ac 2.2 individualistic theories Flashcards
What is Freuds pyschodynamic theory
Freud believed the unconscious mind is the key driver behind behaviour
He believed in the tripartite personality which is made up of three parts
Id is present from birth and represents our basic needs which causes primitive and selfish behaviour
Ego develops from 18 months and is a practical mediator between id and superego
Superego develops after 6 when we start to identify with our same sex parents and internalise their moral principles
Explain how a weakly developed superego relates to crime
When their is an absence of same sex parents to identify with the child has nk morality to internalise and so will behave in ways driven by selfishness
Explain how a harsh superego can relate to crime
Strong identification with a strict parent can cause excessive guilt and anxiety resulting in a person committing crime in order to get caught and relieve guilt
Explain how a deviant superegk links to crime
When a child identifies with their same sec parent who is a criminal and so develops same morality
Strengths of Freuds pyschodymanic theory
Highlights importance of socialisation and family in preventing crime
Explanations have had influence on policies
Criticisms of Freuds pyschodynamic theory
Explanations are unscenitific and subjective as they rely on the claims of a psychiatrist
We cannot understand the unconscious mind
Outline Bowlbys maternal deprivation theory
When a child is deprived of a close relationship with their primary caregiver they feel rejected and not secure
Key study Bowlby
44 thieves compared to non-thieves
used questionares and interviews and found 17/44 (39%) of thieves had experienced early prolonged maternal separation
compare to the 5% from control group
He concluded consequences of maternal deprivation were inability to form attachments, affectionless psychopathy and deliquency
Strength of Bowlbys maternal deprivation theory
Shows need for parent child relationship in exploration of criminality
Support from key study
Criticisms of Bowlbys maternal deprivation theory
Bowlby later studied 60 children who had experience prolonged separation before age 5 and foujd no evidence of affectionless psychopathy
Bowlby overestimates permanent effect of early experiences in later life
Thieves and mothers are expected to accurately recall incidents from many years ago
Outline Eysencks personality theory
Eysencks believed there are different personlity types with associative traits
Extroverts seek high levels of stimulation so show impulsive behaviour
Neurotics are hard to condition into following societies rules because their high anxiety prevents them from learning from mistakes
Criminals score very high on extroverts and neuroticism
Strengths of Eysencks personality theory
Useful for describing how measurable tendencies could increase a persons risk of offending
Some studies support prediction that people with high N, E and P are likely to be criminal
What is pyschoticism
solitary misfits who are cruel and likely to engage in criminal activity
Men are more likely to be psychotics due to higher levels of testosterone
Criticisms of Eysencks personality theory
Self report studies like personality questionares dont produce valid results as people may lie
The convicted offenders tested are not representative of all offenders because less impulsive offenders are likely to avoid getting caught
Outline Sutherlands differential association theory
Learned attitudes- Criminal behaviour and attitude is largely learnt through family and peers
Imitation- Individual learn criminal skills by observing those around them
Attitudes towards crime in Sutherlands theory
Pro crime and anti crime
Pro crime attitudes are more favourable to crime and so more likely to offend
strengths of differential association theory
Walmsley found that a third of UK prisoners claimed to have a family member also in prison- supports that crime runs in family
Supported by study into white collar crime
Group attitude in workplace often normalised criminal behaviour
criticisms of differential association theory
not everyone who is exposed to criminal influences becomes criminal
Outline skinners operant learning theory
Operant conditioning theory states that learning occurs through the consequences of behaviour
Positive reinforcement is introduced to increase a behaviour- desirable stimulus( praising)
Negative reinforcement is introduced to decrease a behaviour- adversive stimulus removed (takig away chores)
Positive punishment to decrease behaviour- adding adversive stimulus( scolding)
Negative punishment to decrease behaviour- removing desirable stimulus (taking away phone)
Strengths of operant learning
Skinner placed rat in box with lever
Skinner set up reinforcement schedules so that the rat would receive food when it pressed the lever and the rat learned proving humans and animals follow same pattern of reinforcement
It’s logical that if crime is more rewarding than punishing individuals are more likely to offend
Criticisms of operant learning
Theory ignores internal mental processes such as personal values and only explains criminal behaviour in terms of external rewards and punishments
Evidence based largely on animal studies in lab which is not generalisable to human real life situations
Banduras social learning theory
Very young children imitate the behaviour they see in social situations performed by their “role models”
Vicarious reinforcement- whether we imitate behaviour depends on the consequences we see the model experience
e.g stealing is a financial reward
Banduras research study bobo doll experiment
72 children split into three conditions
24 aggressive model, 24 non-aggressive model, 24 control group of no model
Aggressive role model attacked bobo doll in distinctive manner
Children who observed the aggressive role model had more aggressive imitative responses
Strengths of social learning theory
Takes into account humans are social beings and learn from experience of others unlike operant conditioning theory
Shows importance of role models in learning
Criticisms of social learning theory
Based on laboratory experiments in artificial settings which does not reflect real life
Ignores freedom of choice and assumes behaviour is completely learned
Yochelson and Samenow’s criminal personality theory
Criminals are prone to faulty thinking which makes them more likely to commit a crime
Faulty thinking- biases and error in their decisions e.g. secretiveness and victim status
Studied 240 long term offenders, most of whom were committed to psychiatric hospital
Criminal personality theory strengths
The idea of criminals having different thinking patterns lead to futher research e.g. pyschology inventory of criminal thinking styles ( questionare to see if people have criminal thought patterns)
e.g. sucessful treatments such as CBT have been developed and used today
Criticisms of criminal personality theory
Yochelson and Samenow did not use control groups
Sample was unrepresentative as there were no women and the men were classified as insane
High sample attrition rate- many pps dropped out before end of study, only 30 remained
Outline moral development theory
Criminals tend to be stuck in stage 1 and 2 of development- immature and unable to make correct decisions
Pre-conventional moral reasoning- very young children define right and wrong simply in terms of whether an act brings punishment or reward
Lower stages- fear punishment
Stage 2- satisfying ones self interest
Middle stages fear reaction of family and friends
Highest stages believe in duty to others
Post-conventional moral reasoning- by adulthood sense of right and wrong is determined by deeply held moral principles
Strengths of moral development theory
Studies show deliquents are more likely to have immature moral development as the theory predicts
Sample of 72 boys from middle to lower class aged 10 13 16. Interview consisted of series of dilemmas
Criticisms of moral development theory
Kohlberg focuses solely on moral thinking rather than moral behaviour e.g. one may be capable of thinking morally while acting immorally
Theory is truer for crimes such as theft which may include moral reasoning rather than crimes of violence
General criticisms of individualstic theories
Artificiality- lab experiment does not reflect real life
Sample bias- unrepresentative of uncaught criminals
Neglect of social factors e.g. poverty
