Criminology Unit 2 AC 2.2

Individualistic theories of criminality

Learning theories

• Sutherland

• Operant learning theory

• Social learning theory

Psychodynamic theories

• Freud’s psychoanlaysis

• Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory

Psychological theories

• Eyseck’s personality theory

What are learning theories?

Assume that offending is behaviour that is learned like we learn other behaviours. There are 3 key features:

• criminal behaviour is learned

• Influenced by our immediate envrinment (family&friends)

• Role of reinforcement and punishment in the learning process

Learning theory 1 - Sutherland’s differential association theory

He argues criminals learn behaviours from mainly family and friends and is the results of 2 key factors:

• imitation ( observing others behaviours and copying it)

• Learned attitudes ( socialising with a group exposes them to certain attitudes about the law which they then internalise

For example he found that most white collar crimes are normalised in the workplace which made it easier for a person to justify their own criminal behaviours by saying everyone’s doing it

Strengths of Sutherlands theory

• Matthew’s found that juvenile delinquents are more likely to have friends who commit anti-social acts suggesting they learn their behaviour from them

• Because crime often runs in families, it supports Matthew’s and sutherlands theories. People with criminal parents are more likely to be criminals because they learn it from the family

Weaknesses of Sutherlands differential association theory

• not everyone who is exposed to criminals influence becomes a criminal. They might learn it from their friends but not actually commit crimes

• Deterministic because it doesn’t account for free will

Learning theory 2: operant learning theory

Skinner argues that is a particular behaviour is rewarded, we are more likely to repeat this behaviour just like if it’s punished we are less likely to repeat. This can also be referred to as behaviourism. He argues all behaviours are a result of reinforcement and punishment which can also explain criminal behaviour. Jeffrey argues if crime has more rewarding consequences than punishing one’s, they will be more likely to repeat the behaviour. He says to understand someone’s offending we should look at the balance of rewards and punishment for them.

Strengths of skinners theory

• skinners studies of learning in animals show that they learn from experience through reinforcement

• Jeffrey states that if a crime leads to more rewarding consequences they will be more likely to offend

Weaknesses of skinners theory

• operant learning theory is based on studies of learning in animals. Therefore it can’t be generalised to humans as animals and humans are physically and mentally different

• The theory ignores internal mental processes such as thinking, personal attitudes and values. It explains criminal behaviour solely in terms of external reward and punishment. This means it is therefore reductionist

Learning theory 3 - social learning theory

Bandura believes we learn a lot of our behaviour by watching and imitating other people. He argues if children watch adults gain pleasure doing an activity they are more likely to repeat it than if they had been punished for that activity.

Banduras bobo doll experiment

He put 4-5 year olds into 3 groups and showed them a video of an adult being physically and verbally aggressive towards an inflatable doll. In group 1, the adult was rewarded. In group 2, they were punished and in group 3, it was neither rewarded nor punished. They were then left with the doll. Children in group 1 imitated the aggressive behaviour, group 2 were the least likely to imitate aggressive behaviour and group 3 they imitated aggressive behaviour but to a lesser extent.

He concluded they imitated the behaviour based on the consequence of the action. Therefore, if someone sees criminal behaviour being rewarding, they are more likely to copy it

Strengths of banduras social learning theory

• unlike skinner, bandura does consider the fact that we are social beings: we learn from the experience of another not just from our own direct or personal opportunities

• Bandura shows that children who observed aggressive behaviour being rewarded went on to imitate that behaviour. The bobo doll experiments shows the importance of role models in deviant behaviour

Weaknesses of banduras social learning theory

• the theory is based upon lab studies. These are artificial settings so findings will be difficult to generalise to real life

• It is ethically wrong: exposed children to violence and aggression which is considered unethical practice

• Ignores free will (theory assumes behaviour is solely determined by learning experiences)

Psychodynamic theories

They see our personality as containing active forces that cause us to act as we do. These forces are powerful urges, feelings and conflicts within the unconscious mind. Criminal behaviour is a result of an individuals failure to resolve their inner conflicts in a socially acceptable way.

Psychodynamic theory 1 - Freud’s psychoanalysis

He believed our early childhood experiences determined our personality and future behaviour. According to him, personality has 3 elements:

• the ID: unconcious, instinctive animal part of the mind. Contains powerful pleasure seeking drives like need for sex, food and sleep. It is governed by the pleasure principle- the blind desire to satisfy its urges at any cost

• The superego: our conscious and moral rules which we learn through interactions from early socialisation in the family. For example, we may be punished for trying to satisfy these usages with no regards to others. Through socialisation we learn right from wrong and develop a sort if internal nagging parent guiding us with anxiety and guilt.

• The ego: the reality principle and seeks to find a balance between the id and superego. It controls the ids urges while still finding a way to satisfy them in a socially acceptable way (superego) E.g we learn to say please to get what we want

Freud’s psychoanalysis linking to criminality

• Weakly developed superego- feel less guilt about anti-social interactions and less guilt about acting on the IDs selfish actions

• Harsh superego- creates deep guilt and craves punishment.

• Deviant superego- successfully socialised but into a deviant moral code. Follows in parents criminal footsteps so doesn’t feel guilty

Children need to progress from the pleasure principle, being id dominated and therefore need instant gratification to the reality principle where the ego is dominant. Criminals are the children who didn’t make this transition. Research has supported the fact that most criminals come from unstable homes

Strengths of Freud’s theory

• theory points towards the importance of early socialisation and familial relationships in understanding criminal behaviour

• 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

Weaknesses of Freud’s theory

• Critics doubt the existence of an unconcious mind because how would we know it’s there if it’s invisible.

• Psychoanalytical explanations are considered unscientific and subjective as well. They rely on the acceptance of psychoanalytical claims that they can see into the inner workings of the individuals unconcious mind

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

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

Psychodynamic theory 2 - bowlbys maternal deprivation theory

He argues that if a child doesn’t receive a close continuous relationship with their primary carer in the critical period (0-5), they are less likely to form meaningful relationships and therefore lead to criminal behaviour. His theory is based on 44 juvenile thieves, 39% of who has suffered maternal deprivation compared to 5% of a control group of non-delinquents

Strengths of bowlbys maternal deprivation theory

• bowlbys research has shown that a higher percentage of his sample has suffered maternal deprivation at 39% compared to 5% of non-delinquents

Weaknesses of bowlbys maternal deprivation theory

• bowlbys accounts for the delinquency of 39% of the children in terms of suffering maternal deprivation but he doesn’t explain why the other 61% were also delinquent. Deprivation can’t be the only cause.

• It was a retrospective study, it too dealt with emotional themes which could have impaired the ppts memory

• Bowlby did a later study on 60 children who had been separated from their parents: this study found no evidence of affection less psychopathy.

Psychological theories - Eysenck’s personality theory

He believed certain personality types are more likely to be criminals than others. He did a study on 700 soldiers who were being treated for neurotic disorders and found we have 2 dimensions to our personality:

• extra version/ introversion (E scale- amount of stimulation a person needs). Extroverts are outgoing, sociable, carefree and often aggressive while introverts are quiet, thoughtful, serious and reliable

• Neuroticism/emotional stability (N scale- level of emotional stability). Neurotics are anxious, moody, and often depressed/over reactive while emotionally stable people are calm, even tempered and controlled.

• The criminals personality scored highly on both the E and N scales (extroverted and neurotic)

He later added a scale for psychoticism

Eysenck’s personality theory 2

• Conditioning- learning from experience (punishment and reinforcement)

• Genetic inheritance- suggests some people inherit a nervous system that leads them to criminality

• extroverts have a nervous system that needs a high level of stimulation so they seek excitement which leads to impulsive behaviour

• Neurotics are harder to condition into following society’s rules because of their high anxiety levels which prevents them from learning form punishment

Another scale was added later: psychoticism (p scale). People high on the p scale are more likely to engage in criminal activity because they are insensitive, cruel, aggressive and lack empathy

Strengths of Eysenck’s theory

• the theory is useful in describing how some measurable tendencies could increase a persons risk of offending

• Eysenck predicts that high N, E and P scores lead to criminality and there is evidence of supporting studies which agree with his predictions.

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

Weaknesses of Eysenck’s theory

• farrington examined a range of studies into personality and crime. Prisoners were considered both neurotic and psychotic but were not extroverted. This finished Eysenck’s theory that all 3 were present

• In his study, Eysenck used self-report questionnaires. Their results may have not been completely valid as many people will lie when being asked about themselves or produce an answer they think the study needs. In 2019 the study was also found of fabricating data