Individualistic theories Flashcards
What is criminality due to (Freud)
Tripartite personality
What is the Id
Developed at birth, pleasure principle, demands instant gratification, resides in unconscious
What is the Ego
Developed at 2 years, reality principle, demands reduced conflict, resides in conscious
What is the superego
Developed at 5 years, moral principle, demands the right thing, resides in unconscious.
What is the unconscious
Cant access, trauma and childhood experiences held here, revealed in dreams and fantasies, driving force behind behaviour.
What are the 4 personalities that cause criminal behaviour
Weakly developed superego,
Unforgiving superego,
Deviant superego
Dominant Id
What is a weakly developed superego
Unable to keep Id ‘in line’, occurs when same sex parent is absent so moral code cannot be internalised.
What is an unforgiving superego
Satisfaction from punishment as they think they deserve it, over-guilty.
What is deviant superego
Super ego is less responsive, occurs when same sex parent is immoral so immoral beliefs are developed.
Weakness of Freud theory
Difficult to test concepts, used case studies
Real world application (Freud)
Led to development of psychoanalysis which brings repressed memories into conscious.
Research support (Freud)
39% of delinquents have experienced separation from mother (5% non-criminal)
What does Eysenck see as criminal personality types
Extraversion, Neuroticism, Psychoticism
What is extraversion
People are outgoing, active, social and enjoy risks.
How doe extraversion cause criminality
Cerebral cortex in under stimulated as RAS in inhibited, crime creates extra stimulation and makes it faster.
What is neuroticism
People worry, prone to feeling guilty, are unstable and easily agitates
How does neuroticism cause criminality
Limbic system is overwhelmed by stress, leading them to act out and react quickly
What is psychotocism
Impulsive, aggressive and selfish, lack control over behaviour
How does psychoticism cause criminality
High dopamine levels- lack of empathy
Eyesenck ignoring individual differences
For example, someone who spontaneously mugs someone is not the same as someone who carefully plans out fraud. Therefore, some say it is wrong to ‘lump together’ crimes.
Eysenck’s emphasis on nature
He claims people’s personality is genetic, which does not explain its consistency over time due to other influences. Therefore, it ignored the importance of upbringing.
Eysenck’s self-report issues
They are subject to response bias and social desirability bias, decreasing the validity of the research.
Eyesenck research support
2070 male prisoners compared to 2442 male controls found criminals scored higher on levels of personality types.
Social learning theory statement
Criminal behaviour is learned through a social context.
