Criminal behaviour- Social psychological explanation Flashcards
What are the 2 social psychological explanations?
1- Differential Association theory
2- Gender socialisation theory
What is the first social psychological explanation?
Differential Association theory
Differential association theory
Sutherland designed theory to predict who would become a criminal, using a mathematical formula concerning the frequency, intensity, duration of the individuals social contacts, therefore a scientific basis
What was Sutherlands hypothesis to this theory?
If you mix with more people who hold positive views toward crime, the more likely you are to develop pro-criminal views
- learn how to become an offender through associating with different people and their attitudes
What are the 3 sections to this explanation?
1- What is learned
2- Who is it learned from
3- How is it learned
1- What is learned?
Pro-criminal attitudes are learned from social situations, when a person socialises into a particular group, they are exposed to their values towards the law
- the group may also have its own defined set of morals
If the pro-criminality attitude outweighs the anti-criminality attitude, the person will go on to offend
What can be used as an example to a group having their own defined set of morals?
As a group they may decide which laws are okay to break or houses that are okay to steal from
Example of the attitude then the act
Attitude: it is okay to steal from rich people
Act: breaking into wealthier houses
2- Who is it learned from?
Role models
What makes a person more likely to be a role model according to the Social learning Theory?
Desirable- status
Identification- similar age, gender, status, background
Who is it learned from- key points
Crime breeds amongst certain social groups and communities for example peer groups and families
- the offender learns techniques to commit a particular crime such as how to break into someone’s house through a locked window, how to forge documents
How can people also learn techniques through their neighbourhood?
The degree to which a local community support or oppose criminal behaviour determines the difference in crime rates from one area to another
- groups may not be criminal themselves but they may still hold deviant attitudes
How is it learned?
Sutherland did not specify, however, it is likely to be a result of direct and indirect operant conditioning
How may a person learn through direct operant conditioning?
Reinforcement/punishment for criminal activity
How may a person through indirect operant conditioning?
Vicarious reinforcement- behaviours may be a result of observing and imitating role models when they’re successful in criminal activities
What are the 2 types of reinforcement?
Positive and Negative
Both increase the favourable outcome
Positive reinforcement and how this would increase criminal behaviour
Reward- thrill from shop lifting, sell on the goods, make money
- almost certainly commit the crime again
- receive reward from the behaviour displayed
Negative reinforcement and how this would increase criminal behaviour
Remove something unpleasant- beating up another drug dealer to avoid competition (unpleasant experience)- stimulus
- repeas this behaviour again
Why is punishment used?
To decrease behaviour
What are Sutherland’s 9 key principles of criminality?
1- Criminal behaviour is learned
2- Learned through interactions, process of communication
3- Principle part of learning occurs within intimate personal groups
4- Learning includes a) techniques of committing crime complicated or simple, b) specific direction of motives, attitudes, rationalisations
5- Specific direction of motives learned from definition of legal codes as favourable or unfavourable
6- Become delinquent because of excess of definitions favourable to violation of law
7- Differential associations vary in frequency, duration, priority, intensity
8- Process of learning CB by association with C and AC patterns involves all of the mechanisms that are involved in any other learning
9- Expression of general needs n values, not explained by general needs n values
Evaluation: Differential Association theory
- Explains certain types of criminal behaviour
Can explain white collar crime
- acts against the law committed by those seen as respectable and high social status, encourage each other because they all think it is right
- offers a reason for types of crime which have not been explained by Eysenck’s personality theory
HOWEVER,
X confined to ‘smaller’ or less violent crimes
X rape, murder not easily explained by DA, act alone not in groups
- wider areas of crime committed more frequently, greater percentage accounted for
Evaluation: Differential Association theory
- Supporting Evidence
Osborne and West found that criminality can run in families
- 40% of sons to fathers with criminal convictions engage in criminal behaviour by 18
- if the fathers are seen as role models, the child will imitate the
AKERS- influence of peer group, 55% of alcohol use
- underpins the theory and adds credibility
Evaluation: Differential Association theory
X Issues with the research
X Data collected in support is often correlational
X may be unrelated, cannot establish the cause and effects as the causation could be reversed
X want to commit crime, have a criminal attitude, seek out criminal groups to be a part of
X theory becomes less useful in understanding the cause of criminal behaviour
What is the 2nd social psychological explanation for criminal behaviour?
Gender Socialisation theory
What are the 3 main points to gender socialisation theory?
1- Patterns of socialisation
2- Role models
3- Differences in social control
1- Patterns of socialisation
Sutherland argues that different patterns of socialisation experienced by boys and girls reinforced behaviour that may encourage criminality on boys and discourage boys
- boys become more delinquent
Examples of ways boys and girls are socialised differently
G- more supervised/strictly controlled
- look after a baby doll, dresses, barbies
B- encouraged to take risks, be tough, aggressive
- playfight, clothes, toys like trucks n dinosaurs
How does different patterns of socialisation lead to more criminal behaviour in males?
Boys are encouraged to be less emotional/conforming
- more of an opportunity/inclination to crime
Girls are taught to be submissive and passive
2- Role models
The influence of gender socialisation can also be explained using Social Learning Theory
- Bandura argues that all people (especially children) learn their behaviour by observing and imitating role models
What makes someone more likely to be a role model?
Gender is a shared characteristic that makes someone more likely to be a role model
How do children learn gendered behaviour?
Children will learn their gender behaviour mainly from their parents, with boys imitating their fathers and girls imitating their mothers
B- reject feminine behaviours
Why are boys more likely to engage in criminal behaviour in terms of role models?
They have less access to a male role model, as a result, they reject the feminine behaviours shown by their mothers
- leads to anti-social behaviour as boys have anxiety over their identity
- join male peer groups and street gangs to express masculinity and be rewarded for it
3- Differences in social control
It is not just the case that boys are socialised towards crime
- also the argument that girls are socialised away from criminal behaviour
How are girls more controlled as children?
Controlled at work, home, public
- glass ceiling, more domestic tasks, patriarchal, fathers dominate
- dependent on care and provision
Why do women have fewer opportunities to commit crime?
1) Not able to stay out as late as sons (movement restriction)
2) Required to do more housework (time restriction)
3) Fear of rape (stay inside)
Why are female criminals risking double jeopardy?
Not only are they committing a crime, they are also going against expected female behaviour
- do not conform to female stereotypes
- rejecting their own femininity
As we as having fewer opportunities to commit crime as men, when women do commit crime, their rationale tends to be different
Why do women commit crime?
They see crime as a rational choice, it is an alternative to the unhappy life they have been living under the restrictive, social control of men
- to be liberated from control
- to get revenge
How do you think this differs from the reasons for men committing crime?
Women may commit crime to feel free and liberate themselves from social control, whereas men may commit more aggressive crimes
Evaluation: Gender socialisation theory
- Practical applications
If socialisation is a key component in criminal behaviour, males could be socialised differently to reduce it
- boys discouraged from behaviour associated with criminality
- lowers risk of criminal outcome
- benefits society, adds credibility to the theory
- protects people, keeps everyone safe
Evaluation: Gender socialisation theory
X Alternative explanations
Alternative reasons to explain why the number of males in prison are higher than females
X the chivalry hypothesis
X women commit more crime than official statistics suggest
Pollaki- men in CJS have a protective attitude towards women
X W less likely to be prosecuted, charged, convicted, arrested
X less convictions = look less criminal
Evaluation: Gender socialisation theory
X Out of date
1949 when Sutherland proposed GS theory, male and female roles were clearly defined back then
X principles upholding theory not longer relevant
X W have careers, not the primary source of socialisation
X rise of feminism and stay at home dads
X while gender stereotypes still exist, focus on equal rights/opportunities in culture
What is the conclusion for gender socialisation theory?
In conclusions gender socialisation theory is a useful explanation of crime to some extent. Prison populations are dominated by men, underpinning the theory. however, it cannot be considered as an explanation alone as their are other contributing factors to gender differences besides socialisation and social control such as biological differences and the chivalrous hypothesis. Therefore, gender socialisation theory is useful along side other explanations for the differences between men and women
What my first choice for social psychological explanation for criminal behaviour?
GENDER SOCIALISATION THEORY
