ac2.2

• Individualistic theories of criminality covered in this topic

  • Psychodynamic theories
  • Eysenck's personality theory
  • Learning theories
  • Cognitive theories of crime
• Psychodynamic theories


  See our personality as containing active forces that cause us to behave the way we do, such as powerful urges, feelings and conflicts within the unconscious
• Criminal behaviour


  The result of an individual's failure to resolve inner conflicts in a socially acceptable way
• Psychoanalysis


  The first and most important psychodynamic theory, originally founded by Sigmund Freud
• Freud's view of human personality

  Contains three elements: the id, ego and superego, which are in tension with one another
• Id


  • Located in the unconscious, instinctive, 'animal' part of the mind, contains powerful, selfish, pleasure-seeking needs and drives
  • Governed by 'the pleasure principle' - the blind desire to satisfy its urges at any cost
• Superego


  • Contains our conscience or moral rules, which we learn through interactions with our parents during early socialisation
  • Punishes us with feelings of guilt and anxiety if we act - or even just think of acting - contrary to it
• Ego


  • Tries to make a balance between the conflicting demands of the id and superego
  • Driven by the reality principle: learns from experience that actions have consequences
• Psychoanalytic theories see anti-social behaviour as caused by

  An abnormal relationship with parents during early socialisation, for example due to neglect or to excessively lax or strict parenting
• Maternal deprivation theory (Bowlby)


  A child needs a close, continuous relationship with its primary carer (usually the mother) from birth to age 5 to develop normally, and if this attachment is broken it can lead to criminal behaviour
• Eysenck's personality theory


  • Criminality is the result of a particular personality type, made up of two dimensions: extraversion vs introversion, and neuroticism vs emotional stability
• Extraverted personality


  Outgoing, sociable, excitement-seeking, impulsive, carefree, optimistic, often aggressive, short-tempered and unreliable
• Introverted personality


  Reserved, inward-looking, thoughtful, serious, quiet, self-controlled, pessimistic and reliable
• Neurotic personality


  Anxious, moody, often depressed and prone to over-reacting
• Emotionally stable personality


  Calm, even-tempered, controlled and unworried
• Eysenck found that criminals tend to be strongly extraverted and neurotic
• Conditioning


  We learn through experience to seek pleasure and avoid pain/punishment
• Psychoticism


  A further personality dimension added by Eysenck, where people with a high score are more likely to engage in criminality and tend to be solitary misfits who are cruel, insensitive, aggressive and lacking in empathy
• Key features of learning theories of crime

  • Criminal behaviour is learned behaviour
  • The influence of our immediate social environment, such as the family and peer groups
  • The key role of reinforcement and punishment in the learning process
• Differential association theory (Sutherland)


  Individuals learn criminal behaviour largely in the family and peer groups, through imitation of criminal acts and learning of criminal values and techniques
• Psychoticism


  A personality dimension where people with a high score are more likely to engage in criminality. They tend to be solitary misfits who are cruel, insensitive, aggressive and lacking in empathy. High P can overlap with serious psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia.
• Learning theories of crime

  • Criminal behaviour is learned behaviour
  • The influence of our immediate social environment, such as the family and peer groups
  • The key role of reinforcement and punishment in the learning process
• Sutherland's differential association theory


  Individuals learn criminal behaviour largely in the family and peer groups (including work groups) through two factors: 1) Imitation of criminal acts, 2) Learned attitudes - socialisation within the group exposes the individual to attitudes and values about the law, some of which may be unfavourable and lead to criminality
• Operant learning theory


  If a particular behaviour results in a reward, it is likely to be repeated. Behaviour that results in an undesirable outcome is likely not to be repeated. The first kind of behaviour has been positively reinforced, while the second has been punished.
• Differential reinforcement theory


  Criminal behaviour is learned through the reinforcement of particular behaviours - if crime has more rewarding consequences than punishing ones for an individual, they will be more likely to engage in criminal behaviour. These rewards could be financial, but also emotional (e.g. friendship or the respect of peers).
• Social learning theory


  • We learn much of our behaviour, including aggressive behaviour, by imitating other people (models). Whether we imitate the model's behaviour depends on the consequences of that behaviour - if we see the model being rewarded, we are more likely to imitate it than if we see them being punished.
• Cognitive theories of crime


  These argue that our mental processes, such as attitudes, beliefs, reasoning, problem-solving, decision-making, and self-concept, shape our behaviour. How we interpret a situation affects how we respond to it.
• Criminal personality theory


  Criminals are prone to faulty thinking and this makes them more likely to commit crime. Their thinking is characterised by errors and biases such as lying, secretiveness, need for power and control, super optimism, failure to understand others' positions, lack of trust in others, uniqueness, and the victim stance.
• Kohlberg's moral development theory


  Our ideas of right and wrong develop through a series of levels and stages from childhood to adulthood. Criminals' moral development is stuck at a less mature level, where they think solely in terms of whether their actions will lead to a reward or punishment, rather than how it might affect others.
• Cognitive theories that see delinquents' thought patterns as different from those of normal people have led to a range of treatments for offenders, under the general heading of cognitive behavioural therapy.