2.2 describe individualistic theories of criminality

Question 1

what are the individualistic theories of criminality ?

Answer 1

psychodynamic theory - sigmund freud
maternal deprivation - bowlby
personality theory - eysenck

Question 2

describe sigmund freuds individualistic theory of criminality

Answer 2

freud believes that our personality contains active forces that consist of powerful urges and conflicts . if we dot resolve these it can lead to criminal behavior .
psychoanalysis
our early childhood experiences shape future behaviour and perosnality

id , ego , superego
id - the unconsious instintive animalistic pat of our mind that is governed by the pleasure principle - a blind desire for pleasure such as desire for sex . it will want to satisfy these urges at any cost . it can lead to anti social and criminal behaviour

ego - feud believes that our behaviour is the result of struggle between id and supergo . the ego aims to strike a balance between the conflicting demands . driven by the reality principle - it learns from real life that our actions have consequences

superego - our conscience and moral rules , we learn these through interactions with parents in early socialization . children then internalise these ideas of right and wrong . if we disobey these our mind punishes us with feelings of guilt and anxiety

Question 3

what is a weakly developed super ego

Answer 3

individuals feel less guilt about anti social actions and more likely to act on the ids selfish agressive ways

Question 4

what is a too harsh and unforgiving superego

Answer 4

creates deep feelings of guilt in the individual they then punish themselves

Question 5

describe bowlbys maternal deprivation theory

Answer 5

a child needs a close continuous relationship with a primary carer (birth to 5 is crucial for development)

affectionless psychopathy -if the mother child attachment is broken through separation even for a short time it could leave child unable to from meaningful emotional relationships

44 thieves study
studeid 44 juvenile thiees whi had been refered to child guidence clinic
39% suffered maternal deprivation before age 5
5% in control group of non delinquents

Question 6

describe eysencks personality theory

Answer 6

suggested our personality is made of two dimensions
- extraversion versu introversion
-neurotism versus emotional stability

extraverts :outgoing , sociable , impulsive
introverts:quite , cautious , reliable
neurotics:anxious , lack of empathy , moody

devised eysenck personality test questionare to measure peoples personality traits , ranking them on E scale and N scale
most people have personalities around the middle on both scales
crim personality - high E and N

we learn through conditioning - seek pleasure or rewards and avoid punishment and pain
genetic inheritance - soe individuals have a nervous system that causes them to develop a crim personality
extraverts - nervous system - leads to high stimulation , they constantly seek excitement and if they are not in a stimulated environment it can lead to impulsive rule breaking behavior
neurotics - harder to condition bc of their high anxiety levels prevent them from learning from punishment for their mistakes

later added psychotism
high p score - more likely to engage in criminality, cruel insincts , overlap with serious psychiatric ilnesses such as schizophrenia