LECTURE #3 - Environmental Theories of Crime

evolution is as much environment as biology

• evolved traits and behaviour where shaped by the environment

• whether a trait or behaviour is adaptive depends on the organism’s environmental demands

  • adaptive flexibility + cost-benefit

human life history strategies

• human nature flexibly responds to biology and social environment

• results in multiple life history strategies to accommodate survival and reproduction challenges

environmental theories of crime

• early-life maternal deprivation

• family discord

• social control theory

• learning theories

• social learning theory

• personal interpersonal community-reinforcement

maternal deprivation

• early life seperation from mother

• causes loss of normal socialization opportunities

• results in deviant & antisocial tendencies

• less maternal phenotype

• inability to be a sociable person

parenting factors for crime

• mental health problems

• substance use

• lower intelligence

• criminality

  • additional family variables since:

    • younger mother

    • uninvolved/abusive father

    • disrupted family

    • harsh discipline

    • poor supervision

social control/social bonds theory

• social bonds move people away from acting on selfish desires

bonds to conventional norms

• attachment

• commitment

• involvement

• belief

sexual sadism

• sexual pleasure obtained form physically hurting others

biastophilia

• sexual pleasure obtained from coercing others into sexual acts

  • forcing

operant conditioning

• increase or decrease the frequency of future behaviour by using pleasant or aversive stimuli

  • pleasant vs. unplreasant

three factors for successful operant conditioning

• intensity

• immediacy

• consistency

notes on conditioning

• gender plays a role

  • boys pay more attention to men, girls → women

• developmental timing affects salience of people involved and the consequences

• individual differences in reward and punishment sensitivity

personal interpersonal community - reinforcement

• blend of biological and environmental theories

• how thoughts/cognition can play a role in criminal behaviour

PIC-R, change, and CBT

• hope for those interested in intervention

  • reduced pro criminal thoughts = reduced criminal behaviour