Applied PSychology
The reason why youth join gangs is connected to psychology. Motivation and Emotion are related to the reasons why youth decide to join gangs. Many of the youth that join gangs lack motivation from their households and that is why they seek attention and love in other places. Gangs promote themselves as one big family that gives you the attention and love you want, and that works as a motive for youth to join the gang. Emotional factors play a role in gangs because the gang shows the incoming members as well as members of the gang who are already part of it the affection they had been looking for and that’s one reason that many of the gang members decide to stay in the gang. Cognitive factors also play a role here because the way that the gang members interact with each other, they are taught that with rival gangs their actions should be more violent to defend their territories. Emotional factors also play a role in the way that the gang member feels such as reflecting back on their life and the emotion it causes them. The psychical factor of personality also plays a big part in gang violence. The way that these youth are raised in the gang’s impact their personality and the way they act and think leading to all this crime. Ego plays a part in here as well. Because of their ego they decide what it is they want. In this case its love and attention from their street family which is why they cope with the ways they live no matter the consequences.