AC 3.2

Question 1

what is the name of Bandura’s theory?

Answer 1

social learning theory

Question 2

what is the name of Freud’s theory?

Answer 2

psychodynamic theory

Question 3

what is the name of Eysenck’s theory?

Answer 3

criminal personality type theory

Question 4

what is the name of Bowlby’s theory?

Answer 4

maternal deprivation theory

Question 5

who came up with differential association theories?

Answer 5

Sutherland
Osbourne and West

Question 6

who came up with operant learning theories?

Answer 6

Skinner
Jeffery

Question 7

what is the name of Kohlberg’s theory?

Answer 7

moral development theory

Question 8

who came up with the cognitive theory of criminal personality?

Answer 8

Yochelson and Samenow

Question 9

give 2 positives of Yochelson and Samenow’s criminal personality theory.

Answer 9

1. the idea that criminal thinking patterns are different have led to other research such as the PICTS
2. cognitive behaviour therapy has been developed based on this theory

Question 10

what are the PICTS?

Answer 10

the psychological inventory of criminal thinking styles

Question 11

give 3 negatives of Yochelson and Samenow’s criminal personality theory.

Answer 11

1. they didn’t use a control group of non-criminals in their experiments
2. their sample was unrepresentative with no women and mostly men who had been found to be ‘insane’, yet they claim all offenders share the same thinking errors as this sample
3. there was a high drop out rate (attrition rate), by the end only 30 left

Question 12

give 3 positives of social learning theory.

Answer 12

1. BoBo doll showed modelling had an effect
2. variables were controlled, so more accurate
3. it has been replicated and the results were similar

Question 13

give 3 negatives of social learning theory.

Answer 13

1. it was a lab study, so low natural validity
2. ethical issues, as children were exposed to aggression
3. children who never played with the doll were 5x more likely to imitate the models (Cumberbatch 1997)

Question 14

give 3 positives of Freud’s psychodynamic theory.

Answer 14

1. importance was placed on early socialisation and family relationships
2. it focuses on childhood experiences and the future of them shouldn’t be underestimated
3. it shows that the id, ego and superego relate to different parts of the brain and their functions

Question 15

give 3 negatives of Freud’s psychodynamic theory.

Answer 15

1. it is no longer accredited by psychologists , due to the difficulty in testing the concepts
2. it is a subjective process
3. there is a lack of quantitative data from Freud’s case studies

Question 16

give 3 positives of Eysenck’s criminal personality type theory.

Answer 16

1. his research on soldiers supported his theory as the most traumatised scored high on neurotic
2. his theory could mean that intervention early on could prevent criminal development
3. his personality test formed the basis of personality tests now such as DeYoung’s 2010 psychometric test

Question 17

give 3 negatives of Eysenck’s criminal personality type theory.

Answer 17

1. there is a lack of reliability as people may not respond the same on different days
2. this can be a biased measure with false answers
3. it suggests personality is generic and fails to consider that it can change over time

Question 18

give 2 positives of Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory.

Answer 18

1. his study showed more of his sample of delinquents had suffered maternal deprivation than the control group
2. his work considers the role of parenting towards criminality

Question 19

give 3 negatives of Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory.

Answer 19

1. it is a retrospective study and participants had to recall the past
2. Bowlby fails to account for 61% of delinquents who hadn’t experienced maternal deprivation
3. Sammons and Putwain note the link between maternal deprivation and criminality is no longer widely accepted

Question 20

give 3 positives of differential association theory.

Answer 20

1. crime often running in the family supports the theory
2. Matthews found juvenile delinquents are more likely to have friends who commit anti-social acts, suggesting behaviour is learned from peers
3. the attitudes of work groups can normalise white collar crime allowing offenders to justify their crimes

Question 21

give 2 negatives of differential association theory.

Answer 21

1. not everyone exposed to crime is a criminal
2. they might learn how to commit a crime, but not actually do it

Question 22

give 2 positives of operant learning theory.

Answer 22

1. Skinner’s experiment on animals shows animals learn through enforcement, a human form of learning
2. it can be applied to offending as Jeffery states if crime leads to a more rewarding outcome, the individual is more likely to offend

Question 23

give 3 negatives of operant learning theory.

Answer 23

1. it is based on study of animals, not humans
2. it ignores internal mental processes such as thinking, values and attitudes
3. humans have free will and therefore choose their own actions

Question 24

give 2 positives of Kohlberg’s moral development theory.

Answer 24

1. some studies show delinquents are more likely to have immature moral development, as this theory predicts
2. Thornton and Reid found this to be truer for crimes such as theft and robbery (crimes involving reasoning) rather than impulsive crimes of violence

Question 25

give 1 negative of Kohlberg's moral development theory.

Answer 25

1. he focuses on moral thinking rather than behaviour, individuals can think morally but act immorally

Question 26

what was the name of Lombroso's theory?

Answer 26

'Born criminal' theory

Question 27

what was the name of Sheldon's theory?

Answer 27

Somatotype theory

Question 28

who's theory was XYY?

Answer 28

Jacob et al

Question 29

who came up with Twin studies?

Answer 29

Christiansen Lange

Question 30

who came up with Adoption studies?

Answer 30

Hutchings and Mednick

Question 31

give 2 positives of Lombroso's 'born criminal' theory.

Answer 31

research from Bath Spa university in 2007 suggested less attractive individuals are more likely to be considered guilty his work heralded the beginning of offender profiling

Question 32

give 3 negatives of Lombroso's 'born criminal' theory.

Answer 32

no control group DeLisi in 2012 said that many atavistic features are specific to people of African descent Goring used a non-criminal control group in 1913 and found no significant differences in terms of behaviour

Question 33

give 3 positives of Sheldon's Somatoype theory.

Answer 33

1. Putwain and Sammons confirmed in 2002 a small association between body build and criminality 2. he used a large sample of 200 people and a control group too 3. he did find that criminal groups were more mesomorphic

Question 34

give 3 negatives of Sheldon's Somatotype theory.

Answer 34

1. he couldn't explain how ectomorphs and endomorphs were criminals 2. doesn't account for changing somatotypes 3. of mesomorph's body shape is criminal, could it lead to self-fulfilling prophecies?

Question 35

give 2 positives of the XYY theory.

Answer 35

1. a study by Jacob et al in 1965 found a large number of men in prison had XYY sex chromosomes 2. Adler et al indicated in 2007 that it is possible violent and aggressive behaviour is partly determined by genetic factors

Question 36

give 3 negatives of the XYY theory.

Answer 36

1. it focuses on genetics heavily, ignoring the behaviourist approach 2. studies have found genetic abnormalities are widespread and don't explain aggression 3. Theilgaard compared XYY and XY men and found in 1984 that aggression wasn't associated with XYY men

Question 37

give 3 positives of Biochemical theories.

Answer 37

1. all biochemicals can affect mood, judgement and aggression 2. testosterone levels and male offending peak at the same age 3. biochemical factors are recognised by the courts

Question 38

give 2 negatives of Biochemical theories.

Answer 38

1. biochemicals may predispose some individuals to offend but may need an environmental trigger 2. testosterone levels don't actually affect aggression in most men, and young men are more likely to be verbally aggressive than physically

Question 39

give 3 positives of Brain injury theories.

Answer 39

1. in a few extreme cases, brain injury led to a change in behaviour 2. there are correlations between ECG readings ad psychopathic criminality 3. prisoners are more likely to have brain injuries than non-prisoners

Question 40

give 3 negatives of Brain injury theories.

Answer 40

1. crimes caused by brain injuries are rare 2. some psychopaths have normal ECG readings 3. a prisoners likelihood of brain injuries could be caused by their criminality

Question 41

give 2 positives of Adoption study theories.

Answer 41

1. it is easy to separate genetic and environmental factors 2. there is a correlation between adopted children and their biological parents

Question 42

give 3 negatives of Adoption study theories.

Answer 42

1. age of adoption may mean children have already been influenced by natural parents or foster environment 2. information on biological families isn't always available 3. adoption process is not always random, as children may be placed with similar parents

Question 43

give 3 positives of Twin study theories.

Answer 43

1. they are natural experiments as biological relationships are natural 2. Christiansen in 1977 supported the idea that criminality has a genetic component 3. the results have helped in prevention of vulnerable disorders

Question 44

give 3 negatives of Twin study theories.

Answer 44

1. early twin studies by Lange in 1929 were based on appearance not DNA 2. a smaller sample was used, so not very representative 3. it twins are brought up in the same environment it may be nurture not nature

Question 45

who came up with functionalist theories of criminality?

Answer 45

Durkheim Merton (Strain theory)

Question 46

what is the name of Karl Marx's theory of criminality?

Answer 46

Marxism or The Social Structure theory

Question 47

who came up with Interactionism or The Labelling theory?

Answer 47

Becker

Question 48

who was a leading Right Realist?

Answer 48

Charles Murray

Question 49

who was a leading Left Realist?

Answer 49

Young

Question 50

give 1 positive of functionalism by Durkheim.

Answer 50

he says that crime can unite the community and enforce boundary maintenance such as in the 2008 Shannon Matthews case

Question 51

give 3 negatives of functionalism by Durkheim.

Answer 51

1. doesn't look at causes, just that it's functional and healthy 2. he argues that a certain amount of crime/deviance is healthy, but doesn't say how much 3. he overlooks the fact crime has significant dysfunctions for victims

Question 52

give 3 positives of functionalism by Merton.

Answer 52

1. explains collective deviance 2. provides a good understanding for why people who struggle to achieve in education turn to crime; because status is important to us all 3. explains more crime types rather than just utilitarian crimes

Question 53

give 3 negatives of functionalism by Merton.

Answer 53

1. too much focus on working class crime 2. doesn't offer solutions to crime 3. anomie suggests there is one collective agreed set of norms and values, but could it be there is no value consensus?

Question 54

give 3 positives of Marxism.

Answer 54

1. provides an explanation for crime of all social classes and a variety of offences 2. highlights the impact of selective law enforcement and how white-collar crime is underpoliced 3. demonstrates how the law reflects differences in power between social classes and also how inequality can lead to criminal behaviour

Question 55

give 3 negatives of Marxism.

Answer 55

1. largely ignores non-class inequalities (gender or ethnicity) 2. over states the amount of crime in working class communities 3. there are many prosecutions for white-collar crime e.g. Bernie Madoff and Jordan Belfort

Question 56

give 3 positives of Interactionism.

Answer 56

1. shows how law is often enforced in a discriminatory way, it highlights the consequences of labelling 2. it highlights weaknesses in official statistics, which allows bias in law enforcement 3. it highlights the role of the media in defining and creating deviance and producing moral panics

Question 57

give 3 negatives of Interactionism.

Answer 57

1. it fails to explain why deviance happens and there is no acceptance that some people may choose deviance 2. it ignores the victim of crime and focuses on the criminal 3. criminals don't need a label to know they're doing wrong and a self-fulfilling prophecy doesn't always arise as a result of labelling

Question 58

give 3 positives of Left Realism.

Answer 58

1. it explores the role of the victim of crime, especially poor or vulnerable, in more depth than other theories 2. it recognises multiple causes of crime 3. it avoids the worst excesses of both right and left-wing approaches by neither glorifying or attacking the police

Question 59

give 3 negatives of Left Realism.

Answer 59

1. it fails to explain white-collar/corporate crime 2. it doesn't explain why everyone in relative deprivation doesn't turn to crime 3. it is arguable made up of a mixture of other theories

Question 60

give 3 positives of Right Realism.

Answer 60

1. it has helped to produce and shape the government's research into crime e.g. victim surveys 2. it offers a more practical approach to tackling crime than Marxism or Interactionism 3. research by Flood-Page et al in 2000 supports the view of the decline of the family as they found children (particularly males) from one parent/step-families were more likely to offend than those who lived with 2 natural parents

Question 61

give 3 negatives of Right Realism.

Answer 61

1. it too readily accepts crime statistics which focus on young males and street crime and fails to explain white-collar crime 2. it ignores wider structural causes of crime e.g. poverty 3. it ignores the increasing gap between rich and poor creating resentment (relative deprivation)