Evolutionary Theory

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Evolutionary Theory

• ? Uses principles of evolution to explain modern
  human behavior
• ? Rape
• ? Cads and dads theory
• ? Criticism
• ? Difficult if not impossible to test
• ? Evidence sometimes runs counter to predictions

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Evolutionary Theory (2 of 2)

• ? Rape
• ? Evolutionary processes allow males who are
  pushy and aggressive in the pursuit of sex to
  pass on their genes successfully.
• ? Cads and dads theory
• ? Alternative strategies for reproductive success
• ? Cadspretend caregivers who really want to
  reproduce with as many females as possible
• ? Dadsinvest time and energy to help nurture and
  raise offspring

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Summary

• ? Many biological factors appear to be related to
  criminal behavior
• ? Inherited?
• ? Results of biological harms?
• ? Biological factors contribute to criminality in
  certain environmental circumstances.

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Biological Theories Criticisms

• ? Ignores some types of crimes
• ? White-collar
• ? Organized
• ? Political crime
• ? Focuses on aggression or antisocial behavior in
  children and street crime in adults

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Policy Implications (1 of 2)

• ? Still fear of ethical problems
• ? Biology not necessarily destiny
• ? Provide unsound justifications for the control
  of minority populations
• ? New eugenics
• ? Gene therapy
• ? Discrimination based on presence of biological
  risk indicators

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Policy Implications (2 of 2)

• ? The upside? Criminality as a public health
  problem
• ? Prenatal care for at-risk mothers
• ? Strengthen environmental counterbalances for
  children with biological risk indicators

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Psychology and Crime

• ? How does a psychologist or psychiatrist develop
  and understand the criminal mind?
• ? What does psychology contribute to the study of
  the criminal mind?
• ? What is the psychological approach to the study
  of crime?

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Psychoanalytic Theory

• ? Sigmund Freud
• ? 18561939
• ? Psychic Determinism
• A CIGAR IS NEVER JUST A CIGAR

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Freudian Elements of Personality

• ? Conscious vs. Unconscious Mind
• ? Id If it feels good, do it!
• ? Superego conscienceStealing is wrong.
• ? Ego psychological thermostat that regulates
  the wishes of the id with the social restrictions
  of the superego

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Defense Mechanisms

• ? Used to reduce anxiety
• REPRESSION
• RATIONALIZATION
• DENIAL
• PROJECTION

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Freudian Explanations of Delinquency

• ? Overactive Id
• ? Delinquent Superego
• ? Delinquent Ego
• Crimes with special meaning
• Translating psychoanalysis into rehabilitation?
• Works for articulate adult neurotics who can talk
  out their problems

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Policy Implications of Freudian Theory

• ? Drawbacks
• ? Almost impossible to test empirically (Cannot
  be directly observed and measured)
• ? Still maintains a place in psychology of
  criminal behavior
• Many concepts from Freud used in modern theory
• LOW SELF CONTROL
• PRO-CRIMINAL ATTITUDES

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Principles of Learning

• ? Three types of learning
• ? Classical conditioning
• ? Operant conditioning
• ? Observational (vicarious) learning

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Classical Conditioning
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Principles of Learning

• ? Positive reinforcement increases the target
  behavior by rewarding the individual
• ? Negative reinforcement increases the target
  behavior by removing an unpleasant stimulus
• ? Punishment reduces the odds of the target
  behavior being repeated

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Principles of Learning

• ? Delinquency tied to parents failure to
  effectively condition their children away from
  bad behavior
• Inconsistent and harsh punishment (Glueck and
  Glueck).
• ? Effective parenting (monitoring, punishing, and
  reinforcing behavior)?nondeliquent children
  (Patterson).
• ? Parental behaviors may have few effects on the
  childs long-term development (Harris).

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MOLECULAR GENITICS and PARENTING

• Study Kids can carry genes magnifying parent's
  influence
• The almost-famous 5-HTTLPR serotonin
  transporter-promoter gene, which governs the
  activity of the mood chemical serotonin in the
  brain and essentially comes in three varieties.
  About 1 in 5 children are born with a variant
  that, according to studies, makes them highly
  sensitive to the effects of neglectful,
  insensitive or abusive parents

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Principles of Learning
GERALD PATTERSON AND FRIENDS
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Observational Learning

• ? Albert Bandura (Bobo doll experiments) most
  human learning is not based on trial and error
  (operant conditioning).
• ? Effects on criminal behaviors are difficult to
  determine.

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Media and Crime

• ? Does media (TV and movies) influence
  aggression, violence, and criminal behavior?
• ? Conducive to role modeling
• ? Perpetrators not punished
• ? Targets of violence show little pain
• ? Few long-term negative consequences
• Some evidence (but still debate)reducing
  exposure may reduce aggression

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Policy Implications of Behaviorism

• ? Criminals can learn pro-social behaviors to
  replace criminal actions.
• ? Classical Conditioning ? Aversion therapy
• ? Operant Conditioning ?Token economy

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Cognitive Psychology

• ? Humans ability to engage in complex thoughts
  influences behavior.
• ? Cognitions (like behaviors) can be learned.
• ? Focus on
• ? Cognitive structure (how people think)
• ? Cognitive content (what people think)

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Cognitive Structure

• ? Kohlberg's theory of moral reasoning humans
  advance through predictable stages of moral
  reasoning
• ? Self-control
• ? Ability to empathize
• ? Ability to anticipate consequences
• ? Ability to control anger

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Kohlbergs Stages of Moral Development (1 of 2)

• ? Stage 1
• ? Right is blindly obeying those with power and
  authority.
• ? Emphasis is on avoiding punishment.
• ? Interests of others are not considered.
• ? Stage 2
• ? Right is furthering ones own interests.
• ? Interests of others are important only as a way
  to satisfy self-interests.
• ? Stage 3
• ? Moral reasoning is motivated by loyalties to
  others and a desire to live up to others
  standards.

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Kohlbergs Stages of Moral Development (2 of 2)

• ? Stage 4
• ? Right is following the rules of society and
  maintaining important social institutions (e.g.,
  family, community).
• ? Stage 5
• ? Moral decisions are made by weighing individual
  rights against legal principles and the common
  good.
• ? Stage 6
• ? Moral decisions are based on universal
  principles (e.g., human dignity, desire for
  justice).
• ? Principles are considered across different
  contexts and are independent of the law.

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Cognitive Content

• ? Rationalizations or denials that support
  criminal behavior
• ? For example, a criminal thinks, Im not really
  hurting anyone.
• Extremely common for sex offenders
• ? Criminals are more likely to express such
  thoughts
• Sociologists are often skeptical (time-ordering)
• Psychologists NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT
• ?

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Policy Implications of Cognitive Psychology

• ? Cognitive theory translates easily into
  practice.
• Cognitive skills programs teach offenders
  cognitive skills like moral reasoning, anger
  management, or self-control.
• Cognitive restructuring attempts to change the
  content of an individuals thoughts.
• ? Combination cognitive-behavioral have track
  record of success

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Theory in Action

• ? Multisystematic therapy (MST)
• ? Creator Scott Henggeler and associates
• ? Reduces criminal behavior
• ? Comprehensive approach
• ? Targets many areas for change
• ? Uses many different techniques (not just
  cognitive-behavioral programs)

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Personality and Crime

• ? Crime and delinquency related to the presence
  of some personality trait
• ? Personality trait a characteristic of an
  individual that is stable over time and across
  different social circumstances
• ? Personality the sum of personality traits that
  define a person

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Personality Traits and Crime (1 of 3)

• ? A number of related traits combine to form
  super factors
• ? Several different models
• ? Five-factor model
• ? Tellegens personality model
• ? Recent studies use the Multidimensional
  Personality Questionnaire (MPQ)

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Personality Traits and Crime (2 of 3)

• ? Personality dimensions in the MPQ
• ? Constraint
• ? Traditionalism
• ? Harm avoidance
• ? Control
• ? Negative emotionality
• ? Aggression
• ? Alienation
• ? Stress reaction

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Personality Traits and Crime (3 of 3)

• ? Personality dimensions in the MPQ
• ? Positive emotionality
• ? Achievement
• ? Social potency
• ? Well-being
• ? Social closeness

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Criminal PersonalityThe Psychopath

• ? A distinct criminal personality
• ? One of the oldest concepts in criminology
• MORAL INSANITY

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Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) from
DSM-IV

• 1. Disregard for the rights of others. At least
  three of the following
• behaves in a way that is grounds for arrest,
  deceitful and manipulative, impulsive,
  aggressive, irresponsible, lack of remorse
• 2. Age 18 or older
• 3. A history of child conduct disorder
• 4. Antisocial behavior not a product of
  schizophrenic episode

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Psychopath is narrower concept

• Hervey Cleckleys (1957) The Mask of Sanity
• Key features Manipulative, Superficial charm,
  Above-average intelligence, Absence of psychotic
  symptoms, Absence of anxiety, Lack of remorse,
  Failure to learn from experience, Egocentric,
  Lack of emotional depth
• Other Characteristics Trivial Sex life,
  Unreliable, Failure to follow a life plan,
  Untruthful, Suicide attempts rarely genuine,
  Impulsive, Antisocial behavior

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HARE PCL

• The Psychopathy Checklist
• Interview
• Measures different aspects of psychopathy (each
  scored on a 0-2 scale)
• Has produced very interesting studies (difference
  between psychopath and non-psychopath inmates)

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Policy Implications of Personality Theory

• ? Personality traits consistently predict
  delinquency and crime.
• ? Criticisms
• Personality traits are often portrayed as
  impossible to change (See, Psychopathy)
• What causes personality traits?

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Intelligence and Crime

• ? Feeblemindedness was once thought to be a
  cause of crime.
• ? What exactly is IQ and how does it relate to
  criminal behavior?

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A Brief History of Intelligence Testing

• ? Binet started out like his peers Measuring
  peoples skull size
• Not much differenceworried about bias in the
  tests
• Developed a hodgepodge of tests measure
  identify learning disabled children
• Not meant to be a measuring device for
  intelligence in normal students
• Translated to English, used to identify morons
  and low grade defectives as part of eugenics

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IQ and Crime

• ? There is an IQ gap of 810 points between
  criminals and noncriminals, even when
  statistically controlled for race and social
  class.
• ? IQ is not a very strong indicator of criminal
  behavior.
• But, it does consistently predict

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IQ and Crime

• ? Travis Hirschi and Michael Hindelang
• ? The Bell Curve
• ?Direct effect
• ? Most criminologists find evidence of indirect
  effects
• IQ ? School, Peers, etc. ? Crime

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Conclusion

• ? The common emphasis of all psychological
  theories is on the individual.
• ? Modern Theory
• LEARNING
• COGNITION and IQ
• PERSONALITY
• ? Many psychological theories translate well into
  treatment programs.