LO2 - theories of criminality

Question 1

biological theories and 2 sub sections

Answer 1

• genetic
  XYY, Twin studies, Adoption studies
• physiological
  Sheldon, Lombroso
• brain injuries
• biochemical explanations

Question 2

Lombroso’s theory

Answer 2

atavistic form = throwbacks to a primitive stage of evolution - suggested people are born criminals and that they’re physically different - spent years measuring their features and found they had distinctive features e.g long arms, enormous jaw and he claimed different criminals had different features e.g murderers had aquiline noses - sample of 383 dead criminals and 3839 living criminals and compared them with soldiers

Question 3

Sheldon’s theory

Answer 3

certain somatotypes are linked to criminal behaviour
1. endomorphs = soft and fat with a relaxed and outgoing personality
2. ectomorphs = thin and fragile with a self-conscious personality
3. mesomorphs = muscular with broad shoulders with an adventurous and assertive personality
-mesomorphs are most likely to commit crimes as they’re the most risk taking and have the physique for certain crimes
sample of 4000 photos of males

Question 4

twin studies

Answer 4

studies of monozygotic as they share the same genes and are both developed from the same egg so if one twin is criminal we would assume the other is aswell (concordance rate)
evidence: Christiansen studied 3586 twins in Denmark found 52% concordance rate between MZ twins of having a conviction whereas only 22% in DZ twins

Question 5

adoption studies

Answer 5

isolates effects of genes from effects of the environment by comparing children to their birth and adoptive parents
evidence: Mednick et al examined 14000 adopted sons and found sons were more likely to have a criminal record if their birth parents did and a smaller proportion did if their adopted parents had one

Question 6

Jacobs XYY study

Answer 6

extra Y chromosome known as XYY syndrome ‘super male’ tend to be very tall and well built - the extra Y chromosome makes them produce more testosterone so more aggressive and have behavioural problems such as impulsivity
evidence: 1 in 1000 in population but 15 In 1000 in prison

Question 7

brain injury theories

Answer 7

Phineas Gage whose personality changed after a brain injury

Question 8

biochemical explanations

Answer 8

• sex hormones - over or underproduction may cause emotional disturbances - testosterone has been linked with crimes such as murder and rape
• substance abuse - alcohol causes about 1000 arrests per day - cocaine is linked to high aggression

Question 9

individualistic theories

Answer 9

psychodynamic - Freud
Eysenck
learning theories - SLT, Sutherland
cognitive theories - Kohlberg
Bowlby

Question 10

Freuds theory

Answer 10

says our early childhood experiences determine our future personality and behaviour - in the unconscious mind
id = ‘pleasure principle’, selfish with a blind desire to satisfy urges
superego = ‘morality principle’ - morals we learn by our parents during early socialisation - get an idea of right and wrong
ego = ‘reality principle’ the mediator between id and superego, learns from experience, satisfies both
-weak superego = id takes over and feel less guilt
-too harsh superego = harsh guilt so individual commits crime to escape
-devaint superego - internalised wrong morals e.g criminal father

Question 11

Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory

Answer 11

a child needs a close and continuous relationship with their caregiver from birth to the age of 5 to develop normally if not it can lead them unable to form emotional relationships with others (affectionless psychopathy)
evidence: studied 44 juvenile thieves who had been referred to a child guidance clinic - found 39% had suffered maternal deprivation before the age of 5 compared with only 5% of a control group of non-delinquents

Question 12

Eysenck’s personality theory

Answer 12

3 personality types which makes someone most likely to be a criminal as they crave excitement, thrills and don’t learn crime has negative consequences
PEN model
* psychoticism=immature, emotionally cold and uncaring
* extroverted=needs excitement and becomes bored quickly not introverted
* neurotic=anxious and irrational not stable
devised a personality questionnaire

Question 13

Sutherlands differential associations theory

Answer 13

individuals learn criminal behaviour - imitate criminal acts by acquiring skills and techniques through observing or learn attitudes through socialisation within a group - may internalise more unfavourable attitudes and values

Question 14

Operant learning theory

Answer 14

Skinner - if behaviour is rewarded it’s likely to be repeated and behaviour that is punished is more likely not to be
differential reinforcement theory = Jeffery argues if there are more rewards then punishments for a crime people are more likely to do it

Question 15

social learning theory

Answer 15

Bandura argues we learn most aggressive behaviour by observing and imitating others
bobo doll study - experimented on 4-5 year olds and showed them a video of either a violent or non-violent model and found that children who saw the violent model showed more aggressive behaviour
4 factors that affect SLT
1-attention 2-retention 3-motivation 4-reproduction

Question 16

Kohlberg’s moral development theory

Answer 16

6 stages of moral development separated into 3 stages and some people don’t progress enough so they commit crimes
* pre-conventional - punishment and reward stage
* conventional - good boy/girl and law+order stage
* post-conventional - social control and ethical principle stage
criminals are in stages 1 and 2

Question 17

sociological theories of criminality

Answer 17

functionlism
marxism
subcultural
labelling
strain
left and right realism

Question 18

functionalist theory

Answer 18

Durkheim sees society as a stable structure providing social solidarity to it’s members - says crime is inevitable as some individuals are inadequately socialised
says crime has important functions
1. boundary maintenance - reminds people of right and wrong and reaffirms shared rules
2. social change - new ideas must challenge existing norms to not become deviant e.g suffragetes
3. safety valve - reinforces social values and brings people together
4. warning light - indicates an institution isnt working right

Question 19

merton’s strain theory

Answer 19

root cause of crime lies in the unequal structure of society - opportunities for w/c are usually blocked by poverty which creates a strain from people and their goal which leads to people turning to crime
5 groups of people and how they deal with strain:
* conformity=cope by doing their best
* innovators=accept the goal but find illegal ways of achieving it
* ritualists=give up striving for success
* retreatists=reject goals and drop out of society
* rebels=reject traditional goals and replace them with more radical alternatives

Question 20

subcultural theory

Answer 20

individuals whose legitimate opportunities are blocked may turn to deviant subcultures - they have values and attitudes that lead to crime - Cohen says people get status frustration and become fed up of being worthless
3 subcultures that neighbourhoods give rise to:
1. criminal=in areas with longstanding proffessional crimal network
2. conflict=in areas where only criminal opportunities are in gangs
3. retreatist=drop outs who failed both legitimate and illegitimate opportunities

Question 21

labelling theory

Answer 21

interactionist theory-police label certain groups as criminals = differential enforcement where the law is more harsh on one group than another - Lemert argues by labelling certain people as criminals society encourages them to become more so - secondary deviance is a result from labelling where people may treat the offender solely in terms of the label and as a result the offender may be rejected from society so self-fulfilling prophecy may occur where they internalise the label

Question 22

Marxist theory

Answer 22

unequal structure of the capitalist society shapes criminal behaviour - 2 classes u/c (bourgeoisie) and w/c (proletariat) - the law and its enforcements are a means of keeping the w/c in their place
marxist view has 3 main elements:
1. capitalism causes crime - exploitation of w/c leads people to poverty - inequality causes frustration
2. making and enforcing the law - selective law enforcement = crimes of m/c are less likely to be prosecuted and caught as police are looking out for w/c crimes
3. ideological functions of crime + law - selective law enforcement makes it look asif crime is at fault of w/c

Question 23

right realism

Answer 23

crime is the product of 3 factors:
1. biological differences - some people may be more likely to commit crime
2. inadequate socialisation - nuclear family is being undermined by generous welfare benefits creating a ‘dependency culture’ and an ‘underclass’ who fail to socialise their children]
3. offending is a rational choice - if rewards outwigh consequences people will commit crime
solutions = zero tolerance - harsh punishments for small crime
and make consequences of crime seem stronger than benefits

Question 24

left realism

Answer 24

inequality is the root cause of crime - 3 causes:
* relative deprivation-not having the same as others
* subcultures-criminal subcultures share societys materialistic goals and can only achieve them illegitimately
* marginalisation-feeling on the outskirts and feel resentment of injustice