Term
| What are the assumptions of the psychodynamic approach to offending? |
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Definition
-Anger is caused by ungratified id
-Caused by over or under developed superego
-Due to defence mechanisms
-Due to maternal deprivation |
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Term
| How does the superego cause offending? |
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Definition
-Weak superego- due to absence of same sex parent, moral code isn't adopted. Child therefore grows up with no sense of right and wrong so behaves as they like with no guilt from superego
-Deviant superego - the same sex parent is a bad role model so the child adopted a wrong moral code eg. a boy with a violent father will become violent
- over harsh superego - the child's superego causes constant feelings of guilt so the child grows up with the desire for punishment. the commit crime so they can be caught and punished. |
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Term
| How do defence mechanisms cause offending? |
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Definition
-Denial - refusal to accept that something unpleasant is happening eg a serial killer may refuse to acknowledge the severity of their actions
-Rationalisation - trying to explain unaceptable behaviour in a rational way to make it acceptable eg. a rapist may justify their actions by saying the victim was 'asking for it' by victim dressing provocitivly
-Displacement - taking out anger and frustration on a substitute object eg a person angry at their boss may take it on their partner at home
-Sublimination - involves redirection of normally primitive impulses onto more acceptable activities eg a person who wants to rape and murder may engage in violent sexual activity with a prostitute |
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Term
| How does maternal deprivation cause offending? |
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Definition
| Being deprived of a continuous and loving relationship with the caregiver results in irreversible, damaging consequences, such as delinquency and affectionless psychopathy. |
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Term
Which study is evidence for the maternal deprivation hypothesis?
(give the method and results) |
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Definition
- 44 juvenile thieves assessed for affectionless psychopathy
-39% had separation from their mothers in childhood |
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Term
What are the strengths for the psychodynamic explanation for offending?
(two things) |
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Definition
-Provides further understanding as to why people may offrnd
-bowlby's study of delinquency does show that maternal deprivation is an important factor, so early childhood does have an effect on some people |
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Term
What are the weaknesses for the psychodynamic explaination of offending?
(six things) |
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Definition
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Term
| How does the superego cause offending? |
|
Definition
-Weak superego- due to absence of same sex parent, moral code isn't adopted. Child therefore grows up with no sense of right and wrong so behaves as they like with no guilt from superego
-Deviant superego - the same sex parent is a bad role model so the child adopted a wrong moral code eg. a boy with a violent father will become violent
- over harsh superego - the child's superego causes constant feelings of guilt so the child grows up with the desire for punishment. the commit crime so they can be caught and punished. |
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Term
| How do defence mechanisms cause offending? |
|
Definition
-Denial - refusal to accept that something unpleasant is happening eg a serial killer may refuse to acknowledge the severity of their actions
-Rationalisation - trying to explain unaceptable behaviour in a rational way to make it acceptable eg. a rapist may justify their actions by saying the victim was 'asking for it' by victim dressing provocitivly
-Displacement - taking out anger and frustration on a substitute object eg a person angry at their boss may take it on their partner at home
-Sublimination - involves redirection of normally primitive impulses onto more acceptable activities eg a person who wants to rape and murder may engage in violent sexual activity with a prostitute |
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|
Term
| How does maternal deprivation cause offending? |
|
Definition
| Being deprived of a continuous and loving relationship with the caregiver results in irreversible, damaging consequences, such as delinquency and affectionless psychopathy. |
|
|
Term
Which study is evidence for the maternal deprivation hypothesis?
(give the method and results) |
|
Definition
- 44 juvenile thieves assessed for affectionless psychopathy
-39% had separation from their mothers in childhood |
|
|
Term
What are the strengths for the psychodynamic explanation for offending?
(two things) |
|
Definition
-Provides further understanding as to why people may offrnd
-bowlby's study of delinquency does show that maternal deprivation is an important factor, so early childhood does have an effect on some people |
|
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Term
What are the weaknesses for the psychodynamic explaination of offending?
(six things) |
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Definition
-Some things have been found to be untrue (Many children grow up without a same sex parent and are law abiding)
-defence mechanisms cannot be tested therefore there is no proof of their existence so approach not falsifiable
-based on case studies (eg Little Hans) so cannot be generalised and difficult to draw cause and affect from
-According to Freud boys develop a stronger superego than girls but more males commit crimes
-Theory only explains crimes based on impulse whereas some crimes are premeditated/planned |
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Term
| What are the two early biological theories of offending? |
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Definition
-Atavistic form theory
-Somatotype theory |
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Term
| What are the assumptions of the atavistic from theory of offending? |
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Definition
Lombroso suggested there was a difference in physical features of criminals and non criminals
-criminals have adaptations that allow them to survive in the wild but make them unable to fit in civilised society |
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Term
| What are the physical features that Lombroso suggested are different in non criminals and criminals? |
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Definition
| -criminals have large jaws, narrow, sloping brows, high cheekbones,extra fingers, toes and nipples, large ears, hairlessness,dark skin and insensitivity to pain. |
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Term
What is the study to support the atavistic form theory?
(state the method and results) |
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Definition
-Lombroso studied the skulls of dead criminals and the heads of 3,839 living ones
-He concluded that not all criminal acts were conducted by people with atavistic characteristics but 40% could be accounted for using the theory |
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Term
What are the strengths of the atavistic form theory?
(two strengths) |
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Definition
-Afterwards, Lombroso was considered as the 'father of modern criminology' and was highly influential in promoting views about biological determinism
-Lombroso was responsible for moving criminology away from 'wickedness' and towards science |
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Term
What are the weaknesses of the atavistic form theory?
(three weaknesses) |
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Definition
-non criminals weren't studies so no comparison (Goring conducted a study comparing physical features of 3,000 criminals and non criminals and found no significant differences)
-Lombroso's study included people with psychological disorders so criminality may have been confused with psychopathology
-even if facial features occur more in criminal types it doesn't mean there is a relationship (eg they may have been stereotyped as 'hard' so picked on more often which lead to violence) |
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Term
| What are the main assumptions of the somatotype theory? |
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Definition
-Sheldon suggested body types are an indicator of criminality
-He suggested there are three somatotypes but it is rare for a person to be a 'pure' somatoype and are instead a combination |
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Term
| What are the three somatotypes and what are the characteristics associated with each? |
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Definition
-Ectomorph, thin and fragile, solitary, introverted,self conscious
-Endomorph, fat and soft, relaxed, loves nature, enjoys the company of others
-Mesomorph, muscular and hard, agressive, callous, mindless of other people's feelings |
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Term
| What is the study to support the somatoype theory? |
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Definition
-Sheldon investigated link between body shape and criminality by analysing 200 photos of delinquents and 200 of non delinquents and rated them for mesomorphy on a scale of 1-7
-The average rating for the delinquents was 4.6, compared with 3.8 for the non delinquents |
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Term
| What is the strength for the somatotype theory? |
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Definition
| some research has supported the link between body shape and delinquency |
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Term
What are the weaknesses for the somatotype theory?
(five weaknesses) |
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Definition
-Argued that the classification system was unreliable
-The way the sample was selected didn't use the legal criteria defining delinquent (data was re-analysed using legal criteria and the link was no longer present)
-There are other explanations for violence in mesomorphic body types (eg people with a muscular build learn to behave aggressively or ate more attractive to gangs)
-data from the British National Survey found that delinquents who were guilty of serious offences were smaller in body type compared with the average person
-High testosterone levels may affect body body shape and agressive behaviour |
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Term
| What are the four main biological theories of offending? |
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Definition
-Twin studies
-Adoption studies
-Chromosomes
-Neurophysiology |
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Term
| Why are twins used to study the biological theory of offending? |
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Definition
-Establish whethere toffending is down to genetics or environmental factors
-MZ (monozygotic, identical) twins share 100% of the same DNA |
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Term
| What are the methods and results of two twin studies (by Grove and Christiansen)? |
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Definition
Grove- studied 31 sets of MZ twins and one set of triplets that had grown up apart shortly after birth. they were assessed for alcohol and drug problems and for antisocial behaviour. The drug score and antisocial behaviour scores showed significant heritability and the concordance rate for antisocial personality disorder was 29%
Christiansen - studies 3,586 twins from Danish islands and found concordance rates of 35% in male MZ twins, 13% in male DZ twins, 21% in female MZ twins and 8% in female DZ twins.
-Concordance rates in these styudies are low, suggesting there are environmental factors. Rates for MZ twins may be higher due to them being treated alike due to their appearance |
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Term
| Why are adoption studies used to study the biological theory of offending? |
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Definition
| If the child is more like the adoptive parents the behaviour is likely to be influenced more by the environment and if the child is more like the biological parent the behaviour is more likely to be influenced more by genetics and inheritance. |
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Term
| What are the results of two studies (by Crowe and Hutchings and Mednick)? |
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Definition
Crowe- around 50% of a sample of adopted children whose mothers were criminals had a criminal record by 18
Hutchings and Mednick - if both biological aqnd adoptive fathers were criminals, 36% of sons were. When only the biological father was a criminal, 21% of sons were and if only the adoptive father was a criminal, 12% of sons were. When neither father was a criminal, 11% of sons were. |
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Term
What are the weaknesses of the adoption studies?
(four weaknesses) |
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Definition
-children who are adopted tend to be put in environments similar to those of their biological parents so confusion of whether biological or environmental factors have influenced behaviour
-Some children adopted at late age so may have already been influenced by biological parents/past experiences
-emotional instability from being adopted may influence behaviour
-mental instability inherited from parents may influence behaviour |
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Term
| What are the main assumptions for chromosomes influencing offending behaviour? |
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Definition
Some males have atypical sex chromosomes, XYY
The Y chromosome is responsible for the hormone testosterone
Testosterone has been linked to aggression |
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Term
| What are the results of the study into the link between XYY chromosome pattern and offending? |
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Definition
| Jacobs found that 1.5% of the criminal population in prisons have the chromosome pattern XYY opposed to the incidence rate of 0.1% in the normal population |
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Term
| What were the results of the study by Wilkins that refute the theory of the atypical chromosome pattern influencing offending? |
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Definition
| Wilkins found that only 12 men in a group of 4500 had an extra Y chromosome and none of them were offenders. |
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Term
| What are the main assumptions for neurophysiology influencing offending behaviour? |
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Definition
-Structures of the brain are responsible for aggression
-people with antisocial behaviour disorder have abnormal EEG patterns |
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Term
| What animal study supports the theory that aggression is caused by different areas in the brain? |
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Definition
| Adams found rats with lesions to the ventral tegmental area of the brain had disrupted offensive aggression but normal predatory and defensive aggression |
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Term
| What are the results of the four studies (by Hare, Moffitt, Kurland and Raine) into APD sufferers? |
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Definition
Hare - found the brains of APD sufferers are immature and childlike
Moffitt - found adolescent offending may be a result of delayed brain development (but this doesn't explainlife long offending)
Kurland - found 66% of individuals with APD with uncontrollable violent outbursts showed rapid brain waves while sleeping, suggesting APD may be correlated with hemispheric dysfunction
Raine - compared volume of prefrontal grey and white matter in 21 APD sufferers and controls. Autonomic activity was also measured in stressful situations. 11% reduction in grey matter for the APD group and reduced response to stress. |
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Term
What are the weaknesses of using neurophysiology to explain offending?
(three weaknesses) |
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Definition
-Using animals so not generalisable
-no causal link between neurological function and criminal behaviour
-no direct causal link between APD and criminal behaviour |
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Term
| What is the assumption of Eysenck's theory of criminal personality? |
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Definition
| Crime arises from certain biological personality traits. |
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Term
| What are the tree personality types that lead to offending? |
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Definition
Neurotisism - aggressive, restless, changeable
Extroversion - hard to keep entertained and doesn't respond well to punishment
Psychoticism - Uncaring, solitary, aggressive |
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Term
| What are the studies into Eysenck's theory of criminal personality? |
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Definition
McGurk and McDougall - investigated the link between criminality and personality type in 100 delinquents and 100 students. There was a significant difference in scores for all three tests
Farrington - reviewed 16 studies of relationships between extroversion, introversion and psychotism measured with criminal convictions. High psychotism was found but extroversion and neuroticism were low. |
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Term
| What are the limitations of Eysenck's theory of criminal personality? |
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Definition
-data flawed due to being self report and scales are subject to response bias
-excludes those who commit crimes and aren't convicted so not representative
-argument that the theory is circular meaning it asks questions about aggression and selfishness to explain why high psychotism scorers act aggressively and antisocially
-theory fails to explain why criminals commit certain crimes
-oversimplified as only two dimensions |
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Term
| What five traits did Digman introduce to reduce the oversimplification issues? |
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Definition
Openness
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Neurotisism |
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Term
| What did Mischel say about personality? |
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Definition
| Personality can change depending on situation, contradicting Eysenck's belief that personality is stable |
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Term
| What are the assumptions of the social learning theory of offending? |
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Definition
-offending is learnt like any other behaviour, through conditioning and vicarious reinforcement
-most behaviour is learnt from models |
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Term
| What is the method of the Bandura study into aggression? |
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Definition
| -36 girls and 36 boys aged 3 to 6 watched an adult behave either aggressively or neutrally towards a bobo doll with the control having no model. |
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Term
| What is the results of the Bandura study into aggression? |
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Definition
-children with the aggressive model showed more aggressive behaviours
-boys had a more aggressive response
-children with aggressive male modelsshowed more aggressive behaviours |
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Term
| What are the strengths of the models theory of offending? |
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Definition
-Data supports imitation of behaviour
-Has practical applications in the way it can be used to expose criminals to certain role models who exhibit good behaviour
-acknowledges mediating cognitive factors |
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Term
| What are the sweaknesses of the models theory of offending? |
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Definition
-doesn't take individual differences into account
-doesn't saccount for impulsive crimes |
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Term
| What is differential association? |
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Definition
| Criminal behaviuour is a result of being exposed to criminal norms or unfavourable attitudes. Attitudes towards authority and laws are learned and people imitate specific acts. |
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Term
| What is the method of the Farrington study in delinquent development? |
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Definition
| Longitudinal study of 411 working class boys from aged 8 to 50 from deprived inner city south. They were studied for family background, parenting styles, school behaviour and type and rate of offences |
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Term
| What are the results of the Farrington study in delinquent development? |
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Definition
-41% of criminal convictions occurred between the age of 10 and 50.
-At age 17, 50% of the convictions recorded were from 5% of the sample.
-Key risk factors included poverty, poor parenting, family criminality, risk taking and low school achievement |
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Term
| What are the strengths of differential association? |
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Definition
-takes exposure to role models and certain environmental factors into account
-Matthews found that teenage delinquents who engage in crimes also have friends who display unfavourable attitudes
-correlation between those who have been exposed to criminal behaviour |
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Term
| What are the weaknesses of differential association? |
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Definition
-difficult to establish causal link
-unclear to what extent unfavourable attitudes have to be in order to influence behaviour
-Doesn't account for impulsive crimes
-after prison, many criminals are reformed characters even though they are exposed to more unfavourable attitudes from other inmates
-ignores other theories eg Eysenck, biological theory
-mostly represents petty crimes, not more serious crimes like rape and murder
-ignores independance and free will |
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