AC 2.2 Individualistc theories of criminality

Question 1

What are learning theories based on?

Answer 1

• they are based on the assumption that offending is a learnt behaviour that is learnt in the same way as any other behaviour
• criminals are made not born
• there is nothing fundamentally different between criminals and non criminals

Question 2

What is Sutherland’s theory of differential association?

Answer 2

• crime is learnt through association with significant others who are criminal, like peers or family
• Sunderland argues crime is learnt in 2 ways:
  . Learning of positive attitudes towards crime ‘I want what they have’ They will start to adopt the criminal way of life
  .Learning criminal acts (through skills)
• Sunderland refers to prisons as ‘universities of crime’ as people mix with people with pro criminal attitudes and may be taught the skills of crime

Question 3

Give 3 strengths of Sutherland’s differential association theory?

Answer 3

• Farmington Et Al’s studied followed 411 males from age 8 to adulthood. 41% of these males were convicted of at least 1 offence between age 10 and 50. A key risk factor for this was family criminality, which would be predicted by Sutherland’s theory.
• Matthews found juvenile delinquents are more likely to have friends who commit anti-social acts, suggesting that they learn their behaviour from peer groups
• This theory allows us to predict who is most vulnerable to crime

Question 4

Give 4 weaknesses of Sutherland’s theory of differential association?

Answer 4

• It is unlikely that learning pro crime attitudes and skills alone leads to crime (it doesn’t take into account other reasons why people commit crime)
• Van Biik Et Al found that daughters of criminals did not go on to commit crime
• The theory is socially sensitive and stereotypes individuals who came from criminal backgrounds, this could lead to the self fulfilling prophecy
• Genetics (nature) may the reasons they commit crime, not nurture

Question 5

What is Skinner’s theory of criminality?

Answer 5

• operant conditioning - idea that if a particular behaviour results in a reward (positive reinforcement) It is likely to be repeated, and if it results in punishment it is not likely to be repeated. Our behaviour is shaped by reinforcements and punishments
• Skinner experienced with a rat in a skinner box.
• Positive reinforcement - addition of something pleasant/reward.
• Negative reinforcement - removal of something unpleasant
• Reinforcements strengthen behaviour and make someone want to reoffend

Question 6

How does Skinner’s theory link to criminality?

Answer 6

• if crime has more rewarding consequences, criminals are likely to go back and repeat the behaviour to gain the reward.

Question 7

Give 3 strengths of Skinner’s theory?

Answer 7

• Operant conditioning has led to the development of the token economy which is used in prisons
• Can be used to explain a lot of different crimes, including theft and explains why people commit crimes for social approval
• Skinner rat box supported his theory as the rat responded positively

Question 8

Give 3 weaknesses of Skinner’s operant conditioning theory?

Answer 8

• His research is based on rats - it is questionable whether this can be applied to human behaviour
• Does not explain why crime happens in the first place
• Ignores a lot of human factors eg morals and ignores that humans have free will and they may still do it even if they’ve been punished

Question 9

What is Freud’s theory of criminality?

Answer 9

• there are 3 parts of the personality (known as the tripartite theory of personality) and the way they develop affects the person we become.
• the 3 elements are: Id, Ego, Superego
• if these parts of our personality become imbalanced, it can lead to criminality

Question 10

Name the 2 Psychodynamic theorists?

Answer 10

• Bowlby - maternal deprivation
• Freud - 3 personality types

Question 11

According to freud’s theory, what is the Id?

Answer 11

• present from birth
• referred to as the ‘pleasure principle’
• it seeks instant gratification
• it seeks pleasure and is impulsive and self-indulgent

Question 12

According to Freud’s theory, what is the Ego?

Answer 12

• develops at 12-18 months old
• referred to as the ‘reality principle’
• it is able to delay the id’s desire for pleasure
• keeps the balance between id and superego (it is the mediator)

Question 13

According to Freud’s theory, what is the superego?

Answer 13

• develops during the phallic stage (at 3-6 years old)
• known as the ‘morality principle’
• acts an individuals conscience
• it feels guilt and holds someone back from behaving a certain way
• it is our internalised sense of right and wrong
• it is the internalised morality of our same sex parent

Question 14

According to Freud’s theory, if the id is dominant (possibly due to a weak ego) we may give in to our unconscious desire. How does this lead to criminal behaviour?

Answer 14

• If id is dominant, a person will become more impulsive and will begin to seek instant gratification.
• they will start taking risks and acting upon impulses to seek that pleasure.
• this then leads them to committing opportunistic crimes, like impulsive theft.

Question 15

According to Freud, if your same sex parent is absent during phallic stage, your superego will not develop. How does this link to criminality?

Answer 15

• if a person has a weakly developed super ego, they will feel less guilty about their actions and less inhibition about acting on the id surges.
• the person doesn’t have the ‘don’t do that’

Question 16

According to Freud, if you’ve been neglected growing up, your superego will become too dominant. How does this link to criminality?

Answer 16

• the person will have strong guilt feelings, the individual then craves punishment as a release from feeling guilty
• a harsh and unforgiving superego can also occur with a strong identification with a strict parent

Question 17

According to Freud, how can a deviant superego lead to criminality? And when does it occur?

Answer 17

• A deviant superego occurs when a person’s same sex parent is deviant, therefore the child develops the same morality
• They will having a deviant moral code and see crime as acceptable

Question 18

Give 3 strengths of freud’s theory of criminality?

Answer 18

• Freud was one of the first people to suggest that childhood could have an impact on future behaviour, this has influenced a lot of research into criminality
• Freud’s concept do match with certain areas of the brain.
  the limbic system is the brain’s emotion centre (like id), the prefrontal cortex is responsible for rational decision making (like ego)
• Some good implications for reducing crime - deviant superegos can be tackled by providing good role models for children in schools. For example, adding more male teachers for boys

Question 19

Give 3 weaknesses for Freud’s theory of criminality?

Answer 19

• Freud’s concepts are very difficult to test scientifically, therefore the theory lacks objective evidence, the only evidence is based on case studies
• the idea of the over-harsh superego wanting to be punished does not fit into what criminals do (they avoid getting caught)
• Freud argued that females were less moral than males as they had a weaker superego, but the vast majority of criminal are male

Question 20

What is Bowlby’s theory?

Answer 20

• He proposed that a ‘warm, intimate and continuous relationship with a mother is necessary for healthy psychological/ emotional development
• If a child is deprived of this love there are possible future consequences eg inability to form attachements

Question 21

According to Bowlby, what are the future consequences of maternal deprivation (lack of maternal figure)?

Answer 21

• inability to form future attachments
• inability to feel remorse (not thinking about the victim)
• delinquency (behavioural problems in adolescence)
• problems with cognitive development

Question 22

According to Bowlby’s theory, how does an inability to form future attachments, lead to criminality?

Answer 22

• Person has no one to impress or disappoint, as they are loners
• Meaning they can be targeted by criminals to get involved in criminal activity

Question 23

According to Bowlby, how does an inability to feel remorse, link to criminality?

Answer 23

• they won’t think about the victim or any consequences
• More likely to commit crime because they don’t think about the consequences and act on the anger
• Rehab is unlikely

Question 24

According to Bowlby, how does delinquency lead to criminality?

Answer 24

• they do low level crime like theft or anti social behaviour as a result of behaviour problems
• they push boundaries
• they ‘act up’ due to behavioural control

Question 25

According to Bowlby, how do problems with cognitive development lead to criminality?

Answer 25

• they have an abnormal thought of process so they don’t consider consequences therefore are more likely to commit crime

Question 26

What is the 44 thieves study?

Answer 26

• Bowlby compared 44 thieves with 44 non thieves via interviews and questionnaires.
• He found that 17 of 44 thieves had experienced maternal deprivation, 15 of these 17 thieves were classed as having no remorse
• While only, 2 out of 44 non thieves had experienced maternal deprivation.

Question 27

Give 3 strengths of Bowlby’s theory?

Answer 27

• supported by the 44 thieves study (15 of the thieves who experienced MD had no remorse)
• Led to significant changes to reduce maternal deprivation
• Showed the importance of child parent relationships - led to the development of policies like sure start centers.

Question 28

Give 3 weaknesses of Bowlby’s theory?

Answer 28

• Not everyone who has experienced MD commits crime (2 of the non thieves experienced MD and did not turn to crime.
• Not all criminals experienced MD, evident in 44 thieves study.
• Rutter claim criminality is more likely due to material deprivation not maternal deprivation.

Question 29

What is Eysencks theory?

Answer 29

• personality s made up of 2 dimensions (extraversion vs introversion and neuroticism vs emotional stability)
• extroverts are sociable and outgoing but can be bored if there is a lack of stimulation
• introverts are less outgoing but less likely to become bored as they’re happy in their own company
• criminals tend to score highly in extroversion and neuroticism

Question 30

According to Eysenck, how does an extravert link to criminality?

Answer 30

• Extraverts have an underachieve nervous system which naturally needs high levels of simulation
• they have a need for stimulation so they become impulsive and commit impulsive and opportunistic crimes like theft in order to gain that stimulation

Question 31

According to Eysenck, how might neuroticism link to criminality?

Answer 31

• neurotics nervous systems give them such high anxiety they are nervous jumpy and prone to overreaction
• they are more prone to a fight or flight response. they’re hard to condition, punishment has no affect on them leading to them reoffending

Question 32

According to Eysenck, how does psychoticism link to criminality?

Answer 32

they are ego centric, aggressive, impulsive, emotionally cold and don’t care about others
they are unable to control their aggression and often commit opportunistic crimes or GBH

Question 33

Give 2 strengths of Eysenck’s theory?

Answer 33

• Ruston and Christian found that female offenders tend to score higher than non offenders on neuroticism, psychoticism and extroversion, thus supporting the idea of criminal personality
• The theory allows us to predict who is likely to commit crime which is useful for putting interventions into place before they commit crime

Question 34

Give 2 weaknesses of Eysenck’s theory?

Answer 34

• Farrington et al found young offenders tend to score higher on neuroticism and psychoticism but not extraversion
• research relies on people filling questionnaires but they can be untruthful

Question 35

What is the cognitive distortion theory?

Answer 35

Cognitive distortions, like hostile attribution bias and minimalisation, allow an offender to rationalise their behaviour

Question 36

What are the examples of cognitive distortions?

Answer 36

Hostile attribution bias - how an individual interprets the actions of others as hostile. For example, they may misread non aggressive cues and give a disproportionate and violent response
- Minimalisation - reduces a person’s sense of guilt as they ‘minimise’ the severity of their actions. Eg drug dealers describe themselves as ‘supporting their family’. It may involve putting blame onto victims

Question 37

Give 2 strengths of the cognitive distortions theory?

Answer 37

• The theory has lead to use of CBT as a treatment for offenders and reduce reoffending
• Barbaree found among 26 rapists, 54% denied they had committed an offence and a further 40% minimised the harm they had caused to the victim, supporting the idea of minimalisation in offenders.

Question 38

Give 2 weaknesses of cognitive distortions?

Answer 38

• Cognitive distortions way be a feature of the way offenders think but not necessarily a cause of their behaviour.
• Cognitive explanations take a narrow focus in their explanation of offending, we do not know from the research where the cognitive biases come from and what causes offending.