Ac2.2 Describe individualistic theories of criminality Flashcards
What was Freuds theory called?
Psychoanalysis.
What did Freud argue?
That our early childhood experiences determine our personality and future behaviour.
What were the 3 elements that Freud argued our mind was made up of?
ID, Ego and Superego.
What did the ID control?
The ID controls our selfish animalistic urges such as sex, food and sleep.
What did the Superego control?
The super ego is a persons moral conscience and eventually takes the role of the “nagging parent”.
What is the role of the Ego?
The ego seeks rational control to strike a balance between the conflicting demands of the ID and Superego. To satisfy the ID’s urges in a moral way.
What is Freud’s explanation for why people can be criminals?
Their ID is dominant resulting in criminality as the mind is unable to control their animalistic urges.
What did Freud argue children had to develop?
Freud argued children had to develop their Ego to be dominant over their ID.
E.G- baby crying over not getting what it wants.
What did Bowlby’s Maternal Deprivation theory argue?
A child needs a close, continuous relationship with their primary carer from birth until 5 years of age or else they nay develop “affectionless psychopathy” and go down a path towards criminality.
What study did Bowlby base his maternal deprivation theory off of
Bowlby did a study on 44 juvenile thieves and found 39% of them had suffered maternal deprivation before the age of 5, compared with only 5% of a control group of non-delinquents.
What did Skinners Operant Learning theory argue?
If certain behaviour results in a reward, it will be repeated, but if certain behaviour results in an undesirable outcome, it will not be repeated.
What is Skinners Operant Learning theory known as now?
“Behaviourism”.
How does Skinners theory apply to criminality?
Skinners theory argues that if the reward is greater than the punishment people will do the act. This goes for criminal acts as well. Rewards can be Financial or emotional.
What does Albert Bandura’s Social Learning theory argue?
People model their behaviour on those around them, especially off of those who are a higher social class such as parents, teachers and other elders.
What did Bandura argue about why people imitated models?
Bandura argued that people imitated models if the models were rewarded for their actions rather than punished.
What study did Bandura do and what happened in it?
The “Bobo Doll” experiment.
Group of 4-5 yr olds split into 3 groups.
Group 1 shown video of man being rewarded for attacking doll- Children imitated what he did.
Group 2 shown video of man being punished for attacking doll- Children didn’t attack the doll.
Group 3 showed video of a man having no consequences for attacking the doll- Children attacked the doll but to a lesser extent than how Group 1 attacked it.
How did Bandura link his study to criminality?
If a person is exposed to a higher status model who is rewarded for their crimes, then they are more likely to imitate the observed crime. Rewards can be financial or higher social status.
What does Eysenck’s Personality theory argue?
Eysenck argued that conditioning and genetic inheritance cause high E and N scores leading to criminal personalities.
What were the 2 personality metrics Eyesenck discovered?
Extroversion (“E”).
Neuroticism (“N”).
What do most criminals have when it comes to a “E” and “N” score?
Most criminals have a high “E” and high “N” score.
Why do High “E” and high “N” scores lead to criminal behaviour?
High “E” score- Extraverts have a nervous system that seeks excitement often meaning rule breaking.
High “N” score- Neurotics have high anxiety meaning they do not learn punishment from mistakes meaning they may not conform to rules.
What did Eysenck discover later on to add to his Personality theory?
Psychoticism (“P”).
Why are people with high “P” scores more likely to engage in criminal activity?
Their nervous system is such that they cannot be conditioned into societies rules.
What can High “P” scores lead to in terms of mental health?
High “P” scores can overlap with serious psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia.
