2.2 - Individualistic Theories of Crime Flashcards
what are individualistic theories of crime?
theories that are more psychological based and support the nurture (environment) rather than the nature
what are the 4 individualistic explanations for crime?
psychodynamic theories
eysenck’s personality theory
learning theories
cognitive theories
what are the 3 social learning theories?
differential association theory
operant learning theory
social learning theory
what did the social learning theory suggest?
criminal behaviour is learnt and people commit crime by observing role models and imiating that behaviour through vicarious reinforcement
who came up with the social learning theory?
Albert Bandura
what key words are associated with Bandura’s study?
role models, observing, imitating and vicarious reinforcement
what does vicarious reinforcement mean?
if someone watches someone be rewarded for behaviour they are more likely to copy it
what results did Bandura find?
- children exposed to aggressive adults tended to copy the behaviour
- children who watched non-aggrerssive verwion showed less violence
what case study can be applied to this theory?
Jamie bulger case
how does the jamie bulger case relate to social learning theory?
killer were said to have watched ‘child’s play 3’ before the murder took place - exposure to violent videos
what is the differential association theory?
suggests that criminality is learnt by attitudes of criminals around them
who proposed the differential association theory?
Edwin Sutherland
what did sutherland argue were 2 factors for learning criminality? (differential association theory)
- imitation
- learned attitudes - socialisation influences norms and attitudes
what does it mean if someone has a favourable attitude for crime?
they have more contact with criminals and crimes will become ‘normal’ for them leading them to commit crime
what are pro-criminal attitudes? give 2 examples
behaviour and attitudes of an offender
eg. swearing, racism
what are anti-criminal attitudes? give 2 examples
behaviour and morals that follow rules (not of an offender)
eg. being respectful, treating people equally
how does pro-criminal attitudes account for high reoffending rates?
Inmates learn more techniques on how to commit crime in prison then reoffend when they are released
what evidence is there for Sutherland’s differential association theory?
Osbourne and west
what did Osbourne and west fine? (differential association theory)
- when the father had a criminal conviction, 40% of the sonds had a criminal record by the age of 18
- when the father had no conviction, only 13% of sons had one
what is the operant learning theory?
suggests that all behaviour is the result of reinforcement and punishment
who came up with the operant learning theory?
Skinner
what is behaviourism?
suggests the cause of someone’s behaviour is the result of reward or punishment they recieve
what is positive reinforcement?
rewarding behaviour to encourage it to happen again
what is negative reinforcement?
punishing behaviour so it’s not repeated
what evidence is there for Skinner’s theory?
Jeffery
what did Skinner do?
conducted experiments on rats to show positive and negative reinforcement - they pulled a lever to get food and pulled a lever to recieve an electric shock
what did Bandura do?
bobo doll experiment - children were shown an aggressive and non-aggressive video of a bobo doll to see if they would imitate the behaviour they observed
what did Jeffery find?
is crime is more rewarding they are likely to commit crime again. rewards could be;
- finanial eg. stealing
- emotional eg. respect of peers
what are psychodynamic theories?
personality theories that suggest urges and conflicts within the unconscious mind result in crime
what are the 2 psychodynamic theories?
freud - pscyhoanalysis
bowlby - maternal deprivation
what did Freud suggest?
most of our mind is unconscious and there are 3 elements that determine our behaviour
what is an ID?
element found in the unconscious mind that seeks immediate gratification; demands the ‘pleasure principle’
what is an ego?
element found in the middle of conscious and unconscious that represents reality; acts as a mediator between the ID and Superego
what is the Superego?
element in the conscious mind that represents morality; causes us to go good
what are the 3 weakly developed superegos called?
weak, deviant and harsh/overdeveloped
what can cause a dominant ID?
if a child doesn’t fully develop ego and superego through indentification with the same sex parent
what is a dominant ID and what can it lead to?
when a person acts impulsively - leading to criminal behaviour
what evidence is there for Freuds theory?
bowlby (1944)
what did bowlby find (freuds study)
studied 44 juveniles and found;
- 39% had experienced seperation from their mothers for 6 or more months
- compared to 5% control group
what is the ‘pleasure principle’
ID - gain pleasure and avoid pain
what did bowlby’s theory suggest?
if an attachment hasn’t developed (up to age 5) it could result in a child having long term social and emotional difficulties
- ‘affectionless psychopathy’
what does ‘affectionless psychopathy’ mean?
long term social and emotional difficulites - due to lack of attachment as a child
what did bowlby say can lead to crime?
lack of maternal attachment and ‘effectionless psychopathy’ can lead to deviant and criminal behaviour
what was Bowlby’s evidence for maternal deprivation?
studied 44 juvaniles;
- 39% suffered maternal deprivation before age 5
- only 5% control group of non-criminals experienced maternal deprivation
what is Eysenck’s personality theory?
suggests that personality based and criminals have a specific personality
according to Eysenck, what are the personalities of a criminal?
- extraversion
- neuroticism
- psychoticism
what is psychoticism personality?
cold, uncaring and aggressive towards others - tendency to commit crime
what was Eysenck’s research?
- 700 servicemen completed questionnaire
- placed them on the ‘wheel’ to determine their personality type
extraversion vs introversion
extraversion - sociable but bored easily
introverstion - need little stimulation & in control of their situation
Neuroticism vs Stability
neuroticism - anxious and irrational
stable - worry less & emotionally weel adjusted
what are the traits of an extroversion personality?
sensation seekers - drawn to the trill of committing crime
what are the traits of neuroticism personality?
emotional - commit crime in the heat of the moment
eg. opportunity to shoplift
what are the traits of a psychoticism personality?
aggressive and lack of conscience
what are the 2 cognitive theories?
criminal personality theory
kohlbergs theory - moral development in children
what are cognitive theories of crime?
theories that refer to thinking and mental processes including;
- attitudes
- beliefs
what is the criminal personality theory?
theory that criminals have faulty thinking that develops into patterns of behaviour causing them to commit crime
give 4 examples of criminal thinking errors
lying
secretiveness
need for power and control
lack of trsut
what is moral development?
the process of understanding what’s right and wrong
what did Kohlberg suggest?
that criminals moral development is at a lower level compared to non-criminals
how did kohlberg suggest ideas of right and wrong develop through childhood and adulthood?
childhood - through rewards and punishment
adulthood - in terms of moral principles and values eg. helping others
