Individualistic Theories Flashcards
(15 cards)
Describe psycho analysis theory by Freud
It was originally founded by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939).
Freud stated that our early childhood experiences determine our future
behaviour. In his view ‘the child is father to the man’
.
In particular, our early experiences determine whether we will go on to
act in anti-social ways.
Freud states that there are three elements to the human personality:
The id: located in the unconscious, instinctive, ‘animal’ part of the mind.
It contains powerful, selfish, pleasure-seeking needs and drives, such as
the desire for sex, food and sleep. The id is governed by the ‘pleasure principle’
- the blind desire to satisfy its urges at any cost.
If we acted on these urges whenever we felt them, they would often lead
to antisocial and criminal behaviour.
The superego: contains our conscience or moral rules. We learn these
through interactions with our parents during early socialisation in the
family. For example, we might be punished for trying to satisfy our urges
without regard for others.
Through socialisation, the child internalises its parents’ ideas of right and
wrong, and the superego develops as a sort of ‘nagging parent’
.
If we act - or consider acting - against the superego, we feel guilt and
anxiety.
The ego: Freud saw our behaviour as the result of the struggle between
the id and superego.
The ego’s role is to try to strike a balance between their conflicting
demands. It is driven by the ‘reality principle’
- it learns from experience
(that in the real world, actions have consequences).
The ego seeks to control the id’s urges whilst finding a way to balance
How does psychoanalysis relate to crime
A weakly developed superego means the individual will feel less guilt
about antisocial behaviour and less inhibition about acting on the id’s
selfish or aggressive urges
A too harsh and unforgiving superego creates deep seated guilt feelings
in the individual, who then craves punishment as a release from these
feelings. They may engage in compulsive repeat offending behaviour to
be punished
A deviant superego is one where a child is successfully socialised, but
into a deviant moral code. A son may have a perfectly good relationship
with his criminal father and so he internalises his father’s criminal values.
As a result, his superego would not inflict guilt feelings on him for
contemplating criminal acts
Evaluate Freud theory
Strengths:
The theory points to the
importance of early childhood and family relationships in understanding criminal behaviour.
Psychoanalytic explanations have had some influence on policies for dealing with crime and deviance. Psychoanalytic explanations have had some influence on policies for dealing with crime and deviance.
Weaknesses:
Psychoanalytic explanations are unscientific and subjective – they rely on accepting the psychoanalyst’s claim that they see into the workings of the individual’s unconscious mind to discover their inner conflicts and motivation.
Psychodynamic theories of offending are no longer accredited by psychologists due to the difficulty of testing concepts such as the unconscious mind
Describe bowlbys maternal deprivation theory
Bowlby argues there is a link between maternal deprivation and deviant /
anti-social behaviour.
In his view, the child needs a close, continuous relationship with its
primary carer (Bowlby assumed this would be the mother) up to the age
of 5 in order to develop normally.
If the mother-child attachment is broken through separation (even for a
short period of time) it can leave the child unable to form meaningful
emotional relationships with others.
This is ‘affectionless psychopathy’ and can lead to criminal behaviour.
Evidence: Bowlby based his theory on a study of 44 juvenile thieves
who had been referred to a child guidance clinic.
39% of these had suffered maternal deprivation before the age of 5.
With the control group of non-delinquents, only 5% had.
Evaluate bowlbys theory
Strengths:
Bowlby’s research showed that more of
his sample of 44 juvenile delinquents
had suffered maternal deprivation
(39%) than control groups of
non-delinquents (5%)
His work shows the need to consider
the role of parent – child relationships in explaining criminality
Weaknesses:
was a retrospective study, where delinquents and their mothers had to accurately recall past events. This can be a problem, especially if it involves recalling emotive experience
Bowlby’s own later study of 60
children who had been separated
from their parents for a long
period before they were 5, found
no evidence of ‘affectionless
psychopathy
Describe sutherlands differential associations theory
Edwin Sutherland argues that individuals learn criminal behaviour
largely in the family and peer groups (inc work groups).
It is the result of two factors:
Imitation of criminal acts: individuals can acquire criminal skills and
techniques through observing those around them.
Learned attitudes: socialisation within the group exposes the
individual to attitudes and values about the law (some favourable,
some unfavourable). If they learn more unfavourable attitudes and
values, they are more likely to become criminals.
E.g. Sutherland studied white collar crime and found that group
attitudes in the workplace often normalised criminal behaviour (e.g.
‘everyone is doing it’), making it easier for individuals to justify it
Evaluate sutherlands theory
Strengths:
Broad applicability: The theory can explain various types of crime, including white-collar crime, and can account for why crime may be concentrated in certain social groups or communities.
Empirical support: Studies have shown a correlation between association with delinquent peers or family members and criminal behaviour, supporting the theory’s central ideas.
Policy implications: By highlighting the role of learning, the theory suggests that criminal behaviour can be unlearned, informing rehabilitation programmes and crime prevention strategies that focus on positive role models and environments.
weaknesses-
Difficulty in testing: Key concepts like “excess of definitions” are hard to operationalize and measure quantitatively, making the theory difficult to test fully. so not scientific
Individual differences: The theory doesn’t adequately explain why some individuals exposed to criminal influences do not become criminals, while others do. It overlooks the role of personality traits and free will.
Causality: The theory suggests an association between criminal behaviour and delinquent peers, but it’s not always clear if the association causes the behaviour or if individuals with pre-existing criminal tendencies seek out similar peers.
Scope limitations: It may not fully account for crimes committed in isolation or those that are impulsive rather than learned through social interaction.
Deterministic: The theory can be seen as overly deterministic, suggesting that exposure to pro-criminal attitudes inevitably leads to criminal behaviour, neglecting individual agency.
Describe the moral development theory kohl berg
Kohlberg argues our ideas of right and wrong develop through a
series of levels and stages from childhood to adulthood.
At the preconventional or pre-moral level, young children define right
and wrong simply in terms of what brings punishment or rewards.
By adulthood, our ideas of right and wrong involve an understanding
of underlying moral principles and values.
This therefore suggests that criminals’ moral development is stuck at
a less mature level than everybody else. They are likely to think solely
in terms of whether their actions will lead to a reward or punishment,
rather than how it might affect others. This makes them more likely to
offend.
Evaluation of kholberg moral development theory
Strengths:
- Some studies show delinquents are more likely to have immature moral development
Developmental framework: The theory provides a stage-based model of how moral thinking evolves from childhood to adulthood, offering a valuable framework for understanding the development of ethical reasoning.
Empirical support: Longitudinal studies suggested that individuals do progress through the stages sequentially, supporting the theory’s structure.
Influence on education: Kohlberg’s work has influenced moral education programmes, encouraging the development of higher levels of moral reasoning in students through discussion of moral dilemmas.
Application to offending behaviour: Research suggests that offenders often exhibit lower levels of moral reasoning compared to non-offenders, indicating a potential link between moral development and criminal behaviour.
Weaknesses:
Kohlberg focuses on moral thinking, rather than moral behaviour. Someone may perfectly capable of thinking morally.
Deterministic:
Gender bias: Carol Gilligan famously criticized Kohlberg’s theory for gender bias, arguing that his research, which initially only included male participants, led to a “justice perspective” that undervalued the “care perspective” more commonly found in women’s moral reasoning, potentially leading to women being classified at lower stages.
Moral reasoning vs. behaviour: A significant criticism is that moral reasoning, as assessed by Kohlberg’s dilemmas, does not always translate into actual moral behaviour. Individuals may demonstrate sophisticated moral reasoning in hypothetical situations but fail to act accordingly in real-life scenarios.
Hypothetical dilemmas: The use of artificial, hypothetical dilemmas may not accurately reflect how individuals make moral decisions in real-life situations with personal stakes and emotional context, potentially lacking ecological validity.
Limited scope: The theory primarily focuses on justice and rights, potentially neglecting other important aspects of morality such as compassion, empathy, and interpersonal relationships.
describe eysencks personality theory
Eysenck argues that criminality is a result of a particular personality
type.
Our personality is made up of two dimensions:
1. Extraversion vs introversion (E)
- Extraverted personalities are outgoing, sociable, excitement-seeking, impulsive, carefree, optimistic, often aggressive, short-tempered and unreliable
- Introverted personalities are reserved, inward-looking, thoughtful serious, quiet, self-controlled, pessimistic and reliable
2. Neuroticism vs emotional stability (N)
- Neurotic personalities are anxious, moody, often depressed and prone to over-reacting
- Emotionally stable personalities are calm, even-tempered, controlled and unworried
what was eysencks personality questionare
The Eysenck personality questionnaire was devised to measure people’s
personality traits, ranking them on an E scale and an N scale.
Most people have personalities around the middle on both scales, but he
found that criminals have high scores on E and N.
Therefore, criminals tend to be strongly extraverted and neurotics
how can the idea of criminals being highly extraverted and neurotic be explained and how does this make them more likely to be criminal
Eysenck draws on two ideas - conditioning and genetic inheritance:
Conditioning: some psychologists argue that through experience, we learn to seek pleasure (or rewards) and avoid pain (or punishment).
E.g. if we misbehave we are punished, so we learn to stop doing this to avoid further punishment. This process is called conditioning.
Genetic inheritance: Eysenck argues that we do learn through conditioning but some individuals inherit a nervous system that causes them to develop a criminal personality:
- Extraverts have a nervous system that needs a high level of stimulation from their environment. Therefore they are always seeking excitement which leads to impulsive, rule-breaking behaviour. This is likely to lead to punishment.
- Neurotics are harder to condition into following society’s rules because their high levels of anxiety prevent them learning from punishment of their mistakes
Therefore, the combination of high E and N is likely to lead to criminality.
evaluate eysencks personality theory
.Strengths:
Emphasis on biological factors: Eysenck’s theory provided a biologically grounded explanation for personality and criminal behaviour, shifting the focus from purely environmental or sociological perspectives.
Empirical support: Some studies, including Eysenck’s own research with prisoners, have shown that offenders tend to score higher on measures of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism compared to non-offenders.
Development of measurement tools: Eysenck developed the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) and later the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), which are standardised and easily replicable measures of personality, contributing to research in this area.
Interactionist approach: The theory acknowledges the role of both nature (biological predispositions) and nurture (socialisation) in the development of personality and criminal behaviour.
Weaknesses:
Oversimplification: Critics argue that reducing personality to just three dimensions is too simplistic and doesn’t capture the full complexity of human personality. Other models, like the Five-Factor Model, suggest a broader range of personality traits
Cultural bias: Research using Eysenck’s questionnaires in different cultures has shown variations in personality profiles of offenders, suggesting that the “criminal personality” may not be universal
Personality as static: Eysenck’s theory assumes a degree of stability in personality traits over time, but research suggests that personality can evolve throughout life and may also vary across different situations.
Reductionist: By focusing on biological and psychological factors, the theory may underemphasise the role of social, economic, and situational factors in criminal behaviour.
Evidence on prisoners shows a correlation between personality type and criminality, but this does not prove that personality type causes criminality. It could be the other way around: being in prison might cause people to become neurotic.
describe the criminal personality theory ( cognitive)
Yochelson and Samenow have applied cognitive theory to criminality.
They suggest criminals are prone to faulty thinking and this makes
them more likely to commit crime.
This theory is based on a study of 240 male offenders, most of whom
had been committed to a psychiatric hospital
Thinking errors: they argue criminals show a range of errors and
biases in their thinking and decision-making, including lying,
secretiveness, need for power/control, lack of trust, uniqueness (feel
they are special), and victim stance (blame others, they’re the victim).
These errors and biases lead to them committing crime.
evaluate the criminal personality theory(cognitive)
strength-
The idea that criminals’ thinking patterns are different from normal has led to other research. For example, the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles is a questionnaire aimed at revealing whether someone shows criminal thought patterns.
Successful treatments, known as cognitive behavioural therapy, have been developed based on the idea that criminal’s thought processes can be corrected with treatment
weakness-
Yochelson and Samenow did not use control group of non-criminals to see if ‘normal’ people also make the same thinking errors.
Their sample was unrepresentative: there were no women and most of the men had been found insane and sent to psychiatric hospitals. Yet, they claim that all offenders share the same thinking errors of this sample
