Unit 2- Individualist Theories Flashcards
Explain Freud’s Theory
In the pychodynamic approach, Frued’s theory views personalites argues the importance of early childhood to leave a mark on an indivdual as they develop, most importantly how socialisation with a child can influence their behaviour, even if they’re not concious of it. Freud preposed that there was a conflict in the unconcious mind (the id) and the social concious of a person (superego), and that it was a result of these that causes crime.
Use examples of super egos below to link!!
Weakly Developed -less guilt, let inhibition
Unforgiving - guilt, feel like need punishment, repeat offending
Deviant - socialised with criminal values, don’t view as morally wrong, crime
Freud: Strengths
Importance of early socialisation and family relationships in understanding criminal behaviour
Psychoanalyitic appraoches have some influence on polices for dealing with crime and deviance
Freud: Weaknesses
Lack of empirical data for the unconcious mind, as it is unquantifiable
Overestimates how far early childhood experiences have a permenant effect on later behaviour
Reliance on accepting claims that they can see into the workings of the individuals unconcious mind- inner conflicts and motivations
Explain Bowlby’s Theory
Bowlby beleives that children are biologically predisposed to develop attachments with caregivers as a means of increasing the chances of their own survival. However, when this attachment is deprived, it make cause for affectionless psychopathy due to maternal deprevation, which bowlby argues can cause crime.
Bowlby: Strengths
Research showed that 39% of his sample of 44 juvenile delinquents had suffered from maternal deprevation, compared to 5%
Work shows the need to consider role of parent-child relationships in criminality
Bowlby: Weaknesses
Retrospective study, relying on delinquents and mothers to accuratly recall past events, which is difficult around potentially emotive events.
39% doesnt explain why the other 61% where delinquents. Deprev cannot be only cause
Overestimates how far early childhood experiences have a permenant effect on later behaviour`
Explain Eysenck’s Personality Theory
Eysenck’s Personality Theory is an individualistic theory that believes one’s personality can result in being more likely to commit crime. Using a questionaire, he measured an individual’s personality using two dimensions, Neuroticism to Stability and Extroversion to Introversion, with the later addition of Psychoticism.
Those with a high E score are Extroverts, and are sociable and attention seeking. More importantly in the application of crime, they are more prone to risk taking in order to obtain stimulation from they’re environment, which may lead to rulebreaking behaviour.
Those with a high N score are Neurotic and are anxious and depressesd, and have strong reactions to aversive stimuli. This makes them difficult to condition to societies rules, making it harder for them to be conditioned to learn from their mistakes.
Those with High P scores are aggressive, anti social and more likely to commit crime.
Extrovervision/Introversion
Neuroticism
Psychoticism
Eysenck: Strengths
Useful in describing how some measurable tendenceis could increase a persons risk of offending
Predicts high N,E,P scores lead to criminality. Some studies support this prediction, Rushton and Christjohn 1981, compared scores with self reports of delinquency in students, higher levels in delinquency with high levels of ENP
Eysenck: Weaknesses
Farrington examined a range of studies, showed prisoners are neurotic and psychotic, but not extraverted
Evidence on prisoners shows a correlation by doesnt prove that personality type causes crime, may be the other way round
Convicted offenders may not be typical offenders, low N offenders may be more likely to avoid getting caught
Eysenck used self report questionaires, may not produce a valid result, people may lie
Explain Differential Association
Differential Association is a learning theory that argues individuals learn criminality from their family and peer groups. That criminal acts can be acquired through observing them through others. Moreover, it can be learnt through socialisation within a group, as this exposes an individual to attitudes and values about the law. If indiivudal interanilises more unfavourable attitudes, they are more likely to commit crime.
Example, White collar crime, normalised criminal behaviour
Differential Association: Strengths
Crime often runs in families, people with criminal parents more likely to be criminals themselves, may have learnt crim values and techniques
Matthews found that juvenille delinquents more likely to have friends who commit antisocial acts, learn behavior from peer groups
Attitudes of work groups can normalise white collar crime, justify their behaviour
Differential Association: Weaknesses
Not everyone exposed to criminal influences becomes a criminal. Might learn how but don’t put to practice
Explain Operant Learning
Operant learning theory is th idea that if particular behaviours result in a reward, it is more liekly to be repeated.
Similarly, if the results of a behaviour lead to punishment, it is less likely to be repeated. Skinner believes that the reinforcement and punishments of a person’s life shapes it, and that criminal behaviuour is learned through the rewards that crime may offer compared to the punishments
Observational Learning
Operant Learning: Strengths
Skinners studies of learning in animals show they learn from experience via reinforcement
Applied to offending. Jeffery stating that if crime leads to more reward than punishing outcomes, more likely to offend
Operant Learning: Weaknesses
Based on animal learning, not adequate to model how humans learn criminal behaviour
Ignores mental processes, reductionist. Explains criminal behaviour only on terms of reward and punishment
Humans have free will and can choose their actions
