Criminology Unit 2

Name the social theories of criminality

Marxism, the Labelling theory (interactionism), Left realism, Right realism.

Name the individualistic theories of criminality.

Social learning theory (bandura), Psychodynamic theory (freud), Personality theory (eyesenck).

Describe the marxist explanations of criminality.

1. Alienation: frustration from the working class which leads to non-utilitarian crimes (e.g violence and vandalism).

2. Crimogenic Capitalism: capitalist system causes crime by producing poverty, which forces the working class into utilitarian crimes (e.g theft).

3. Selective law enforcement: even when laws exist they are enforced unevenly.

Name the strengths of the marxism theory

1. Highlights inequalities and power: shows that crime is linked to inequality in a capitalist society.

2. Shows bias in the law: this explains why the working class is punished more harshly.

Name the limitations of the marxist theory

1. Largely ignores other non-class inequality such as gender or ethnicity (2/3 of DV victims are female).

2. Too deterministic: theory suggest people commit crime because of capitalism but not all poor people commit crime.

Describe the labelling theory explanations of crime.

1. Selective labelling & stereotyping: certain groups (e.g youth) are more likely to be labelled due to police bias and stereotypes.

2. Self-fufilling prophecy: a person might turn to crime because of the negative label they’ve been given.

3. Social construction of crime: a behaviour is only criminal when society says it is.

Name the strengths of the labelling theory.

1. Shows how police can be affected by stereotypes.

2. Shows trying to control deviance can sometimes create more.

Name the limitations of the labelling theory.

1. It cannot explain why criminals commit first crime.

2. Suggests that labels cause crime.

Describe the left realist explanations of crime.

1. Relative deprivation: criminal might steal someone else’s car because it is better than theirs (feeling deprived compared to others).

2. Marginalisation: person might turn to crime because they don’t feel connected to main society & therefore feel its okay to steal from them.

3. Sub-cultures: criminal might be part of a smaller group in society that has its own rules 7 social norms which go against those in the main society.

Name the strengths in the left realism theory.

1. explains causes of crime realistically: unlike labelling theory, doesn’t ignore the impact of crime.

2. Practical solutions: focusses on reducing crime though: better policing, community involvement, reducing inequality.

Name the limitations of the left realism theory.

1. Limited explanation of individuals choice: focusses on social factors, doesn’t fully explain why individuals choose crime.

2. Overemphasises deprivation: not all deprived people commit crime, some crime is committed by wealthy people (e.g fraud).

Describe the right realist explanation of crime.

1. Biology: a person might turn to crime because they’re genetically different to non-criminals (e.g the XYY chromosome).

2. Rational choice: a criminal commits a crime because they have weighed out the potential consequences with the potential rewards (pros & cons).

3. Inadequate Socialisation: criminal might turn to crime because their family did not socialise them into what is appropriate behaviour.

Name the strengths of the right realism theory.

1. evidence criminals go though rational choice when commititng a crime.

2. Explains oppotunistic crime (e.g petty theft).

3. Evidence that lack of punishment impacts decisions to commit crime.

Name the limitations of the right realist theory.

1. Not all crimes are a result of rational choice.

2. Ignores social causes of crime.

3. Ignores white collar crime and is mainly on (impulsive) street crime.

Describe the psychodynamic explanations of criminality.

1. crime is influenced by childhood experiences.

2. a weak superego causes crime (no guilt or morals).

3. a strong id causes crime (impulsive, selfish).

Name the strengths of the psychodynamic theory.

1. Contributed to research about crime & behaviour.

2. the id, ego & superego relate to different parts of the brain, and their functions & development.

Name the limitations of the psychodynamic theory.

1. theory is unscientific and lacks objective interpretation.

2. lack of quantative data from freud’s case studies.

Describe the personality theory of criminal behaviour.

1. Extroverts are unstable & more likely to commit crime (unpredictable).

2. Psychotisists commit crime because they don’t care about the consequences (unbothered).

3. High neuroticism indicates a nervous, jumpy & emotionally unstable personality, unpredictable behaviour.

Name the strengths of the personality theory.

1. theory is testable through objective, scientific methods → because he used factor analysis to identify core traits.

Name the limitations of the personality theory.

1. Oversimplifies human complexity, only three dimensions.

2. Ignores contextual factors: fails to consider how situations & social situations impact behaviour.

Describe the social learning theory of criminal behaviour.

1. Observing crime from a role model may cause criminal behaviour from the observer.

2. Individuals observe & copy (mimic) their role model’s behaviour.

3. Rewarded for behaviour = more likely to copy behaviour. Punished for behaviour = less likely to copy behaviour.

Name the strengths of the social learning theory.

1. Explains how people adapt to new situations & environments by observing others.

Name the limitations of the social learning theory.

1. neglects biological factors → presents an incomplete picture of human behaviour, choosing environmental explanations over biological explanations.

norms

general principles or values of how we should live our lives

values

specific rules or socially accepted standards that govern people’s behaviour in particular situations

moral codes

a basic set of rules, values and principles held by an individual group, organisation or society

deviance

• behaviour that differs from normal

• behaviour that is unusual, common or out of the ordinary

actus reas

latin for ‘guilty act’

mens rea

latin for ‘guilty mind’

summary offences

• less serious offences such as speeding

• trialled by a magistrate court

indictable offences

• more serious offences

• e.g rape, murder

• trialled in crown court

custodial offences

imprisonment or detention in a young offender institute

community sentences

probation orders, curfews or attendance of courses such as anger management

social definition of criminal behaviour

• crime is a wrong against a community

• if society says a behaviour is a crime then it becomes one

• some crimes are universally disapproved of (murder), but some acts are crimes in some countries but not in others (alcohol is legal in UK but illegal in Saudi Arabia)

THEREFORE:

• it is very difficult to create a social definition of criminal behaviour, we need to consider;

1. law enforcement

2. differing views

3. law-making

legal definition of criminal behaviour

an action that is forbidden by criminal law and may result in a consequence for that behaviour

defining criminal behaviour: guilty mind or guilty act?

for a court to consider a defendants actions as a crime the action must have two elements:

1. mens rea: guilty mind

2. actus reas: guilty act

a defendant must have intended to do something that is against the law. they will then assess how culpable the defendant is.

formal actions against criminals

non court sanctions:

• caution

• conditional cautions

• penalty notices

court sanctions:

• custodial sentences

• community sentences

• fines

variety of criminal acts

in the UK the law distinguishes between two main types of offences

1. summary offences: less serious offences such a speeding, tried by magistrate

2. indictable offences: serious offences such as rape or murder, tried in a crown court

deviance

a behaviour that goes against the dominant social norms of a specific group or society, which causes some kind of critical reaction or disapproval

informal & formal sanctions against deviance

informal sanctions:

• frowning upon

• name calling

• ignoring

• labelling

• grounding a child

• telling someone off

formal sanctions:

• fines

• imprisonment

• exclusion

• suspension

forms of deviance

1. behaviour that is unusual and good

2. behaviour that is eccentric, unusual or bizarre

3. behaviour that is unusual, bad or disapproved of

biological explanations of crime

these theories believe that criminals are biologically different from non criminals

these differences could be due to:

1. genetics

2. physiology

physiology - Lombroso’s theory

• Lombroso argued criminals are ‘genetic throwbacks’ - a primitive sub-species who were biologically less evolved

• their savage nature meant they were unable to live normally in everyday society and so inevitably turn to crime

• explains that atavistic form is a historical approach used to explain criminal behaviour, which is based on biological factors

• suggests that some people are born with a criminal personality (e.g it is innate) that is a throwback to a previous more primitive ancestor

name the features Lombroso believed criminals had

he theorised that criminals could be identified by physiological markers (physical characteristics) mainly on the face & head

• narrow, slopping brow

• strong prominent jaw

• high cheek bones

• facial asymmetry

• extra toes, nipples or fingers

• murderers thought to have bloodshot eyes, strong jaw & curly hair

• sexual deviants were said to have glinting eyes, thick lips & projecting ears

other signs of criminality:

• insensitivity to pain

• tattoos

• unemployment

• use of slang

how did Lombroso conduct his theory?

• he used 383 dead criminals and 3839 living criminals

• he concluded that 40% of criminal acts could be accounted for by the atavistic form

physiology - Sheldon’s somatotypes theory

ectomorph:

• thin

• fragile

• lack muscle

• thoughtful

• self-restrained

• inward looking

mesomorph:

• muscular

• hard bodied

• little fat

• assertive

• adventurous

• domineering

endomorph:

• rounded

• soft

• lacking muscle

• sociable

• relaxed

• outgoing

Sheldon argued mesomorphs are most likely to commit crime due to their physical traits

genetic - XYY chromosome

• the idea that criminals have an extra Y chromosome

• XX - female

• XY - male

• XYY - supermale

• low iq

• aggressive

• tall

• muscular

genetic - MAOA gene

• a defect in this gene causes a deficiency in the MAOA

• found on the X chromosome, more likely in males

• found in 30% of the population

• most likely to have an effect if an individual had a traumatic childhood

• hereditary

• imbalance in serertonin (mood)

• imbalance in dopamine (reward)