Lecture 3:Theories of Crime - Learning Environmental Explanations

Theories of Crime: Learning & Environmental Explanations

Overview of the Lecture

Key Theories:

• Psychodynamic Theories: These theories focus on the internal psychological processes and early childhood experiences that shape an individual's behavior, particularly emphasizing the conflict between biological impulses and societal constraints.

  • Freud’s Structure of Personality: Sigmund Freud proposed that personality is formed through the interplay between the id (biological impulses), ego (reality), and superego (conscience). A well-developed superego is crucial for moral behavior; issues in its development can lead to criminal behavior.

  • Bowlby’s Theory of Maternal Deprivation: This theory posits that emotional bonds formed in early childhood, particularly with primary caregivers, are vital for healthy social development. Separation during critical developmental phases can lead to antisocial behavior due to lack of secure attachments.

• Glueck and Glueck’s Empirical Approach: A well-regarded Harvard research team that utilized longitudinal studies to identify the social and psychological factors contributing to juvenile delinquency, emphasizing parenting roles and family dynamics.

• Learning Theories: These theories explore behavioral conditioning mechanisms and social influences on learning criminal behavior.

  • Classical Conditioning: Introduced by Ivan Pavlov, this theory explains learning through associations between stimuli, where a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus that elicits a conditioned response.

  • Operant Conditioning: Pioneered by B.F. Skinner, this learning theory suggests that behaviors are influenced by their consequences, reinforcing desirable behavior and discouraging undesirable actions through reward and punishment mechanisms.

  • Social Learning Theories: These highlight the role of observing and imitating others, particularly through media and peer influences, as significant factors in behavior acquisition.

  • Sutherland’s Differential Association Theory: This theory posits that criminal behavior is learned through interactions with others, and the exposure to criminal norms can shape an individual's behavior and beliefs toward crime.

  • Akers’s Social Learning Theory: An extension of Sutherland's work, incorporating operant conditioning principles to explain how societal reinforcement and punishment shape criminal behavior.

  • Andrews and Bonta’s PIC-R Theory: This theory integrates multiple factors, addressing personal, interpersonal, and community influences on criminal behavior, thus providing a comprehensive framework for understanding crime causation.

Psychodynamic Theories

• Main Figure: Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was a pioneering figure in psychology and psychoanalysis, emphasizing the importance of unconscious processes in shaping behavior, including criminality.

• Types of Superego & Criminals:

  • Neurotic Harsh Criminal: High conflict with societal norms due to an overactive superego.

  • Weak Psychopathic Deviant: Lacks an effectively functioning superego, leading to impulsive and harmful behavior.

  • Deviant Identification: Relates to how individuals adopt criminal behaviors from role models within their social environment.

Insights from Offenders

• Adult Perspective: Reflects a tendency toward risk-taking behaviors without considering consequences.

• Youth Perspective: Often exhibits impulsivity and a lack of foresight, leading to delinquent acts without prior contemplation.

Criticisms of Theories

• Many of the theories face criticisms regarding their scientific validity, empirical support, and methodological approaches. For instance, difficulties in measuring abstract concepts like the superego or social bonds raise concerns over the robustness of these explanations. Furthermore, the causal relationships among factors influencing criminal behaviors are often debated.

Conclusion

The lecture sets the foundation for understanding how different psychological and social theories explain criminal behavior, leading into discussions on practical applications in Canadian corrections and rehabilitation strategies in later sessions.

Chapter 3: Theories of Crime: Learning and Environment

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Learning Outcomes

● LO 3.1: Identify the key principles of psychodynamic theories and explain their relationship to criminal behavior.

● LO 3.2: Describe major predictors of crime from control theories, such as Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime.

● LO 3.3: Understand the principles of classical and operant conditioning.

● LO 3.4: Identify the key elements of Sutherland’s differential association theory and Akers’s social learning theory.

● LO 3.5: Explain Andrews and Bonta’s personal, interpersonal, and community-reinforcement theory (PIC–R).

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Introduction to Learning and Environmental Theories

● Psychologists explain crime through learning and environmental factors, focusing on:

○ Lack of supervision.

○ Procriminal role models.

○ Reinforcement for antisocial acts.

● This chapter explores psychodynamic, learning, and social learning perspectives and their:

○ Key components.

○ Empirical support.

○ Criticisms.

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Psychodynamic Theories of Crime (LO 3.1)

Core Principles

● Humans are inherently antisocial; criminal behavior arises when unconscious impulses are not controlled.

● Personality is shaped by three components:

○ Id: Seeks immediate pleasure.

○ Ego: Mediates between the id and societal norms.

○ Superego: Represents moral standards, divided into the conscience and ego-ideal.

Key Sources of Criminal Behavior

● Harsh Superego: Leads to unconscious guilt and criminal behavior as self-punishment.

● Weak Superego: Common in psychopathy; results in egocentric, impulsive behavior.

● Deviant Superego: Reflects identification with deviant role models.

Bowlby’s Theory of Maternal Deprivation

● Early disruptions in mother-child relationships impair self-control and prosocial behavior.

● Criticized for methodological flaws and overestimating maternal deprivation’s impact.

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Control Theories of Crime (LO 3.2)

Hirschi’s Social Control Theory

● Focuses on social bonds preventing crime:

1. Attachment (to parents, friends, teachers).

2. Commitment (to conventional pursuits).

3. Involvement (in prosocial activities).

4. Belief (in societal rules and norms).

● Weak or broken bonds lead to delinquency.

General Theory of Crime (Gottfredson & Hirschi)

● Crime arises from low self-control combined with opportunities.

● Self-control develops early through effective parenting and remains stable over time.

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Learning Theories of Crime (LO 3.3)

Classical Conditioning

● Behaviors are learned through associative learning:

○ Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): Food.

○ Unconditioned response (UCR): Salivation.

○ Conditioned stimulus (CS): Tone.

○ Conditioned response (CR): Salivation to the tone.

● Applied in criminal contexts (e.g., aversive conditioning for atypical sexual interests).

Operant Conditioning

● Behavior shaped by consequences:

○ Positive reinforcement: Adds a pleasant stimulus (e.g., rewards for prosocial acts).

○ Negative reinforcement: Removes an aversive stimulus (e.g., avoiding punishment).

○ Positive punishment: Adds an aversive stimulus (e.g., fines).

○ Negative punishment: Removes a pleasant stimulus (e.g., loss of privileges).

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Social Learning Theories of Crime (LO 3.4)

Sutherland’s Differential Association Theory

● Crime is learned in social contexts via exposure to antisocial attitudes.

● Key factors influencing criminal behavior:

1. Frequency of exposure.

2. Duration of interactions.

3. Priority of influences early in life.

4. Intensity of relationships.

Akers’s Social Learning Theory

● Builds on Sutherland’s work, emphasizing:

○ Operant conditioning: Reinforcement shapes behavior.

○ Vicarious conditioning: Observing and imitating others’ reinforced actions.

● Influential groups include family, peers, and media.

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Andrews and Bonta’s PIC–R Theory (LO 3.5)

● Integrates biological, behavioral, and cognitive perspectives.

● Crime arises from:

1. Antecedent events: Encourage crime (e.g., peer pressure).

2. Consequent events: Reinforce crime (e.g., status gain).

● Predictors of crime:

1. Antisocial attitudes.

2. Antisocial peers.

3. History of antisocial behavior.

4. Antisocial personality.

● Socioeconomic factors act as background influences.

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Summary

● Psychodynamic theories: Crime stems from internal conflicts and failures in controlling impulses.

● Control theories: Social bonds and self-control prevent crime.

● Learning theories: Crime is learned through associative and environmental factors.

● Social learning theories: Highlight observational learning and cognitive processes in acquiring antisocial behavior.

● PIC–R theory: Integrates multiple perspectives, focusing on antecedent and consequent events.