CB individual difference explanations Flashcards
what is the first ID explanation of criminal behaviour
Eysenck’s criminal personality
what is meant by personality
it is the individual mix of traits and characteristics which makes us individual and sets us apart from other people. although the specific traits are not unique to use, the balance of them is. personality is relatively static and doesn’t change significantly over the course of one’s lifetime, can be influenced by the environment
what is Eysencks theory of personality based upon
the idea that character traits tend to cluster along three dimensions
what are the 3 dimensions
extraversion
neuroticism
psychoticism
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what is extraversion
a trait that describes differences between people in their social interactions, positive emotions, impulsivity and energy levels. highly extraverted people are generally outgoing, energetic enthusiastic and positive
opposite=intraversion
what is neuroticism
a long-term tendency to be in a negative or anxious emotional state. people with neuroticism tend to have more depressed moods and suffer from feelings of guilt, envy, anger and anxiety more frequently and severely than others.
opposite=stability
what is psychoticism
characterised by aggression, impulsivity, aloofness and antisocial behaviour, indicating a susceptibility to psychosis and psychopathic disorders (antisocial personality disorder)
opposite=normality
what did Eysenck suggest about each personality trait
each has a biological basis which is normally innate, claiming 67% of the variance for the traits is due to genetic factors
biological basis of extraversion
driven by natural levels of arousal in a person’s nervous system. extroverts are inherently under aroused and so seek external simulations to stimulate their cortical pathways
biological basis of neuroticism
driven by the level of stability in the sympathetic nervous sytem and the way they respond to situations of threat (fight or flight) a neurotic person is considered unstable and reacts ‘quick to threats’
biological basis of psychoticidm
driven by higher levels of testosterone
as men have more of this hormone than women, they tend to score higher in this dimension
link of extraversion to criminality
seek more arousal so enterninto more dangerous activity (CB)
more sociable, more opportunity to commit crimes e.g. out late so don’t think they’ll get caught
link of neuroticism to CB
they’re unstable and irritable and are therefore prone to over-react to situations of threat, could explain some criminal activity (may perceive a situation as being threatening when it isn’t)
enter into sensation seeking behaviour by a way of self medicating/raising low mood =drugs
links of psychoticism to CB
typically aggressive individuals so more likely to enter into behaviours with the intent of harming others. narcissistic so driven by their own wants and needs (lacking empathy for others so don’t care for their feelings)
what causes certain personality traits to lead to criminal behaviour
an individual is born with certain personality traits but interaction with the environment is essential in the onset of criminality
what did Eysenck say about those high in extraversion and neuroticism
less easily conditioned and therefore they do not learn to avoid anti-social behaviour
strength of Eysencks theory of criminality
ID 1
there’s additional support for a link between one’s personality and criminal behaviour. research has compared the personalities of criminals and non-criminals. Dunlop et al. found that both extraversion and psychoticism were good predictors of delinquency
PB point for Dunlop’s research
ID explanation 1 for CB
delinquency was an assessment of minor offences in the previous 12 months (e.g. theft was included) another study by Coleta van Dam et al. found that only a small group of male offenders in a juvenile detention centre had high scores on all three of Eysenck’s variables.
what does Coleta van Dam et al. research suggest
(strength ID explanation 1 for CB)
there is conflicting evidence and so confusion as to the extent to which personality and criminal behaviour can be linked with one another
another strength of ID explanation 1 for CB
further supportive evidence.
Zuckerman found via twin studies a +0.52 correlation in identical twins for neuroticism compared with a +0.24 for non-identical, suggesting a large genetic component. for extraversion the correlation coefficients were +0.51 for MZ twins and +0.12 for DZ twins. Zuckerman provided similar data for psychoticism
PB point for zuckerman’s research
strength 2 ID explanation 1 for CB
even though such figures imply a strong genetic component to the personality traits identified as important for criminality by Eysenck it is not as strong as expected, a +0.50 correlation means that about 40% of the variance in these traits is due to genes. it could also be possible that the higher figure seen in MZ twinds could be due to the shared environment between the set of identical twins.
suggesting : a lack of 100% concordance rate between identical twins implies that other factors are at least as important in determining personality as one’s biology
weakness of ID explanation 1 for CB (eysenck personality
any theory based on personality has to adopt the stance that personality is fixed. Although a number of psychologist support a situational perspective, suggesting that people may be consistent in similar situations, but not across situations. for example, someone may consistently relax and calm at home but neurotic in a work setting.
evidence to support personality being fixed
weakness of Id explanation 1 for CB
eysenck
Mischel has supported the situational theory with research. research is asked family friends and strangers to rate 63 students in a variety of situations and found almost no correlation between the traits they’ve displayed in different environments. Any regularity of behaviour is likely to be due to the fact that we tend to often find ourselves in similar situation.
what does Mischels’s research suggest
weakness of Id explanation 1 for CB
eysenck
this means that the notion of a criminal personality is ultimately flawed as it is too simplistic to suggest that people have just one personality.
another weakness of Id explanation 1 for CB
eysenck
an additional floor for this perspective on criminality is that the score or label given to any person depends on the answers they provide on a personality questionnaire such as the EPQ. When respondent answers the questionnaire they respond to the demands of the questionnaire they also select traits which apply to them but they responsive may not reflect reality. For example, consider the question ‘are you rather lively?’ the most people that answer is probably sometimes, but the questionnaire forces the participants to select between yes or no. In addition participants may favourite so socially desirable answer in order to come across as socially acceptable in eyes of the researcher.
What is the second individual difference? Explanation of criminality?
moral development
what did Kohlberg develop
second ID explanation of CB:moral development
developed theory of moral reasoning through interview and Boyz II Men about the reasons for the moral decisions using a set of dilemmas (including the Heinz dilemma) as a result Covid constructed a stage theory of moral development with each stage represented a more advanced level of moral understanding with more logically consistent and morally mature judgements being made.
how did Kohlberg believe people developed morally
second ID explanation of CB:moral development
according to Colbert people progressed through these stages as a result of their biological maturation and through their experiences which allow them to develop their thinking, e.g. becoming increasingly aware of the perspectives of others.
how did Colberg link moral reasoning to offender behaviour?
second ID explanation of CB:moral development
in a longitudinal study Kohlberg found that’s about 10% of adults reach the postconventional level which means that the most common level of moral understanding is the conventional level. Adults at this stage of males development who break the law would feel that the behaviour was justified e.g. because it helps maintain relationships makes up breaking the law to protect a member of His/ her family or to protect other people.
where a most prisoners thought to be ( moral development)
second ID explanation of CB:moral development
worrying the most criminals are likely to be at the preconventional level (Hollin et al.) they believe breaking the law is justified if the rewards outweigh the cost and punishment can be avoided.
how does criminals be stuck at a preconventional level fit in with the age of criminal responsibility?
second ID explanation of CB:moral development
this fits in with the ‘age of criminal responsibility’.
In England and Wales children under the age of 10 cannot be charged with the crime because it is believed that they don’t have any concept of moral responsibility i.e. they were thought to be at the pre-conventional level where they judge write them wrong only in terms of consequences rather than any principles of morality.
strength of the moral development explanation
second ID explanation of CB:moral development
an initial strength of the length between Kohlberg’s theory of moral development and the criminal behaviour can be seen in the research evidence of available.
what did Gudjonsson and Sigurdsonn find
strength of
second ID explanation of CB:moral development
use their offending motivation questionnaire to assess 128 male juvenile offenders. They found that 38% did not consider the consequences of what they were doing and 36% were confident that they would not be caught.
how does Gudjonsson and Sigurdsson’s research link to kohlbergs theory of moral development
strength of the second ID explanation of CB:moral development
it’s suggest the individuals in the research at the preconventional level of moral reasoning because they believe that breaking the law is justified if the reward outweigh the costs and punishment can be avoided.
suggesting the connection between moral reasoning and criminal activity can be confirmed and so it appears valid
weakness of second ID explanation of CB:moral development
A major weakness of Kohlbergs research is that it is gender biased.
this weakness was put forward by Gilligan . Kohlbergs Siri is based on principles of justice where is Gilligan argued that women operate quite a different sense of moral principles, ‘an ethic of care’ it is likely that Kohlbergs scheme was biased towards male morality because the early participants were all males. This bias might explain why Kohlberg claimed that women were less morally developed than males, women would be measured against a male created standard.
what did Gillian’s research consist of
weakness of second ID explanation of CB:moral development
Gilligan interview 20 women who are deciding whether or not to have an abortion. (a real life moral dilemma) she followed this up with the interviews with the further 80 men and women, all based on real moral dilemmas instead of hypothetical ones. she found that men and women’s morals were different. Most women focused on care based morals but men focused on justice based morals.
what did Gilligan’s research suggest
weakness of second ID explanation of CB:moral development
this suggests that we can only use Kohlbergs theory to explain why men commit crimes (lack of moral reasoning) but we cannot use the same measure to explain why women commit crimes therefore the theory is flawed.
