2.2

• what are the individualistic theories?

  psychodynamic, eysenck’s personality, learning and cognitive
• what are the psychodynamic theories?


  psychoanalysis and bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory
• what is criminal behaviour a result of according to psychodynamic theories?


  an individual’s failure to resolve inner conflicts in a socially acceptable way
• what did freud believe?


  early childhood experiences determine our personality and future behaviour
• what are the three elements of the personality according to freud?

  the id, superego and ego
• what is the id?

  it is unconscious, instinctive and ‘animal’. it contains powerful, selfish, pleasure-seeking needs and drives, such as the desire for sex, food and sleep
• what is the superego?

  our conscience or moral rules, which we learn through interactions with our parents through early socialisation
• what does the ego do?

  act in a way that satisfies the id’s desires, but that is also morally acceptable to the superego
• what are the three types of superego that can cause deviance and criminality?


  a weakly developed superego, a too harsh and unforgiving superego or a deviant superego
• what is a weakly developed superego?


  it means the individual will feel less guilt and inhibition
• what is a too harsh and unforgiving superego?


  creates deep-seated guilt in the individual, who then craves punishment as a release from feelings
• what is a deviant superego?


  the child is successfully socialised, but into a deviant moral code
• what did bowlby argue?

  that there is a link between maternal deprivation and deviant or anti-social behaviour
• what did bowlby call a child unable to form meaningful emotional relationships with others?

  an ‘affectionless psychopath’
• what did bowlby’s evidence?

  his study of 44 juvenile thieves. he found that 39% had suffered maternal deprivation in comparison with only 5% of a control group
• what was eysenck’s personality composed of?

  extraversion versus introversion and neuroticism versus emotional stabilty
• what are extraverted personalities like?

  outgoing, sociable, excitement-seeking, impulsive, carefree, optimistic, often aggressive, short-tempered and unreliable
• what are introverted personalities like?

  reserved, inward-looking, thoughtful, serious, quiet, self-controlled, pessimistic and reliable
• what are neurotic personalities like?


  anxious, moody, often depressed and prone to over-reacting
• wht are emotionally stable personalities like?

  calm, even-tempered, controlled and unworried
• what is conditioning?


  that through experience, we learn to seek pleasure and avoid pain
• what did eysenck argue along with conditioning?

  that we may inherit a nervous system that causes criminality
• what do extraverted nervous systems require?

  a high level of stimulation from their environment which leads to impulsive, rule-breaking behaviour
• why are neurotics harder to condition into following society’s rules?


  their high anxiety levels prevent them learning from punishment for their mistakes
• what are psychotic personalities like?


  cruel, insensitive, aggressive and lacking in empathy
• what are the different learning theories?


  sutherland’s differential association, operant learning and social learning
• what did edwin sutherland argue?


  individuals learn criminal behaviour largely in the family and peer groups
• what are the two factors which result in the learning of criminality?


  imitation and learned attitudes
• what is imitation in regards to criminality?


  individuals can acquire criminal skills and techniques through observing those around them
• what are learned attitudes?


  socialisation within the group exposes the individual to attitudes and values about the law
• what did sutherland find in his study of white collar crime?


  group attitudes in the workplace often normalised criminal behaviour
• who came up with the operant learning theory?

  b.f. skinner
• what is the basic idea of operant learning theory?

  if a particular behaviour results in a reward, it is likely to be repeated. on the other hand, behaviour that results in an undesirable outcome is likely not to be repeated
• what is behaviourism?


  the cause of someone’s behaviour lies in the reinforcement and punishments that shape it
• what is differential reinforcement theory?

  reinforcement and punishment must explain criminal behaviour too
• what did jeffery argue?


  if crime has more rewarding consequences than punishing ones for an individual, they will be more likely to engage in criminal behaviour
• who is known for social learning theory?


  albert bandura
• what did bandura argue?


  that we learn much of our behaviour by imitating other people
• what does bandura call the people who we imitate?

  models
• what factors increase the likelihood of imitation?


  the model being of higher status than us or them being rewarded for the behaviour