Criminal Psychology

Operant Conditioning

Learning from consequences of actions that can either be positive or negative, and can be a reinforcement or a punishment

Reinforcement

Achieves desired behaviour

Punishment

Prevents undesired behaviour

Positive reinforcement

Receiving a pleasurable or rewarding consequence for our behaviour, we are more likely to repeat this behaviour to get something nice again

Negative reinforcement

A behaviour displayed is strengthened by the avoidance of an unpleasant experience, we are likely to repeat a behaviour if it gets rid of something unpleasant

Positive punishment

Receiving negative consequence for a behaviour or receiving something unpleasant for a behaviour so you don’t do it again

Negative punishment

Removing something pleasant so we do not repeat the behaviour again or taking away something pleasant as a consequence of an undesired behaviour

Primary reinforcers

Satisfying biological needs like food and water, it is unlikely that criminals would commit crimes for primary reinforcers however those in poverty may commit small crimes like theft to satisfy their basic needs

Secondary reinforcers

Common reinforcers like school grades and tokens, they have no survival value but is associated with a primary reinforcer, such as a credit card where the card has no value but can satisfy a basic need

Strengths of operant conditioning

• The theory can explain a wide range of crimes

• Can explain why punishment can remove an undesirable behaviour

Weaknesses of operant conditioning

• Not all crimes are committed because of receiving reinforcement or punishment

• Behaviour can be reproduced in the absence of reinforcement or punishment

Social learning theory

Behaviour is learned through the observation and imitation of role models

Observational learning

Behaviour is a consequence of observing and modelling those around us

Role model

Someone we look up to, share similar characteristics to or someone we like

Modelling

Learning how new behaviours appear in a person

Attention

In order to learn new things, you must be able to and want to pay attention to it

Retention

For learning to take place, you must be able to store or retain memories of the new behaviour

Reproduction

To model the new behaviour observed, you need to be able to reproduce it. You may have watched a gymnast do a backflip and you may have paid attention of how they performed it, but you will not be able to reproduce it without practice

Motivation

You are more likely to model a behaviour if you are motivated to reproduce it. This motivation can give you pleasure from copying it

Vicarious reinforcement

Seeing a role model receiving a reward for the behaviour and you may copy it in order to receive the same reward

Identification

When you adopt the behaviour, beliefs and values of the role model or group

Strengths of social learning theory

• There is strong evidence available to support this theory on aggressive behaviour

• Theory can explain why some people exposed to criminality become criminals and others do not

Weaknesses of social learning theory

• Cannot be ethically tested whether exposure to aggression can have long-term effects

• Some behaviour cannot be explained by observational learning

Personality theory

Suggests that some personalities are associated with being a criminal while others are not, and that criminal traits are caused by internal and biological factors

Extraversion

Being outgoing and sociable

Introversion

Being reserved and quiet

Neuroticisim

The nervous disposition of someone

Stable neuroticisim

Calm and do not over-react in situations, unreactive in stressful situations and are emotionally unaffected

Unstable neuroticism

They tend to be highly emotional and quick to overreact in stressful situations

Psychoticism

This is a personality trait that shows a lack of empathy towards others

Eysneck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ)

The questions measures the specific traits of the three personality traits, and it gives them a PEN score

High E score

Believed to have a nervous system with a low arousal level, so they seek external stimulation to raise their biological arousal level which is done by being outgoing and sensation seeking

Low E score

Believed to have a nervous system with high arousal, so they avoid thrill and excitement in order to dampen their biological arousal level

High N score

Someone with unstable neuroticism and may have a nervous system that responds very quickly in stressful situations, making them over-react quickly

Low N scores

Have an unreactive nervous system, meaning they are calm under stressful conditions

High P score

Means a person is cold, lacks compassion and can be antisocial

Criminal personality based on PEN score

A person with a high PEN score will have a biological nervous system that is more difficult to socialise because they do not associate their antisocial behaviour with the anxiety of being punished

Socialisation

PEN personalities interact with how we are raised

Strengths of personality theory

• There is evidence that people with these personality traits are associated with criminality

• It combines biological, social and psychological factors in one theory, making it holistic

Weaknesses of personality theory

This explanation assumes that personality traits are fixed and stable, and they cannot be changed for the rest of your life

Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961)

The study on whether children would imitate aggression on a Bobo doll that was role-played by an observed adult, researchers were specifically interested in whether the sex of the model and the child would be a key factor

Charlton et al. (2000)

The study to investigate the effects of television of children’t behaviour and whether they became more aggresive

Prisons

Where criminals are imprisoned and denied civil liberties like freedom and privileges, they are kept here for a period of time determined by the court

What type of consequences are prisons?

A positive punishment as it prevents criminals from reoffending, a negative reinforcement to deter potential offenders as they will avoid prison by abiding the law, and possibly a positive reinforcement to people who commit crimes to find stability in jail

Strengths of prisons

• Removes the criminal from public life, so they cannot commit a crime as they are highly regulated in the prison

•  It keeps the public safe as the offender is locked away

Weaknesses of prisons

• May be ineffective punishment because prisoners are exposed to criminal role models during their sentence

• Ethical issues regarding taking away civil liberties

Community sentencing

Where convicted people are sent to community service rather than going to prison, given to minor offences, first time offenders or if a court believes that sending the criminal to prison is not appropriate

Community service types

Voluntary or unpaid work in society, like litter picking or painting community buildings

Strengths of community sentencing

• Offenders are given a second chance to make up for their crime by contributing to society

• This is a more suitable punishment than imprisonment for some crimes

Weaknesses of community sentencing

• Some people view this method as a soft and nice option, which is ineffective or a good alternative to prisons

• Low success

Restorative justice

The practice where an offender meets or communicates with the victim or people negatively affected by their crime

Strengths of restorative justice

• It has a high victim satisfaction rate of roughly 85% 

• There is a recidivism reduction rate of 14% from restorative justice

Weaknesses of restorative justice

• Can cause distress to both offender and victim

• Process of mediation can be time-consuming and costly

• May not have a great effect

Recidivism

When an offender is punished for their crime but commits another crime when released (the rate of committing a crime after being released)

Rehabilitative

Program for helping offenders rather than punishment

Detention/custody

A prison sentence

Token economy programmes

Prisoners are given tokens for prosocial behaviour as a form of rewards to exchange for telephone calls, tv time, visits and food privileges

Strengths of tokens

• Fairly economical and can be administered easily by staff

• Evidence that showed short-term increase in prosocial behaviour in a prison

Weaknesses of tokens

• Limited rehabilitative value as it only controls and manages behaviour

• Needs commitment from staff and if failure of staff giving out tokens, can result in antisocial behaviour again

Anger management programmes

Designed for offenders who have committed violent crimes because of their anger, involves working with a therapist in small groups

Stages of anger management programmes

• Cognitive preparation: where offender reflects on their own anger

• Skills acquisition: offender learns new skills to help them control their anger

• Application practice: involves role playing anger triggering situations to practice

Strength of anger management programmes

Offenders are carefully selected to receive this management, so it isn’t affected by the link between anger and violent crimes

Weaknesses of anger management programmes

• Offenders can abuse the programs and can use control of their anger to commit crimes more effectively than before

• Effectiveness of the program had mixed findings