AC 4.1 Criminological Theories, Policy development - Individualistic

Question 1

What is the Psychoanalysis theory?

super-ego

Answer 1

• It was designed for kids and adolescence as he believed that all behaviour problems stem from repressed trauma from childhood experiences.
• Therefore, he aims to uncover the unconscious problems and thoughts through different echniques like:
  1) free association - (looking at a picture and describing what you see to work out how their mind works).
  2) hypnosis - when deep questions are asked to know if anything major is effecting the mind that you’re not aware of (thoughts in the subconscious mind).
  3) regression - involves seeking through children to work out how the problems emerged

Focuses on the development issues with the super-ego part of the personality and also with the consequences of maternal deprication during childhood.

Question 2

Who worked in an institution to treat young offenders?

Answer 2

• Aichhorn wanted to treat young offenders in an institution, to explain that their criminal behaviour could have been caused by underdevelopment of the super-ego.

For his treatment, he created a pleasant and positive environment to help them deal with their unconscious conflicts so they could develop a healthy super-ego and socialise properly.

Question 3

How did Freud use the psychoanalysis theory?
What assumption did he make?

Answer 3

Used a combination of free association (talking theory) and dream analysis to access the unconscious conflicts in the patients, to deal with them during the therapy.

He assumed that this would help the super-ego to be fixed, for whose who displayed a deviant, harsh or weakened super-ego

Question 4

Evaluate the psychoanalysis theory.
List 3 points

Answer 4

• Eysenck found that only 44% of the neurotic patients who received this treatment responded well to it. The rest of the 72% neurotic patients were successful treated in hospitals, suggesting that psychoanalysis isn’t able to help with traits like neuroticism that is commonly found in criminals.
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• This is not a quick treatment or intervention (improvement) for crime, meanin git won’t control crime immediately as it takes months and years for a patient to experience the full psychoanalysis and undergo the desired changes to their personality and development.
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• Therapists may unduly influence the patient, meaning wrong treatment with the wrong patient.
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• Creates a power imbalance between the therapists and the client as ethical issues can be caused, such as patients may recover the painful memories that had been deliberately repressed.
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• Andrew et al argued that traditional pyschodynamic therapies must be avoided with general offenders.

all weaknesses

Question 5

Operant Conditioning - Token Economies

Answer 5

• a behaviour modification programme to shape behaviours
• aims to changing behvaiour of offenders through a reward system
• the prisoners are rewarded with tokens for displaying the listed desired behvaiours, that the offenders can exchange for goods or privileges.

Question 6

Evaluate the Token Economies.
List 3 points

Answer 6

• Token economies only lead to token learning, meaning when they stop offenders will also stop displaying those behaviours which suggests that the behaviour is not truly learnt but merely performed for rewards.
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• It’s agued that withholding basic things such as restrictions on time outside and food is a violation of human right. This programme may refer to this as privileges, but these are only the basics.
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• This programme is not for those offenders who don’t commit crime for behavioural reasons, as some do it due to implusive urges, impaired decision making, genetic vulnerabilities or criminal personalities. Meaning changing bahviour of the offenders will not necessarily change or address the actual cause of crime.
  Initially, if the actual cause is not dealt with, crime will continue to occur at the same rate or increase.

all weaknesses

Question 6

Eysenck’s Personality Theory
What’s the Aversion Therapy?

Answer 6

• helped to identify that some offedners commit crime due to high neuroticism, psychoticism and extraversion.
• some have been deemed really hard to condition and coach towards new desirable behaviours.
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• Aversion therapy has been used to form an extreme behaviour shaping.
  During this therapy, the offenders are given a ‘aversion stimules’ which is electric shocks or medication to induce vomiting and nausea. This is repeated until the offender learns to associte the two together and the criminal thoughts are no longer enjoyable to them.
  It’s described as an undesirable behaviour paired with a repulsive sensation.

Question 7

Evaluate the Aversion therapy.
List 3 points

Answer 7

• the therapy has been misused in the past, as instead of using it to chaning criminal behaviours it was being used to ‘treat’ homosexuality.
• it’s criticised for bein gunthical and abusing of human rights. Some people have died during this therapy, while others had really traumatic experiences.
• It only focuses on changing the behaviours, but doesn’t address the root reason of why people commit crimes. At last, it won’t be a long lasting impact.

all weaknesses

Question 8

Cognitive Behavioural Theories
Outline the 2 programmes.

Answer 8

CBT: they assume that criminalty is caused by distorted cognitions and thinking errors, and the CBT aims to help the offenders identify their thinking errors, challenges and to change them.

Think First
- For repeat offenders that uses CBT to support the offenders to control their thoughts and behaviours, the consequential thinking.
- They make the offenders understand the consequences of their actions.
- Develop their moral conscience, by helping them to see thr world and their actions through people’s perspectives.

Anger Management
- Helps to change cognitions and behaviours, especially for the violent and aggressive offenders
- Coaches the offenders the new ways to express their anger such as through new techniques that can be used to reduce/cope/control their anger
- Do role plays to practice using the techniques to ensure they utilise them effectively.

Aggression Replacement Training
- They aim to teach the youths about the emotion of anger and the experience of anger interally and externally.
- Involves three elements:
- Skill streaming (behavioural component) - includes modelling, role playing, feedback, transfer of training.
- Anger control training (emotional component)
- Moral reasoning (cognitive component)

Question 9

Evaluate the Cognitive Behavioural Theories
List 3 points

Strength + weakness

Answer 9

• Strength - is that the offenders are 30% less likely to reconvict if they engage in the CBT and finish the programme
• Weakness - they require lots of motivation to complete the whole programme, which can take months and it can put them off.
  If they experience cognitive faults that make them blame other people for their crimes, the CBT is not effective or appropraite for them.
• Some don’t complete the whole programme as it’s time consuming and require a lot of committment from offenders, therefore only effective if they engage well.
• Changing and reforming their thought processes doesn’t mean it will change their deviant and criminal behaviour. The offender may be aware of their rational thoughts, but still proceed to do them as they’re unable to control their actions.