INDIVIDUALISTIC THEORIES (AC2 + 3) Flashcards
describe one individualistic theory of criminality (bandura’s social learning theory)
Bandura:
- social learning theory proposes that people will learn from those around them (observational learning)
- behaviour is learnt through direct and vicarious reinforcement
- Bandura believed observational learning took place in 3 contexts: family, peers, television/books
- so criminal behaviour can also be learned through observation
- this is based on the assumption that offending is a set of behaviours that are learned in the same way as other behaviours through observational and vicarious reinforcement.
- children learn their behaviour by watching their peers and family, children view them as role models
- this builds upon the earlier work of BF Skinner:
- who says that they will copy behaviour that results in positive consequences - this is called operant conditioning
- if behaviour is rewarding it will be repeated
- if an adult enjoys doing a particular activity a child may mimic this behaviour to receive the same pleasure
- a study in support of this is Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment, children exposed to the violent behaviour of adults tended to copy this behaviour
- children who observed non-aggressive behaviour were far less aggressive towards Bobo
(supported by) Edwin Sutherland - differential association
- learning criminal behaviour is the same as learning normal behaviour
- proposed that criminal behaviour is learnt when an individual is more exposed to pro-criminal attitudes than anti-criminal ones
- recidivism rate in UK is 40%
- explains why some criminals reoffend once released from prison
- in prisons people will learn from the criminals around them, this is why prisons are known as ‘universities of crime.’
describe one individualistic theory of criminality (sutherland’s differential association)
Edwin Sutherland:
- learning criminal behaviour is the same as learning normal behaviour
- proposed that criminal behaviour is learnt when an individual is more exposed to pro-criminal attitudes than anti-criminal ones
- recidivism rate in UK is 40%
- explains why some criminals reoffend once released from prison
- in prisons people will learn from the criminals around them, this is why prisons are known as ‘universities of crime.’
describe one individualistic theory of criminality (skinner’s operant conditioning)
BF Skinner:
- he says that people will copy behaviour that results in positive consequences - this is called operant conditioning
- if behaviour is rewarding (positive reinforcement) it will be repeated
- if an adult enjoys doing a particular activity a child may mimic this behaviour to receive the same pleasure
- a study in support of this is Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment, children exposed to the violent behaviour of adults tended to copy this behaviour
- children who observed non-aggressive behaviour were far less aggressive towards Bobo
describe one individualistic theory of criminality (eysenck’s personality theory - psychological)
Hans Eysenck
- some personality types are seen as more likely to commit crimes than others
- organised personalities using 3 categories:
- extroversion/introversion: extroverts crave excitement, not easily aroused so they require more environmental stimulation, introverts are more reliable and in control of their emotions
- neuroticism/stability:
- extroverts need excitement so they are more likely to seek crime in order to gain excitement.
describe one individualistic theory of criminality (freud’s psychodynamic theory + bowlby’s maternal deprivation)
Sigmund Freud
- accredits traumatic early childhood experiences to a person’s future behaviour, regardless of whether an individual is aware of the experiences or not.
- Freud suggested that much of our mind was in an unconscious region, almost like an iceberg where only the tip can be seen, the tip in this case being the conscious region.
- Freud believed that the unconscious mind controls behaviour which includes a persons criminality.
- Freud puts forth the theory of the id, ego and superego as regions of the psyche to explain this.
- A person’s psyche is responsible for controlling behaviour. Freud suggests that the psyche is split into three regions, the id, ego and superego.
- the id controls selfish and animalistic urges, the id is found deep in the unconscious. the id does not think about the consequences of an action
- the ego seeks rational and sensible control. the ego tries to be practical and realistic.
- the superego is your moral conscience, it tells you what is right and wrong
- a healthy personality requires a balance of all three.
- when the id dominates, the mind becomes incontrollable and this is when criminality takes place. this is because criminals commit crimes for their own pleasure and are too selfish to think about any repercussions.
- children are id dominated but as they grow up the ego becomes dominant, however, criminals do not make this transition because they do not have a stable family environment.
Study:
- John Bowlby (1944)
- maternal deprivation studied on 44 juvenile delinquents and compared to control group (non-criminals)
- 39% of delinquents experienced separation from mum for more than 6 months before the age of 5
- only 5% for control group.
- shows that criminals do come from unstable homes.
evaluate the effectiveness of the social learning theory in explaining criminality (strengths)
- the Bobo doll experiment provides evidence in support of this theory.
- the experiment was also repeated with slight variations and produced similar result
evaluate the effectiveness of the social learning theory in explaining criminality (weaknesses)
- the bobo doll experiment has a lack of ecological validity
- the bobo doll experiment could be considered unethical and produced only a snapshot, with no long-term effects discovered
- the theory is deterministic and ignores cognitive control over behaviour (assumes a person does not have free will)
- the theory fails to consider other causes of criminality
- ## fails to explain how people who have not witnessed crime commit crime, or why those who have do not commit crime
evaluate the effectiveness of personality theory in explaining criminality (strengths)
- clear applicability to crime
- if criminal behaviours and personality dimensions can be detectable in childhood, early interventions can be put in place to prevent the development into criminality (such as early therapies)
- Eysenck’s personality PEN dimensions of personality have formed the basis of many modern personality tests that can predict people
- Eysenck’s research on soldiers in the hospital supported this theory., he predicted that the most traumatised soldiers would score highly on neurotic
- DeYoung (2010) suggests there is a link between PEN scores and brain processes, such as the release of dopamine being linked to extroversion and high levels of testosterone to psychoticism
- if tendencies that eventually manifest themselves as criminal behaviour are detectable in childhood, then it may be possible to modify the socialisation experiences of high-risk individuals so that they do not develop into offenders
- describes how some measurable tendencies may lead to criminality, criminality can hence be ‘predicted’
- studies suggest that offenders tend toward high E,P and N scores
evaluate the effectiveness of personality theory in explaining criminality (weaknesses)
- research relies heavily on self-report measures of personality and may not be reliable and/or valid, this can result in biased or deliberately false answers
- while the theory used offenders, who were then in prison, they may not be typical of all offenders
- it is questionable whether personality can be seen as a set of stable traits that cause people to behave consistently
- lack of reliability, as people may not respond exactly the same to the same questions every time they are asked
- alternatively, they may provide an answer that they believe the research expects or desires
- this theory fails to consider that personality may change over time, it suggests that personality is genetic and constant
- extroversion measures two separate things: impulsiveness and sociability, these things do not always correspond
- personality type and criminality may be correlated but this does not prove that your personality type causes criminality
evaluate the effectiveness of psychodynamic theory in explaining criminality (strengths)
- have made significant positive contributions to criminological psychology as it emphasised upon the importance of childhood experiences as an influence on a person’s future behaviour and criminality.
- just because Freud’s theory is unusual doesn’t mean that it is automatically wrong
- the id, ego and superego correlate to different parts of the brain. the limbic system is the brain’s emotion centre, like the id. the pre-frontal cortex is responsible for rational decision making, like the ego and superego,
evaluate the effectiveness of psychodynamic theory in explaining criminality (weaknesses)
- psychodynamic theories are no longer widely accepted by psychologists
- this is because some aspects such as the unconscious mind are hard to test because it is difficult to even prove the existence of the unconscious mind.
- psychodynamic theories are very unscientific and lack objective interpretation.
- much of the research conducted by Freud were case studies which produce data that is subjective so different analysts may draw different conclusions based on their individual interpretation
- Freud knew his patients and therefore could not be objective
- psychodynamic theories have the tendency to only really explain behaviour after it has happened, doesn’t really help to prevent it
- psychodynamic therapies that have attempted to treat offending have not been successful (Howitt 2009)
evaluate the effectiveness of differential association in explaining criminality (strengths)
- crime often runs in families
- juvenile delinquents are more likely to have friends who commit anti-social acts - they learn from their peer groups
evaluate the effectiveness of differential association in explaining criminality (weaknesses)
- not everyone who is exposed to crime become criminal
evaluate the effectiveness of operant conditioning in explaining criminality (strengths)
- if a behaviour results in a reward it will be repeated. if it results in an undesirable outcome it will not be repeated
- suggests that crime must therefore more have rewards for criminals than punishments
evaluate the effectiveness of operant conditioning in explaining criminality (weaknesses)
- theory ignores mental processes such as thinking, attitudes and values
- ignores the free will of humans, it is deterministic
