Individualistic theories of crime

Question 1

what are the individualistic theories of crime

Answer 1

Freud, Megargee, Bowlby, Bandura, Eysenck

Question 2

what was Freud’s theory

Answer 2

believed our personality(psyche) has three parts and that we need a good balance of all three

Question 3

what are the three parts of Freuds theory

Answer 3

the id, ego and superego

Question 4

what does Freuds theory find about criminal behaviour

Answer 4

criminal behaviour is a result of poor development of the psyche which is determined in the first five years of life

Question 5

what are the three possible causes for later criminal behaviour in Freuds theory

Answer 5

• weak superego
• deviant superego
• strong superego

Question 6

what is our id

Answer 6

represents our desires (devil)

Question 7

what is our superego

Answer 7

knows what is right and stops us from doing wrong (angel/conscience)

Question 8

what is our ego

Answer 8

the mediator between the id and superego that makes the decisions

Question 9

what is a weak superego

Answer 9

doesn’t see crime as wrong because of poor relationships with their family

Question 10

what is a deviant superego

Answer 10

if same sex parent is criminal they wont see these acts as wrong

Question 11

what is a strong superego

Answer 11

someone who is very anxious and guilty so they will commit crimes to get punished which eases their guilt

Question 12

how can this theory be criticised- Freud

Answer 12

it cannot be proven so may not be reliable

Question 13

what is Bowlby’s theory

Answer 13

maternal deprivation is related to later criminal behaviour

Question 14

what years are important for early relationships

Answer 14

0-5 years

Question 15

what could disruption of mother relationships lead to

Answer 15

affectionless psychopathy

Question 16

what were Bowlby’s findings

Answer 16

studied 44 thieves and found 39% of young criminals experienced disruption to attachments with mother but only 5% of non criminals

Question 17

how can this theory be criticised- Bowlby

Answer 17

• group is too small

- overestimated impact of early life experiences on later criminal offences

Question 18

what is Megargee’s theory

Answer 18

said people with an inability to express anger in normal ways will explode and release their anger all at once, committing violent crimes

Question 19

what was Megargee’s study

Answer 19

documented a series of cases of violence carried out by people who were seen as passive and harmless

Question 20

what did Megargee describe these people as

Answer 20

‘overcontrolled’ violent offender

Question 21

what is the case Megargee looked at

Answer 21

11 year old boy described as quiet and polite stabbed his brother 34 times with a steak knife

Question 22

how can this theory be criticised- Megargee

Answer 22

-doesn’t separate if offenders do not experience anger normally or if they experience it but don’t express it

Question 23

what is Eysencks theory

Answer 23

certain personality types are more likely to commit crime

Question 24

what was Eysencks study

Answer 24

personality questionnaire on 700 soldiers treated for neurotic disorders

Question 25

what were Eysencks findings

Answer 25

the three personality types more likely to offend were extrovert, neurotic and psychotic

Question 26

why are some personality types more likely to commit crimes

Answer 26

they crave excitement but slow to learn about consequences

Question 27

what are criticisms of Eysenck’s theory/study

Answer 27

• no consistency in people’s behaviour as it changes all the time
• doesn’t tell us why they commit crime

Question 28

what is Banduras theory

Answer 28

children learn social behaviours such as aggression through observational learning

Question 29

what was Banduras study

Answer 29

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

Question 30

what was were the findings of Banduras study

Answer 30

• 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

Question 31

what are criticisms of Banduras theory

Answer 31

• 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