Individualistic theories of crime Flashcards
what are the individualistic theories of crime
Freud, Megargee, Bowlby, Bandura, Eysenck
what was Freud’s theory
believed our personality(psyche) has three parts and that we need a good balance of all three
what are the three parts of Freuds theory
the id, ego and superego
what does Freuds theory find about criminal behaviour
criminal behaviour is a result of poor development of the psyche which is determined in the first five years of life
what are the three possible causes for later criminal behaviour in Freuds theory
- weak superego
- deviant superego
- strong superego
what is our id
represents our desires (devil)
what is our superego
knows what is right and stops us from doing wrong (angel/conscience)
what is our ego
the mediator between the id and superego that makes the decisions
what is a weak superego
doesn’t see crime as wrong because of poor relationships with their family
what is a deviant superego
if same sex parent is criminal they wont see these acts as wrong
what is a strong superego
someone who is very anxious and guilty so they will commit crimes to get punished which eases their guilt
how can this theory be criticised- Freud
it cannot be proven so may not be reliable
what is Bowlby’s theory
maternal deprivation is related to later criminal behaviour
what years are important for early relationships
0-5 years
what could disruption of mother relationships lead to
affectionless psychopathy
what were Bowlby’s findings
studied 44 thieves and found 39% of young criminals experienced disruption to attachments with mother but only 5% of non criminals
how can this theory be criticised- Bowlby
- group is too small
- overestimated impact of early life experiences on later criminal offences
what is Megargee’s theory
said people with an inability to express anger in normal ways will explode and release their anger all at once, committing violent crimes
what was Megargee’s study
documented a series of cases of violence carried out by people who were seen as passive and harmless
what did Megargee describe these people as
‘overcontrolled’ violent offender
what is the case Megargee looked at
11 year old boy described as quiet and polite stabbed his brother 34 times with a steak knife
how can this theory be criticised- Megargee
-doesn’t separate if offenders do not experience anger normally or if they experience it but don’t express it
what is Eysencks theory
certain personality types are more likely to commit crime
what was Eysencks study
personality questionnaire on 700 soldiers treated for neurotic disorders
what were Eysencks findings
the three personality types more likely to offend were extrovert, neurotic and psychotic
why are some personality types more likely to commit crimes
they crave excitement but slow to learn about consequences
what are criticisms of Eysenck’s theory/study
- no consistency in people’s behaviour as it changes all the time
- doesn’t tell us why they commit crime
what is Banduras theory
children learn social behaviours such as aggression through observational learning
what was Banduras study
tested 72 children -aggressive model to 24 -non aggressive model to 24 -no model to 24 after watching model children were placed in a room and behaviour was observed
what was were the findings of Banduras study
- aggressive model showed more physical aggressive responses in males and verbal aggressive responses in females
- some came up with new ways of hurting the doll
what are criticisms of Banduras theory
- demonstrations are measured almost one ediat elf so cannot discover long term effects
- unethical as long term impacts on children
- those who had never played with the doll were more likely to copy behaviour
