Theories Of Crime Flashcards
Date and theorist for The Social Learning Theory (SLT)
Burrhus Fredrick Skinner 1940’s
Date and theorist of the Strain Theory
Robert Merton in 1938
Date and theorist of the Maternal Deprivation Theory
John Bowlby in the 1930s
Date and start of the ACEs theory
Based on a scientific study in the 1990s
Date and theorist of the Labelling Theory
Howard S Becker in the 1960’s
Description of the SLT
Based on the learning process of social behaviour, saying that new behaviours can be acquired by observing and imitating others.
Description on the Strain Theory
Sociological theory that states that your social class can determine your likelihood of criminality.
Description of the Maternal Deprivation Theory
Suggests that a warm and intimate relationship with a mother figure is essential for early development.
What happens with a lack of a maternal figure
It can lead to cognitive development problems and difficulties feeling empathy and inability to form emotional bonds, can lead to affection less psychopathy.
Description of the ACEs theory
States that if you have a more adverse or tougher upbringing then you have a higher likelihood of committing crimes
Description of the labelling theory
States that identity and the behaviour of individuals may be determined by the terms used to describe them. Associated with the concept of self-full-filling prophecy and stereotyping
Example of the SLT
Boswell and Wedge 2002 - 181 prisoners had been abused.
Bobo doll experiment
Example of strain theory
NE of England poorest region with the highest crime rate in the UK
Example of the maternal deprivation theory
Joan McCord found that out of 235 members of the Cambridge Somerville youth study this who had motherly figures were unlikely to commit crime.
Example of ACEs theory
4 or more aces score has shown to be linked to criminal behaviour in a 2013 study into social deprivation
Example of the labelling theory
36,000+ robberies were committed by black people in the USA with 29,000 committed by white people.
Disadvantage of the SLT
ethical issues make it hard to test as it can damage children in the long term (psychology etc)
Disadvantage of the strain theory
Does not explain why rich people commit non utilitarian crimes.
Ireland has 5th highest GDP in the world in 2019 but still has a high crime rate of an increase of 28.5% from the year before in 2018
Disadvantage of the maternal deprivation theory
Does not explain why people who have had a motherly figure commit crimes
Disadvantage of the ACEs theory
Does not take into account the biological factors or crime levels within a community.
Main aces study cannot be generalised to mass population.
Disadvantage of the labelling theory
Does not take into account other factors such as opportunities & socialisation of the labelled group.
