Theories Flashcards
Psychological
abnormality predisposes them to becoming deviant or criminal
extrovert personality traits - inherited
Hoffman - how parents relate to children, middle class explain and reason, while lower class hit etc
Freud - problems derived from difficulties in sexual development and relationships with parents
bowlby - maternal deprivation, children need emotional security in order to be affectionate themselves. Juvenile delinquents have psychopathic personality with no sense of right and wrong
Biological
people are born bad, and physical characteristics show this, and they couldn’t do anything about it
XYY syndrome - high amount in maximum security and mental institutions
Kelly - biochemical imbalances in some people may cause criminal behaviour
Evaluation of theories
values learned through socialisation rather than being born with it
questions over how psychological studies are carried out - how can you measure personality traits
childhood experience overemphasised, there are many other factors that influence our lives
controversy over seeing deviance as ‘sickness’ and can attempt to ‘cure’ it (surgery, electric shock) which brings up moral questions
