Psychological positivism

Question 1

psychological positivism

Answer 1

offending because of criminal mind or criminal personality

Question 2

freudian psychoanalysis

Answer 2

said little about crime but that humans born ‘antisocial’ guided by pleasure-seeking impulses clash with the need to stick to normal norms, different parts of the psyche interact to influence our decisions and behaviours, id ego and superego.

Question 3

psychoanalysis and crime

Answer 3

some behaviours are driven by unconscious processes that we’re not fully aware of, criminal actions may not be the result of rational decision-making but could stem from unconscious conflicts

Question 4

Bowlby’s maternal deprivation

Answer 4

offending behaviour occurs when a child has not had a close enough relationship with their mother, disruptions in family/development relationships may be harmful, empirical study of 44 juvenile offenders, no checks on control group

Question 5

behavioural learning theories- response to conditionings

Answer 5

individuals learn rules through development of conscience, something in criminals’ personality prevents growth and development

Question 6

eysenck’s personality theory

Answer 6

Extraversion- impulsiveness and sociability. neuroticism- anxiety, sensitiveness, reserve, moodiness. Psychoticism- insensitivity to others, solitude, sensation seekers.

Question 7

Eysenck’s research findings

Answer 7

offenders usually higher on N but not necessarily on E- repeat offending: associated to higher E, no clear evidence in support of eysenck’s theory

Question 8

issues with psychological positivism

Answer 8

overly deterministic, complexity of human mind makes strict positivism difficult to apply, freudian perspectives fail to account for gender differences.