Chapter 9 - Psychological Theories of Crime

Question 1

Antisocial Personality Disorder

Answer 1

Characterized by disregard for the rights of others as well as impulsive, irresponsible, and aggressive behaviour.

Question 2

Assumption of Discriminating Traits

Answer 2

View that offenders are distinguished from non-offenders by their high levels of impulsiveness and aggression (for example).

Question 3

Assumption of Offender Deficit

Answer 3

View that offenders have some psychological deficit distinguising them from normal, law abiding citizens

Question 4

Autonomic Reactivity

Answer 4

Measurement of the extent to which an individual’s physical organism reacts to external stimuli.

Question 5

Classical Conditioning

Answer 5

Basic form of learning whereby a neutral stimulus is paried with a primary stimulus that naturally elicits a certain response; the neutral stimus comes to elict the same response.

Question 6

Community Psychology

Answer 6

Perspective that analyzes crime and other social problems as a products of organizational and institutional characteristics. Closely related to sociology.

Question 7

Ego

Answer 7

Psychoanalytic term denoting rational part of the personality. Mediates between the Id and the Superego and is responsible for dealing with reality and decisions.

Question 8

Extraversion

Answer 8

A personality characteristic associated with sociability, impulsiveness, and aggression.

Question 9

ID

Answer 9

Psychological term denoting the most inaccessible and primitive part of the mind. A reservoid of biological urges striving continually for gratification.

Question 10

Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development

Answer 10

Preconventional - Egocentric (best for me)

• Punishment
• Instrumental Hedonism

Conventional - Social Expectations (what others expect)

• Approval of others
• Authority maintaining morality

Postconventional - Universality (best for all)

• Democratically accepted law
• Princicples of conscience

Question 11

Modelling

Answer 11

Form of learning that occurs as a result of watching and imitating.

Question 12

Piaget

Kohlberg

Answer 12

Moral Development Theorists

Question 13

Moral Development Theory (Piaget, Kohlberg)

Answer 13

Theories of individual psychology investigating how moral reasoning emerges in the individual. Each individual must go through a sequence of moral developments. High moral development leads to responsible choices when faced with opportunity to involved in criminality.

Question 14

Operant Conditioning

Answer 14

Basic process by which an individual’s behaviour is shaped by reinforcement or punishment.

Question 15

Operant Conditioning Theory (Skinner)

Answer 15

Individual behaviour is shaped through both reinforcement and punishment. Behaviour that is rewarded will tend to be continued; behaviour that is punished will cease.

Question 16

Personality Theory (Eyserick)

Answer 16

Law-abiding people must develop a conditioned fear of deviance. Those who become deliquents and criminals do not develp this fear because of poor conditioning by parents or because they are less succeptible to it. Classical Conditioning.

Question 17

Psychoanalytic Theory (Freud)

Answer 17

Crime results when ego and superego cannot control antisocial aspects of the id. Occurs because individual has not been adequately socialized in early childhood.

Question 18

Psychopathology Checklist

Answer 18

1. Glibness/Superficial Charm
2. Grandiose sense of self-worth
3. Need for stimulation / Proness to boredom
4. Pathological Lying
5. Conning/Manipulation
6. Lack or remorse or guilt
7. Shallow Affect
8. Callous/Lack of Empathy
9. Parasitic Lifestyle
10. Poor Behavioural Controls
11. Promiscuous Sexual Behaviour
12. Early Behavioural Problems
13. Lack of Realistic, Long-Term Goals
14. Impulsivity
15. Irresponsibility
16. Failure to Accept Responsability for Actions
17. Many Short-Term Marital Relationships
18. Juvenile Delinquency
19. Revocation of Conditional Release
20. Criminal Versatility

Question 19

Psychopathy Theory (Cleckley, Hare)

Answer 19

Psychopaths seem to lack empathy for victims and do not feel guilt about their crimes. They do not learn from experience nor fear consequences of thier behaviour.

Question 20

Social Learning Theory (Bandura)

Answer 20

Deviant behaviour like aggression can be learned through direct experience or through modelling the behaviour of others.

Question 21

Socialization

Answer 21

Interative process whereby individuals come to learn and internalize culture and society.

Question 22

Superego

Answer 22

Psychoanalytic term denoting the ethical and moral dimensions of personality; the conscience.

Question 23

Token Economy

Answer 23

Behaviour therapy based on operant learning. Indivuduals are rewarded for positive or appropriate behaviour and are disciplined for negative or inappropriate behaviour.

Question 24

1. Individual Level - social terms defined in terms of individual deficit
2. Small Group Level -social problems caused by problems in group function.
3. Organizational Level - organizations of society have not accomplished what they are designed to.
4. Instititional/Community Level - created by institutions rather than by persons, groups, or organizations.

Things like “victimless crimes” (drug abuse, prostitution cut across these levels).

Answer 24

Levels of Analysis