It seems that every psychologist, social scientist, and criminologist has their own ideas about what makes a criminal. No matter which view you accept, you cannot look at crime in general and the psychology of crime specifically, without looking at the psychology of black Americans. Even though black Americans only comprise a small percent of the population, it seems like they are arrested more often, go to jail more often, are filing law suits against the police for brutality more often, and are basically discriminated against by the justice system. One of these is the area of perception. Perception is the basic process of cognition because it is the process through which humans maintain contact with the environment.
Research indicates that perception is heavily influenced by socialization and past experiences.
This characteristic is even more prevalent in adolescents than adults. Although some of the research findings could be questioned, what is important is that adolescence is a difficult time for most teenagers be they African American or European-American. However, what cannot be forgotten is that African American adolescents probably learn differently and react differently to similar situations because of the environment in which they were raised. Parents, families, and peers play a special and important role in the cognitive development of adolescents. These roles should be recognized and understood to better help the adolescent develop normal, cognitive skills.