Psychology of Crime Chapter 3 PDF

Psychology of Crime - 1 10/2 Behavioral scientists: understanding causes of crime Criminology: study of crime and criminal behavior - primarily focus on crimes feared by most - … study of crime as social trend (overall origins, manifestations, society as a whole) juveniles and young a...

Psychology of Crime - 1 10/2 Behavioral scientists: understanding causes of crime Criminology: study of crime and criminal behavior - primarily focus on crimes feared by most - … study of crime as social trend (overall origins, manifestations, society as a whole) juveniles and young adults commit a large number of violent offenses Why does crime happen? Rehabilitation: treat individuals and eliminate causes of crime Retribution: punish in a way proportionate to severity of crime ○ make them PAY Deterrence: largely abandons rehab as crime control strategy ○ focus of criminal j system is certainty and severity of punishment Early Theories… Religious sin causes crime crime=sin Classical school of criminology (17th century): time of reform; punishment should be proportional to the crimes committed; punishment should fit crime AKA proportionality free will choice of right or wrong gains over consequence implications: - treatment fair - system of justice that is clear - punishment should fit the crime and be swift** **new way if thinking about crime; tells us what might be an appropriate response Frase, 2011 - Criminal punishment requires clear and convincing justification for two essential reasons: 1. Punishment is (almost by def.) unpleasant and harmful; at least in short term… WTF i. brands and stigmatizes them: loss of liberty, other harsh treat., harm to family WTF  Psychology of Crime - 2 2. Punishment consumes scarce public resources that might be better spent on other pressing needs OR better spent on alt ways to achieve justification for punishment i. Punishment / justification of goals…… can be + OR - Positivist school of criminology: emphasis on factors they believed to be determined by criminal behavior Believed punishment should fit the criminal rather than the crime (rehab foreshadow) Sought to understand crime through scientific method and analysis of empirical data ◦ Quetelet - crime occurred more often in certain geographic areas and under specific social conditions ◦ Lombroso+garofalo - physical charac. ↪ … NOW … deemed as crude and not taken seriously ◦ Summ: ↪ Earliest form late 19th cent, correlate crim w physiological → identification of “criminal genetic type” BOO now → LATER linking personality traits to crimes with crime to identify formative experiences (parent neglect) that might produce predisposition toward criminality Takeaway: bio, gen, psych, rel, eco, etc. are all legacy of positivist tradition; account for certain types of crime yass How do ppl make choice btwn crim and non-crim action? - Contrast to classical (choice = product of free choice + rational calculation) - POS. SEES: root causes of crime are in the factors that are outside of the control of the offender. What factors contribute to criminal behavior? - Physical charac, behavior is determined - Punishment fits CRIMINAL not the crime – early rehab; criminals are fundamentally different - Human behavior is determined, not free will - Criminals are fund. Different - Social scientists are objective in their work - Crime is freq. caused by multiple factors - Society is based on consensus, not on a social contract - Led to modern theories of criminal behavior! (takeaway)  Psychology of Crime - 3 What are the contemporary theoretical frameworks of crime? A. Sociological Theories: crime results from social or cultural forces that are external to any specific individual; emerge or DRIVEN BY/from social class, political, ecological, or physical structures affecting large groups of people ** REJECTING notion of “born a criminal” Structural explanations- dysfunctional social arrangements (schooling, economic adversity, comm disorg) inhibit effect to actual attainment; results in breaking the law Differential opportunity: Fundamental inequalities in opportunity to achieve goals valued by society Durkheim - Life without moral/social obligation becomes intolerable ◦ Anomie: feeling of normalness that often precede suicide and crime ↪ Unlimited aspirations pressure ind to deviate from social norms ◦ EXPERIMENT: cloward +ohlin - ppl in lower socioeconomic want to succeed legally but society denies them legitimate opportunities to do so – theory of differential ↪ Underwriting delinquency and criminal subcultures ◦ Advanced education, crowding in large cities makes class distinction apparent *legal means of goal achievement are blocked, intense frustration results, crime is more likely to ensue; crime is an illicit means to gain an understandable end  Psychology of Crime - 4 Subcultural explanations- crime when various groups of people endorsing cultural values, CLASH with the dominant, conventional rules of society; conflict between the norms of different groups Crime is the product of – Subculture’s deviation from accepted norms underlying criminal law Conflict btwn norms held by different groups = criminal behavior (ex. Societal norms and values and the norms and values of a specific subculture ◦ Comes from diff groups endorsing norms, pressuring members to deviate from norms under crim law ↪ Ex. gangs SUMM: Fundamental inequality ◦ Opps not equal creating barriers ◦ Crime is a cost of inequality Theory of differential opportunity ◦ Social structure of a community determines access to 1) learning and 2) performance structures ↪ Underwrite career delinquency and criminal subcultures ◦ Anomie - most ppl strive to achieve culturally recognized goals ↪ Develops when access is blocked → deviant behavior (rebellion, retreat, ritualism, innovation, and/or conformity ↪ CRIME from innovation, arising from divergence between social obj, recognized as legitimate, and the limited access to the means necessary to achieve these objectives Differences between cultures and classes CREATES disorientation of the individual & causes psychological stress and social conflicts Rational Crime Theory ◦ Some behavior makes sense that’s illegal ◦ High reward, low level of risk of negative outcomes Strain Theory: thrust that stress, frustration, or strain, (failed aspiration product) increases the prospects for norm violations (eg. crime) ◦ Key Obj: Specification of sources of strain, Specification of deviant applications ◦ Rationale: american society creates the greatest pressure – the lower the social status ↪ Pleasure from distorted aspirations, unrealistic desires for attainment, materialism Subcultural ◦ Criminal behavior is the result of conflict between norms of groups ↪ Discrepancy btwn societal norms + values and norms and values of specific subculture  Psychology of Crime - 5 ↪ Pressure to deviate from norms (gangs, cults, frats) B. Psychological Theory - Crime comes from different experience: personality, attitudes, belief systems 3 Major Theories: A. Psychodynamic theory: individual’s early childhood influences likelihood for committing crimes Psychoanalytic Theory - individual’s personality is controlled by unconscious, mental processes that are grounded in early childhood ↪ Weak Ego and Superego ↪ STRONG Id (sexual satisfaction, gratification, aggression, jealousy, self-pres, outbursts) Explanations: 1. Substitute, gratification 2. Poor attachment 3. Need for punishment from unresolved feelings of guilt B. Behavioral theory: crime explained by using behavior modeling and social learning C. Cognitive theory: individual’s perception and how it is manifested, affects their potential to commit a crime Explanation: how criminal offenders perceive & mentally represent the world around them Thinking patterns: ↪ Internal logic & consistent; is erroneous and irresponsible ★ Patterns are logical, BUT they’re full of error and lack of responsibility ↪ Criminal’s view of reality versus shared view; criminals and noncriminals think differently ★ Early choices = enduring patterns Allow criminal to justify and/or continue bx May change based on context, situation, wants, needs, etc Some erroneous though patterns may be changed, others more enduring Wilsonand Herrnstein’s Net-Advantage Theory ↪ Net-advantage: any choice we make rests on the cognitive and emotional calculation we make BEFORE deciding on a course of action relating to the possible positive and negative consequences potentially resulting from choices ★ Perceived gains and losses & depend on the type of crime and the individual criminal  Psychology of Crime - 6 ◦ Tendency to discount negative consequences of behavior? 1. Inhibitions are weak 2. Impulsive 3. Learning difficulties 4. Present oriented and/or 5. Lack conscience ↪ Criminal Discount Rate: rate at which individuals discount the future, also affects the expected benefits and costs from criminal activity Personality Based Explanations PEN (Psychopathy): Psychoticism - P ○ Lack of empathy, insensitivity, callousness Neuroticism - E ○ Restless, emotional volatility, hypersensitive Extroversion - N ○ Active, aggressive, impulsive, reduction in fear Psychopathy Those who engage in repetitive antisocial activity with little remorse ○ Chronically deceitful and manipulative Disproportionate amount of violent crime; only a small percentage of all crime ○ Very violent → lack the guiding force of emotion Antisocial personality disorder: same but not the same; diff names and diagnostic criteria; similarities outweigh difference Affective poverty: emphasis on inability to learn from punishment and an insensitivity to rights & feelings of others ○ Diminished capacity for emotional responding → undermines ability to learn from punishment & motivation to conform behavior to expectations of others 1% of population Risk factor for violent offending Psychopathic emotional incapacity: psychopaths & persons with APD evidence emotional or empathty deficits ○ Abnormal emotional functioning and processing → Lack of empathic emotions → Inappropriate → Lack of fear in response  Psychology of Crime - 7 ○ Lack of capacity for self-dialogue → Development of awareness → Evaluation of self and others → Creations of image of self and others → Feedback → Self-control ○ Difficulty w emotional processing and expression → Difficulty processing info affective or neg or positive → Face → Responsiveness in sadness and fear → Insensitive to connotations emotionality in language → Less information from affective words than others → Poor emotional expression IMPORTANCE: ○ Emotional deficiency may predispose to violence in several ways → Risk-taking (agressive behavior, reinforcing) → Infliction of injury like the prisoner for goal-directed purposes → Self-reported lack of emotional arousal Sociopath versus psychopath  Psychology of Crime - 8 Theories: Cortical immaturity; impairing executive functioning Stimulation-seeking theory: thrill seeking and disruptive bx increase sensory input and arousal to more tolerable level – immune from social cues governing behavior Eysenck - slower rate of CC fear and avoidant responses Raised in a dysfunctional family ○ Cold and distant parents ○ Inconsistency w reward and punishment Callous unemotional traits were worse Limitations: Description of small % of offenders Use of PSL (psychopathy check list) ○ Heavy reliance and stereotype “antisocial” as well ○ Self-report Inaccurate for women Inaccurate for young boys C. Social-Psychological Theories of Crime CRIME = Environment + Individual + Biology Social process theories: process of criminal social-psychological theories with two cats: i. Learning theory: stress of how ind directly acquire specific criminal behavior through forms of learning ii. Control theory: people will behave antisocially unless they learn, through a combination of inner controls and external constraints on behavior, not to offend iii. Social labeling theory: must live up to the label _____ Affect of other opinions and expectations Payoff from conventional behavior Extent to subscription of norms Eysenck - Heredity plays an important and possibly a vital part in predisposing a given individual to crime Socialization creates criminal acts based on TWO types of learning: 1. Operant learning: consequences Positive reinforcement Aversive weakened ○ Immediate are better ○ The strength of criminal behavior is a direct function of the amount, frequency, and probability of its reinforcement  Psychology of Crime - 9 2. Classical conditioning: actions that are wrong and punishment; pairs unwanted behavior with a punishment → REPEATED pairings ○ Conscience becomes an inner control that deters wrongdoings; after being paired with undesirable behaviors prompted by punishment Social learning – looks at the individual ↪ Learning through modeling ↪ People can self-regulate and exempt view as bad ↪ Observations AND thoughts important i. Strengths: explanation of patterns in offending by the individual Application to wide range of crimes ii. Weakness: Not much empirical support ★ BANDURA - modeling; observational learning depends on…\ → Attention to features → Retention of feat → Reproduction of observed → Reinforcement of performance ★ Three social contexts of modeling aggression: aggressive action is modeled after ○ Familial influences ○ Subcultural influences ○ Symbolic models: media ★ Cues for antisocial behavior Fault: bad explanation of impulsive violence, no explanation of why certain ppl have diff associations Environmental Cues: Models, delusion, substance use, prior aversion, incentive, instruction = ALL INCREASE BAD BEHAVIOR TAKEAWAY: Policy needs to PUNISH criminal behavior effectively → learning theory principles 1. Learning Theories (environment) HOW DOES ONE LEARN CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR? Learning Criminal Behavior:  Psychology of Crime - 10 Social Learning Theory/ Social Cognitive Theory & Social cognitive theory: importance of differential reinforcement for developing new behaviors; assigns more importance on cognitive factors and to observational learning ◦ When it's learned, learning includes: i. Technique of crime committing ii. Direction of motives, drives, and attitudes ◦ Delinquency comes from more examples favorable violation of the law than unfavorable of violating the law ◦ Differential association approach: socialized into a structure that places value on opposing law ◦ Differential association reinforcement theory (skinner): crim behavior is acquired through - Operant Conditioning and Modeling 1. Criminal bx learned from reinforcement GREATER THAN punishment 2. Interaction w criminal behavior and others 3. Intimate groups ARE PRINCIPLE SUTHERLAND + Cressey i. Learned, others, social intimacy, how and process, information on law violation, favorable conclusions on how to violate, how often, how long, how important (fluid dynamic associations), patterns, expression of needs and values Does it work in the States? Prisoners escape hella Probation is not aversive Most offenders are not incarcerated Punishment is NOT consistent and immediate Offenders generally returned to where they committed crime Little to no positive reinforcement of alt. prosocial behavior 2. Control Theories (individual) ★ Crime is an inherently individual act Reckless’s Containment theory: external containment controls crime Happens when society is well-integrated, has well defined limits, encourages discipline and supervision of fam, reinforces pos accomplishments! == crime is contained ↪ IF it is not efficient/weak THEN it must depend on internal restraints  Psychology of Crime - 11 ↪ Positive self-concept = protective factor against criminals ≓ Tolerate frustration, motivation by long-term goals, resist distraction, substitution of satisfaction Hirschi Delinquents fail with attachment, commitment, involvement, beliefs 3. Social labeling Theory - MOST EXTREME Deviance by labels → self-fulfilling prophecy ○ Society assigns labels to acts = perception of deviance ○ Deviance is… Based on the quality AND Act’s consequences in society’s reaction to it … person does crime – they are labeled negatively 1. Primary deviance: criminal act 2. Secondary deviance: society’s reaction to the act6 D. Biological Theories of Crime (Biocriminology) Direct or indirectly interact with criminal or delinquent behavior i. Chem, mineral, vitamin, etc ii. Diet iii. Blood sug- hypoglycemia iv. Lead and dyes v. Radiation vi. Brain dysfunction Twin and adoption studies; crime from inborn abnormalities CRIME = genetic influence, neuropsychological abnormalities and biochemical imbalances ◦ Modern theories REJECT biological determinism and nature/nurture dichotomies MAO-A gene; borderline intellectual deficiency and impaired control of impulsive aggression ◦ Warrior gene w/ maltreatment between 3 and 11 → 85% w low and maltreatment later showing antisocial Crime & Genes: ◦ Partially determined by genes → get inherited, contribute to crime ??? ◦ Neuropsychological abnormalities ↪ Frontal lobe and PFC deficit (psychopaths ex)  Psychology of Crime - 12 → Decreased reasoning ability leading to impulsive riskiness ◦ Autonomic NS system differences ↪ Parasympathetic: rest and digest ——— Sympathetic: fight/flight ↪ Some offenders (chrnoic) have low levels of autonomic arousal and weaker physiological reactions to stimulation ↪ UNRESPONSIVE ANS: → Hard to inhibit bx → High need for stimulation they get through thrill seeking ↪ Aroused ANS: → Easily socialized, learn morality well ◦ Physiological differences ↪ High testosterone, not enough serotonin, more insulin → Low serotonin in Murders and arsonists → Giving them estrogen ◦ Personality/temperament ↪ Impulsivity, high irritability, lack of empathy ↪ Some heritable dimensions are further related to antisocial behavior. Individuals with personalities marked by → undercontrol, unfriendliness, irritability, low empathy, callous unemotionality, and a tendency to become easily frustrated are at greater risk for antisocial conduct ↪ Disorder in limbic system For the test – have an understanding that there are theories of bio, bio we can talk about diff things; not with isolation → must be considered with nature Integration of Crime Theories Diff causes of crime – even simultaneously ↪ Bio and contextual ◦ Variables empirically supported ↪ Antecedent factors Bio, phys, enviro factors ^ likelihood of crime ↪ Early indicators (red flags) Lack of empathy ↪ Developmental processes (alone/together?) strengthens or decreases the likelihood of criminal behavior? ↪ Maintenance factors