Criminal psychology Flashcards
What is positive punishment?
Adding an unpleasant/negative consequence in response to an unwanted behaviour
What is negative punishment?
Taking away something pleasant and positive in response or as a consequence to unwanted behaviour
What is positive reinforcement?
Adding something pleasant after a behaviour to encourage repetition/ reward for a behaviour
What is Negative reinforcement?
when something unpleasant is taken away as a consequence of a behaviour, which will encourage repetition because they will keep doing it to remove the unpleasant thing.
What is operant conditioning?
Learning from the consequences of actions : positive/negative punishment/reinforcement
What is a primary reinforcer?
Something that satisfies a biological need- food, water, shelter.
What is a secondary reinforcer?
reinforcer of no survival value, but learnt to associate with primary reinforcer.
What are two strengths of operant conditioning to explain criminal behaviour?
- can explain a wide range of crimes, for example how social influence can be a reinforcer to do crime, and how desperation for primary reinforcer may cause people to steal food for example.
- Also shows how how punishment can help reduce or fully unroot criminal behaviour
What are two cons of using operant conditioning to explain criminal behaviour?
-neglects other factors like biological predispositions, or personality types and psychopathy, like social learning (observing others), personal beliefs.
- Not all criminal acts are motivated by rewards. Some crimes, like vandalism or impulsive violence, might not have clear reinforcements but still occur. Plus, repeat offenders exist, showing that punishment alone is not always effective.
What is social learning theory?
behaviour is learned through observation and imitation of role models.
What does modelling mean?
Learning a new behaviour through paying attention, retaining and reproducing behaviour of a role model.
Who is a role model?
A person who we admire or with whom we share similar characteristics.
What is. the identification and modelling process of SLT to explain criminal behaviour?
-Attention
-Retention (keeping it in memory)
-Reproduction (doing it)
-Motivation (need to be motivated to reproduce behaviour, perhaps through vicarious reinforcement)
-Identification (when you temporarily adapt the behaviour and beliefs of the model, associating yourself with it.)
What is vicarious reinforcement?
motivation to model behaviour of someone cuz we see them being rewarded for their behaviour.
Strengths of SLT to explain criminality is what?
- Unlike operant conditioning, SLT accounts for how individuals can learn criminal behavior by observing others (e.g., family members, peers, media) without having to be directly rewarded or punished.
-SLT explains how media, such as violent video games, movies, or social media, can influence criminal behavior by providing aggressive role models. Like how Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment showed that children who observed aggression were more likely to imitate it.
Cons of SLT to explain criminality
- SLT focuses on environmental influences but does not account for biological explanations, such as genetics, brain structure, or hormones.
- Doesn’t take into account personality, morality- as people may grow in neighbourhoods and families where they observe crime but they might not always act on it.
What does temperament mean?
The nature someone is born with, which affects their behaviour .
What does personality mean? How is it believed to biological factor of criminality?
Characteristics and qualities that make up a person’s character.
Because personality is a temperament, which has a biological basis.
What are the four types of personality traits?
Extraversion
Introversion
Neuroticism
Psychoticism
What does neuroticism mean?
There are two types- stable and unstable. Just means their state of mind, and whether they’re hyper or quiet.
What does Hans Eysenck suggest about the link between personality and criminality?
Some personalities are more prone to becoming criminals than others
What is the diff between stable neuroticism and unstable neuroticism?
unstable- Over reactive. Tend to be highly emotional.
Stable- calm and do not over-react in situations.
What does psychoticism mean?
A general lack of empathy towards others.
people who are extroverted need more external stimultation why?
their nervous system has high arousal level of nervous system
