ac3.2 - evaluate the effectiveness of criminological theories to explain causes of criminality

Question 1

list strengths of bandura

Answer 1

bobo doll experiment showed the model had an efffect on the childs behaviour, showing cause and effect

the experiment and variables such as gender and actions of the model were controlled, allowing for greater accuracy

the study has been replicated with slight changes and similar results have been found

Question 2

list weaknesses of bandura

Answer 2

bobo doll study is a lab study with low ecological validity, child and model are strangers unlike real life modelling between family

ethical issues due to exposing them to aggression, protection from psychological and physical harm?

novelty aspect of the doll if never played with it before means more likely to follow the adult. cumberbatch found that kids who hadnt played with the bobo doll before were 5x more likely to imitate model than those who were familiar with it

Question 3

list strengths of freud

Answer 3

just because the theories are odd or unusual doesnt mean theyre automatically wrong

contribued to research about crime, eg. focus on childhood experiences and importance of them on future behaviour should not be underestimated

the id ego and superego relate to different parts of the brain and their functions. limbic system is brains emotion centre like the id and the pre frontal cortex makes rational decisions like the ego

Question 4

list weaknesses of freud

Answer 4

psychodynamic offending theories no longer accredited due to the difficulty of testing concepts such as the unconscious mind

unscientific and lack objective interpretation, subjective processes with differing conclusions

lack of quantitative data from freuds case studies, knew patients so couldnt be objective. also psychoanalysed himself by studying dreams and childhood memories

Question 5

list strengths for eysenck

Answer 5

research on solidiers in hospital supports theory, predicted most traumatised solidiers would score high on neurotic

if tendencies towards criminality are detectable in childhood, may be possible to intervene at an early stage and prevent the development. could lead to interventions based on parenting or treatment to reduce crime

personality testing formed basis of modern personality tests to predict behaviour eg psychometric tests. deyoung suggests there is a link between p, e and n scores and brain processes such as dopamine release being linked to extroversion and psychoticism.

Question 6

list weaknesses for eysenck

Answer 6

lack of reliability as people may not respond the same way to the questions every time they take it. also may provide answer based on social desirability bias and demand characteristics

research relies of self report measures which can be biased or unrealistically viewed (farrington et al)

theory suggests that personality is genetic and fails to consider that it may change over time

Question 7

list strengths for lombardo

Answer 7

first person to give criminology scientific credibility

goring did find a low order intelligence in convicts, suggests some genetic base to criminality

research such as bath spa university by butcher and taylor suggests that less attractive individuals are more likely to be considered guilty

lombroso challenged idea that criminals are evil or that they choose to be criminal

labelled prisons criminal universities and suggested they come out worse than they went in. reflects sutherland and recidivism rates

work founded the beginnings of offender profiling

Question 8

list weaknesses for lombardo

Answer 8

lack of control group so no comparisons can be made

lack of accuracy due to possible disfigurements

not everyone with atavistic features is criminal and not all criminals have them

goring used a non criminal control group and found no significant differences in behaviour

scientific racism - delisi found that many atavistic features defined are specific to people of african descent

extremely deterministic and assumes we cannot escape destiny

Question 9

list strengths for sheldon

Answer 9

studies found that there is a small association between body build and criminality (putwain and sammons)

good sized sample of 200 used and had a control condition of non offenders to compare to

issues of reliability however other studies found similar results. glueck and glueck found that sample of delinquents 60% mesomorphs while non delinquent was 31%

found that criminal groups were more mesomorphic

Question 10

list weaknesses for sheldon

Answer 10

could not explain how ectomorphs and endomorphs can also be criminals

doesnt take into account that body type is not fixed and changes throughout life

what if mesomorphs get dared to do illegal acts, may be drawn into delinquent activities by peer groups because of the perception around them

judicial system may treat mesomorphs more harshly, increasing likelihood that they will be labelled as criminal (labelling theory)

Question 11

list strengths for xyy

Answer 11

jacob et al study found that significant amount of men in prison had xyy sex chromosomes instead of xy

adler et al indicated it is possible that aggressive and violent behaviour is at least partly determined by genetic factors

Question 12

list weaknesses for xyy

Answer 12

however studies found genetic abnormalities are widespread in population and therefore do not explain aggression

focusing too heavily on genetics ignores the behaviourist approach

theilgaard researched the traits of xyy men and found that aggression was not associated with them

Question 13

list strengths for twin studies

Answer 13

natural experiments as twins are naturally occurring variable

christiansen supports the view that criminality does have a genetic component

results of twin studies have helped in prevention of vulnerable disorders

Question 14

list weaknesses of twin studies

Answer 14

early twin studies such as lange have bad controls and lack validity as to whether the twins were dz or mz, which was based on appearance and not dna

small sample in twin studies may not be representative of the general population

twins brought up in same environment may mean that criminality is related to nurture as well as genetics

Question 15

list strengths of adoption studies

Answer 15

adopted children exposed to a different environment to their biological family so easier to separate genetic and environmental factors

studies have concluded that there is a correlation between adopted children and their biological parents

Question 16

list weaknesses of adoption studies

Answer 16

age of adoption may mean that the children have already been influenced by either their natural or foster parents

info about a biological family is not always available

adoption process is not always random, often placed with parents similar to biological families

Question 17

list strengths of marxism

Answer 17

provides explanation for crime that covers all social classes and a variety of offences

highlights impact of selective law enforcement and how white collar crime is under policed

demonstrates how the law reflects differences in class power and how inequality can lead to criminality

Question 18

list weaknesses of marxism

Answer 18

ignores other non class inequalities such as gender or ethnicity

overstates working class crime, not all commit crimes and not all capitalist societies have high crime rates (japan and switzerland)

many prosecutions for white collar crime such as bernie madoff and jordan belfort

Question 19

list strengths of functionalism

Answer 19

unique view on crime than other theories, first to recognise positive functions such as boundary maintenance

no way of knowing how much crime is right or wrong

not functional for victims

emphasises role of social factors such as inequality and socialisation

can inform policy such as prevention and rehabilitation (eg enforcing standard values and socialisation)

Question 20

list weaknesses of functionalism

Answer 20

romanticises and justifies crime as a necessary evil?

neglects individual reasons and motivations

oversimplifies complex social realities with focus on societal norms

struggles to explain why certain groups are disproportionately affected by crime

Question 21

list strengths of labelling theory

Answer 21

shows how law is often enforced in discriminatory way, highlights consequences of labelling

highlights weaknesses in official statistics which allow bias in law enforcement

highlights role of media in defining and creating deviance and moral panics

Question 22

list weaknesses of labelling theory

Answer 22

fails to explain why deviancy happens in the first place, no acceptance that some may choose to be deviant

ignores victim and focuses on criminal, potential to romanticise

criminals do not need label to know they are doing wrong, labelling does not always lead to a self fulfilling prophecy

Question 23

list strengths of strain theory

Answer 23

explains how inequality in society leads to crime

emphasises importance of social context and opportunities in crime

connects to subcultural theories, exploring how groups adopt values endorsing criminality

Question 24

list weaknesses of strain theory

Answer 24

may not explain all types of crime such as non-financial or status related crime (eg impulsive crime)

overemphasis on lower class

determistic, implies solely driven by strain and lack agency

Question 24

list strengths of right realism

Answer 24

helped produce govt research into crime, stimulated victim surveys and practical measures offers more practical approach than marxism or labelling research by flood-page et al supports view of underclass. found children with single parents and step families more likely to offend than those with two natural parents

Question 25

list weaknesses of right realism

Answer 25

too readily accepts crime statistics, focuses on young males and street crime rather than explaining white collar crime ignores wider structural causes such as poverty ignores increasing gap between rich and poor which creates resentment (relative deprivation)

Question 26

list strengths of left realism

Answer 26

explores role of the victim more than other theories recognises multiple causes of crime avoids the worst excesses of both right and left wing approaches by neither glorifying nor attacking the police

Question 27

list weaknesses of left realism

Answer 27

does not explain why everyone in relative deprivation fails to turn to crime arguably a mixture of other theories pulled together fails to explain white collar and impulsive crime