Criminal and Forensic Psychology lecture 4 --> Mainstream Theories of Crime: Psychological Theories
- Created by: EmilyEther
- Created on: 21-10-20 18:06
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- Psychological Theories of crime
- Learning Theories
- behaviour develops through a series of learning experiences
- individs change their behaviour according to the response
- Law of Effect, CC, OC, Social Learning of Personality, SLT
- SLT - learning = cognitive process taking place in a social context - VR, observational learning, reciprocal determinism
- imitation
- imitate live models, instructional models and symbolic models
- people choose models based on a range of characteristics - looks, status, perceived similarity
- characteristics effected how deeply the behavs are imitated
- behaviour reinforced is the reinforcement has values for the observer
- differential association
- Through interaction with others, individuals learn the values, attitudes, techniques, and motives for criminal behaviour
- Deviant and conforming behaviour are produced by the same learning processes - just depends on the direction of the influences
- Akers and Burgess additions, 1966
- differential reinforcement
- positive and negative reinforcements
- social rewards = symbolic
- social structure and social learning
- differential social organisation
- differential location in social structure
- theoretically defined structural variables
- differential social location in groups
- differential reinforcement
- direct VS indirect reinforcement
- direct eg effects of drug and alcohol
- indirect eg. anticipation of rewards
- most important reiforcers tend to be social (status, respect etc)
- Intelligence Theories
- Henry Goddard (1914) - ‘feeblemindedness’ of inmates - criminal behaviour was caused by low IQ - however, there is no empirical basis for this claim
- The Bell Curve (Herrnstein and Murray, 1994)
- publish finding stating that Black people in the USA score lower than white people on IQ tests
- then suggest that suggest individuals with a lower IQ are more likely to commit crime, get caught, and be sent to prison
- misleading conclusions about race, hereditary, intelligence and crime
- low IQ is now seen as a risk factor as opposed to a direct causal factor
- studies indicate school performance MEDIATED the effect of IQ on delinquency
- Hirschi and Hindelang, 1977
- low IQ increases likelihood for criminality through its impact on school performance -> Poor IQ = poor school performance -> child will drop out -> Poor school performance leads child with little conventional options for jobs and looking for acceptance elsewhere -> delinquency
- analysis has been extended to include deviant peer pressure and self-control as other mediating factors in the indirect link between IQ and delinquency
- BUT high IQ -> lack of socialising as they can't understand people around them -> ostracised, can turn to aggression
- Personality Theories
- focus on delinquency as an external manifestation of internal pathology
- Freud
- conflict in the psyche leads to delinquent behav
- this is not falsifiable tho
- Eysneck
- high extroversion, high neuroticism and high psychoticism = criminal
- criminal behaviour as developmentally immature -> selfish and concerned with immediate gratification
- studies + findings regarding this is inconsistent
- Psychopathy Theories
- used to describe more serious crimes
- view serious and persistent crime and delinquency as an outward manifestation of mental illness
- characterised by persistent antisocial behavior, lack of empathy and remorse, and bold disinhibited traits. Can also appear manipulative and lack the ability to learn from experience
- may learn to mimic certain behaviours (smiling back at others) but will not learn the rewarding behaviour behind this
- Etiology
- linked to prefrontal cortex and reduced amygdala volume
- antisocial children tend to display characteristics of psychopathy compared to non-antisocial children
- ASPD
- 1% of the population, 20% of the prison pop
- associated with instrumental violence
- Psychopathy was associated with more offences amongst child molestors (Porter, 2009)
- reported that offenders with psychopathy (both sexual and non-sexual offenders) are about 2.5 times more likely to be granted conditional release compared to non-psychopathic offenders
- Examples
- Ted Bundy
- John Wayne Gacy
- Ed Gein
- Ed Kemper
- used to describe more serious crimes
- Learning Theories
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