Psychological Theories of Crime Cont.

Today we continued to discuss some of the other psychological theories of crime. These included theories of Moral Development, Eysenck's Theory of Crime and Personality, Social Learning Theory, Operant Conditioning and Anti Social Personality Disorder. The class was given a booklet that goes with this chapter. The booklet is due next class....

Next class we will begin a project on putting together a case study on a major criminal. Make sure you are here on Tuesday.

Freud....Psychoanalysis Theory

Today we worked on some note taking. The first half of class we discussed the different theories of crime that are based in Sociology....here are the notes in case you were not here in class.

Then we had an interesting discussion about Sigmond Freud and his theory of Psychoanalysis. We went through the different stages of development and the issues related to each unresolved step.

What I want you to do for homework is to use one of the following tests that are online to see if there is any validity to what Freud hypothesized.  Take the quiz with a grain of salt. Remember it was just a theory and it is just a silly quiz.
Make a blog post on how accurate you found the quiz and what your critical analysis is of Freud's theory in general.

http://similarminds.com/freud.html

http://www.selectsmart.com/FREE/select.php?client=freud

-->

Theories for the Criminology Family

So to help you build your own theories about why crime happens - which is your first blog entry next week and an activity that I asked you to work on for a rough draft today - below you'll find some notes on Choice, Trait, Social Structure, Social Learning, and Conflict theories:

Choice Theory

Choice theories assume that criminals carefully choose whether to commit criminal acts. People are influenced by their fear of the criminal penalties associated with being caught and convicted for law violations.The choice approach is rooted in the classical criminology of Cesare Beccaria, who argued that punishment should be certain, swift, and severe enough to deter crime.

Today, choice theorists view crime as offense- and offender-specific. Offense-specific means that the characteristics of the crime control whether it occurs. For example, carefully protecting a home makes it less likely to be a target of crime. Offender-specific refers to the personal characteristics of potential criminals. People with specific skills and needs may be more likely to commit crime than others. Research shows that offenders consider their targets carefully before deciding on a course of action. Even violent criminals and drug addicts show signs of rationality.

Trait Theory

One area of interest is biochemical factors, such as diet, allergies, hormonal imbalances, and environmental contaminants (such as lead). The conclusion is that crime, especially violence, is a function of diet, vitamin intake, hormonal imbalance, or food allergies. Neurophysiological factors, such as brain disorders, ADHD, EEG abnormalities, tumors, and head injuries have been linked to crime. Criminals and delinquents often suffer brain impairment, as measured by the EEG. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and minimal brain dysfunction are related to antisocial behavior.

An evolutionary branch holds that changes in the human condition, which have taken millions of years to evolve, may help explain crime rate differences. As the human race evolved, traits and characteristics have become ingrained. Cognitive psychology is concerned with human development and how people perceive the world. Criminality is viewed as a function of improper information processing. Individual reasoning processes influence behavior. Reasoning is influenced by the way people perceive their environment. Psychological traits such as personality and intelligence have been linked to criminality. One important area of study has been the antisocial personality, a person who lacks emotion and concern for others.

Social Structure Theories

Social structure theories suggest that people’s place in the socioeconomic structure influences their chances of becoming criminals. Poor people are more likely to commit crimes because they are unable to achieve monetary or social success in any other way. Social structure theory includes three schools of thought: social disorganization, strain, and cultural deviance theories. Social disorganization theory suggests that the urban poor violate the law because they live in areas in which social control has broken down. Strain theories view crime as resulting from the anger people experience over their inability to achieve legitimate social and economic success. Cultural deviance theories hold that a unique value system develops in lower-class areas. Lower-class values approve of behaviors such as being tough, never showing fear, and defying authority. People perceiving strain will bond together in their own groups or subcultures for support and recognition.

Social Process Theories

Social learning theory stresses that people learn how to commit crimes. Social control theory analyzes the failure of society to control criminal tendencies. Labeling theory maintains that negative labels produce criminal careers. Social learning theory suggests that people learn criminal behaviors much as they learn conventional behavior. Control theory maintains that all people have the potential to become criminals, but their bonds to conventional society prevent them from violating the law. This view suggests that a person’s self-concept aids his or her commitment to conventional action. Social reaction or labeling theory holds that criminality is promoted by becoming negatively labeled by significant others. Such labels as “criminal,” “ex-con,” and “junkie” isolate people from society and lock them into lives of crime.

Conflict Theory

-->

         Social conflict theorists view crime as a function of the conflict that exists in society. Conflict theory suggests that crime in any society is caused by class conflict. Laws are created by those in power to protect their rights and interests. Marxist criminology views the competitive nature of the capitalist system as a major cause of crime. The poor commit crimes because of their frustration, anger, and need. The wealthy engage in illegal acts because they are used to competition and because they must do so to keep their positions in society.

ddsdsn

flict theorists view crime as a function of the conflict that exists in society. Conflict

Psychological Theories

Today you had the opportunity to show me what you learned in the previous chapter through your unit quiz. The test was open book and I am happy to say most of you did very well especially Olivia! After the quiz we discussed a little about what you know about a fellow by the name of Sigmund Freud.
Most of you have never heard about him thus far and after we finish our work on his theories, some of you are going to wish that you had never heard of him. I found the symbolism I did with you guys pretty amusing. I am sure some it was pure hogwash but some of it I thought was pretty legit.
Next class I will go over some of the theories you have been working on (Sociological Theories) and then we will get into Mr. Freud and the Psychoanalitic Theory.

Enjoy your weekend!

Welcome back

Today was the first class back after Spring Break...we discussed what to expect from now until the end of the year.
Field trip on Monday and Tuesday April 29/30 to the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Monday's trip is to Vancouver while Tuesday is to New Westminster.

We discussed many different theories of crime today. Your assignment for the day was to research the following theories:

Choice Theory
Trait Theory
Conflict Theory
Social Control Theory
Social Disorganization Theory
Strain Theory

Write down the following for each theory:

1) Major theorist
2) Key elements...how it explains criminal behavior
3) Limitations
4) Your opinion on the theory

Quiz on the Early Theories of crime next class.

Early Theories Cont.

Yesterday we continued on our discussion of some of the most influential early theories of criminology.
Classical School
Statistical School
Positive School
Early Biological Theories.

Your notes assignment is due on Tuesday (your first class after spring break). If you have your notes done, then your quiz will be open book...however if you do not get your notes done, then you are on your own for the quiz.
We looked at Lombroso and Sheldon today. What they proposed and its ramifications...
Here is the web site for the guessing a criminal activity we did:

http://reverent.org/criminal_or_not/

Your assignment for the class was to watch the episode of the Fifth Estate on Colonel Russel Williams and then apply one of the theories we discussed in class to try to explain why he committed the horrific crimes that he did. This will be your next blog entry.

Enjoy your sprint break.

Early Theories of Crime

Today the students got into groups of 4-5. They were given big chart paper and encouraged to included as many reasons as they could about why people commit crimes. After 15 minutes or so we discussed as a class some of the reasons why people commit crimes. They students shared their ideas infront of the class and then posted their charts to the white board. From their we tried to categorize the different reasons: Biological/Social/ Family/ Mental/ Financial....were some that the students came up with.

We continued discussing the issue of Nature/Nurture....twin studies.

The students were then given the following assignment to work on:

Early Theories of Criminology

This chapter describes the historical framework through which modern theories of criminology developed. The earliest theories of crime causation emphasized the role of religion and/or superstition. A belief that criminals were possessed by evil spirits brought harsh punishments that often resulted in the death of the accused.

Your goal is to read chapter 8 and gain information on the early theories of crime. The following are the main theories that need to be studied:

Classical Theory

Statistical School

Positive School

Early Biological Theory

For each of the following theories I want you to answer the following:

1)    List the major theorists associated with each theory…

2)    Pros/Cons of each theory

3)    What are the limitations of each theory

4)    How did each theory lead to legal reforms

What theory do you most relate to…which one do you think is most plausible

Deviance

Last class we finished off all the presentations of the prison project. I knew I would end up in jail at some point in my life....it was only a matter of time. Well done Class....the projects were awesome!
We started a discussion on what is deemed deviant by society. The class made a list of acts that are deviant but not criminal.
Next we created another list of acts that are criminal but not deviant. Interesting discussion on what you guys think is criminal but not deviant like
- downloading files off the internet
- lying at the border
- jaywalking
- speeding
- talking on phone while driving
- smoking weed

Deviant but not criminal:
- smoking
- picking your nose in public
- nudity
- homosexuality (in the past)

Great discussioin. Students then decided which ones should be illegal and which ones were just deviant.
Next class we will discuss why people commit crimes...and look at the early theories surrounding crime.