individualistic theories Flashcards
what type of theory is banduras
learning theory
what type of theory is Freuds
psychodynamic
what type of theory is esyenricks
psychological
claims of banduras theory
social learning theory has been linked to criminality with the idea that people learn by watching the behaviour of others and therefore criminals learn how to offend from watching family, peers, and the media.
4 criteria were needed to be met for imitation:
1. Attention to the role model’
2. Retention of the observer’s behaviour
3. Reproduction of the target behaviour
4. Motivation to imitate the observed behaviour.
what is reinforcement
can be direct a positive or negative consequence for imitating the model or indirect.
components of banduras theory
in the bobo doll experiment there were 3 groups of children who watched a video of an adult being aggressive towards the bobo doll, each group were shown different final scenes
The study showed that children who had witnessed the model being punished =least likely to be aggressive towards the doll. However, when these children were then asked to be aggressive towards the doll, they were able to be this showed That simply observing the behaviour did lead to learning behaviours. The consequences simply helped the child decide whether to perform the learnt behaviour.
what did the control group see
saw model being aggressive
what did the reward group see
saw model being rewarded.
what did the punishment group see
saw model being punished
credibility of banduras theory
Empirical research data was collected throughout observation and experience.
Was a control group and
The theory had scientific basis. It was a lab experiment and was highly controlled, (objective data)
This theory is reductionist because it doesn’t take into account any biological differences or social deprivation. It is only considering the learned behaviours.
It isn’t deterministic because we’ve seen the bobo doll experiment that an individual can decide whether or not to vary out the learned behaviour and this is usually based on consequences.
applications of banduras theory
This theory focuses on the importance of childhood experience when studying criminality and can help to explain criminality and families
The findings of Banduras research were used to influence the introduction of censorship rules on television
Shows how those who are already violent can become more violent especially males
refuting evidence of banduras theory
Research lacks ecological validity and that they may not be sampling behaviour as it occurs in real life situations
The study involves a child and an adult in a very limited social situation (the child and the adult are strangers to each other) observation normally takes place within the family where children are familiar with the adult
supporting evidence of banduras theory
Sutherland’s differential association 1939/ 1992 is supporting evidence, he found:
Criminal behavior is learned.
The learning is through association with other people
The main part of the learning takes place within close personal groups.
claims of Freuds theory
the best way to understand behaviour is to examine early childhood experiences.
criminality is linked to guilt
most of our mind is in an unconscious region
traumatic experiences in early childhood leave a mark on unconscious mind
what is the conscious mind
what we are aware of, contains thoughts and ideas that we are currently accessing
what is the preconscious mind
has thoughts and ideas we can access when we need, not accessed currently
what is the unconscious mind
main part, not measurable in any way, holds thoughts, emotions and desires that we don’t know about
components of Freuds theory
proposed there were 3 different parts of personality developed in an individual’s mind, Id, Ego, Superego
need a balance between all 3, when imbalanced it results in disturbed personality
credibility of Freuds theory
cognitive psychology has identified unconscious processes, such as memory
the psychodynamic theory has been a foundation of psychoanalysis and psychiatric therapies for many years
theories are taken from an unrepresentative sample, studied himself and his patients
theory is reductionist as focuses on the idea that childhood trauma leads to an imbalance personality
refuting evidence to Freuds theory
unrepresentative samples were used (all males and convicted criminals)
Clarke an Clarke 1976 studied children from deprived backgrounds using a longitudinal study and found there were many factors that contributed to a child becoming a criminal
supporting evidence to Freuds theory
John Bowlby 1946 studied 44 juvenile delinquents 39% had experienced complete separation from their mothers for six months or more during first 5 years. compared to control which only had 5% separation from their mothers. shows childhood trauma/ unstable homes can impact criminality
claims of eysencks theory
that certain personality types are more likely to commit crime because they crave excitement ,do not learn fast enough that crime results in bad consequences.
criminal personality type is neurotic and extrovert, also score highly on psychoticism
extroverts seek arousal from risk taking and antisocial behaviour in orefr to provide them with the extra stimulation
components of eysencks theory
measured personality traits using his personality inventory and this test classified individuals as extravert and introvert and neurotic/stable.
compared over 2000 male prisoners scores on epi with over 2000 male controls. found on average that prisoners recorded higher scores in extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism than the control group. He argued 75% of the personaliy is determined by genetics and 25% by the environment
credibility of Eysencks theory
his theory took a combined approach to explaining personality and crime considering both psychological and biological factors.
can also be scientifically tested with generalisations made, also easily replicated
theory is determinist and implies that those with a certain personality type will go on to commit crime.
not detailed enough in his evaluation of personality traits and it is argued that these were being measured inaccurately due to his reliance on self report measures resulting in a lack of reliability
application to eysencks theory
nick leeson who made fraudulent unortharised trades that at first made large profits for baring bank: 10 million which accounted for 10% of barings annual profit. He earns a bonus of 130,000 on his salary of 50,000 for that year. by end of 1992 his account exceeded $2 million, 1994 reached $208 million
resulted in collapse of barings bank and 6.5 years imprisonment
refuting evidence of eysencks theory
Fonseca and yule 1995 compared delinquents and non delinquents boy and found no difference in extroversion, psychotics and neuroticism scores as measured by the epi
supporting evidence of eysencks theory
Hare 2001 found that there were significantly more psychotic individuals who have tendencies to be violent than the rest off the population
