Criminal Psychology Flashcards
Biological explanation for crime and antisocial behaviour AO1
brain injury
•evidence suggests there is a link between brain injury and reoffending , phineas gage (left frontal lobe destroyed -> caused him to be violent and impulsive -> if frontal lobe is damaged person has less control over impulses and can make them more aggressive -> damage also affects ability to consider alternative behaviours and think about possible consequences of aggression)
•Williams et al - analysed 169 inmates and found 60% of sample had brain injuries -> sample group also had higher rates of reoffending and tended to be younger at time of first offence
•acquired brain injuries affect devlopement , cognitive abilities such as impulse control are last to develop -> Abi disrupt development meaning individual fails to move beyond reckless and risk taking behaviours associated with adolescence
amygdala and aggression
•responsible for aggression and fear responses , functionality , underdevelopment and damage in this area causes violent behaviour impulsivity and aggression (Charles Whitman - tumour pressing down on amygdala)
•schultz- study showed that psychopaths have an overactive amygdala and an underactive prefrontal cortex
Biological explanation for crime and antisocial behaviour evaluation
•c - brain damage - Williams et al
- amygdala - raine et al
•o- brain damage - correlation does not mean causation -> brain damage could be a result of violent behaviour
•D- social factors of criminal behaviour - low socioeconomic status, educational and cultural factors seem to have a big impact on criminal behaviours
•A- prevention of criminal behaviours - ie . Knowledge of brain damage and xyy syndrome and personality types may help society to identify and take early intervention to stop people from becoming criminals
Xyy syndrome AO1+AO3
AO1
•1 in 1000 males born with additional Y chromosome in genes - no effect on testosterone or sexual development - have physical and behavioural differences - xy individuals are generally taller then average , have lower intelligence and experience behavioural difficulties.
•jacobs et al - found that men with xyy chromosome were overrepresented in prison population (9/315) when should be 1/315
ao3
-lack of credible evidence re and birkoff conducted a meta analysis and found no link between xyy and reoffending behaviour
+application
-social explanation-xyy makes it harder to get jobs
+jacobs et Al
- could be caused by extra testosterone , brain damage , amygdala
Social explanation for crime and antisocial behaviour AO1
labelling theory
•formal label (criminal)
•becks label - defiant behaviour part of adolescence -> becomes an issue as it defines person -> consequence of external judgment that modify individuals self concept and change was people respond to labelled person -> label of deviance can overtake social identity
•self fulfilling prophecy -> based on labels being given to people - others will behave towards the person according to the label -> person internalises label and prophecy is fulfilled
Vicarious learning - social learning theory
•Bandura boba doll study -> tests theory of vicarious reinforcement (operant + classical conditioning)
•children seeing acts of violence on a toy could cause them to imitate this behaviour -> four stages 1.attention 2.retention 3. Reproduction 4. Motivation -> vicarious learning -> no direct reward or punishment -> seeing other criminals will want people to engage in crime -> external motivation (ie money )-> internal reward (ie pleasure)
Social explanation for crime and antisocial behaviour - AO3
•c - bandura provides credible evidence for social learning theory which can help explain criminal behaviour from an early age through vicarious reinforcement
•o- although suggested that kids learn violent behaviour from ie video games this is an anomolie ( millions play and do not engage in violent behaviours ) -> Freud catharsis -> releasss aggression
Social aggression fails to acknowledge certain individuals are born with predisposition to aggressive behaviours
Labelling theory - ignores capacity of individual to resist labelling
•D- labelling theory and vicarious reinforcement is not measurable and as scientific as biological approach
•A- bandura can be applied to real life crimes ->
Media can place restrictions
Eysenck personality as an explanation for crime
ao1
• eysenck personality questionnaire
•levels of extroversion ( extroverts crave excitement and stimulation and are more likely to engage in risk taking and dangerous behaviour)
•neuroticism - stability - neurotic individuals are nervous and anxious and have unpredictable behaviour
• psychotism - respect for authority and rules
• eysenck believed traits measured were biologically inherited
•individuals with high score in all 3 traits were highly likely to become criminals
•although eysenck believed that the traits were biological he did believe it was through socialisation (upbringing) that would determine if someone would become a criminal
ao3
+ boduszek et al - out of 133 and 178 non violent and violent prisoners 49% had high extroversion , neurotiscm and psychotism
-suggesting personality is biological may be false -> social constructionism suggests that personality can change on our social situations and use of language -> different depending on different situation
- labelling theory
+ can prevent criminal behaviours through identification and early intervention
