Operant conditioning as an explanation of criminality

Question 1

Operant conditioning as an explanation of criminality

Answer 1

Skinner developed a learning theory called operant conditioning. This suggested that behaviours will be repeated if they are reinforced or not repeated again if they are punished. There is positive and negative punishment and reinforcement and primary and secondary reinforcers.

Question 2

Positive reinforcement

Answer 2

Receiving something pleasant for a behaviour, so we repeat it. For example if a criminal receives a financial reward for committing fraud they are likely to repeat the behaviour

Question 3

Negative reinforcement

Answer 3

Repeatedly doing something to avoid something unpleasant. For example if someone is able to stop a bully by punching them, they may continue to use violence to solve problems in the future

Question 4

Positive punishment

Answer 4

Receiving something unpleasant for a behaviour so we do not do it again. For example being told off for causing trouble or being imprisoned for a criminal act

Question 5

Negative punishment

Answer 5

Removing something pleasant so we do not repeat the undesired behaviour again. For example if someone in a gang doesn’t want to vandalise a property with the rest they may be told to leave the gang. The undesired behaviour of not vandalising the property is punished

Question 6

Primary reinforcers

Answer 6

A reinforcer that satisfies a biological need such ass food or water. People who are in extreme poverty may commit theft to satisfy a basic need

Question 7

Secondary reinforcers

Answer 7

A common reinforcer with no survival value such as school grades, but we have learned to associate them with a primary reinforcer. For example, a credit card has no intrinsic value but it can be used to buy goods that are rewarding or satisfy a basic need like food

Question 8

Strengths of the explanation

Answer 8

It can be used to explain a wide range of crimes. For example it explains theft and how social approval can be a strong reinforcer in peer groups that encourage deviant behaviour

It explains how punishment can remove an undesirable behaviour. It has practical applications as it is used in our criminal justice system

Question 9

Weaknesses of the explanation

Answer 9

Committing crime may be more complicated than operant conditioning suggests. Operant conditioning neglects other factors making it a reductionist explanation

Criminal behaviour can be produced in the absence of reinforcement or punishment. A big part of whether someone decides to commit a criminal act can be due to the way they think or a different motivation