Module 7: Psychological theories of Crime Flashcards
General theories
provide explanations for most crime, committed by most people, most of the time. these theories often argue that despite variations in who commits crime and when there is an underlying general cause
Typological theories
premised on there being different precursors and pathways to offending, leads to development of typologies for offenders, offences and victims
Criminology theory development
single factor reductionism
multiple factor approaches
systemic reductionism
integrated and interdisplinary apporaches
Single factor reductionism (1876 - mid 1920)
commenced with lombroso’s criminal man and emphasised how internal characteristics caused criminal behaviour
Multiple factor approach (1940-1960)
somewhat atheorectical in approach
focussed on discovering what factor predicted offending
systemic reductionism (1950 - today)
refers to attempts to reduce explanations for crime to a single disciplinary system largely dominated by sociological explanations
integrated or mutlidisciplinary theories
dominates current thinking
recognises that crime is diverse and requires input from multiple disciplines to understand it
Heredity: central premise
genetic variations are linked to criminality
based on twin and adoption studies, that found that monozygotic twins are very likely to have the same traits and behaviours
Neurobiological development
neurobiological changes which occur over the life course may increase or decrease risk for involvement in crime
Neurological impariment
may result from many environmental factors including alcohol and drug consumption , exposure to toxins, acquired brain injuries, that can heighten risk of offending
Damage to brain
particular area damage can may result in significant changes that can increase risk of offending
evolution - central premise
members of a species are designed to ensure theri genes survive
R/K theory
describes 2 different reproduction
R strategists
possess characteristic correlated with antisocial behaviour, males with multiple partners to produce multiple offspring
K Strategists
characteristics are cooperative, self controlled, have fewer partners and are more invested in offspring
Behavioural theories of crime
focuses on how behaviour is learnt
2 main theories
classical conditioning
operant conditioning
Classical conditioning
explains how accidental or unplanned associations between 2 stimuli results in learned associations
- occur by chance and outside conscious awareness
- results in powerful emotions and behaviours we cant always explain
How classical conditioning works
an unconditioned stimulus produces an unconditioned response
Neutral stimulus: Classical conditioning
produces no special response
Neutral stimulus pair with unconditioned stimulus: Classical Conditioning
neutral stimulus elicits unconditioned response in absence of unconditioned stimulus