chapter 3 notes

Aaron's Background

• Age and Crime: Aaron was 22 when convicted of murder, hinting at significant life challenges.

• Family Structure: Grew up in a single-parent household with his mother working extra shifts to support him and his two older brothers. His father was incarcerated for armed robbery.

• Economic Status: While raised in a middle-class neighborhood, Aaron's home life was influenced by his father's absence and his mother's long working hours.

• Early Life: Initially did well in school but began facing behavioral issues around age 10.

Development of Criminal Behavior

• Influence of Peers: As Aaron's mother worked nights, he spent time with his brothers and their friends, engaging in minor vandalism and theft as acts of rebellion or for fun.

• Escalating Criminality: Minor crimes progressed to dangerous behaviors like throwing rocks off bridges, stealing stereos, and fighting. Frequent school incidents led to his mother being called for discussions about his attitude.

• Reputational Shift: Developed a tough reputation among peers, often leading to fights exacerbated by alcohol consumption.

• Murder Incident: The climax of Aaron's criminal progression occurred at a bar fight, where he fatally stabbed a 20-year-old after receiving a knife from a friend.

Learning Objectives From This Case

1. Theoretical Frameworks: Understand differences between psychodynamic, learning, and social learning theories of crime, including their key principles and how they predict criminal behavior.

2. Psychodynamic Theories: Explore how internal drives influence behavior, referencing concepts such as the id, ego, and superego, and examine how traumatic childhood experiences may result in criminal behavior.

3. Control Theories: Discuss major predictors of crime from the perspective of 'control' theories, including Hirschi's general theory of crime, which emphasizes self-control as critical.

Theories of Crime Overview

Psychodynamic Perspective

• Focus: Internal psychological forces and their impact on behavior.

• Key Theorist: Sigmund Freud's concepts, including the id (desire), ego (reality), and superego (morality).

• Application: Failure in developing a healthy superego can lead to criminal behavior due to unresolved inner conflicts.

Learning Theories

• General Premise: Criminal behavior is learned through associations and experiences.

• Types of Learning:

  • Classical Conditioning: Learning through association (Pavlov's experiments).

  • Operant Conditioning: Behavior shaped by reinforcement or punishment (Skinner's principles).

Sutherland's Differential Association Theory

• Core Assertion: Criminal behavior is learned through interactions, particularly in groups.

• Nine Postulates: Highlight how criminal behaviors are influenced by definitions from intimate groups, their frequency, intensity, and duration of exposure.

Akers' Social Learning Theory

• Expansion of Sutherland: Introduces observational learning and vicarious reinforcement, where individuals learn by observing others receive rewards or punishments.

• Implication: Reinforcement from peers significantly impacts the likelihood of exhibiting criminal behavior.

Andrews and Bonta's PIC-R Theory

• Integrated Framework: Combines elements of social learning with a focus on reinforcements from personal, interpersonal, and community levels to explain criminal conduct.

• Practical Relevance: Emphasizes treatment strategies that address learned behaviors through environmental influences, and psychological insights into antisocial attitudes.

Summary Points

• Theories discussed exemplify different pathways to understanding crime, emphasizing the importance of both individual psychological factors and broader social learning contexts.

• Interventions can be designed based on a comprehensive understanding of these theories to effectively reduce criminal behavior and rehabilitate offenders.

Aaron's Background

Age and Crime

Aaron was 22 when he was convicted of murder, indicating a troubling trajectory filled with significant life challenges that contributed to his crime. Having been involved in criminal activities from a young age, his conviction at this age underscores a culmination of negative influences and decisions throughout his formative years.

Family Structure

Aaron was raised in a single-parent household, where his mother worked tirelessly, often taking extra shifts, to provide for him and his two older brothers. The absence of his father, who was incarcerated for armed robbery, profoundly affected the family dynamics, contributing to Aaron’s feelings of instability and abandonment. Despite the family's middle-class status, the emotional and psychological impact of the father's absence left a lasting mark on Aaron’s development and sense of identity.

Economic Status

While growing up in a middle-class neighborhood, the realities of Aaron's home life, shaped by his father’s absence and his mother’s demanding work schedule, made the family’s financial situation feel precarious. This instability often manifested in Aaron's behavior and choices as he sought acceptance and understanding in less constructive ways.

Early Life

During his early years, Aaron initially performed well academically, exhibiting promise in his studies. However, around age 10, he began experiencing behavioral issues, possibly fueled by the stress of his family situation and the complexities of adolescence. The shift in his conduct marked a critical point in his life where negative influences began to overshadow his potential.

Development of Criminal Behavior

Influence of Peers

With his mother working nights, Aaron often spent unsupervised time with his brothers and their friends. This environment fostered a sense of camaraderie in engaging in minor criminal activities, such as vandalism and petty theft. These acts were often perceived as rebellious or merely for entertainment, marking the beginning of a troubling pattern.

Escalating Criminality

What started as minor transgressions escalated into riskier and more dangerous behaviors. Throwing rocks off bridges, stealing stereos from cars, and getting into physical confrontations became commonplace. His frequent involvement in school-related incidents prompted his mother to be summoned for discussions about his deteriorating attitude and behavior, indicating a pattern of defiance.

Reputational Shift

As Aaron’s behavior became more erratic, he garnered a tough reputation among his peers. This reputation was further exacerbated by substance use, particularly alcohol, leading to more frequent fights and violent confrontations. This shift not only alienated him from potential positive social influences but also solidified his association with a subculture of delinquency.

Murder Incident

The climax of Aaron's trajectory into violent criminality occurred during a bar fight in which he fatally stabbed a 20-year-old man after receiving a knife from a friend. This moment represented the culmination of his descent into criminality—an irreversible act that stemmed from a series of poor decisions and behavioral escalations over the years.

Learning Objectives From This Case

Theoretical Frameworks

Understanding the different theoretical frameworks, specifically the distinctions among psychodynamic, learning, and social learning theories of crime, is crucial in analyzing Aaron's case. These frameworks provide key insights into the underlying factors that can predict criminal behavior and offer varied perspectives on intervention.

Psychodynamic Theories

Psychodynamic theories focus on how internal drives and unresolved conflicts can influence behavior. Concepts introduced by Sigmund Freud, including the id (representing basic desires), ego (the rational self), and superego (the moral compass), can provide a lens to examine how traumatic childhood experiences, such as parental absence and poverty, may contribute to an individual’s propensity for criminal behavior.

Control Theories

Control theories, particularly Hirschi's general theory of crime, highlight self-control as a key factor in criminal conduct. Understanding how Aaron’s lack of self-regulation and accountability may have played a role in his decisions can inform future interventions aimed at crime prevention.

Theories of Crime Overview

Psychodynamic Perspective

• Focus: Examines the impact of internal psychological forces on behavior.

• Key Theorist: Sigmund Freud and his concepts surrounding the id, ego, and superego are critical for analyzing behavioral motivations.

• Application: A failure to develop a healthy superego, often resulting from unresolved and traumatic experiences, may contribute significantly to an individual’s potential for engaging in criminal behavior.

Learning Theories

General Premise

Criminal behavior is understood as learned behavior, shaped through direct and indirect experiences.

Types of Learning

• Classical Conditioning: Learning through association, exemplifying how environmental stimuli can feed into behavior (Pavlov's experiments).

• Operant Conditioning: Behavior modification through reinforcement or punishment, based on B.F. Skinner's principles.

• Sutherland's Differential Association Theory: Suggests that criminal behavior is learned in social contexts, influenced by definitions one acquires from their intimate groups.

Nine Postulates

Sutherland identified nine postulates that illustrate how exposure frequency, intensity, and duration to criminal definitions can shape behavior responses.

Akers' Social Learning Theory

An extension of Sutherland's theory, it emphasizes observational learning and vicarious reinforcement, positing that individuals learn behaviors from observing the consequences others face in society. This theory highlights the significant role of peer influences in shaping criminal choices.

Andrews and Bonta's PIC-R Theory

This integrated framework merges social learning principles with a focus on reinforcements at personal, interpersonal, and community levels to explain criminal behavior. The emphasis on environmental influences and psychological insights into antisocial attitudes can inform treatment strategies aimed at rehabilitation and crime prevention.

Summary Points

The theories explored provide various pathways for understanding criminal behavior. They stress the need to consider both individual psychological factors and the overarching social learning environments that influence conduct. Through a multilayered understanding of these frameworks, effective interventions can be designed to address the root causes of criminal behavior, thereby enhancing rehabilitation efforts for offenders.