Individualistic Theories of Crime

Question 1

What do individualistic theories suggest

Answer 1

Individualistic theories suggest that the causes of crime relate to an individuals characteristics

Question 2

What do Learning Theories focus on?

Answer 2

The role of rewards, punishments and role models

Question 3

What is behaviourism?

Answer 3

A theory of learning based upon the ideas that behaviours are learnt through interactions with the environment and the consequences of behaviour

Question 4

Who introduced the idea of Operant Conditioning?

Answer 4

B.F Skinner

Question 5

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 5

The idea that the consequences of a behaviour can change the way someone acts, can influence the way others act, or can cause people to reoffend

Question 6

What is positive reinforcement?

Answer 6

A form of operant conditioning. It involves receiving something good for an action, encouraging the behaviour to be repeated

Question 7

What is negative reinforcement?

Answer 7

A form of operant conditioning. It involves a response/behaviour that occurs by stopping, removing or avoiding an aversive stimulus (unpleasant event)

Question 8

What is punishment?

Answer 8

Another form of operant conditioning. It involves a negative event following an action which makes you less likely to repeat

Question 9

What does social learning theory suggest?

Answer 9

That people turn to crime because they have learnt to be criminal by observing or imitating role models

Question 10

Social learning theorists believe people turn to crime due to two main things… what is Direct Reinforcement?

Answer 10

The act of being rewarded for committing crimes

Question 11

Social learning theorists believe people turn to crime due to two main things… what is Indirect Reinforcement?

Answer 11

The act of seeing others being rewarded for crime

Question 12

How did Albert Bandura try to test the ideas put forward by social learning theory?

Answer 12

He conducted the Bobo Doll Study

Question 13

What did Bandura do in his Bobo Doll study?

Answer 13

36 boys and 36 girls aged 3-6. Split into groups. 24 were exposed to an aggressive model and 24 were exposed to a passive model. They were then split again so that half the children would be exposed to a same sex role model. The child would be put in a room and made to watch the model play with the Bobo doll, and depending on the role model it would play aggressively. The child would later be placed in an ‘experimental room’ where they could play for 20 minutes with toys and the Bobo doll themself

Question 14

What did the results of the Bobo doll study show?

Answer 14

Children who were exposed to violent behaviour played violently, children who were exposed to gentle behaviour played gently– the experiment demonstrated that children are able to learn through social behaviour such as aggression (observation and imitation), supporting Bandura’s theory

Question 15

What did Bandura find concerning gender ?

Answer 15

The children were more influenced by role models of the same gender

Question 16

Bandura later retested the experiment and showed the importance of vicarious reinforcement. What did he find?

Answer 16

He found that children who saw someone being rewarded for playing aggressively would be more likely to imitate the behaviour than those who saw someone being punished

Question 17

What do Psychodynamic theories focus on?

Answer 17

They put emphasis on the idea of individual personality characteristics in relation to criminality

Question 18

How can social learning theory explain why people commit crime?

Answer 18

Criminals are conditioned to believe violent behaviour is normal and therefore if children see violent behaviour happening around them, then they may do the same because they believe its normal

Question 19

What did Freuds theory of consciousness suggest ?

Answer 19

That criminal behaviour is a product of our unconscious desires and that they can be a result of our repressed memories, manifested into outbursts of criminal behaviour

Question 20

What are the three stages of the human Psyche?

Answer 20

The Conscious, The Preconscious and The Subconscious

Question 21

What is the Conscious?

Answer 21

The part of the mind that included everything we are aware of - the aspect of our mental processing that controls rationality

Question 22

What is the Preconscious?

Answer 22

The part of the mind that represents ordinary memory - we are not aware of this information, but are able to retrieve it at any given time

Question 23

What is the Unconscious?

Answer 23

The part of the mind that contains all of our feelings, thoughts, urges and memories outside of conscious awareness

Question 24

What did Freud suggest about unconscious desires and crime

Answer 24

That criminal behaviour is a product of our unconscious desires

Question 25

What did Freud’s theory of personality suggest?

Answer 25

It suggested that an imbalance between your Id, Ego and Superego can be caused by suppressed trauma, which can lead to personality disorders and therefore an increased chance of committing crime

Question 26

What are the three main components of personality?

Answer 26

The Id, The Ego and The Superego

Question 27

What is the Id?

Answer 27

Represents the earliest desires, impulses and the need for gratification– the pleasure principle (like the devil on your shoulder)

Question 28

What is the ego

Answer 28

Represents reality and the ability to delay gratification (controlled/rational decisions), meditates the id and the superego– reality principle

Question 29

Describe the superego

Answer 29

Represents moral and social constraints and controls the id’s impulses, it is the moral conscience that believes society determines how we behave (the angel on our shoulder)

Question 30

What does it mean if someone has a dominant id?

Answer 30

It is hard to control the mind and resist impulses, therefore leading to criminality

Question 31

What does it mean if someone has an overly dominant ego?

Answer 31

They are a perfectionist who can be judgemental

Question 32

What does it mean if someone has an overly dominant superego?

Answer 32

They are rational– leads to living a fixed lifestyle

Question 33

How could Freud’s theory explain criminal behaviour?

Answer 33

Freud believed that children need to progress from the pleasure principle where the id dominates to the reality principle where the ego dominates and to do this they need a stable, loving home

Question 34

What do Psychological theories look into?

Answer 34

Psychological theories look at the role of childhood trauma, trauma and unconscious forces in determining criminality

Question 35

What was Eysenck’s theory of criminal personality?

Answer 35

That certain personality types are more likely to commit crime because they crave excitement, but are slow to learn that crime has bad consequences

Question 36

How did Eysenck conduct his study to prove his hypothesis?

Answer 36

He carried out a questionnaire on 700 soldiers who were being treated for neurotic disorders at the hospital he worked in

Question 37

Eysenck identified two dimensions of personality. What were they?

Answer 37

Introversion/extraversion and neuroticism/stability

Question 38

What does introversion/extraversion refer to?

Answer 38

Refers to the amount of stimulation (encouragement) people need

Question 39

What are people with high levels of extraversion like?

Answer 39

Extraverted–tend to be talkative, sociable, at ease when in groups, outgoing and get bored easily with a lack of stimulation

Question 40

What are people with low levels of extraversion like?

Answer 40

Introverted–less likely to engage in social activities, more quiet, uncomfortable with talking to strangers, they are in control of their emotions and are more reliable

Question 41

Eysenck later added a third dimension to his theory. What was it?

Answer 41

Psychoticism

Question 42

What is psychoticism

Answer 42

An extreme form of neuroticism which indicates a lack of empathy leading to colder, more aggressive behaviour

Question 43

What did Eysenck’s theory of criminal personality say would make someone likely to offend?

Answer 43

A person with Extrovert, Neurotic and Psychotic personalities are more likely to offend because it is difficult for them to control their impulses. Hence why criminals are more likely to be impulsive, thrill seeking and unable to accept the rules of society

Question 44

John Bowlby argues that another reason people turn to crime is due to a disruptive childhood. What did his theory of Maternal Deprivation Suggest?

Answer 44

That crime can be caused by a lack of maternal love/care within the first five years of a child’s life. It suggested that without this primary relationship, there is an increased incidence of juvenile delinquency, emotional issues and antisocial behaviour

Question 45

Bowlby suggested that maternal deprivation can cause emotional issues like Affectionless Psychopathy. What does this mean?

Answer 45

An inability to convey empathy, particularly if your the one causing that person’s problems

Question 46

Who did Bowlby study and what did he find?

Answer 46

44 juvenile delinquents–39% had experienced complete separation from their mothers during for more than 6 months for the first 5 years of their life

Question 47

What did Bowlby conclude from his findings?

Answer 47

That there is a link between early childhood experiences and crime