Age Of Accountability Case Study Sample

838 Words4 Pages
Liberty University Psych 210 Case Study : What is the Age of Accountability? Tracey M. Harrell Liberty University Online Liberty University Psych 210 Case Study: What is the Age of Accountability? When a young child commits a crime, especially a violent crime, against another person, The tragedy is twofold. The devastation of the crime committed is only superseded by the incomprehensible truth that the crime has been committed by a child, 7 years old or under. Typically, there is a search for the answers to “why” when crime of any nature has been committed, but when the perpetrator is a young child; the world is drawn to, another, most disturbing, question. Can a child of this age be criminally responsible? I believe that in order…show more content…
(Kathleen Stassen Berger, 2011 p. 57). The biological development of a young child’s brain directly assists the cognitive development of the brain and vice versus. According to Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural idea, all children have the ability to learn despite of all mental disabilities (p.49). The knowledge and capabilities that are acquired depends on what is deemed important by their culture. To further understand a how a crime can be committed by a young child, Albert Bandura’s theory that humans can learn without reinforcement called “modeling” is a good explanation. Bandura defines modeling as “people copying what they see others do” (p.42). The results we see in a young child’s behavior are resulted from biological development, as well. First, let’s explore two critical parts of a 6 year old child’s brain; the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex. The limbic system is the part of the brain divided in three major areas controlling expression and regulation of emotion. The area of the limbic system called the amygdala registers emotions such as…show more content…
A 6 year old child is extremely vulnerable at this age because too much cortisol can cause permanent damage to the hippocampus thus causing learning and memory disabilities. Berger, also, stressed that young children who are victims of maltreatment and highly stressful experiences may incur damaged limbic systems resulting in physical and mental disorders, poor emotional regulation that may affect health many years later (Quas et al., 2004, p. 797). One of the many signs of a maltreatment is a child is quick, impulsive reactions. The prefrontal cortex or frontal lobe part of the brain is known as the ”executive of the brain” because this is where everything that happens in all other parts of the cortex has to be channeled through for regulation. Even though, the prefrontal cortex’s hierarchy of duties of anticipation, planning, and impulse control reins over all other areas of the cortex, this is the last part of the brain to mature (Berger, 2011 p. 132; 215). The maturation of the prefrontal cortex is partly
Open Document