Theories

• Social Learning Theory


  Developed by Albert Bandura, suggests that all behaviour is learnt through observation and that children are particularly influenced by what they see
• Real life example of Social Learning Theory


  • 1993 - Jamie Bulger, a two year old boy was murdered by two ten year old boys who had been watching aggressive and violent films
• Social Learning Theory


  • Children will have role models who they look up to, they will identify with role models, particularly if they have similar characteristics to them
  • Children may observe a criminal act which creates a mental representation in their mind, and they are more likely to copy or imitate the act
  • The likelihood of the criminality being imitated is further increased by the process of vicarious reinforcement - any rewards that the observer might witness
• After observation has occurred the person may have internalised the criminal act, e.g. knowing how to pick-pocket. Once this has happened the observer may decide to carry out the act themselves. If they are successful in the criminal act and are not caught, then they will receive direct reinforcement through the gaining of the item they have stolen
• The Social Learning Theory of Criminality can be supported by research evidence including the study by Cooper and Mackie (1986) who found that playing and observing aggressive video games increases the likelihood that they will subsequently play with aggressive toys
• The Social Learning Theory can be criticised for ignoring the role of nature and focusing too much on nurture; not every person who observes criminal behaviour will be a criminal themselves
• Eysenck's Criminal Personality Theory


  States that criminal behaviour relates to the functioning of the central nervous system (CNS). Three personality types were associated with criminal behaviour; extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism
• Extraversion


  • Highly sociable, impulsive and, risk and sensation seeking. Levels of extraversion are controlled by the level of arousal in an individual's CNS and autonomic nervous system (ANS)
• Neuroticism


  • Anxious, depressed and react very strongly to aversive stimuli. Levels of neuroticism are affected by the overall level of stability of the CNS
• Psychoticism


  • Characterised by a lack of empathy and egocentrism and is associated with anti-social and aggressive behaviour. May be caused by an overactive dopamine system and the reduced inhibition of dopaminergic neurons
• Arousal is regulated by an area of the brain called the reticular activating system (RAS). Studies have shown that this area is more active in introverts than extroverts
• Research has found evidence of an inverse correlation between cortical thickness and extraversion in the right inferior frontal cortex, meaning that extraverts are more likely to have a thinner right inferior frontal cortex, compared to introverts
• When stressed, people with high levels of neuroticism will quickly activate their ANS and limbic system, and it is slow to decrease its activity once the stress has disappeared, showing that it is highly reactive
• Eysenck believed criminal behaviour is due to immaturity, selfishness and the inability to delay gratification. Socialisation teaches children to delay gratification through conditioning
• The Eysenck's Criminal Personality Theory was tested by Heaven (1996) who found although the psychoticism, extroversion and low self-esteem may be correlated with self-reported delinquency they cannot be said to be the cause of delinquency and therefore the study does not show significant support for the hypothesis