may result in an impaired mental state.

5. Psychic Factors
Emotional disturbances, such as love, hatred, passion, frustration and disappointment.

6. Physical Factors
a) Non-toxic - Exhaustion resulting from severe physical and mental strain, cerebral
hemorrhage, trauma on the skull affecting the brain.
b) Toxic - This may be produced by excessive formation of deficient elimination of waste
products; by infection, or excessive use of certain drugs.

SOME MANIFESTATION OF MENTAL DISORDERS

1. COGNITIVE DISORDER – KNOWING

a. Perception Disorder

1. Illusion
 A false interpretation of an external stimulus. It may be touch and smell. A normal
person may also suffer from illusions but further investigation by oneself may prove that his
judgment is wrong.
 
2. Hallucination
An erroneous perception without an external object of stimulus. There are some types of
hallucination, i.e., visual, seeing things although not present; auditory, hearing voices in
absolute science; olfactory, false perception of smell; gustatory, false perception of taste; tactile,
false perception of touch, as feeling that a worm is creeping on the skin; kinesthetic, false
perception of movement; hypnagogic, false falling asleep and being awake; and Lilliputian,
perception of objects as reduced in size.

b. Memory Disorder

1. Dementia
A form of mental disorder resulting from the degeneration or disorder of the brain
characterized by general mental weakness, forgetfulness, loss of coherence, and total inability
or uncontrollable impulse.

2. Amnesia
Loss of memory, there are two kinds, i.e., anterograde amnesia, loss of memory of recent
events; and retrograde amnesia, loss of memory of past events and observed in traumas of the
head.

c. Content of thought Disorders

1. Delusion
A false or erroneous belief in something which is not a fact. A person suffering from
delusion is not always insane. If he can correct his wrong beliefs by subsequent experiences, by
logic or by information from other sources, such delusion is not a proof of insanity.
 
2. Obsession
Thoughts and impulses which continually occur in the person’s mind despite attempts to
keep them out. It is an idea constantly obtruding on the suffering despite efforts to drive it way.
Obsession is a condition of the mind bordering on sanity and insanity. It is sometimes
associated with some sort of fear and usually occurs in persons suffering from nervous
exhaustion.

d. Trend of Thought Disorder

1. Mania
A state of excitement accompanied by exaltation or a feeling of well-being which is out of
harmony with the surrounding circumstances of the patient. The mind is hyperactive, with flights
of fancy which may amount to incoherence. Delusions may be present, but are usually fleeting
in character.

2. Melancholia
An intense feeling of depression and misery which is unwarranted by his physical
condition and external environment. He is absorbed by his miserable thoughts. Aural
hallucination is common. Every patient suffering from melancholia is a potential suicide case.

2. EMOTIONAL DISORDER – FEELING

a. Exaltation
Feeling of unwarranted well-being and happiness.
b. Depression
Feeling of miserable thoughts, that a calamitous incident occurred in his life, something
has gone wrong with his body functions and prefers to be quite and in selection.
c. Apathy
Serious disregard for the surrounding and the environment.
d. Phobia
 Excessive, irrational, and uncontrollable for a perfectly natural situation or object. There
are some types of phobia, i.e., fear of specific objects, e.g., birds, ornithophobia; blood,
anthophobia; men, androphobia; robbers, harpaophobia; sacred things, hierophobia; sharp
objects, belophobia; sun, heliophobia; and trees, dendrophobia.

3. VOLITION DISORDER – CONATION

a. Impulsion
Sudden and irresistible force compelling a person to the conscious performance of some
action without motive or forethought. The person has no power to control it, however, bad the
consequences may be.

b. Compulsion
Although not included in the manifestation of mental disorders, it is an act wherein a
person is compelled to perform some actions against his free will, and with duress as a result of
external factors. It may be through the use of force, violence or intimidation.

Frustration in Human Behavior

Frustration refers to the situation which blocks the individual’s motivated behavior. Sustained
frustration may be characterized by anxiety, irritability, fatigue or depression.

Conflict
Pertains to a serious disagreement or argument typically a protracted one. It is also defined as a
competitive or opposing action of incompatibles. The mental struggle resulting from
incompatible or opposing needs, drives, wishes, or external or internal demands. In relation to
our study, there are three basic forms of conflict, they are the following:

Three Basic Forms of Conflict

1. Approach-Avoidance Conflict - occurs when an individual moves closer to a seemingly

desirable object, only to have the potentially negative consequences of contacting that object
push back against the closing behavior.
2. Approach-Approach Conflict - This is a conflict resulting from the necessity of choosing
between two desirable alternatives. There are usually two desirable things wanted, but only one
option can be chosen.
3. Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict - This form of conflict involves two undesirable or
unattractive alternatives where a person has to decide of choosing one of the undesirable
things.

Coping Mechanism

It is defined as the way people react to frustration. People differ in the way they react to
frustration. This could be attributed to individual differences and the way people prepared in the
developmental task they faced during the early stages of their life.

Frustration Tolerance
It is the ability to withstand frustration without developing inadequate modes of response
such as being emotionally depressed or irritated, becoming neurotic, or becoming aggressive.

Broad Reactions to Frustration

 Fight – is manifested by fighting the problem in a constructive and direct way by means
of breaking down the obstacles preventing the person reaching his goals.
 Flight – it can be manifested by sulking, retreating, becoming indifferent and giving up.

Different Types of Reaction to Frustration

 Direct approach - can be seen among people who handle their problems in a very
objective way. They identify first the problem, look for the most practical and handy way
to solve it, and proceeded with the constructive manner of utilizing the solution which will
produce the best results.
  Detour - when an individual realizes that in finding for the right solution of the problem,
he always end up with a negative outcome or result. Thus, he tries to make a detour or
change direction first and find out if the solution or remedy is there.
 Substitution - most of time are resulted to in handling frustration when an original plan
intended to solve the problem did not produce the intended result, thus the most
practical way to face the problem, is to look for most possible or alternative means.
 Withdrawal or retreat - is corresponding to running away from the problem or flight
which to some is the safest way.
 Developing feeling of inferiority - comes when a person is unable to hold on to any
solution which gives a positive result. Being discourage to go on working for a way to
handle a frustration could result to diminishing self-confidence, until the time when
inferiority complex sets in.
 Aggression - is a negative outcome of a person's inability to handle frustration rightly.
Manifestation in physical behavior can be observed in one's negative attitudes towards
life both in the personal and professional aspect.
 Use of Defense Mechanism – is the most tolerated way of handling frustration. It is a
man’s last result when a person attempts to overcome fear from an anticipated situation
or event.
Defense Mechanism – is an unconscious psychological process that serves as safety valve
that provides relief from emotional conflict and anxiety.

Common Defense Mechanisms

 Displacement - strong emotion, such as anger, is displaced onto another person or
object as the recipient of said emotion (anger), rather than being focused on the person
or object which originally was the cause of said emotion.
 Rationalization - is the defense mechanism that enables individuals to justify their
behavior to themselves and others by making excuses or formulating fictitious, socially
approved arguments to convince themselves and others that their behavior is logical and
acceptable

 Compensation - is the psychological defense mechanism through which people attempt

to overcome the anxiety associated with feelings of inferiority and inadequacy in one is
of personality or body image, by concentrating on another area where they can excel.
 Projection - manifest feelings and ideas which are unacceptable to the ego or the
superego and are projected onto others so that they seem to have these feelings or
ideas, which free the individual from the guilt and anxiety associated with them.
 Reaction formation - is defined as the development of a trait or traits which are the
opposite of tendencies that we do not want to recognize. The person is motivated to act
in a certain way, but behaves in the opposite way. Consequently, he is able to keep his
urges and impulses under control.
 Denial – when a person uses this, he refuses to recognize and deal with reality because
of strong inner needs.
 Repression – is unconscious process whereby unacceptable urges or painful traumatic
experiences are completely prevented from entering consciousness.
 Suppression - which is sometimes confused with that of repression, is a conscious
activity by which an individual attempts to forget emotionally disturbing thoughts and
experiences by pushing them out of his mind.
 Identification - an individual seeks to overcome his own feelings of inadequacy,
loneliness, or inferiority by taking on the characteristics of someone who is important to
him.
An example is a child who identifies with his parents who are seen as models of
intelligence, strength and competence
 Substitution - through this defense mechanism, the individual seeks to overcome
feelings of frustration and anxiety by achieving alternate goals and gratifications.
 Fantasy - this is resulted to whenever unfulfilled ambitions and unconscious drives do
not materialize.
 Regression – a person reverts to a pattern of feeling, thinking or behavior which was
appropriate to an earlier stage of development.
 Sublimation – is the process by which instinctual drives which consciously
unacceptable are diverted into personally and socially accepted channels. It is a positive
 and constructive mechanism for defending against own unacceptable impulses and
needs.

Normal Behavior
This refers to a lack of significant deviation from the average. Another possible definition
is that "a normal" is someone who conforms to the predominant behavior in a society.
Social norms – rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values,
beliefs, attitudes and behaviors.

Abnormal Behavior
Literally means "away from the normal". It implies deviation from some clearly defined
norm. In the case of physical illness, the norm is the structural and functional integrity of the
body.

Abnormal Psychology
 The study of psychological disorder
 A branch of psychology that deals with psychopathology and abnormal behavior, often in
a clinical context.
 Abnormal psychology focuses on the patterns of emotion, thought, and behavior that can
be signs of a mental health condition. Rather than the distinction between normal and
abnormal, psychologists in this field focus on the level of distress that behaviors,
thoughts, or emotions might cause.

Neurosis vs Psychosis

Neurosis is a mild mental disorder NOT arising from organic diseases – instead, it can occur
from stress, depression or anxiety.

Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving distress but neither delusions nor
hallucinations, whereby behavior is not outside socially acceptable norms. The distinguishing
feature of neurosis is a sustained characteristic of showing anxiety, fear, endless troubles that
carries significant aspects of the individual’s life.

Psychosis is a major personality disorder characterised by mental and emotional disruptions. It

is much more severe than neurosis – often impairing and debilitating the affected individual.

Some types of Neurosis

1. Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders are blanket terms covering several different forms of abnormal and
pathological fear and anxiety.
People experience excessive levels of the kind of negative emotions that we identify as being
nervous, tense, worried, scared, and anxious. These terms all refer to anxiety.

A. Phobias
This is an intense, unrealistic fear. In this case, anxiety is focused so intensely on some
objects or situations that the individual is acutely uncomfortable around it and will often go to
great pain to avoid it.
 TYPES OF PHOBIAS
 Acrophobia - high places
 Agoraphobia - open spaces and market places
 Malgophobia - pain
 Astraphobia - storms, thunder, and lightning
 Gynophobia – fear of dogs
 Claustrophobia - closed places
 Hematophobia - blood
 Mysophobia - contamination or germs
 Monophobia - being alone
 Nyctophobia - darkness
 Ochlophobia - crowds
  Hydrophobia - water
 Pathophobia - disease
 Pyrophobia - fire
 Syphilophobia - syphilis
 Zoophobia - animals or some particular animals

B. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders
1. Obsession – This is an anxiety provoking (annoying) thoughts that will not go away.
Thoughts and impulses which occur in the person’s mind despite attempts to keep them out.
They seem uncontrollable, as if they do not belong to the individual's mind.
2. Compulsion – It is an urge wherein a person is compelled to perform some actions against
his free will and with duress as a result of external factors. This is an irresistible urge to engage
in certain pattern of behavior.
EXAMPLES OF COMPULSION
1. Arithomania – the impulse to count anything.
2. Dipsomania – the impulse to drink liquor.
3. Homicidal mania – the impulse to kill.
4. Kleptomania – the impulse to steal.
5. Megalomania – the impulse for fame or power.
6. Pyromania – the impulse to set fire.
7. Suicidal mania – the impulse to take one’s life.

C. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

PTSD can develop after an individual has experienced exposure to actual or threatened death,
serious injury, or sexual violence. Symptoms of PTSD include episodes of reliving or re-
experiencing the event, avoiding things that remind the individual about the event, feeling on
edge, and having negative thoughts.

2. Affective Disorders
The term affect is roughly equivalent to emotion or mood. The affective disorders are mood
disorders in which extreme and inappropriate levels of mood
• Characterized by periods of depression or elation or both.
• A manic-depressive psychosis
Two Types of Affective Disorder
• Depression
• Bipolar
Depression

• Depression, or major depressive disorder, is characterized by feelings of extreme

sadness and hopelessness. It is more than simply feeling down for a day or two. If you
have depression, you may experience episodes that last for several days or even weeks.

Symptoms of Depression
• Prolonged sadness
• Irritability or anxiety
• Lethargy and lack of energy
• Lack of interest in normal activities
• Major changes in eating and sleeping habits
• Difficulty concentrating
• Feelings of guilt
• Suicidal thoughts
Bipolar

• Bipolar disorder means having periods of depression, and periods of mania. Mania is
when you feel extremely positive and active. This may sound good, but mania also
makes you feel irritable, aggressive, impulsive, and even delusional. 

Symptoms of Bipolar
• Unusual and chronic mood swings
• During depression, symptoms similar to those for major depressive disorder
 • During mania, less sleep and feelings of exaggerated self-confidence, irritability,
aggression, self-importance, impulsiveness, recklessness, or in severe cases
delusions or hallucinations

3. SOMATOFORM DISORDERS
"Soma" means body, and somatoform disorders involve a neurotic pattern in which the
individuals complain of bodily symptoms that suggest the presence of a physical problem, but
for which no organic basis can be found. Such individuals are typically preoccupied with their
state of health and with various presumed disorders or diseases of bodily organs.

Psychosomatic Disorder
A disorder in which the physical illness is considered to be highly associated with
emotional factors. The individual may not perceive that his emotional state is contributing to his
physical illness.

Three Distinct Somatoform Patterns

1. Somatization Disorder
This is an intensely and chronically uncomfortable condition that indirectly
creates a high risk of medical complications. It takes the form of chronic and recurrent aches,
pains, fever, tiredness and other symptoms to bodily illness. Individuals frequently experience
memory difficulties, problems with walking, numbness, block-out spells, nausea, menstrual
problems and a lack of pleasure from sex.
2. Conversion Disorders and Somatoform Pain Disorders
 Conversion disorders – are somatoform disorders in which individuals experience
serious somatic symptoms such as functional blindness, deafness, paralysis, fainting,
seizures, inability to speak or other serious impairments in the absence of any physical
cause.
 Somatoform pain disorders – are somatoform disorders in which the individual
experiences a relatively specific and chronic pain that has a psychological rather than
physical cause. It is very similar to conversion disorders except that the primary
symptom is pain that has no physical cause.
3. Dissociative Disorders
This covers a broad category of loosely related rare conditions involving sudden
alterations in cognition, characterized by change in memory, perceptions or "identity".
 defined as conditions that involve disruptions or breakdowns of memory, awareness,
identity and/or perception.

Types of Dissociative Disorders

a. Amnesia – This refers to loss of memory that can have either physical or psychological
cause. It most often occurs after a period of intense stress and involves loss of memory for all or
part of the stressful experience itself.

b. Psychogenic Fugue State – This resembles amnesia in that there is a loss of memory but the
loss is so complete that the individuals cannot remember his or her identity or previous life.

c. Depersonalization – This refers to experiences in which the individual feels that he or she has
become distorted or "unreal" or that distortions have occurred in one's surroundings. One might
feel that she is a real robot - even though she knows she is a real person - or that her room is
not real or that her parents are not real people.

d. Multiple Personality – This is a dissociative disorder in which the individual shifts abruptly and
repeatedly from one personality to another as if more than one person were inhabiting the same
body. This is commonly known as "split personality disorder."

Some types of Psychosis

1. SCHIZOPHRENIA
- a psychotic condition marked by withdrawal from reality, indifference concerning
everyday problems, and tendency to live in a world of fantasy.
- formerly called dementia praecox by Emil Kreaplin, a German psychiatrist.
- the term schizophrenia was given by Eugene Bleuler which literally means “splitting of minds”.

Types of Schizophrenia
 Simple Schizophrenia – is characterized by a gradual decline of interest and ambition.
The person withdraws from social contacts as well as irritable and inattentive.
 Paranoid Schizophrenia – is characterized principally by delusions of persecutions
and/or grandeur. Hallucinations, usually auditory, are most of time present.
 Hebephrenic Schizophrenia – manifests severe integration of personality and can be
observed through inappropriate giggling and smiling without apparent reasons which to
an untrained observer may only be childish playfulness.
 Catatonic Schizophrenia – manifests extreme violence and shown with excessive motor
activity, grimacing, talkativeness and unpredictable emotional outburst.

2. PARANOIA
  Paranoia refers to cases showing delusions and impaired contact with reality but without
the severe personality disorganization characteristic of schizophrenia.
- The main symptom is characterized by suspicion

COMMON TYPES OF PARANOIA

1. Persecutory Paranoia – having delusions of persecution.
2. Litigious Paranoia – both delusions of persecution and grandeur
3. Erotic Paranoia – delusion that a certain person is in love with him or her.
4. Exalted Paranoia – with great power of importance.
5. Jealous Paranoia – characterized by irrational jealousy.

V. PERSONALITY DISORDERS
Personality disorders, formerly referred to as character disorders, are a class of
personality types and behaviors defined as “an enduring pattern of inner experience and
behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the culture of the individual who
exhibits it”. This category includes those individuals who begin to develop a maladaptive
behavior pattern early in childhood as a result of family, social, and cultural influences.

Types of Personality Disorders

1. Paranoid Personality – This is characterized by suspiciousness, hypersensitivity, rigidity,

envy, excessive self-importance, and argumentativeness plus a tendency to blame others for
one's own mistakes and failures and to ascribe evil motives to others.

2. Schizoid Personality – Individuals with this personality disorder neither deserve nor enjoy
close relationship. They live a solitary life with little interest in developing friendships. They
exhibit emotional coldness, detachment, or a constricted affect.
- characterized by a lack of interest in social relationships, a tendency towards a solitary
lifestyle, secretiveness, and emotional coldness.

3. Schizotypal Personality – Individuals with this type of personality disorder exhibit odd
behaviors based on a belief in magic or superstition and may report unusual perceptual
experiences.

4. Histrionic Personality – this is characterized by attempt to be the center of attention through

the use of theatrical and self-dramatizing behavior. Sexual adjustment is poor and interpersonal
relationships are stormy.
 characterized by excessive emotionality and attention-seeking, including an excessive
need for approval and inappropriate seductiveness, usually beginning in early adulthood.

5. Narcissistic Personality – Individuals with this type of personality have a pervasive sense of
self-importance.
 A disorder and its derivatives can be caused by excessive praise and criticism in
childhood, particularly that from parental figures.

6. Antisocial Personality – This is characterized by a lifelong history of inability to conform to

social norms. They are irritable and aggressive" and may have repeated physical fights. These
individuals also have a high prevalence of morbid substance abuse disorders.

7. Borderline Personality – This is characterized by instability, reflected in drastic mood shifts

and behavior problems. Individuals with this type of personality are acutely sensitive to real or
imagined abandonment and have a pattern of repeated unstable but intense interpersonal
relationships that alternate between extreme idealization and devaluation. Such individuals may
abuse substances or food, or be sexually promiscuous.

8. Avoidant Personality – Individuals with this personality are fearful of becoming involved with
people because of excessive fears of criticism or rejection.

9. Dependent Personality – This is characterized by inability to make even daily decisions

without excessive advice and reassurance from others and needs others to assume
responsibility for most major areas of his or her life.

10. Compulsive Personality – This is characterized by excessive concern with rules, order
efficiency, and work coupled with insistence that everyone do things their way and an inability to
express warm feelings.

11. Passive-Aggressive Personality – The individual with personality disorder is usually found
to have overindulged in many things during the early years to the extent that the person comes
to anticipate that his needs will always be met and gratified.

Copycat Crime
Copycat crime is crime inspired by another crime that has been publicized in the news
media or fictionally or artistically represented in which the offender incorporates aspects of the
original offense.

SEXUAL DEVIANCY
A sexual act that seeks gratification by means other than heterosexual relationship.
HETEROSEXUALITY – normal sexual relationship between members of the opposite sex which
could lead to reproduction.

TYPES OF SEXUAL DEVIANCY

 Homosexuality
- sexual desire towards the same sex
 Transvestitism
- obtaining sexual gratification by wearing the clothes of the opposite sex.
 Voyeurism
- obtaining sexual pleasure by watching the members of the opposite sex
undressing or engaging in sexual activities.
 Exhibitionism - obtaining pleasure by exposing one’s genitals to others.
 Fetishism - obtaining sexual gratification primarily and exclusively from specific objects.
 Sadism – by inflicting pain to others
 Masochism – by inflicting pain upon themselves .
 Sodomy – sexual act through the anus of another human being.
 Froilism – a form of sexual perversion in which three (3) persons are participating in
sexual act.
 Pluralism – a group participates in sexual orgies (sexual festival).
 Cunnilingus – licking of woman’s genitals
 Fellatio – sucking the penis
 Pedophilia – obtaining pleasure from sexual contact with children.
 Incest – sexual relations between persons related by blood.
 Bestiality – sexual intercourse with a living animal.
 Necrophilia – desire to engage in sexual intercourse with a dead body.
Victimology
 According to Karmen (2010), Victimology is the study of victimization, including the
relationship between victims and offenders, the interactions between victims and the
criminal justice system.

 It is also defined as the scientific study of the physical, emotional and financial harm
people suffer because of illegal activities. The definition focuses on the effects of crimes
to the victim

In simple terms, victimology tries to answer the following questions:

1. what are the reasons a person becomes a victim?
2. why are certain people victimized more than the rest?
3. what makes a person a target of offender?
4. how does a person contribute to become a victim?

Victim
 A victim is the person to whom the crime was committed. He is also referred to as the
complainant or the offended party. Also, victims can either be direct or primary victims,
or indirect or secondary victims (Karmen, 2010).
 Historically, the Latin term “Victima” was used to describe individuals or animals whose
lives were destined to be sacrificed to please a deity.

1. Direct or Primary Victim - is the person who was actually harmed because of the
commission of the offense. Victims of rape, theft, robbery, physical injuries are some examples
of direct or primary victims.

2. Indirect or Secondary Victims - refers to the family or loved ones of the victim. Such is the
case in crimes of murder or homicide.

What is Victimization?
 Victimization can be defined as the outcome of an individual or institution’s intentional
action to exploit, oppress, or harm someone else. It also includes destroying or illegally
acquiring someone else’s property or possessions. These actions can cause
psychological, emotional, physical, sexual, or economic harm to the victim.

Theories of Victimology
1. Victim precipitation Theory
 According to victim precipitation theory, some people may initiate the
confrontation that eventually leads to their injury or death.
 
 The victim precipitation theory states that some victims initiate the confrontation that
leads to their victimization, whether actively or passively.

Passive Precipitation
• Passive precipitation means that the victim unconsciously behaves in a way or has
specific characteristics that instigate or encourage an attack.

Active Precipitation
• Active precipitation, on the other hand, occurs when the victim engages in
threatening or provocative actions.

2. Lifestyle Theory
 Some criminologists believe people may become crime victims because their lifestyle
increases their exposure to criminal offenders.

 The lifestyle theory maintains that criminals target individuals due to their lifestyle
choices. Many victims’ options expose them to criminal offenders and situations where
crime is likely to occur.
3. Deviant Place Theory
 The deviant place theory is the theory that the more often a victim visits a dangerous
place, the more likely they will be exposed to crime, which raises their chance of being
victimized.
 The theory states that the victim does not play a role in encouraging the crime but is still
prone to being a victim because they live in a socially disorganized high-crime location.
Even though they may not engage in risky behaviors or lead a dangerous lifestyle,
residents of areas with high crime rates have the most significant risk of coming into
contact with offenders.

4. Routine Activities Theory

The routine activities theory states there must be three factors present for a crime to occur.
These factors reflect the regular activities incorporated in a typical American’s lifestyle, and they
increase an individual’s risk of victimization when they converge.

Traditional Concepts in Victimology

1. Victim-Offender Relationship
This refers to the relationship of the victim with the offender, and vice versa. It could be that the
victim personally knows the offender, may be actually related to him/her by blood, or they may
be co-workers, neighbours or classmates, or even in a relationship with each other. This
relationship could be a factor as to why he/she victimized by the offender.

2. Victim Facilitation
This happens in situations wherein victims unknowingly, carelessly, negligently and
inadvertently make it easier for the criminal to commit a crime. Because of the carelessness or
negligence on the part of the victim, the offender is given the opportunity to actually commit the
crime, such as in cases of theft and robbery. It is called victim facilitation because in effect, it
was the victim who facilitated the commission of the crime, meaning, it was the victim who made
it possible for the offender to commit the crime against him/her.

3. Victim Precipitation and Culpability or Provocation

In the victim precipitation, the victim significantly contributed to his victimization, while in
culpability or provocation, the victim is considered to be even more responsible for the crime
than offender himself.

4. Victim Resistance
Resistance is defined as action by a potential victim during a confrontation that is designed to
interfere in any way with the completion of the criminal act or escape. Resistance may conduct
like physical retaliation, or calling for help, but it can also include a refusal to meet the demand
of an offender.

5. Victim Vulnerability
Victim vulnerability refers to the tendency of a person to become victimized without any fault on
his part. Such person can easily become a victim because of his personal circumstances, such
as age and state of mental health.

6. Victim Blame
It is very common to hear people blame the victims for the crime committed against him.
Sometimes, even the victim himself blames himself. In some ways, this is good because is
shows that people are aware that crimes can be prevented if we protect ourselves from them
and that there means to protect ourselves from criminals. However, this can also be a negative
thing because when we start blaming the victim, then it is like we are removing the blame from
the offender, this can make offenders feel like it is your fault that they victlmized you.
Multiple factors influence the risk of victimization
Relationship Factors
• Couples with income, educational, or job status disparities
• Dominance and control of the relationship by one partner
Community Factors
• Poverty and associated factors (e.g., overcrowding)
• Low social capital-lack of institutions, relationships, and norms that shape
the quality and quantity of a community's social interactions
• Weak community sanctions against DV/IPV (e.g., police unwilling to
intervene)
Societal Factors
• Patriarchal gender norms (e.g., women should stay at home, not enter
workforce, should be submissive)

Impact of Victimization

The Emotional Impact of Victimization

Anger or rage
Victims may be angry with God, the offender, family members, friends, the criminal justice
system, or even themselves. Many victims experience strong desires for revenge or getting
even. Hate may even feel by victims.
Fear or Terror
It is common for victims to feel terror or fear following a crime that involved a threat to one’s
safety or life, or to someone else a victim cares about. Fear can cause a person to have panic
attacks if they are ever reminded of the crime. Fear can last for quite some time following the
commission of a crime and under certain circumstances, it can become debilitating. Fear or
terror that becomes overwhelming is unhealthy and victims should consult their family physician
about it as soon as possible.
Frustration
Many victims are frustrated by the feelings of helplessness or powerlessness that surface when
the crime takes place. This can be especially true if victims were unable to fend off an offender,
call for help or run away. After the crime, victims may continue to feel frustration if they cannot
access the support and information that is necessary to their healing.
Confusion
Victims of crime may become confused if they are unsure of what actually happened, as crimes
often occur quickly and are chaotic. Victims might also become confused while searching for
answers to questions like “why did this happen to me?” It may be impossible to find out why
someone else intended to hurt them.
Guilt or self-blame
Blaming oneself is common. Many victims believe they were “in the wrong place at the wrong
time.” If the victim does not have someone to blame, they will often blame themselves. Guilt is
also common when no offender is found. Later on, when reflecting upon the crime, victims might
feel guilty for not doing more to prevent what happened. Lastly, some victims will experience
‘survivor guilt’ – they feel guilty that they survived while someone else was injured or even killed.
If a loved one is murdered, surviving family and friends may even blame the victim. Too often,
society blames victims as well.
Shame and humiliation
Sadly, some victims blame themselves, particularly victims of sexual abuse/assault or domestic
violence. In crimes involving sexual acts, offenders often degrade the victim by making them do
humiliating things. Victims of rape, for example, have long-lasting feelings of “being dirty”, and
those feelings cannot be “washed away.” Some victims even feel self-hatred because they
believe that they can no longer be loved by those who are close to them.
Grief or Sorrow
Intense sadness is often the most powerful long-term reaction to crime. It is common for victims
to become depressed after a crime occurs.
The Physical Impact of Victimization
At the time of the crime, or upon discovering that a crime has occurred, victims are likely to
experience a number of physical reactions. These may include an increase in the adrenalin in
the body, increased heart rate, hyperventilation, shaking, tears, numbness, a feeling of being
frozen or experiencing events in slow motion, dryness of the mouth, enhancement of particular
senses such as smell, and a ``fight or flight'' response. It is also common for people to lose
control over their movements. Some of these physical reactions may occur immediately and
others may occur after the danger has passed. Physical reactions to crime can be so powerful
that they reoccur quite some time after the crime, for example with the victim’s memory of the
events. Physical injuries that result from crime may be classified as: minor (bumps, scratches),
moderate (bruises, broken bones), and severe (stabbing, gun shot wounds). Some physical
injuries will be visible, while others will not. It may not be possible to see all physical injuries
such as internal organ injuries or a brain injury, or those internal injuries caused by a sexual
assault.

The Financial Impact of Victimization

Victims who may have money stolen, or possessions stolen or damaged have been financially
injured. In many cases, stolen money and prized possessions are never recovered.
Understandably, this is very distressing to victims who may feel guilt, anger, and frustration if
they are unable to recover a family heirloom. Although the financial impact of crime is less
documented than the physical, emotion or social impacts, victims may certainly incur costs in
the following ways:
• Repairing property or replacing possessions.
• Higher insurance premiums as a result of victimization.
• Installing security measures.
• Accessing health services.
• Medical expenses.
• Participating in the criminal justice system, for example traveling to court,
child care and attending the trial.
• Obtaining professional counselling to come to terms with the emotional
impact.
• Taking time off work or from other income generating activities.
• Funeral or burial expenses.
In some cases, such as stalking, victims may feel a need to move, a process likely to incur
financial costs. Also property value may diminish as a result of a violent crime occurring in the
house.

The Psychological Impact of Victimization

It is almost impossible to predict how an individual will respond to crime. Psychological injuries
created by crime are often the most difficult to cope with and have long-lasting effects. As crime
is usually experienced as more serious than an accident or misfortune, it is difficult to come to
terms with the fact that loss and injury have been caused by the deliberate act of another
human being. Common reactions to crime can be split into four stages:

• The initial reaction may include shock, fear, anger, helplessness, disbelief and guilt. As
mentioned previously, some of these reactions may reoccur at a later stage as well, for
example when attending a trial or going to hospital for medical treatment.
• A period of disorganization may follow these initial reactions. This phase may manifest
itself in psychological effects such as distressing thoughts about the event, nightmares,
depression, guilt, fear, and a loss of confidence and esteem. Life can seem to slow down
and become meaningless. Previously held beliefs and faiths may no longer provide
comfort. Behavioral responses might include increased alcohol or substance abuse,
fragmentation of social relationships, avoidance of people and situations associated with
the crime, and social withdrawal.
• The third stage is reconstruction and acceptance, which leads to the fourth stage of
normalization/adjustment. Victims often try to come to terms with crime by longing for
everything to be as it was before and to turn the clock back. In this crucial stage of
recovery victims begin to fully accept the reality of what has happened. Victims may try
to reinterpret their experience and possibly find an explanation for what has happened or
to decide that the crime has lead to personal growth.
Victim Patterns
The age, gender, marital status, educational background, level of intellect, income, occupation,
lifestyle or habits, victim-offender relationships and ecology are some of the factors that affect
victimization risk.
 
Result of various studies reveals that in terms of gender, males are more likely to become a
victim of robbery and physical injuries. In terms of income or economic status, the poor are most
likely to become victims of crimes because they live in areas that are crime-prone.
 
It was also found out that unmarried or never been married individuals are victimized more often
that married people. This could be because married people tent to more stable routines and less
active social lives.