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individualistic theories - Coggle Diagram
individualistic theories
learning
operant
B.F.Skinner
- particular behaviour results in reward and is therefore likely to be repeated
- negative reinforcement means the behaviour is not likely to be repeated or can do if it gets rid of the bad thing
- positive reinforcement means the behaviour is likely to be repeated
- skinner box experiment : mouse was encouraged to step on the lever by getting given a treat and it did it, electric shocks were introduced when it didnt step on it so it stayed on there and then skinner did the reverse and it didnt step on the lever to avoid being electrocuted
- behaviourism - cause of someones behaviour lies in punishing and rewarding it and that is what causes the behaviour to be shaped
evaluation
strengths:
- study shows that the animals learnt from experience through positive and negative reinforcement
- can also be applied to offending as jeffrey states if an individual is rewarded rather than punished they are likely to reoffend
weakness:
- ignores mental processes and the fact humans have free will, the theory explains criminality solely in terms of rewards and punishments
- theory and study is based on animals therefore doesn't provide an adequate model as to humans might act
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psychodynamic
freud
our early experiences determine whether we will go on to act in an anti social way
- ID : unconscious, instinctive, powerful, selfish, pleasure seeking (acts on pleasure principle), blind desire to satisfy urges
- EGO : inbetween the id and superego, conscious, driven by the reality principle
- SUPEREGO : through socialisation the child understands the rights and wrongs, the 'nagging parent', acts on the morality principle
evaluation
weakness:
- existence of the unconscious mind is doubted as it cant be tested
- unscientific and subjective rely on accepting the workings of the unconscious mind claimed to be present by freud
strengths:
- importance of early socialisation and family relations when understanding criminal behaviour
- psychoanalytic explanations have had some influence on dealing with crime and deviance
bowlby
maternal deprivation theory
- a child needs a close continuous relationship with its primary care giver from 0-5 years in order to develop normally
- if broken child will be unable to develop meaningful connections - 'affectionless psychopathy'
- study: 44 juvenile thieves - 39% of delinquents who had suffered maternal deprivation were juveniles compared to a control of non delinquents at 5%
evaluation
strength:
- shows the need to consider the role of parent - child relationships in explaining criminality
- study showed that more of the delinquents had suffered from maternal deprivation (39%) compared to a non control group of non delinquents (5%) - maternal dep has an impact of the criminality of children
weakness:
- later study of 60 children who were seperated from primary care giver before age of 5 had no sings of of affectionless psychopathy
- sammons and putwain note the idea of a link between maternal deprivation and criminality is no longer accepted