AC 3.2 Flashcards
what is the name of Bandura’s theory?
social learning theory
what is the name of Freud’s theory?
psychodynamic theory
what is the name of Eysenck’s theory?
criminal personality type theory
what is the name of Bowlby’s theory?
maternal deprivation theory
who came up with differential association theories?
Sutherland
Osbourne and West
who came up with operant learning theories?
Skinner
Jeffery
what is the name of Kohlberg’s theory?
moral development theory
who came up with the cognitive theory of criminal personality?
Yochelson and Samenow
give 2 positives of Yochelson and Samenow’s criminal personality theory.
- the idea that criminal thinking patterns are different have led to other research such as the PICTS
- cognitive behaviour therapy has been developed based on this theory
what are the PICTS?
the psychological inventory of criminal thinking styles
give 3 negatives of Yochelson and Samenow’s criminal personality theory.
- they didn’t use a control group of non-criminals in their experiments
- their sample was unrepresentative with no women and mostly men who had been found to be ‘insane’, yet they claim all offenders share the same thinking errors as this sample
- there was a high drop out rate (attrition rate), by the end only 30 left
give 3 positives of social learning theory.
- BoBo doll showed modelling had an effect
- variables were controlled, so more accurate
- it has been replicated and the results were similar
give 3 negatives of social learning theory.
- it was a lab study, so low natural validity
- ethical issues, as children were exposed to aggression
- children who never played with the doll were 5x more likely to imitate the models (Cumberbatch 1997)
give 3 positives of Freud’s psychodynamic theory.
- importance was placed on early socialisation and family relationships
- it focuses on childhood experiences and the future of them shouldn’t be underestimated
- it shows that the id, ego and superego relate to different parts of the brain and their functions
give 3 negatives of Freud’s psychodynamic theory.
- it is no longer accredited by psychologists , due to the difficulty in testing the concepts
- it is a subjective process
- there is a lack of quantitative data from Freud’s case studies
give 3 positives of Eysenck’s criminal personality type theory.
- his research on soldiers supported his theory as the most traumatised scored high on neurotic
- his theory could mean that intervention early on could prevent criminal development
- his personality test formed the basis of personality tests now such as DeYoung’s 2010 psychometric test
give 3 negatives of Eysenck’s criminal personality type theory.
- there is a lack of reliability as people may not respond the same on different days
- this can be a biased measure with false answers
- it suggests personality is generic and fails to consider that it can change over time
give 2 positives of Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory.
- his study showed more of his sample of delinquents had suffered maternal deprivation than the control group
- his work considers the role of parenting towards criminality
give 3 negatives of Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory.
- it is a retrospective study and participants had to recall the past
- Bowlby fails to account for 61% of delinquents who hadn’t experienced maternal deprivation
- Sammons and Putwain note the link between maternal deprivation and criminality is no longer widely accepted
give 3 positives of differential association theory.
- crime often running in the family supports the theory
- Matthews found juvenile delinquents are more likely to have friends who commit anti-social acts, suggesting behaviour is learned from peers
- the attitudes of work groups can normalise white collar crime allowing offenders to justify their crimes
give 2 negatives of differential association theory.
- not everyone exposed to crime is a criminal
- they might learn how to commit a crime, but not actually do it
give 2 positives of operant learning theory.
- Skinner’s experiment on animals shows animals learn through enforcement, a human form of learning
- it can be applied to offending as Jeffery states if crime leads to a more rewarding outcome, the individual is more likely to offend
give 3 negatives of operant learning theory.
- it is based on study of animals, not humans
- it ignores internal mental processes such as thinking, values and attitudes
- humans have free will and therefore choose their own actions
give 2 positives of Kohlberg’s moral development theory.
- some studies show delinquents are more likely to have immature moral development, as this theory predicts
- Thornton and Reid found this to be truer for crimes such as theft and robbery (crimes involving reasoning) rather than impulsive crimes of violence
give 1 negative of Kohlberg’s moral development theory.
- he focuses on moral thinking rather than behaviour, individuals can think morally but act immorally
what was the name of Lombroso’s theory?
‘Born criminal’ theory
what was the name of Sheldon’s theory?
Somatotype theory
who’s theory was XYY?
Jacob et al
who came up with Twin studies?
Christiansen
Lange
who came up with Adoption studies?
Hutchings and Mednick
give 6 positives of Lombroso’s ‘born criminal’ theory.
- he was the first person to give criminology scientific credibility
- Goring found a low-order intelligence in convicts in 1913, suggesting some genetic base to criminality
- research from Bath Spa university in 2007 suggested less attractive individuals are more likely to be considered guilty
- he challenged the idea criminals are evil or that they choose to be criminal
- he labelled prisons ‘criminal universities’, which given todays recidivism rates, was very perceptive
- his work heralded the beginning of offender profiling
give 6 negatives of Lombroso’s ‘born criminal’ theory.
- no control group
- lack of accuracy due to possible disfigurements
- not everyone with atavistic features are criminals and not every criminal has atavistic features
- it assumes we cannot escape destiny
- DeLisi in 2012 said that many atavistic features are specific to people of African descent
- Goring used a non-criminal control group in 1913 and found no significant differences in terms of behaviour
give 3 positives of Sheldon’s Somatoype theory.
- Putwain and Sammons confirmed in 2002 a small association between body build and criminality
- he used a large sample of 200 people and a control group too
- he did find that criminal groups were more mesomorphic
give 3 negatives of Sheldon’s Somatotype theory.
- he couldn’t explain how ectomorphs and endomorphs were criminals
- doesn’t account for changing somatotypes
- of mesomorph’s body shape is criminal, could it lead to self-fulfilling prophecies?
give 2 positives of the XYY theory.
- a study by Jacob et al in 1965 found a large number of men in prison had XYY sex chromosomes
- Adler et al indicated in 2007 that it is possible violent and aggressive behaviour is partly determined by genetic factors
give 3 negatives of the XYY theory.
- it focuses on genetics heavily, ignoring the behaviourist approach
- studies have found genetic abnormalities are widespread and don’t explain aggression
- Theilgaard compared XYY and XY men and found in 1984 that aggression wasn’t associated with XYY men
give 3 positives of Biochemical theories.
- all biochemicals can affect mood, judgement and aggression
- testosterone levels and male offending peak at the same age
- biochemical factors are recognised by the courts
give 2 negatives of Biochemical theories.
- biochemicals may predispose some individuals to offend but may need an environmental trigger
- testosterone levels don’t actually affect aggression in most men, and young men are more likely to be verbally aggressive than physically
give 3 positives of Brain injury theories.
- in a few extreme cases, brain injury led to a change in behaviour
- there are correlations between ECG readings ad psychopathic criminality
- prisoners are more likely to have brain injuries than non-prisoners
give 3 negatives of Brain injury theories.
- crimes caused by brain injuries are rare
- some psychopaths have normal ECG readings
- a prisoners likelihood of brain injuries could be caused by their criminality
give 2 positives of Adoption study theories.
- it is easy to separate genetic and environmental factors
- there is a correlation between adopted children and their biological parents
give 3 negatives of Adoption study theories.
- age of adoption may mean children have already been influenced by natural parents or foster environment
- information on biological families isn’t always available
- adoption process is not always random, as children may be placed with similar parents
give 3 positives of Twin study theories.
- they are natural experiments as biological relationships are natural
- Christiansen in 1977 supported the idea that criminality has a genetic component
- the results have helped in prevention of vulnerable disorders
give 3 negatives of Twin study theories.
- early twin studies by Lange in 1929 were based on appearance not DNA
- a smaller sample was used, so not very representative
- it twins are brought up in the same environment it may be nurture not nature
who came up with functionalist theories of criminality?
Durkheim
Merton (Strain theory)
what is the name of Karl Marx’s theory of criminality?
Marxism or The Social Structure theory
who came up with Interactionism or The Labelling theory?
Becker
who was a leading Right Realist?
Charles Murray
who was a leading Left Realist?
Young
give 1 positive of functionalism by Durkheim.
he says that crime can unite the community and enforce boundary maintenance such as in the 2008 Shannon Matthews case
give 3 negatives of functionalism by Durkheim.
- doesn’t look at causes, just that it’s functional and healthy
- he argues that a certain amount of crime/deviance is healthy, but doesn’t say how much
- he overlooks the fact crime has significant dysfunctions for victims
give 3 positives of functionalism by Merton.
- explains collective deviance
- provides a good understanding for why people who struggle to achieve in education turn to crime; because status is important to us all
- explains more crime types rather than just utilitarian crimes
give 3 negatives of functionalism by Merton.
- too much focus on working class crime
- doesn’t offer solutions to crime
- anomie suggests there is one collective agreed set of norms and values, but could it be there is no value consensus?
give 3 positives of Marxism.
- provides an explanation for crime of all social classes and a variety of offences
- highlights the impact of selective law enforcement and how white-collar crime is underpoliced
- demonstrates how the law reflects differences in power between social classes and also how inequality can lead to criminal behaviour
give 3 negatives of Marxism.
- largely ignores non-class inequalities (gender or ethnicity)
- over states the amount of crime in working class communities
- there are many prosecutions for white-collar crime e.g. Bernie Madoff and Jordan Belfort
give 3 positives of Interactionism.
- shows how law is often enforced in a discriminatory way, it highlights the consequences of labelling
- it highlights weaknesses in official statistics, which allows bias in law enforcement
- it highlights the role of the media in defining and creating deviance and producing moral panics
give 3 negatives of Interactionism.
- it fails to explain why deviance happens and there is no acceptance that some people may choose deviance
- it ignores the victim of crime and focuses on the criminal
- criminals don’t need a label to know they’re doing wrong and a self-fulfilling prophecy doesn’t always arise as a result of labelling
give 3 positives of Left Realism.
- it explores the role of the victim of crime, especially poor or vulnerable, in more depth than other theories
- it recognises multiple causes of crime
- it avoids the worst excesses of both right and left-wing approaches by neither glorifying or attacking the police
give 3 negatives of Left Realism.
- it fails to explain white-collar/corporate crime
- it doesn’t explain why everyone in relative deprivation doesn’t turn to crime
- it is arguable made up of a mixture of other theories
give 3 positives of Right Realism.
- it has helped to produce and shape the government’s research into crime e.g. victim surveys
- it offers a more practical approach to tackling crime than Marxism or Interactionism
- research by Flood-Page et al in 2000 supports the view of the decline of the family as they found children (particularly males) from one parent/step-families were more likely to offend than those who lived with 2 natural parents
give 3 negatives of Right Realism.
- it too readily accepts crime statistics which focus on young males and street crime and fails to explain white-collar crime
- it ignores wider structural causes of crime e.g. poverty
- it ignores the increasing gap between rich and poor creating resentment (relative deprivation)
