Criminal behaviour- Social psychological explanation

Question 1

What are the 2 social psychological explanations?

Answer 1

1- Differential Association theory
2- Gender socialisation theory

Question 2

What is the first social psychological explanation?

Answer 2

Differential Association theory

Question 3

Differential association theory

Answer 3

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

Question 4

What was Sutherlands hypothesis to this theory?

Answer 4

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

Question 5

What are the 3 sections to this explanation?

Answer 5

1- What is learned
2- Who is it learned from
3- How is it learned

Question 6

1- What is learned?

Answer 6

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

Question 7

What can be used as an example to a group having their own defined set of morals?

Answer 7

As a group they may decide which laws are okay to break or houses that are okay to steal from

Question 8

Example of the attitude then the act

Answer 8

Attitude: it is okay to steal from rich people
Act: breaking into wealthier houses

Question 9

2- Who is it learned from?

Answer 9

Role models

Question 10

What makes a person more likely to be a role model according to the Social learning Theory?

Answer 10

Desirable- status
Identification- similar age, gender, status, background

Question 11

Who is it learned from- key points

Answer 11

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

Question 12

How can people also learn techniques through their neighbourhood?

Answer 12

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

Question 13

How is it learned?

Answer 13

Sutherland did not specify, however, it is likely to be a result of direct and indirect operant conditioning

Question 14

How may a person learn through direct operant conditioning?

Answer 14

Reinforcement/punishment for criminal activity

Question 15

How may a person through indirect operant conditioning?

Answer 15

Vicarious reinforcement- behaviours may be a result of observing and imitating role models when they’re successful in criminal activities

Question 16

What are the 2 types of reinforcement?

Answer 16

Positive and Negative
Both increase the favourable outcome

Question 17

Positive reinforcement and how this would increase criminal behaviour

Answer 17

Reward- thrill from shop lifting, sell on the goods, make money
- almost certainly commit the crime again
- receive reward from the behaviour displayed

Question 18

Negative reinforcement and how this would increase criminal behaviour

Answer 18

Remove something unpleasant- beating up another drug dealer to avoid competition (unpleasant experience)- stimulus
- repeas this behaviour again

Question 19

Why is punishment used?

Answer 19

To decrease behaviour

Question 20

What are Sutherland’s 9 key principles of criminality?

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Evaluation: Differential Association theory
- Explains certain types of criminal behaviour

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Evaluation: Differential Association theory
- Supporting Evidence

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Evaluation: Differential Association theory
X Issues with the research

Answer 23

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

Question 24

What is the 2nd social psychological explanation for criminal behaviour?

Answer 24

Gender Socialisation theory

Question 25

What are the 3 main points to gender socialisation theory?

Answer 25

1- Patterns of socialisation
2- Role models
3- Differences in social control

Question 26

1- Patterns of socialisation

Answer 26

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

Question 27

Examples of ways boys and girls are socialised differently

Answer 27

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

Question 28

How does different patterns of socialisation lead to more criminal behaviour in males?

Answer 28

Boys are encouraged to be less emotional/conforming
- more of an opportunity/inclination to crime
Girls are taught to be submissive and passive

Question 29

2- Role models

Answer 29

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

Question 30

What makes someone more likely to be a role model?

Answer 30

Gender is a shared characteristic that makes someone more likely to be a role model

Question 31

How do children learn gendered behaviour?

Answer 31

Children will learn their gender behaviour mainly from their parents, with boys imitating their fathers and girls imitating their mothers
B- reject feminine behaviours

Question 32

Why are boys more likely to engage in criminal behaviour in terms of role models?

Answer 32

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

Question 33

3- Differences in social control

Answer 33

It is not just the case that boys are socialised towards crime
- also the argument that girls are socialised away from criminal behaviour

Question 34

How are girls more controlled as children?

Answer 34

Controlled at work, home, public
- glass ceiling, more domestic tasks, patriarchal, fathers dominate
- dependent on care and provision

Question 35

Why do women have fewer opportunities to commit crime?

Answer 35

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)

Question 36

Why are female criminals risking double jeopardy?

Answer 36

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

Question 37

Why do women commit crime?

Answer 37

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

Question 38

How do you think this differs from the reasons for men committing crime?

Answer 38

Women may commit crime to feel free and liberate themselves from social control, whereas men may commit more aggressive crimes

Question 39

Evaluation: Gender socialisation theory
- Practical applications

Answer 39

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

Question 40

Evaluation: Gender socialisation theory
X Alternative explanations

Answer 40

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

Question 41

Evaluation: Gender socialisation theory
X Out of date

Answer 41

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

Question 42

What is the conclusion for gender socialisation theory?

Answer 42

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

Question 43

What my first choice for social psychological explanation for criminal behaviour?

Answer 43

GENDER SOCIALISATION THEORY