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Crime, ''Criminal behaviour is so varied that no one explanation…
Crime
what is crime?
Crime is a social construct: an act or omission becomes criminal if it violates the law and is punishable by the state.
The Office for National Statistics categorises crime into Victim-based crime and Crime against society.
Victim-based crime: violence, theft, murder
Crime against society: public order offences, drug offences, possession of weapons.
Definitions may vary across cultures, historical periods and contexts; wrongdoing is not automatically a crime unless a law is broken.
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''Criminal behaviour is so varied that no one explanation can fully explain it''
Evaluate one explanation of criminal behaviours.
Intro
Individual differences may contribute to the explanation of criminal behaviours through internal, psychological variations unique to an individual. Eysenck's Criminal Personality Theory (PEN, Psychotisim, Extrovertism, Neuroticism) and Cognitive Distortions may provide a better understanding into criminal behaviours, which are thought to stem from variations in the nervous sysetm and from cognitive dysfunction - rather than the external environment.
Therefore, in reference to the statement, while individual differences provide an objective, scientific measurable framework, individual differences may be ethnocentric, reducing its validity and explanatory power
Eysenck’s theory (1964) conceives criminal behaviour as the outcome of interactions between processes occurring at several different levels. The three key features of the personality can be measured using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ).
PARAGRAPH 1
Descriptions of PEN
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People with High E scores are sociable, active, lively and sensation seeking. E is determined by the overall level of arousal in the person’s CNS and ANS. High E-scorers have a low level of arousal and therefore need more stimulation from their environment.
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People with high N scores are anxious, depressed and react very strongly to aversive stimuli. N is determined by the overall level of lability in the person’s CNS. Where N is low, the person has a stable, relatively unreactive nervous system whereas a high N score results in a high degree of instability.
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Eysenck later added a third dimension of personality, psychoticism (P). People who score high on P are aggressive, antisocial, cold and egocentric. Eysenck was less clear on how P related to the functioning of the nervous system.
FINAL
According to Eysenck, E, N and P are determined largely by genetics. In Eysenck’s theory, personality is linked to criminal behaviour via socialisation processes and their nervous systems
Eysenck viewed criminal behaviour as developmentally immature, in that it is selfish and concerned with immediate gratification.
Eysenck believed that people with high E and N scores had nervous systems that made them difficult to condition and hence socialisation would be more difficult.
Socialisation is the process by which children learn to delay gratification and become more socially oriented.
When children act in immature ways, they are punished; consequently, they come to associate anxiety with antisocial behaviour. However, children with high E/N scores for whom socialisation will be difficult are more likely to be impulsive and aggressive and hence more at risk of demonstrating criminal behaviour in the present and future.
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Howitt (2009) notes that Eysenck’s theory tells us that criminals are extravert, neurotic and psychotic, but it does not tell us WHY they choose to commit one specific type of criminal behaviour over other types of criminal behaviour. This proves that individual differences may provide moderate explanatory power for criminal behaviour
PARAGRAPH 2
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E: Eysenck and Eysenck (1977), 2070 male prisoners vs 2422 controls used a personality test (the EPQ); the personality could be turned into quantitative data. Strength - objective etc.
If we know crime is caused by faulty thinking or personality traits, we can use CBT TO CHANGE offenders.
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