THE INFLUENCE OF THE LIVING ENVIRONMENT ON THE CRIMINAL PRACTICE AND THE (IN)APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 66 OF THE PENAL CODE

Abstract

The contrast between countries such as Switzerland and Brazil demonstrates how cultural and educational aspects directly impact the crime rate. The determining influence of the living environment on human behavior is noticeable by examples such as the "Little Albert" Experiment and the Stanford Prison Experiment, which illustrate how conditioning to extreme contexts shapes behaviors. In an interdisciplinary way, criminology contributes to the study based on consensus theories, with emphasis on the Chicago School and the theory of differential association. The possibility of legally evaluating the influence of the living environment on the practice of criminal conduct to determine the penalty finds support in the Penal Code, but the judge may find limits in a summarized understanding. Thus, understanding crime requires a consideration of the social, economic, and cultural context in which people are inserted.