Topic 2 - Individualistic Theories

Question 1

Strengths of psychodynamic theories (Freud)

Answer 1

• started off important research- still viewed as a core influence in psychology
• first drew the attention to the importance of childhood experiences and later mental health
• can relate to a while range of people as according to Freud we all have those 3 things

Question 2

Weaknesses of psychodynamic theories (Freud)

Answer 2

-doesn’t look at any other factors that could cause crime
- difficult to test-can’t prove or test the existence of the unconscious mind
-can only explain specific crimes -for gratification and gain or for punishment
- no longer widely accepted
-therapies using this theory have not be very successful

Question 3

Strengths of Learning theory (Bandura)

Answer 3

-experiment done in controlled environment
-high in reliability and validity
-suggests people can chnage
-can explain a wide range of crime
-some good evidence to support the theory - bobo doll

Question 4

Weaknesses of learning theories (bandura)

Answer 4

-not very ethical
- ignores role of other factors
-doesn’t explain why some people commit crimes without seeing anything like it
- suggests all who seee crime will copy it
-limitations of bobo doll experiments - doesn’t represent real life, unethical, long term effect not determined

Question 5

Strengths of psychological theories(eysenck)

Answer 5

-high in generalisability
-can help identify who’s at risk of becoming criminal
-theory can relate to whole range of people and crimes

Question 6

Weaknesses of psychological theories (eysenck)

Answer 6

-doesn’t explain all crimes
- if everyone with extrovert and neurotic personality type will commit crime
-not all criminals have that personality
-relies of self-report methods - may lack validity
-personality can change over time

Question 7

strength of lombrosos theory

Answer 7

-led to further developments in explanation to criminality
-have scientific credibility to criminology for 1st time
-could be used to predict who will become criminal
-some evidence from Ls research supports his idea

Question 8

weaknesses of lombrosos theory

Answer 8

-only 40% of criminals he studied had those features
-suggested a person can’t change
-ignored role of other factoes

Question 9

strengths of sheldons theory

Answer 9

-used large sample size
-there is a link between mesomorphs having high testosterone which links to agression

Question 10

weaknesses of sheldons theory

Answer 10

-endomorphs and ectomorphs could also be criminal
-discredited theory
-ignores other factors (upbringing)
-doesn’t take into account body types can change
-overstates the link between body type and personality

Question 11

strengths of criminal genes (MAOA & CDH-13)

Answer 11

-small sample size
-explains violent crimes
-some evidence to support theory

Question 12

weaknesses of criminal genes (MAOA AND CDH-13)

Answer 12

-evidence is lacking
-relatively new discovery
-it is not clear whether there is a casual relationship
-doesn’t explain non-violent crimes

Question 13

strengths of chromosomal abnormalities

Answer 13

-jacob et al. found that lots of men in prison had XYY
-explains violent crimes
-some evidence to support theorh

Question 14

weaknesses of chromosomal abnormalities

Answer 14

-focuses too heavily on genetics
-only relates to men
-doesn’t explain non-violent crimes
-evidence is lacking
-doesn’t account for other factors (upbringing)

Question 15

strengths of adoption studies

Answer 15

-can relate to a wide range of crimes/criminals
-real world research often using large samples -more reliable and generalisable
-adoptions studies can separate out affect of genes and upbringing

Question 16

weaknesses of twin and adoption studies

Answer 16

-both ignore role of other factors
-twin studies are unable to separate out whether criminality is due to genetics of upbringing
-research is correlation

Question 17

weaknesses of durkheims theory

Answer 17

-offers no guidance to what’s the right amount of crime
-not reason for why crime exists in the first place -doesn’t explain cause
-ignores it’s affect on diff. groups in society
-punishments might be functional for society but not for victim

Question 18

strengths of durkheims functions of crime

Answer 18

-can affect everyone in society
-teaches people about values
-creates boundaries for society

Question 19

strengths of mertons strain theory

Answer 19

-looks at social structures and how they affect individuals rather than focusing on individual factors -gives broader understanding of how societal factors impact criminal behaviour
-explains crimes such as drug use and gang involvement

Question 20

weaknesses of mertons strain theory

Answer 20

-incomplete and undeveloped theory of crime and deviance
-doesn’t explain why people adopt diff. responses to strain
-doesn’t explain how diff genders reposed to strian

Question 21

strengths of marxist theories (capitalism causes of crime, the power dictate the definition and enforcement of crime)

Answer 21

-not as much evidence to back it up-not valid/reliable
-helps explain criminality
-can represent everyone
-explains all types of crime
-offers a useful explanation of relationship between capitalist society and crime
-has influenced approaches to the study of crime of rich and powerful

Question 22

weaknesses of marxist theories

Answer 22

-doesn’t take into account other social factors
-doesn’t fit for countries with no capitalist society
-ignores ethnicity and gender
-sometimes corporate crimes are prosecuted
-not all laws benefit ruling class
-ignores intra-class crimes