explanations of offending Flashcards
what are the two biological explanations of offending behaviour?
-genetic explanations
-neural explanations
genetic explanations of offending behaviour:
-twin studies
-adoption studies
- candidate genes
how do twin studies help with our understanding offending behaviour?
they are a method for identifying a genetic basis of behaviour
method of twin studies:
-by examining monozygotic twins and dizygotic twins (who share 100% and 50% of their genetic make-up respectively), concordance rates (percentages that show how many twin pairs share the behaviour under observation) can help to indicate a possible
genetic tendency
genetic evidence from twin studies:
lange (1930)
-13 MZ twins and 17 DZ twins where one of the twins in each pair has spent time in prison were studied
10 of the MZ twins and 2 of the DZ twins had a co-twin that had also spent time in prison
christiansen (1977)
studied 87 MZ and 147 DZ twins and found a concordance rate of 35% for MZs and only 12% for DZs
↳ supports the view that offending may have a genetic component
what do the twin studies suggest?
the findings are interesting and indicate a degree of inheritance; however, the concordance rates are
low, even for monozygotic twins,
which indicates that the environment still plays a large part in criminal behaviour
what is a key criticism raised by research into genetics?
it cannot rule out the effect of the environment → a twin study may find a 68% concordance between monozygotic twins, but if they are raised in the same home environment, then the chances are that they will be treated in a similar
way by their parents/siblings and therefore the learning environment that they grow up in is likely to be a factor in their behaviour
how do adoption studies attempt to rule out environmental factors?
adoption studies attempt to rule this out environmental factors by looking at children who have been adopted and have therefore been raised by adopted parents where
there is no genetic similarity
genetic evidence from adoption studies:
crowe (1972)
compared a group of adopted children whose biological mother had a criminal record, to a control group of adopted children whose
biological mother did not have a criminal record
↳ it was found that if a biological mother had a criminal record, 50% of the adopted children also had one by the time they were 18
↳ in the control group, only 5% of the adopted children had a
criminal record by the time they were 18
this suggests that regardless of the changed environment, children seemed biologically predisposed to criminality
family studies for offending behaviour:
family studies are another way of investigating genetic links in offending behaviour
genetic evidence from family studies:
(method)
Brunner et al. (1993)
-conducted an analysis of a large family in the Netherlands, a number of which had been responsible for various counts of anti-social and criminal behaviour including attempted rape, exhibitionism and arson
genetic evidence from family studies:
(results)
-the researchers found that the males had a genetic condition (later known as “Brunner syndrome”)
-the condition results in lower intelligence levels (family had an average IQ of 85) and causes a deficiency MAOA, an enzyme
responsible for the metabolism of neurotransmitters such as serotonin
(which has links to aggression)
l
genetic evidence from family studies:
(conclusion)
-the conclusion here is that individuals can inherit genetic
conditions which make them prone to offending behaviour
-it is important to note that females only carry this condition, as it
only affects the MAOA production gene on the single X chromosome in males
exam tip:
the Brunner study can be used as an example of both genetic
and neural explanations, as both explanations can be used to justify the conclusions drawn by the researchers
genetic evidence from candidate genes:
(method)
tiihonen et al (2014)
completed a genetic analysis of 900
offenders and found abnormalities on 2 genes that may be associated with violent crime:
genetic evidence from candidate genes:
(results)
➢MAOA gene (controls dopamine and serotonin in the brain and has been linked to aggressive behaviour)
➢CDH13 (linked to substance abuse and ADHD)
→ in the sample, those with these genetic abnormalities were 13
times more likely to have a history of violent behaviour
drawback of candidate gene study:
the research hasn’t been replicated
what does the diathesis-stress model suggest about criminal behaviour?
-criminal behaviour may be genetically/biologically predisposed
but is triggered/moderated by environmental factors
-e.g. being raised in a dysfunctional environment or having criminal
role models may trigger the underlying diathesis (offending
tendencies)
↳ this is an interactionist approach
evaluation points for genetic explanations of offending behaviour:
-one limitation with using twin studies as genetic evidence is the assumption of equal shared environments
-a strength is that there is support for the diathesis stress model of crime
ao3 / limitation - one limitation with using twin studies as genetic evidence is the assumption of equal shared environments
P - one limitation with using twin studies as genetic evidence is the assumption of equal shared environments
E - it’s assumed by researchers studying twins that environmental factors are held constant because twins are brought up together and therefore have similar environments
↳ however, this shared environment assumption may apply more to MZ twins that DZ twins because MZ twins look more identical and therefore people (especially parents) tend to treat them more similarly which in turn
affects their behaviour
L - therefore, higher concordance rates for criminality in MZ twins could be due to the fact that they are treated more similarly than DZ twins
(+ one way around this is to use adoption studies, which enable psychologists to rule out the effects of the environment, since the adoptees are being raised in a different environment from the biological parent concerned
→ this helps us to see if there is any genetic link, in spite of the shared environment)
ao3 / strength - a strength is that there is support for the diathesis stress model of crime
P - one strength is that there is support for the diathesis stress model of crime
E - mendick et al (1984) studied 14427 danish adoptees and criminality (at least one
court conviction)
↳ when neither the biological or adoptive parents had a criminal convictions, the percentage of adoptees that did was 13.5% / this figure rose to 20% when either of the biological parents had convictions / and 24.5% when both adoptive and biological parents had convictions
L - this data suggests that both genetics and environment influence criminality supporting the diathesis-stress model of crime
↳ mednick’s study only applied to petty offences such as burglary, which means that any conclusions draw may not apply to more serious forms of crime
what are the key studies/ideas in the neural explanations of offending?
PFC (raine et al - 1997)
mirror neurons (keysers et al)
neurophysiology:
-frontal lobes (kandel & freed)
-amygdala → potegal et al, mitchell and blair
raine et al study: aim
to identify brain regions specific to offenders charged with murder or manslaughter, who had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity
raine et al study: method
ppts = 41 murderers (2 female) who had been charged with murder or manslaughter and had pleaded not
guilty by reason of insanity
-the researchers used a PET scanning method to highlight areas of brain activity / these results were compared to an age and gender matched control group
raine et al study: results
-they found reduced activity for the offender group in areas such as the
prefrontal cortex and corpus callosum
-there were also abnormalities in
the activity of the limbic system, including the amygdala and thalamus
-found an 11% reduction in grey matter of the PFC in people with APD compared to controls
raine et al study: conclusion
-there is indication that offenders (specifically violent offenders) have
abnormal brain function when compared to normal controls
-there is largely reduced activity which suggests that the brains of offenders are slowed and perhaps unable to make the swift decisions to react appropriately in certain
situations
what are the frontal lobes responsible for?
they are linked to planning behaviour
implications of reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex:
the decreased prefrontal cortex activity indicates that offenders are unable to consider the consequences of their actions and control their behaviour
what are mirror neurons?
neurons which control empathy reactions in the brain / they fire when you do an action, and also when you simply watch someone else doing the same action / they help us understand and interpret the actions of others
examples of how mirror neurons work:
you’re walking through a park when out of nowhere, the man in
front of you gets smacked by an errant Frisbee. automatically, you
recoil in sympathy.
findings about motor neurons:
Keysers et al (2001)
-found that only when criminals were asked to empathise with a person who was acting out experiencing pain on a film, did the mirror neurons activate
-this suggests that APD individuals are not totally without empathy but may have a ‘switch’ which can turn on or off, unlike a ‘normal’ brain whose mirror neurons are constantly ‘turned on’
how does neurophysiology link to offending?
specific parts of the brain have been highlighted as important in terms of criminal behaviour
→ frontal lobe, amygdala
what is frontal lobe?
part of the neocortex that is linked to higher function such as social behaviours and planning
findings about frontal lobe & offending:
brower and price (2001)
↳ found a link between frontal lobe dysfunction and violent crime
kandel and freed (1989)
looked at frontal lobe damage and anti-social behaviour → found a tendency for such individuals to exhibit emotional instability, a failure to consider the consequences of their actions or to adapt their behaviour in response to external cues
why were links found between the frontal lobe and offending?
these traits would seemingly be a result of impaired functioning in the frontal lobes, a region responsible for planning behaviour
what is the amygdala?
-part of the limbic system
-regarded as an older region of the brain in an evolutionary sense
what has the amygdala been linked to?
it has been identified as a structure with links to emotion regulation and aggression
findings about the amygdala and offending:
potegal et al. (1996)
found that stimulating the amygdala of hamsters led to an increase in aggressive behaviour
strengths of neural explanations of offending:
there is support for the link
between crime and the frontal lobe
ao3 / strength - there is support for the link between crime and the frontal lobe
P - one strength of the neural explanation of offending is support for the link between crime and the frontal lobe
E - kandel and freed (1989)
looked at frontal lobe damage and anti-social behaviour → found a tendency for such individuals to exhibit emotional instability, a failure to consider the consequences of their actions or to adapt their behaviour in response to external cues
L - this supports the idea of brain damage in certain areas of the brain leading to offending behaviour
criticisms of neural explanations of behaviour:
the link between APD and neural differences may be more complex than we thought
ao3 / criticism - the link between APD and neural differences may be more complex than we thought
P - the link between APD and neural differences may be more complex than we thought
E - other factors may lead to APD and offending / david farrington et al (2006) studied a group of men who scored highly on psychopathy
↳ these individuals had experienced various risk factors during childhood (being raised by a
convicted parent, being physically neglected) → it could be that these early childhood experiences caused APD and some of the neural differences associated with it – such as reduced activity in the frontal lobe due to trauma
L - this suggests that the relationship between APD, offending and neural differences is complex and there may be other intervening factors that have an
impact
criticisms of the biological explanations of offending
-the biological explanations of offending behaviour have been criticised for being overly simplistic
-the biological approach suggests that offending behaviour is determined by genetic/neural
factors, which cannot be controlled by a person.
ao3 / criticism - the biological explanations of offending behaviour have been criticised for being overly simplistic
P - the biological explanations of offending behaviour have been criticised for being overly simplistic
E - the biological explanations of criminal factor aims to reduce the cause of behaviour into simple neural and genetic causes and ignore environmental factors
↳ the links between brain structures or genetics and offending behaviour, often centre around violent and aggressive behaviour, which does not explain all types of crime
L - this is important because it lacks the complexity necessary to understand why individuals commit crimes such as burglary or drug dealing, which arent necessarily violent or aggressive in nature
ao3 / criticism - the biological approach suggests that offending behaviour is determined by genetic/neural factors, which cannot be controlled by a person
L - the biological approach suggests that offending behaviour is determined by genetic/neural
factors, which cannot be controlled by a person
E - if these influences make a person more likely to commit crime, this suggests that crime is not entirely an act of free will, this means the person can’t help how they behave and should not be held responsible for a crime
↳ however, our justice system is based on the notion that we all have responsibility for our actions / only in extreme circumstances, such as a diagnosis of mental disorder, is an individual judged to lack responsibility / the identification of possible biological precursors to crime complicates this principle
L - this suggests we should maybe ‘excuse’ some people but, ultimately
this is not possible because then no one would have responsibility / it also has implications for punishment and rehabilitation /
the implication is that biological criminals may require different - or perhaps less severe forms of punishment if they are not entirely responsible - this also implies that biological criminals can never be fully rehabilitated if their actions are not a matter of choice
what eyesnck’s personality test propose?
that criminal behaviour comes
from certain personality traits
what did eyesnck say that personality varies along?
people’s personality varies along
three dimensions:
-extroversion
-neuroticism
-psychoticism
how can people’s personality be measured?
it can be measured using eysenck’s personality questionnaire (EPQ), using a series of yes and no
questions
how are the three dimensions of eyesnck’s personality distributed?
these three form a normal distribution (i.e. 68% within 1 SD of the mean)
what is extroversion?
a measure of how much stimulation a person needs
what is neuroticism??
a measure of how emotionally unstable a person is
why is psychoticism?
relates to the degree to which somebody is anti-social, aggressive and uncaring
what does eyesnck suggest that neuroticism and extroversion are?
measurements of characteristics of the nervous system
what is extroversion a measure of?
your central and autonomic arousal level
effects of high extroversion:
-the higher extroversion is, the
more stimulation you need from your environment and the harder you are to condition successfully (they don’t tend to learn from their mistakes and therefore find it difficult to learn appropriate behaviour)
-extroverts are under-aroused and so seek stimulation and excitement
(they usually engage in risk taking behaviour)
what is neuroticism a measure of?
measures how strongly your nervous system reacts to negative stimuli
effects of high neuroticism:
-the stronger your responses the more extreme your emotional
changes
-neurotic individuals are emotionally unstable and anxious
-they also react unpredictably
what is psychoticism related to?
psychoticism is related to higher levels of testosterone so men are more likely to be found at the high end of the spectrum
high psychoticism scorers tend to be…
-cold
-uncaring
-solitary
-aggressive
the biological basis of eyesnck’s personality dimension:
each trait has a biological basis which is innate; 67% of the variance for the traits is due to genetic factors
what type of personality does an offender most likely have?
-high psychoticism
-high neuroticism
-high extroversion
what did eyesnck say about criminal behaviour?
-that it was developmentally immature, selfish & concerned
with immediate gratification (criminals are impatient and cannot wait for things)
how does socialisation link to criminal behaviour?
-the link between personality & criminality is due to the socialisation process
-socialisation usually controls immediate gratification (which criminality is associated with) as we develop socially orientated behaviour
how is delayed gratification typically taught?
-a child is conditioned (socialised)
-a child learns the sense of right and wrong
-a child avoids behaviour which leads to punishment
-child controls own impulses
how does the biological predisposition link to the conditions process?
some children are biologically more predisposed to the conditioning process…
➢ people with high E & N scores are difficult to condition due to their nervous system → they would not learn to respond to antisocial behaviours with anxiety and so will act in an antisocial manner if given the opportunity
why is the extrovert personality linked to criminal behaviour?
because these people are usually sensation seeking and high risk
takers who don’t learn from their mistakes
why is the neurotic personality linked to criminal behaviour?
they are emotionally unstable, anxious and they react unpredictably
Margaret Tibbs is a company accountant for a small firm and has been stealing small amounts of money from petty cash for years. Since joining the firm 18 years ago, Margaret has stolen several thousands of pounds. She is quiet, unassuming and does not have a great many friends at work.
Vince Douglas is a family man with a highly-paid job. His many friends would describe him as a
‘steady bloke’ who is well-adjusted. Vince is also a serial killer. He has murdered dozens of women over the years, leaves no evidence at the scene and disposes of the bodies without a trace. Vince tells his wife of 25 years that he often stays behind at the office and she has no reason to disbelieve him.
Barry Phillips is a self-confessed ‘boy racer’. He has been convicted of stealing cars and spent time in a young offender institution. He had a six-month suspended sentence for burglary and has since had to wear an electronic tag. Barry sees a counsellor regularly to help him with his depression.
Questions:
1. Which of the three cases above most clearly fits Eysenck’s description of the criminal personality? (Explain your answer)
- How could the other two cases be seen as criticisms of Eysenck’s theory?
Eysenck suggests the criminal personality is a neurotic extravert, theretore Barry Phillips most fits this as he shows features of neuroticism, as he is depressed, and features of extraversion because he engages in risk-taking behaviours such as joyriding. He has spent time in a young offender institution in the past, which suggests he does not learn from his mistakes or is easily conditioned, which is also a feature of extraversion.
- Margaret Tibbs has an introverted personality as she is described as quiet and unassuming with few friends, even so she is engaging in criminal activity because she steals money from the office petty cash /
Vince Douglas does not show neurotic tendencies because he is described as steady and calm, with no anxieties. However, he does display features of psychoticism, which Eysenck added as a third dimension to his criminal personality, as he is cold, unemotional and aggressive.
strength of eyesnck’s theory:
there is supporting evidence
ao3 / strength - there is
supporting evidence
(+however)
P - a strength of Eysenck’s theory is that there is supporting evidence
E - eysenck and eysenck (1977) compared 2070 male prisoners scores on the EPI with 242 male controls / the groups divided into age groups ranging from 16-69
years / on all 3 measures (E, N, P), across all groups, prisoners recorded higher scores than controls
L - this supports the predictions of the theory that criminals have higher scores on measures of the criminal personality, suggesting that the theory has some validity
HOWEVER:
farrington et al. conducted a review of 16 studies into Eysenck’s personality theory and the links to criminality, with a particular focus on young offenders. the researchers found a consistent link between high scores of psychoticism and neuroticism, but not the same link with extraversion suggesting that the links between extraversion and criminal behaviour are unclear
criticisms of eyesnck’s theory:
-eyesnck’s theory is seen as being oversimplified
-a limitation is cultural bias and population validity
ao3 / criticism - eyesnck’s theory is seen as being oversimplified
P - the idea that all offending behaviour can be explained by a two personality types has been heavily criticized for being oversimplified
E - for example, the Five Factor Model of personality suggests that alongside extraversion and neuroticism, there are additional dimensions of openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness
L - from this perspective, multiple combinations of personality traits
are available and therefore a high extraversion and neuroticism
score does not mean offending is inevitable, which casts some
doubt over eysenck’s theory
ao3 / criticism - a limitation is cultural bias and population validity
P - a further limitation is cultural bias and population validity
E - bartol and holanchock (1979) studied Hispanic and African-
American offenders in a maximum security prison in New York /
divided sample into six groups based on their criminal history and
the nature of their offences / found that all six groups were less extravert than a non-criminal control group
L - the fact that this study sample was very different e(ethnically) to eysenck’s, questions the generalisability of the criminal personality theory
what are the cognitive explanations of offending?
-kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning
-cognitive distortions
what is moral reasoning?
how an individual draws on their own value system to determine whether an action is right or wrong
what is kohlberg’s theory of moral development?
a developmental stage theory that
looks at the ways in which individuals’s moral reasoning develops through stages that are progressively sophisticated
what did kohlberg say about people’s decisions on moral issues?
Kohlberg proposed that people’s decisions on issues of right and wrong can be summarised in a stage theory of moral development
(the higher the stage, the more sophisticated the reasoning)
how do people progress through the stages of moral development?
people progress through the stages as a consequence of biological maturity and by having opportunities to discuss and develop their thinking
when did kohlberg argue that moral development was complete?
he argued that it was usually complete by the time the individual
was 9 or 10 years old, which is in line with the age of criminal responsibility in the UK (age ten)
how was kohlberg’s development theory developed?
by interviewing boys and men about the reasons for moral decisions
structure of kohlberg’s stage theory of development:
the theory has three levels, and there are two stages within each stage
how does kohlberg’s stage theory of development link to criminality?
kohlberg et al (1973) used his moral dilemma technique and found that moral development was lower in a group of violent youths, compared to non-violent youths - even after controlling for social background
what are the three levels of kohlberg’s theory?
1 - pre-conventional morality
2 - conventional morality
3 - post-conventional morality
level 1: pre-conventional morality
(what are the stages?)
stage 1: punishment orientation
rules are obeyed to avoid punishment
stage 2: personal gain
rules are obeyed for personal gain
level 2: conventional morality
(what are the stages?)
stage 3: good interpersonal relationships
rules are obeyed in order for approval & to be seen as good
stage 4: maintenance of social order
rules are obeyed to maintain social order, avoid wider punishments (awareness of laws)
level 3: post-conventional morality
(what are the stages?)
stage 5: social contract and rights
the child understands that rules don’t always apply to every decision, moral decisions aren’t always straightforward
stage 6: morality of conscience
individuals develop a personal set of ethical principles
what level are criminals mainly likely to be classified at?
the pre-conventional level characterised by
➢ a need to avoid punishment (punishment orientation) and gain rewards (reward
orientation),
➢ is associated with less mature, child-like reasoning
what level are non-criminals mainly likely to be classified at?
-non-criminals have generally progressed to the conventional level and beyond
-they tend to sympathise more with the rights of others
-they exhibit more post-conventional behaviours such as honesty, generosity and non-violence
how did kohlberg assess the level of moral development that someone was in?
using a moral dilemma (the heinz dilemma)
what is the heinz dilemma?
a dilemma about whether ‘heinz’ should steal a life-saving drug for his wife
strengths of kohlberg’s stage theory of moral development:
there is supporting evidence for levels of moral reasoning as an
explanation of offending behaviour
ao3 / strength - there is supporting evidence for levels of moral reasoning as an explanation of offending behaviour
P - there is supporting evidence for levels of moral reasoning as an
explanation of offending behaviour
E - palmer and Hollin (1998) compared moral reasoning between 210 female non-offenders, 122 male non-offenders and 126 convicted
offenders using 11 moral dilemma-related questions / the offender group showed less mature moral reasoning than the non-delinquent group
L - this is consistent with Kohlberg’s predictions about offenders being
classified at the pre-conventional level of moral reasoning,
supporting his theory
criticisms of kohlberg’s stage theory of development:
-kohlberg’s use of the Heinz dilemma has been criticised by researchers as a tool for assessing a person’s moral reasoning
-kohlberg has been criticised for using an all-male sample in the initial development of his theory of moral development
ao3 / criticism - kohlberg’s use of the Heinz dilemma has been criticised by researchers as a tool for assessing a person’s moral reasoning
P - the Heinz dilemma has been criticised by researchers as a tool for assessing a person’s moral reasoning
E - rosen (1980) argues that the scenario lacks validity as
the children being interviewed have no way of assessing their moral
reasoning of the situation from their own perspective as they have
never been married or faced with such a decision, so it is difficult to
imagine Heinz’s perspective
L - this is important as the children in Kohlberg’s original sample may
have been hindered in their ability to show level 3 reasoning as the
situation was hypothetical, and therefore had no consequences or
realism to them
ao3 / criticism - kohlberg has been criticised for using an all-male sample in the initial development of his theory of moral development
P - kohlberg has been criticised for using an all-male sample in the initial development of his theory of moral development
E - this would mean that his concept of moral development is
androcentric and not generalizable to women / a researcher argues that male views of morality are more likely to be law-based and pragmatic, while female views will be influenced by compassion and care
L - this is important because a female response to Heinz’s dilemma may not be influenced by the same moral reasoning and therefore
Kohlberg’s theory of moral development as a cause of offending is not generalisable to women
what are cognitive distortions?
faulty, biased and irrational ways of
thinking that mean we perceive ourselves, other people and/or
the world in a way that does not match reality and is usually
negative (a person’s perception of events is wrong, but they
think it is accurate)
examples if cognitive distortions:
-hostile attribution bias
-minimisation
what is hostile attribution bias?
the tendency to misinterpret or misread other people’s actions, words and/or expressions as aggressive or threatening when in reality they are not
what is the effect of hostile attribution bias?
-they may trigger a disproportionate and often violent response
-it also allows offenders to rationalise their offending behaviour by blaming other factors
evidence for hostile attribution bias:
-Copello and Tata (1980)
Schonenberg and Justye (2014)
results of copello and tata (1980) study:
found that adult male violent offenders were more likely to interpret ambiguous sentences,
(e.g. “the painter drew with the knife”) as showing hostility than non-violent offenders and
non-offenders
→ shows that there was an interpretative bias towards hostility, such as that which would be found in hostile attribution bias
results of Schonenberg and Justye (2014) study:
-55 violent offenders were
presented with images of emotionally ambiguous facial
expressions
-when compared with a control group, offenders were more likely to perceive the images as angry/hostile
what is minimisation?
a type of cognitive bias where there is an attempt to trivialise the seriousness of one’s own offence to explain the consequences as less significant or damaging than they really are
effects of minimisation on the criminal:
-this helps the individual to accept the consequences of their own
offences and reduce the negative emotions such as guilt associated
with their crime
evidence for minimalisation:
-Kennedy and Grubin (1992)
-Barbaree (1991)
results of Kennedy and Grubin (1992) study:
-found that the majority of
convicted sex offenders tended to blame the victim
-a quarter of the sample interviewed believed that the abuse was a positive thing for the victim
(minimalising their involvement£
results of Barbaree (1991) study:
-amongst 26 convicted rapists, 54% denied they had committed an offence at all at 40% minimised the harm that they had caused the victim
hostile attribution bias VS minimisation
t’s not like they would even care, they never used it anyway.
2. The way he spoke to me was very aggressive.
3. Please, it’s not even a crime, everyone pinches sweets from the
corner shop.
4. With a car like that with all those mods, he was asking for it to get
nicked.
5. Her attitude was appalling, did you hear that fake laugh? Rude cow.
6. She was rude, she needed taking down a peg or two.
7. I was just trying to be nice, it’s a complement.
8. They provoked me, sitting there acting the “big I am” with their
new phones.
1) mini
2) HAB
3) mini
4) mini
5) HAB
6) HAB
7) mini
8) HAB
strengths of miniminisation:
-there is research evidence to support minimalisation
-cognitive distortions have practical applications
ao3 / strength - here is research evidence to support minimalisation
P - here is research evidence to support minimalisation
E - Barbaree (1991): amongst 26 convicted rapists, 54% denied they
had committed an offence at all at 40% minimised the harm that
they had caused the victim / Pollock and Hashmall (1991): 35% of
a sample of child molesters said that the crime they committed
was non-sexual. 36% said that the victims had consented
L. - this supports the theory of cognitive distortions as an explanation for offending
ao3 / strength - cognitive distortions have practical applications
P - cognitive distortions have practical applications
E - understanding cognitive distortions allows us to help treat
criminal behaviour e.g. using CBT to treat the distorted view
↳ research has shown that reducing denial and minimalisation iis correlated with reduced reoffending risk and accepting
crimes is a key feature of anger management
L - cognitive explanation is therefore supported by evidence that
links it to effective rehabilitation techniques
criticisms of cognitive biases:
they are more useful as a way of describing the thought processes that criminals go through after a crime has been committed
ao3 / criticism - they are more useful as a way of describing the thought processes that criminals go through after a crime has been committed
P - a criticism of cognitive biases as an explanation of involvement in offending behaviour is that they are more useful as a way of describing the thought processes that criminals go through after a crime has been committed
E - minimisation accurately describes how a person
might deal with their feelings of guilt, but it doesn’t explain how
they got there in the first place.
L - this is important because it is questionable as to how useful
cognitive biases are as an explanation of offending behaviour.
what do psychodynamic explanations of behaviour look at?
the influence of early childhood experiences and how they impact later development
why does psychodynamic theory suggest that criminal behaviour happens?
-for personality to operate well, the id, ego & superego must operate in a balanced way
-if one part (in this case the superego) became more powerful than another, then a person
might suffer from psychological problems / engage in offending behaviour
what is the superego?
the part of the psyche that operates based on the morality principle and acts as an internalised sense of right and wrong
when does the superego form?
at the end of the phallic stage of development, when children resolve the oedipus/elektra complex by internalising the superego of the same-sex parent
why do issues with the superego cause criminal behaviour?
blackburn (1993) argued that if the superego is somehow faulty or inadequate, then the id is ‘free’ and
not properly controlled = criminal
behaviour
which four psychodynamic issues lead to offending behaviour?
-deviant superego
-weak superego
-overly harsh superego
-maternal deprivation theory
why does a weak superego cause offending behaviour?
it makes offending behaviour more likely because the person has little control over anti-social behaviour and is likely to act in ways that gratify their id’s desires
what causes a deviant superego?
when child internalises a superego that has immoral or deviant values
what causes a weak superego?
if the same-sex parent is absent during the phallic stage, the child cannot internalise a fully-formed superego as there is no opportunity for identification → the superego is weak
example of a parent with deviant values:
a child with a criminal parent
why does a deviant superego cause offending behaviour?
it leads to offending behaviour because the child may not associate wrongdoing with guilt
what are the effects of an overly harsh superego?
the individual is crippled by guilt and anxiety most of the time because any time the person acts on their id impulses, they would feel bad
what causes an overly harsh superego?
a child may internalise the superego of a very strict same-sex
parent → therefore, they develop an excessively harsh superego
why does an overly harsh superego cause offending behaviour?
it may (unconsciously) drive the individual to offend with a wish
to be caught, to satisfy the superego’s overwhelming need
for punishment and reduce their feelings of guilt
Gary’s parents are extremely strict, yet he is always in trouble with
the local police.
Identify the type of inadequate superego. Explain why each person became an offender using the types of inadequate superego.
Gary developed an overharsh superego due to having overly strict parents - Gary commits crime to fulfil the superego’s need for punishment
Harry lives with his Dad, but Harry’s dad makes his ‘living’ as a burglar.
Identify the type of inadequate superego. Explain why each person became an offender using the types of inadequate superego.
Harry internalised deviant superego as his same sex parent is burglar (he internalises immoral or deviant values).
This would lead to offending behaviour because the Harry may not associate wrongdoing with guilt
what emotion does issues with the superego cause?
anxiety - this is managed by the ego, which employs defence mechanisms in order to balance the psyche
which defence mechanisms does the ego employ to deal with an unbalanced psyche?
(due to issues with superego)
-displacement
-rationalisation
what is displacement?
the focus of a person’s anxiety is moved onto a neutral target
how does the ego use displacement in terms of superego issues?
(+ example)
the focus of a person’s anxiety is moved onto a neutral target, where it might be considered more acceptable than the underlying impulse
for example - the actual focus of an individual’s anxiety or frustration is their parents but instead they release that tension by mugging somebody on the street
how does the ego use rationalisation in terms of superego issues?
(+ example)
an individual creates a good reason for committing the acts that they do, despite them being unacceptable
real life example of rationalisation:
-
some have theorised that the serial killer Jack the Ripper targeted prostitutes in the East End of London as part of a “war on sin”
-the individual concerned may have rationalised the violent nature of their crimes by explaining that the women are a scourge on society and should be taught a lesson
what formed the basis for Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis?
the idea that the inability to develop a fully functioning superego is the result of having unloving or absent parents
what is bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis?
-if a child was deprived of a continuous and loving relationship with a mother in the first two years of life it results in irreversible and
damaging consequences including delinquency, affectionless psychopathyand intellectual retardation
what is affectionless psychopathy?
lack of empathy and guilt
effects of maternal deprivation on behaviour:
such individuals are likely to offend and cannot develop close relationships with others as they lack the necessary early experience to do so
which case study links to maternal deprivation theory?
Bowlby 44 Thieves
results of bowlby’s 44 thieves:
-of the 44 juvenile thieves investigated, 14 were identified as affectionless psychopaths
→ 12 of those APs had experienced long term separation from their mother before the age of two
in comparison, there were no affectionless psychopaths in the
control group and only 2 of them had experienced significant
maternal deprivation
conclusion from the 44 thieves study:
the findings suggest that the effects of maternal deprivation caused affectionless and delinquent behaviour among the juvenile thieves, supporting the predictions of maternal deprivation theory
how is maternal deprivation theory a psychodynamic explanation of offending behaviour?
because it follows the Freudian principle that the roots of (criminal) behaviour are formed in childhood
drawbacks of psychodynamic explanations of offending behaviour:
-bowbly’s 44 thieves study was correlational
-according to freud, women should be more prone to criminal behaviour than men, but this isn’t the case
-psychodynamic explanations suffer from a lack of falsifiability
ao3 / criticism - bowbly’s 44 thieves study was correlational
P - bowbly’s 44 thieves study was correlational
E - all that is demonstrated is an association between separation affectionless psychopathy
↳ there may be other variables that caused affectionless psychopathy, for example, it may be genetic
↳ consequently, maternal deprivation is only one of the possible reasons for offending behaviour / it may not be the only one or the most decisive
L - therefore from the research, we cannot strongly support the internal validity of maternal deprivation theory as a cause of offending, as cause and effect cannot be determined
ao3 / criticism - according to freud, women should be more prone to criminal behaviour than men, but this isn’t the case
P - according to freud, women should be more prone to criminal behaviour than men, but this isn’t the case
E - freud proposed that women should develop a weaker superego than men because they don’t identify as strongly with their same-sex parent as boys do / this is partly due to the fact that resolution of the Electra complex is less satisfactory and partly because Freud believed that there was little reason for
anyone to identify with a woman because of her lower status
↳ however, statistics of the male to female ratio of inmates in prison doesn’t support this
↳ additionally, research has found hardly any evidence of gender differences in morality in children, and where there was, girls tended to be more moral than boys
L - freud’s views represent an alpha bias – exaggerating the differences between men and women → his psychodynamic explanation cannot be considered to be entirely externally valid as it may not
apply to females due to the bias
ao3 / criticism - psychodynamic explanations suffer from a lack of falsifiability
P - psychodynamic explanations suffer from a lack of falsifiability
E - the many unconscious concepts mean that the explanations are
not open to empirical testing / there is an absence of supporting evidence, so arguments such as the inadequate superego can only be judged on their face value rather than their scientific worth
L - psychodynamic explanations are seen as pseudoscience rather than scientific, and may contribute little to our understanding of crime and how to prevent it
COUNTER: Bowlby’s 44 thieves study
what is differential association theory?
an explanation for offending which proposes that individuals learn the attitudes, techniques and motives for criminal behaviours through interaction with others
who can people usually learn criminal behaviour from through differential association theory?
family, friends, media…
it’s usually through interactions with people they are close to (family, friends)
who developed differential association theory?
edwin sutherland (1939)
what was edwin sutherland’s aim when creating differential association theory?
to discriminate absolutely between
criminals and non criminals regardless of race, class or economic background
main idea of differential association theory:
crime is a learned behaviour
what is socialisation?
the process by which we learn our norms and values, we are socialised by from the people around us
what is differential sssociation?
the fact that everyone is socialised differently as we all have a different set of people around us
which two factors does criminality arise from?
-pro criminal attitudes
-learning criminal acts
how are attitudes towards crime acquired?
-when a person is socialised into a group they will be exposed to values attitudes towards the law. Some of these values will be pro-crime, some anti-crime
-sutherland (1924) argues that if the number of pro-criminal attitudes a person acquires, outweigh the number of non-criminal attitudes, the person will go on to offend
what does the type of crimes that a criminal commits depend on according to differential association theory?
the types of crime the person then goes on to commit will depend
heavily on the deviant attitudes they have learned and the behaviours they have learned
how can differential association theory benefit society?
DAT suggests that it is possible to mathematically predict whether a person will offend
how are criminal acts learned through differential association theory?
-people may learn particular techniques for committing certain crimes from those around them (peer groups)
how does reinforcement affect offending?
reinforcement can also influence the likelihood of offending, such as receiving material rewards or high status, especially if the rewards are greater than the rewards available for not offending
how can differential association theory explain offending after prison?
the theory can help explain reoffending when people are released from prison as they are…
-exposed to specific techniques from inmates
-they learn techniques from more experienced criminals
strengths of differential association theory:
-sutherland had an influence on criminology
-the theory can account for crime in all sectors of society
ao3 / strength - sutherland had an influence on criminology
P - sutherland had an influence on criminology
E - he moved the emphasis away from early biological theories
(eg: atavistic) and drew attention to the fact that social environments may be to blame for criminality rather than dysfunctional people
L - this is desirable as it offers a more realistic solution to the
problem of crime (changing environments and influences)
instead of eugenics or punishment
ao3 / strength - the theory can account for crime in all sectors of society
P - one strength is that the theory can account for crime in all sectors
of society
E - sutherland recognised that some crimes, e.g. burglary are common
in working class communities, but others, e.g. corporate crime are more prevalent in affluent areas of society
↳ eg: sutherland was particularly interested in ‘white-collar’ crime and how this may be a feature of middle-class social groups who share deviant norms and values
L - this supports the external validity of the theory as it accounts for differences in crime within different sections of society and why crime may differ across cultures
criticisms of differential association theory:
there is evidence that contradicts the basic prediction of differential association theory
ao3 / criticism - there is evidence that contradicts the basic prediction of differential association theory
P - the basic prediction of differential association theory is that people who become offenders will have been socialised in families and groups where there are some pro-criminal norms
E - there should therefore be evidence of pro-criminal norms and probably criminal activity in the families and peer groups of offenders
↳ this has been found - Osborne and West (1982) found that where the father had a criminal conviction, 40% of sons also had one by the age of 18, compared with only 13% of the sons of non-criminal fathers
↳ however, evidence that criminality runs in families could also be explained using a genetic/biological theory rather than environment
L - this is an issue because it makes it hard to draw any conclusions from family data
Barry has never met his Dad; he left Barry’s mother before he was
born.
Identify the type of inadequate superego. Explain why each person became an offender using the types of inadequate superego.
Barry developed a weak superego as there was no same sex parent to identify with and internalise their superego.
Barry commits crime as he has little control over anti-social behaviour and is likely to act in ways that fulfils his id impulses
