unit 2 2.1- 2.3

Question 1

name the 4 types of biological theories

Answer 1

physiological, genetic, brain injuries and disorders, biochemical explanations

Question 2

name the 2 physiological theories

Answer 2

Lombroso’s and Sheldon’s

Question 3

summary of Lombroso and examples

Answer 3

‘born criminals’. in 1876 he said criminals can be identified through physical features e.g. large jaws, long arms and murderers had sharp noses while thieves had flat noses.

Question 4

what is atavism

Answer 4

pre-social, unable to control impulses and had reduced sensitivity. Arguing they were like apes.

Question 5

summary of Sheldon and give examples

Answer 5

in 1940s Sheldon saw criminals as physically different, certain ‘somatotypes’ are linked with criminals e.g. endomorphs (fat and round), mesomorphs (broad and muscular. more likely to be criminals) and ectomorphs (tall and thin)

Question 6

name the 3 genetic theories

Answer 6

twin studies, adoption studies and XYY study

Question 7

summary of twin studies and give evidence

Answer 7

people who have ‘criminal genes’ are likely to have the same genes with relatives. study monozygotic twins as they are both developed by the same egg. e.g. Christiansen 1977 study of 3586 twins in Denmark. 52% concordance between mz and 22% with dz

Question 8

summary of adoption studies and give evidence

Answer 8

compare adopted children with biological and adoptive parents. (comparing genes with environment). e.g. Mednick et al 1984 studied 14,000 adopted sons in Denmark. 20% if biological parents were also criminals and 15% for adoptive.

Question 9

XYY study summary and give evidence

Answer 9

Jacob et al claimed more aggression and violence. prisoners and psychiatric patients had high levels of XYY. most likely to commit property crimes

Question 10

summary of brain injuries and disorders

Answer 10

Phineas Gage ( personality change due to frontal lobe injury) studies show prisoners are more likely to have brain injuries.
abnormal EEG readings among murders and psychopathic criminals

Question 11

4 types of biochemical explanations

Answer 11

sex hormones, blood sugar levels, substance abuse and other substances.

Question 12

summary of sex hormones and give examples

Answer 12

males- overproduction or underproduction can lead to disturbances and criminal behaviour. Ellis and Coontz show testosterone levels peak from puberty to early 20s and this correlates with crime.
females- PMT and post-natal depression have been accepted for defences of shoplifting (controls mood and hormones)

Question 13

blood sugar levels and examples

Answer 13

low blood sugar can trigger aggression. alcohol consumption can lead to violence. Schoenthaler claims lowering sucrose intake could reduce anti-social behaviour

Question 14

summary of substance abuse and give examples

Answer 14

taking drugs both legal and illegal. Saunders said this played a significant role in about 1000 arrests per day in USA

Question 15

what are the 4 types of individualistic theories

Answer 15

psychodynamic, personality, learning and cognitive theories

Question 16

summarise psychoanalysis with relevant examples of id, ego and superego

Answer 16

Freud 1890s (early experiences determine personality)
id- unconscious, instinctive, pleasure principle. (if we acted on these urges it would turn into crime)
superego- conscience, learn through parental interactions
ego- balance between id and superego, reality principle, learning experiences through the real world

Question 17

define a weak superego

Answer 17

individual feeling less guilt about anti-social behaviour

Question 18

define a harsh superego

Answer 18

deep guilt and craves punishment as a release from these feelings

Question 19

define a deviant superego

Answer 19

the child has successfully socialised but into a deviant moral code

Question 20

summarise Eysenck’s personality theory

Answer 20

extraversion v introversion
neuroticism v emotional stability
extraversion- sociable, impulsive, short-tempered
introversion- reserved, thoughtful, serious
neurotic- anxious, moody, over-reacting
emotionally stable- calm, even tempered, controlled

Question 21

Eysenck’s conditioning theory

Answer 21

argued we learn through conditioning but some people inherit a nervous system that develops criminal behaviour.
extraverts- needs high level of stimulation from environment (excitement seeking)
neurotics- high anxiety prevents learning from mistakes
psychoticism- aggressive, lack empathy and more likely to be criminal.

Question 22

Sutherland’s differential association theory summary

Answer 22

learn criminal behaviour through family and peers
imitation of those around them
learned attitudes from people normalising crime

Question 23

operant learning theory summary

Answer 23

B.F Skinner- rat reinforcement through behaviour shaping
differential reinforcement theory- Jeffrey argues id criminal behaviour has more positives someone is more likely to do it

Question 24

social learning theory summary
examples and application

Answer 24

Bandura- bobo doll
seeing people doing a certain thing and imitating them
whether we imitate or not depends on consequences
divided into 3 groups: model was rewarded, model was punished, control group- saw neither
1- imitated aggressive behaviours
2- less likely to be aggressive
3- less aggressive
applied to criminal behaviour

Question 25

2 types of cognitive theories

Answer 25

criminal personality, Kohlberg’s moral development theory

Question 26

summarise criminal personality and give examples

Answer 26

Yochelson and Samenow- criminals are more likely to have faulty thinking making them commit crimes
study of 240 males in a psychiatric hospital
thinking errors- criminals make errors and biases which cause them to commit crimes- secretiveness

Question 27

name the 2 functionalist and subculture theories

Answer 27

Durkheim’s functionalist theory and Merton’s strain theory

Question 28

summarise Durkheim and give examples on the ‘important functions’

Answer 28

1893- crime is inevitable
‘anomie’- shared norms weaken
1. boundary maintenance( reactions from crime gives society a chance to be against the wrongdoers)
2. social change( new ideas to challenge existing norms)
3. safety valve( deviance acts as a safety valve for society)
4.warning light( deviance shows an institution doesn’t work properly)

Question 29

summarise Merton’s strain theory

Answer 29

American values- wealth
blocked opportunities for working class (inadequate schools)
creates a ‘strain’ between the goal and reality
causes crime as people want to reach their goal
innovations- accepts goal but does illegal things to achieve it
ritualism- give up striving for success
retreatism- ‘dropouts’ e.g. drug addicts
rebellion- replaces old goals

Question 30

summarise labelling and self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 30

labelling- labelling certain people as deviant will encourage them to act that way
self-fulfilling prophecy- individual has now become the label given to them.

Question 31

define primary and secondary deviance

Answer 31

primary- unlabelled acts( travelling without paying)
secondary- labelled acts (shoplifting)

Question 32

define the deviance amplification spiral

Answer 32

attempt to decrease crimes leads to it increasing e.g. mods and rockers
increasing media exaggeration, moral entrepreneurs(police arresting more youths), negative labelling

Question 33

Summarise Marxist theory

Answer 33

unequal structure of capitalist society can shape behaviour
capitalist have ruling capitalist class(bourgeoisie) and working class(proletariat)
3 main elements: capitalism causes crime systems, enforcing law is biased, law performs ideological functions- concealing inequality of capitalism

Question 34

summarise right realism

Answer 34

sees crime as a growing problem and consider practical solutions such as punishment.
causes of crime- biological differences, inadequate socialisation, rationalism

Question 35

summarise left realism

Answer 35

see inequality in capitalism to be the cause of crime- working class
causes of crime- deprivation, subculture, marginalisation( don’t have clear goals)

Question 36

summarise Surveillance theories

Answer 36

Foucault- the panopticon(prisoners can’t see the guards but guards can see them) prisoners must behave as they’re being watched- controlling behaviour
increasingly controlled through self-surveillance
Synoptic- everyone watches everyone(dashboard cameras)- controls behaviour