Individualistic Theories

• Bandura - Social Learning Theory

  • Strengths
  • Weaknesses
• Bandura - Social Learning Theory: Strengths


  • Research support from the Bobo Doll experiment - the study did show that children copied the behavior of their parents when presented with the Bobo Doll
  • Bandura shows the importance of role models in deviant behavior
  • Has had practical applications in the TV/film industry and has led to movies being age-rated to lower the harm of children imitating deviant behaviors
• Bandura - Social Learning Theory: Weaknesses


  • A Bobo Doll is meant to be hit. Therefore many have said that the study is flawed
  • The theory assumes people's behavior is completely determined by their environment and ignores biology
• Sutherland-Differential Association Theory

  • Strengths
  • Weaknesses
• Sutherland-Differential Association Theory: Strengths

  • It can explain white collar crimes which most theories fail to explain- most upper-class people commit fraudulent crimes as they have associations with people who also commit crime
• Sutherland-Differential Association Theory: Weaknesses

  • Too deterministic - it assumes people who become criminals and ignores personal morals/independence
  • Cannot explain crimes committed by individuals who have acted alone eg. Ted Bundy
  • Can explain less severe crimes like burglaries, but not crimes like murder
• Freud-Psychodynamic Theory

  • Strengths
  • Weaknesses
• Freud-Psychodynamic Theory: Strengths


  • Freud was one of the first individuals to explore mental health when many people at that time were critical of mental health being an illness
  • Psychoanalytic explanations have had some influence on policies for dealing with crime and deviance
• Freud-Psychodynamic Theory: Weaknesses

  • Freud's studies were not actually based on scientific research and quite subjective
  • Critics doubt the existence of an 'unconscious mind' - how could we know about it, if it's unconscious
• Bowlby-Psychodynamic Theory

  • Strengths
  • Weaknesses
• Bowlby-Psychodynamic Theory: Strengths

  • Bowlby's 44 thieves study, showed that more of his sample had suffered from maternal deprivation (39%) than a control group of non-delinquents (5%). This shows there is a link between maternal deprivation and criminality, thus this has highlighted the importance of attachment between children and their mother, which could reduce criminality
  • His work considers the role of parent-child relationships in explaining criminality
• Bowlby-Psychodynamic Theory: Weaknesses

  • Bowlby explains the delinquency of 39% of the children in terms of maternal deprivation but doesn't explain why the other 61% were delinquent. Therefore, deprivation cannot be the only cause
  • Bowly's own later study of 60 children who had been separated from their parents for long periods before they were 5, found no evidence of affectionless psychopathy
• Eysenck-Personality Theory

  • Strengths
  • Weaknesses
• Eysenck-Personality Theory: Strengths


  • High levels of testosterone have been linked to psychoticism which can lead to aggressive/criminal behavior
  • Eysenk said personality was impacted by childhood experiences his theory can be useful in preventing crime. By providing early treatment/intervention to 'at-risk' individuals who have had traumatic childhood experiences, this could prevent criminality
• Eysenck-Personality Theory: Weaknesses

  • Eyesench used self-report questionnaires, which may not produce valid results, people may lie when asked about themselves
  • Convicted offenders (on whom the theory is based on) may not be typical of offenders as a whole. For example, less impulsive (low N) offenders may be more likely to avoid getting caught