unit 2 2.1- 2.3 Flashcards
name the 4 types of biological theories
physiological, genetic, brain injuries and disorders, biochemical explanations
name the 2 physiological theories
Lombroso’s and Sheldon’s
summary of Lombroso and examples
‘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.
what is atavism
pre-social, unable to control impulses and had reduced sensitivity. Arguing they were like apes.
summary of Sheldon and give examples
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)
name the 3 genetic theories
twin studies, adoption studies and XYY study
summary of twin studies and give evidence
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
summary of adoption studies and give evidence
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.
XYY study summary and give evidence
Jacob et al claimed more aggression and violence. prisoners and psychiatric patients had high levels of XYY. most likely to commit property crimes
summary of brain injuries and disorders
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
4 types of biochemical explanations
sex hormones, blood sugar levels, substance abuse and other substances.
summary of sex hormones and give examples
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)
blood sugar levels and examples
low blood sugar can trigger aggression. alcohol consumption can lead to violence. Schoenthaler claims lowering sucrose intake could reduce anti-social behaviour
summary of substance abuse and give examples
taking drugs both legal and illegal. Saunders said this played a significant role in about 1000 arrests per day in USA
what are the 4 types of individualistic theories
psychodynamic, personality, learning and cognitive theories
summarise psychoanalysis with relevant examples of id, ego and superego
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
define a weak superego
individual feeling less guilt about anti-social behaviour
define a harsh superego
deep guilt and craves punishment as a release from these feelings
define a deviant superego
the child has successfully socialised but into a deviant moral code
summarise Eysenck’s personality theory
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
Eysenck’s conditioning theory
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.
Sutherland’s differential association theory summary
learn criminal behaviour through family and peers
imitation of those around them
learned attitudes from people normalising crime
operant learning theory summary
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
social learning theory summary
examples and application
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
2 types of cognitive theories
criminal personality, Kohlberg’s moral development theory
summarise criminal personality and give examples
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
name the 2 functionalist and subculture theories
Durkheim’s functionalist theory and Merton’s strain theory
summarise Durkheim and give examples on the ‘important functions’
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)
summarise Merton’s strain theory
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
summarise labelling and self-fulfilling prophecy
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.
define primary and secondary deviance
primary- unlabelled acts( travelling without paying)
secondary- labelled acts (shoplifting)
define the deviance amplification spiral
attempt to decrease crimes leads to it increasing e.g. mods and rockers
increasing media exaggeration, moral entrepreneurs(police arresting more youths), negative labelling
Summarise Marxist theory
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
summarise right realism
sees crime as a growing problem and consider practical solutions such as punishment.
causes of crime- biological differences, inadequate socialisation, rationalism
summarise left realism
see inequality in capitalism to be the cause of crime- working class
causes of crime- deprivation, subculture, marginalisation( don’t have clear goals)
summarise Surveillance theories
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
