2.2

• Learning theory


  based on the belief that offending behaviour can be learnt

  many of the studies emphasise the role of family and peer group in criminal behaviour being learnt

  all types of behaviour learnt can be traced back to our initial observation of actions
• Where might you observe accepted standards of behaviour

  education

  religious teachings

  media

  law enforcement

  local community

  employment settings
• Bandura- social learning theory


  argues behaviour is learnt by watching the behaviour of others.

  if a child were to witness a child gaining wither pleasure or pain from an activity, then they are more likely to repeat or reject the behaviour

  the same applies to aggression and deviance
• Bobo doll study 1963- Bandura


  involved exposing children to two different models: aggressive and non aggressive

  children were placed in a room without the model to see how they'd behave

  many children reduplicated the aggression, and some came up with further ways to hurt the doll
• Violence and aggression are produced by


  an arousal event

  learned aggressive skills

  expected success and rewards

  pro violence values
• Bandura's theory was later advanced by Sutherland 1992
• Sutherland's differential association theory


  Key factors criminal behaviour is based on: imitation (new criminal skills and techniques learnt through observation) and learned attitudes (attitudes about the law are learnt through internalisation.)

  Individuals learn criminal behaviour through socialisation with others, especially close knit social group
• Limitations of Sutherland's DAS theory

  limited empirical evidence, ignores individual differences, overemphasises associations, over reliance on social factors.
• Influence of observational learning- Robert Thompson and John Venables


  claims they had been influenced by the 'video nasties'

  reported that Thompson and venables had watched violent movies and been exposed to graphic imagery

  become desensitised to violence and mimicked behaviour

  the boys' troubled backgrounds and psychological issues likely contributed also
• Operant learning theory- skinner


  if an idea results in a reward, then it will likely be repeated

  undesired behaviour is often not repeated, and results in punishment

  Behaviourism: behaviour lies in the reinforcement and punishment

  Differential reinforcement theory: all behaviour is the result of reinforcement and punishment. This should therefore explain criminal behaviour
• Eysenck's personality theory (psychological)


  Based off his theory of personalities. He argues that criminal behaviour is based on your personality

  Our personality would be made up of the following:

  • extraversion vs intraversion
  • Neuroticism vs emotional stability
• Eysenck's personality typical features

  A) Unstable emotions (neurotic)

  B) extroverted personality

  C) stable emotions

  D) introverted personality

  
• Eysencks personality key terms

  Extraversion: being mainly concerned with and gaining pleasure from things outside of the self

  introversion: directing your interests inwards or to things within the self

  neuroticism: to have feelings of anxiety, worry, anger or fear

  stability: unlikely to move or change

  psychoticism: a personality pattern that is typified by aggression and hostility towards other people
• personalities most likely to be criminal (Eysenck)

  ➢Extrovert: Need a high level of stimulation/seek excitement

  ➢Neurotic: A high-level of anxiety prevents them learning from punishments for their mistakes

   

  Eysenck later developed the term psychoticism to explain criminals:

   

  ➢Psychotic: Tend to be misfits, cruel, insensitive, aggressive, lacking empathy
• Psychoanalasys Freud (psychodynamic)


  best way to understand human behaviour was to examine early childhood experiences

  he argued it is our unconscious mind that controls behaviour, including criminality
• areas of our psyche- freud

  ID- unconscious, instinctive animal of the brain. preoccupied with needs (food, sleep, sex, etc) pleasure principle

  ego- also known as 'I'. tries to strike a balance/ compromise. it is driven by the reality principle

  superego- the conscious or overbearing parent that is developed through interactions in early childhood. it has a strong sense of right from wrong which can be internalised during socialisation
• unbalanced psyche- freud

  a healthy personality needs balance between all three areas

  dominant id- mind is uncontrollable, criminality is likely

  dominant ego- incapable of accepting change, rigid lifestyle

  dominant superego- very moralistic, expecting perfection, judgemental if isn't achieved
• bowlby's maternal deprivation theory (psychodynamic)

  research suggests criminals come from unstable homes

  bowl by investigated the link between maternal deprivation and deviance/ anti social behaviour
• bowlby's maternal deprivation theory

  studied 44 juvenile delinquents and compared them with non criminal juveniles

  39% had experienced complete separation from their mother for more than 6 months in the first 5 years of their lives vs only 5% of the control group

  if mother child attachment is broken through separation, it can leave a child unable to form meaningful emotional relationships with others.

  could lead to criminal behaviour
• cognitive theory

  cognition- thinking and mental processes relating to attitudes, beliefs, reasoning, problem solving, decision making etc

  how we interpret a situation affects how we respond to it

  for example if we find a situation threatening then it will likely trigger a fight or flight response
• criminal personality theory- cognitive

  theory stemming from yochelson and samenow

  faulty cognition/ thinking makes an individual more likely to commit a crime

  study based on 240 male offenders who had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital

  thinking errors- the errors and bias that lead someone to commit a crime
• examples of thinking errors

  lying

  secretive

  need for power

  super optimism

  failure to understand others

  lack of trust

  blaming others

  uniqueness
• kohlbergs moral development theory

  how we develop our moral thinking

  our understanding of right and wrong develops from childhood to adulthood

  argues criminal behaviour is because individuals are stuck at a less mature level than everyone else

  CBT therapy- thought patterns of offenders are different to other people. this therapy aims to change that
• kohl bergs moral development theory: 6 stages

  rules are fixed and absolute

  judging actions according to individual needs

  conforming and being nice

  respecting authority

  considering individual rights