Chapter 3: Theories of Crime: Learning and Environment

Question 1

What is the basic assumption of Social control theories?

tested with what group? still used to make inferences on?

Answer 1

• most people would commit crime if there were no social controls to prevent or inhibit them from doing so…
  mostly only tested with adolescence but used to explain adult crime

Question 2

A General Theory of Crime - Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990)
-argued what factor to be the main cause
L> developed when?
- they want what?
- most crime is of what nature?
-whose to blame?

Answer 2

-argued that a single factor caused crime and delinquency …low self control
L> self control was argued to develop around age 8 depending on parenting quality
- explains crime across all age groups
- want instant gratification
-most crime is of a petty nature…not planned..no real long term gain
- parents are to blame

Question 3

Issues with the General Theory of Crime?(4)

Answer 3

• mixed support
• too simplistic
• does not explain crimes that involve good self control
• has empirical support for some crimes but not all!

Question 4

Hirschi’s Social Bonds Model??
emphasizes what?
(4)
those that don’t these are at risk of ?

Answer 4

• emphasizes lack of social bonds:
  1. attachment to others : bond with someone you do not want to lose via behaviours
  2. commitment to prosocial goals : connected with community, define goals based on whats accepted
  3. involvement in conventional activities:involved in things that are representative of the community
  4. belief in the morality of law : agree with the rules of society
• committing crime

Question 5

Issues with Social bonds model?

Answer 5

• only applied to males

- research does not sufficiently support all of hirchi’s theory

Question 6

Modern learning theories recognize various facts effecting learning (3)

Answer 6

1. cognitive variables - thoughts expectations etc
2. learning occurs in complex social environments
3. we cause an effect on our environment just as we are affected by it..

Question 7

Social Learning Theory?

Answer 7

we learn by observing others and by receiving +/- reinforcement in response to our social interactions

Question 8

Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory (1977)

- learning is a ?

Answer 8

• social process

- through self regulated inducements and consequences people can exercise some influence over their own behaviour

Question 9

Concept of Reciprocal Determinism?

Answer 9

• continual interaction between cognitive, behaviour and environmental influences
• personal free will is balanced with environmental constraints
  AKA those in poor environments = increased risk to commit crime…but protective factors etc lower

Question 10

Social learning theory applied to crime? 
Edwin Sutherland (1947) Differential Association theory

Answer 10

• antisocial influences and absence of prosocial influences affect on learning crime… 9 principles

Question 11

Differential Association Theory?
L> A person becomes a delinquent only if:?
- influences what?

Answer 11

• socially learned attitudes about law violations are weighed more heavily in the direction of anti sociality than in the direction of prosociality
• criminality in groups influences learning techniques to commit crime, motives, encourages rationalization, that makes it okay to engage in crime

Question 12

Research is supportive or not of Differential Association Theory?

Answer 12

• supportive

- association with anti social oriented individuals and antisocial attitudes are risk factors for criminality

Question 13

Differential Association Theory - Revised
L> Burgess and Akers (1966)= Differential Association- Reinforcement Theory
**criminal behaviour is learned by what two things?

Answer 13

• criminal behaviour is learned by:
  A. Positive and negative reinforcement provided by ones environment (non social situations)
  AND
  B. +/- reinforcements proved by members of one’s social group ( interactions)
  aka operant conditioning, imitating others for acceptance

Question 14

Cognitive Theories?
Yochelson and Samenow (1976)
L> 52 thinking errors grouped into 3 broad domains what are they?

Answer 14

1. criminal thinking patterns
2. automatic errors of thinking
3. process of thinking errors that occur before during and after a crime.

Question 15

2. Automatic errors of thinking (cognitive theories)

Answer 15

• justify behaviours by turning to emotions…. “I felt like I had no choice….” “she made me angry so I had to…”

Question 16

3. Process of thinking errors (cognitive theories)
   L> Corrosion
   L> Celebratory Congitions

Answer 16

• corrosion: no rational method used to slowly go through and eliminate the reasons they should not commit the crime
  L> eliminates fear, emotions and won’t feel inhibited or nervous
• see themselves as important, positive reinforcement..feel powerful, strong, competent

Question 17

What are Walter’s Criminal thinking styles (8)

Answer 17

1. mollification
2. cut off
3. entitlement
4. power orientation
5. sentimentality
6. superoptimism
7. cognitive indolence
8. discontinuity

Question 18

Mollification? (criminal thinking style)

Answer 18

-rationalizing the behaviour by placing blame on external things

Question 19

Cut-off? (criminal thinking style)

Answer 19

• disregarding thoughts that might make you not commit the crime

Question 20

Entitlement ? (criminal thinking style)

Answer 20

• view yourself that you deserved something

Question 21

Power Orientation? (criminal thinking style)

common in?

Answer 21

• need for control over other people or their environment … exert power… common in domestic violence

Question 22

Sentimentality ? (criminal thinking style)

Answer 22

• doing something you think is good to make up for what you have done…minimizing consequences by making up for it..(trying to)

Question 23

Superoptimism ? (criminal thinking style)

Answer 23

• confidence in abilities to avoid being caught

Question 24

Cognitive indolence?(criminal thinking style)

Answer 24

• mental shortcuts, skip a lot of steps to decide on something….problem solving is very low

Question 25

Discontinuity?(criminal thinking style)

Answer 25

• lack of reliability in behaviour/ cognition

Question 26

There are four factors or groups for the 8 thinking styles :
1. Problem avoidance
2. Distorted perception of self and ones actions
3. Hostility and arrogance
4. Negation of detrimental outcomes of criminal activity by minimizing, denial, or simply ignoring consequences
What thinkings styles belong to each?

Answer 26

1. cut-off, cognitive indolence, discontinuity
2. mollification, entitlement , superoptimism
3. not clearly tied to one style
4. not clearly tied to any one style

Question 27

Andrews and Bonta’s Personal, Interpersonal and Community- Reinforcement Theory ( PIC-R)

• explain it (2)
• Criminal behaviour determined by ____ preceding ___ aka _____ and _____.
• Sources of controlling properties of antecedents and consequences HUH?

Answer 27

• integrated theory of criminal behaviour
• recognizes the role of socialization, self control, classical and operant conditioning, observational learning
• behaviour, antecedents, consequences
• the individual, other people, the act itself and other expects of situation.