Unit 2- strengths and weaknesses of theories

XYY theory- strengths

. Price and Whatemore found some links between the syndrome and property crime

. studies by Adler et al further emphasised the link between aggression and genetics

. Jacob found an association between XYY syndrome and offenders imprisoned for violent behaviour

XYY theory- weaknesses

. genetic abnormalities are prevalent in society but don’t signal aggression

. XYY males are tall and well built so they fit the stereotype of violent offenders and get labelled as such by the courts, this means they are more likely to get a prison sentence

Sheldon’s theory- strengths

. more recent studies e.g. Putwain and Sammons have confirmed a link between body shape and crime

. S.Glueck and E.Glueck’s 1956 study found that a majority of their mesomorphic samples were delinquents

Sheldon’s theory- weaknesses

. during the study they ignored criminals who had ectomorphic or endomorphic shapes

. does not factor in changes to body type from childhood to adulthood

Neurochemistry- strengths

. self-evaluative of steroid users report higher aggression levels

. studies have confirmed that low serotonin levels can lead to aggression

. many of the clinical trails are led by medical practitioners and peer-reviewed

Neurochemistry- weaknesses

. recent studies on steroids are inconclusive and find that others anti-social lifestyle factors can have a significant impact

. the focus on aggression does not satisfy reasons for all types of crime, especially property-related offences

Adoption studies- strengths

. studies by Hutchings and Mednick show a link between offspring who are adopted and their biological parents

. removal from one environment gives greater facility to split genetic and environmental factors

Adoption studies- weaknesses

. data regarding the biological family may be kept confidential

older adopted children may be influenced by the environment of their biological parents

Twin studies- strengths

. the biological relationships occur naturally so these are natural experiments

. following twin studies there have been greater strides to help deal with medical disorders

Twin studies- weaknesses

. the validity of twin studies have been questioned due to the small samples that had been used making it unlikely to be proportionate to the public

. twins bought up together could be affected by nurture rather than nature

Learning theory (Bandura)- strengths

• the bobo doll test consistently showed children copying adult’s actions

• Bandura’s controls were varied including genders of the subjects and the actions performed

Learning theory (Bandura)- weaknesses

• not safeguarding the children from psychological harm was ethically wrong

• studies by Cumberbatch found that children are less likely to copy adult strangers compared to parents

Theory of personality (Freud) - strengths

• the limbic (brain) system is reflective of the psyche, the pre-frontal cortex controls rational decision-making similar to the ego

• research has found links between adverse childhood experiences and criminality

Theory of personality (Freud) - weaknesses

• Discredited by psychologists as there is no objectivity to the study, subjectivity would likely lead to varying results

• Freud would psychoanalyse his patients who he had built relations with rather than studying strangers

Personality theory (Eysenck) - strengths

• DeYoung affirmed the findings by linking the personality traits to the release of hormones

• if true the tests would provide a course for early intervention

Personality theory (Eysenck) - weaknesses

• revelations in 2019 of fabricated data led to scrutiny and critique of the questionnaires

• the questionnaires were designed in a way whereby different answers could be given due to general health or the time of day

Lombroso theory - strengths

• lombroso was credited for establishing criminology as a science

• challenges views that criminals choose criminality

• initiated offender profiling

Lombroso theory - weaknesses

• racial discrimination is present as the features described can be attributed to those with African descent

• studies focused on the one group so no comparison