Criminal Behaviour - Social Psychological Explanation

Question 1

What are the Social Psychological Explanations?

Answer 1

1. Differential Association Theory

2. Gender Socialisation

Question 2

What is Differential Association Theory?

Answer 2

• Proposed by Sutherland
• Suggests that offending behaviour can be explained entirely in terms of social learning
• Suggests that people are socialised into crime

Question 3

Describe the Concept of Association.

Answer 3

Individual associates with others more/less favorable attitudes towards crime
|
mix with people who have favorable attitudes/behaviors
|
become influenced + have a positive attitude towards crime

Individual associates with others more/less favorable attitudes towards crime
|
mix with people who have less favorable attitudes/behaviors
|
become influenced + have a negative attitude towards crime

Question 4

What is Learned?

Answer 4

• Children will learn which particular types of crimes re desirable - burglary = acceptable violent crime = not acceptable
• Potential criminal is someone who has learnt pro-criminal attitudes
• Also learn specific methods for committing crime

Question 5

Who is Learnt From?

Answer 5

• Attitudes + beahviours are learned from intermediate personal group (e.g. friends/families)
• Also learn from wider community/neighborhood - degree to which local community supports/opposes criminal involvement determines differences in crime rates from place to place
• Individual/social groups may not be criminals themselves in but may still hold deviant attitudes/acceptance of behaviour

Question 6

How is it Learned?

Answer 6

• Frequency/length/personal meaning of relationship determine degree of influence
• Sutherland did not specify the mode of learning - likely to be direct + indirect operant conditioning
• Role models provide opportunities to model behaviour - role models successful criminal - provide vicarious reinforcement
• Social group established social norms defined by behvaiour - creates what is ‘normal’ for people to do

Question 7

Differential Association Theory Evaluation

Major Contribution

Answer 7

POSITIVE

• Charged people’s views about the origins of criminal behaviour
• Shift from blaming individual factors to pointing to social factors
• Crime could explained through social experiences
• White collar crimes - transgressions against the law committed by people otherwise seen as respectable + high in social status - non-violent crimes by businesses + government professionals - examples = fraud/bribery/copyright infringements/forgery

Question 8

Differential Association Theory Evaluation

Supporting Evidence

Answer 8

POSITIVE
- Criminality appears to run in families
- Osborn + West (1979) = father whose a criminal = 40% sons also committed a crime compared with 13% of sons with non-criminal fathers
- Akers (1979) = surveyed 2500 males+female adolescents - found that most important influence was from peers in drug + alcohol use:
68% weed + 55% alcohol

Question 9

Differential Association Theory Evaluation

Methodological Issues

Answer 9

NEGATIVE

• Data collected is correctional - what is the cause+effect?
• Criminals seek out other criminals
• Theory is not testable
• Issue = how we measure the effects of numbers + strength of associations
• Not clear what ratio of favorable to unfavorable influence would tip the balance

Question 10

Differential Association Theory Evaluation

Cannot Account for All Types of Crimes

Answer 10

NEGATIVE

• Confined to smaller crimes - accounts for more crimes
• Cannot explain why most offences committed by youth - 40% under 21
• Eysenck = risk taking = young people
• Desire for risk = key factor
• 500 Homicides Vs 400000 burgles

Question 11

What is Socialisation?

Answer 11

• Process by which we learn the norms/customs/skills necessary to participate in our society
• Socialisation is considered to be a major reason for gender difference seen in criminal behaviour

Question 12

What has Research found Relating to Patterns of Socialisation?
What does it Show?

Answer 12

• Sutherland (1949) = boy encouraged to be risk takers and to be tough - girls were not - during socialisation girls are more closely supervised + controlled than boys
• Society were expected girls to be conforming than boys
• Difference become ingrained + lead to more young men becoming criminals - have both inclination + opportunity to commit more crimes

Question 13

How Does Social Learning Theory Relate to Gender Socialisation?

Answer 13

• Suggests that we can learn about gender behaviours through observation + imitation

Question 14

How are the Key Role Models for Boys + Girls?

Answer 14

Boys = Father 
Girls = Mother

Question 15

What has Research Shown About Role Models?

Answer 15

• Cohen (1955) = more difficult for boys than girls - girls have easy access to their mothers whereas fathers are traditionally been more exclusive role models - as a result boys rebel against socialisation offered by mother especially if socialisation led to feminine traits

Question 16

How did Cohen’s Research Develop the Social Learning Theory for Gender Socialisation?

Answer 16

• Boys pursue any opportunities that offer them a chance to develop masculinity
• Boys seek all male peer groups - reward demonstrations to masculine behaviour

Question 17

Decsribe the Differences in Social Control

Answer 17

• Patriarchal societies reduce the opportunity for women to commit crimes
• Heidensohn (1985) = women are controlled at work/home/public

Question 18

How are Women Controlled at Work?

Answer 18

• ‘Glass Ceiling’ effect prevents women for rising to senior positions + having fewer opportunities to commit white collar crimes

Question 19

How are Women Controlled at Home?

Answer 19

• Daughters dependent on care of parents
• Also not able to stay out as late as sons because they have more house work
• Girls learn to develop socialising opportunities within the home

Question 20

How are Women Controlled in Public?

Answer 20

• Reports on crime (e.g. rape) control women by increasing fear - less opportunities to commit crimes
• As adults women have fewer opportunities to commit crimes due to greater time + movement restrictions placed on them by their domestic ideas
• Way media reports on female criminals - reduced opportunities

Question 21

Gender Socialisation Evaluation

Chivalry Hypothesis

Answer 21

• A point to Consider
• Chivalry hypothesis suggests women commit more crimes than official statistics suggest
• Police/magistrates/judges all tend to be men - men have been socialised to act more chivalrous towards women
• Pollak (1950) = men in criminal justice system tend to have more protective attitude towards women
• Suggests that not only gender of person demonstrating criminal behaviour but also gender of justice system reaponsible for lower levels of criminality

Question 22

Gender Socialisation Evaluation

Men Are Less Likely to be Punished

Answer 22

NEGATIVE

• Criminal justice system biased against women
• Men let off comparatively lightly as they only overstepping the expectation the expectations set by their gender
• Carlers (1997) = women are perceived as a good mother are less likely to be imprisoned - often assessment of character of women in relation to traditional gender roles rather than severity of offence
• Challenges chivalry hypothesis + suggests difference between men + women in terms of criminality is even gender than imprisonment

Question 23

Gender Socialisation Evaluation

Hormones in Males

Answer 23

An Important Consideration

• Testosterone found in both men + women - related to aggression - higher in men
• Dabbs (1987) = 9/11 inmates with lowest testosterone committed a non-violent crime - 10/11 inmates with highest testosterone committed a violent crimes

Question 24

Gender Socialisation Evaluation

Hormones in Females

Answer 24

A Point to Be Aware Of…

• Females are less likely to demonstrate criminal behaviour - have higher levels of social behaviour promoting hormones
• Oestradiol - promotes empathy - higher in females
• Erickson (2003) = compared hormone levels of aggressive male drunks + control groups - aggressive drunks showed a negative correlation between oestradiol + testosterone