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Unit 9: Psychological Perspectives on Criminality 1 6 Chapter 6: Psychological Theories – Notes to Help with Essay 1/Marking Scheme Basic Idea and Major Theorists As in the biological approach, psychological and psychiatric theories focus again on the individual offender, rather than focusing on the structural contexts that shape the meaning of crime. Personality traits are seen as relatively fixed components within an individual. People are shaped by the developmental processes occurring during their formative years, particularly their early childhood (ages 1-5), in ways that predisposed them to crime. Some children are inadequately socialized because of inherent learning difficulties stemming from biological defects or from mental illness or from the stresses that the family is experiencing from social environmental problems, such as poverty, unemployment and some have experienced significant events, such as sexual abuse and family conflict, resulting in disturbed personalities that predispose them to develop criminal behaviour tendencies. The response to criminal behaviour consists of intervention to treat the offender, usually through some form of therapy (i.e. psychotherapy and counseling) to correct the defect and change his or her personality. Psychological theories either argue that there is something psychologically wrong with offenders, or that criminals differ from non-criminals, particularly in such traits as impulsivity and aggression, which involves studies of offender and non-offender populations, and utilizes a number of personality tests to find traits that differentiate the two groups. The motivation to commit delinquent acts will be influenced by psychological variables, including the individual’s learning history and the belief he or she may have internalized regarding criminal behaviour. While the individual perspective is the dominant one in psychology, there are other psychological perspectives, such as those of community psychology. For example, “victimless” crimes, such as drug abuse, at an individual level would examine individuals to determine what psychological problems they have, and then direct interventions could be then employed to change these individuals so that they might fit into society better and conform to existing laws; at the small-group level, would examine the influence of peers, such as drug-abusing friends; at the organizational level, organizations such as law enforcement agencies would be seen as having insufficient resources to prevent or deter individuals from engaging criminal behaviour; at the institutional level, the problems that individuals face are caused by the laws that society has created, and the focus would be on changing the laws so that they do not affect people negatively. Psychoanalytical theorists (i.e. Freud – he did not make any attempts to relate his theory specifically to criminal behaviour) argue that crime results when the ego and superego cannot control the antisocial instincts or the id, which occurs because the individual has not been adequately socialized in early childhood. Moral development theorists (i.e. Piaget, Kohlberg) argue that each individual must go through a sequence of moral development, so those with a high level of moral development will be more likely to make responsible choices when faced with the opportunity to get involved in criminal behaviour. Personality theorists (i.e. Eysenck) argue that law-abiding people must develop a conditioned fear of deviance, so those who become delinquents and criminals do not develop this fear because of poor conditioning by parents or because they are less susceptible to conditioning. Social learning theorists (i.e. Bandura) argue that deviant behaviour such as aggression can be learned through direct experience or through modelling the behaviour of others. Operant conditioning theorists (i.e. Skinner) argue that individual behaviour is shaped through both reinforcement and punishment, so behaviour that is rewarded will tend to be continued and behaviour that is punished will cease. Psychopathy theorists (i.e. Cleckley, Hare) argue that psychopaths seem to lack empathy for their victims and do not feel guilty about their crimes, and they do not learn from their experience or fear the consequences of their behaviour. Early psychological theorists believed that all crime is symptomatic of mental illness, while the current view is that while some criminals exhibit symptoms of mental illness, the majority do not. 1 mark: Summarize why people commit crime according to 1 or 2 of the psychological theories discussed in the lecture or textbook.. 1 mark: Summarize the argument that Carlisle or Hale make in their article. 2 marks: Discuss how Carlisle or Hale apply a specific psychological theory or more than one theory to explain why serial killers commit their crimes or why people become serial killers. The Role of Law, the Definition of Crime, and the Image of the Criminal Law comprises the rules designed to protect the ongoing development of society. Crime is the manifestation of those with personality problems, or defective personalities. Criminals are those who are not able to learn the correct ways to behave in any society. Criminal law should allow those whose criminal behaviour is a product of biological and psychogenic causes to be exempted from responsibility for their offenses, an example is the insanity defense. This has led to the introduction to law of the notion of “diminished or partial responsibility,” whereby the accused can be shown not to have the required mental capacity to form intent. This gives the jury an opportunity to find an accused guilty of a lesser, but associated offense, allowing for more flexibility than the either “guilty” or “not guilty by reason of insanity” verdicts. Crime is seen as a symptom of an underlying personality disorder. The predisposition to deviate is determined by hereditary and personality traits, so the criminal would be a rule breaker in any culture. Criminal offender categories include the psychotic, who is considered mentally ill and whose criminal behaviour is the outcome of delusions and a distorted sense of reality (i.e. an offender may claim to be told by God to kill); the psychopath, who is emotionally immature, self-centered, fearless, and exploits situations for the immediate gratification of basic instincts without regard for the harm caused to others; and the neurotic, who is torn by inner conflict and turmoil, and they commit criminal acts as an attempt to seek punishment for their guilt. Antisocial Personality Disorder: The brutal murder committed by Ted Bundy, Clifford Olson, or Charles Manson and his followers in California are cited as examples of psychopathy. Charles Manson robbed, deceived, assaulted, exploited, seduced, murdered, and at no time did he show guilt or remorse about anything he had done. Antisocial personality disorder has more recently replaced the term psychopath, and it involves disregard for the rights of others, as well as impulsive, irresponsible, and aggressive behaviour that begins in childhood or early adolescence. Lying, stealing, fighting, and resisting authority are typical early childhood signs. In adulthood, some signs include inability to sustain consistent work performance or to function as a responsible parent and failure to accept social norms with respect to lawful behaviour. It is estimated that between 15 and 30 percent of the inmate population in Canadian prisons could be considered psychopathic. The Psychopathy checklist is used to make decisions in the mental health and criminal justice systems to determine the likelihood of recidivism and violence in offenders and psychiatric patients. Antisocial personality individuals do not have sufficient fear of the consequences of their behaviour, so some theorists argue that imprisonment is unlikely to have much effect on the post-release behaviour of such individuals. Example 1 – Ted Bundy: During the years from 1974 to 1978, Bundy stalked, attacked, killed, and then sexually assaulted as many as 36 victims in Washington. Ted Bundy can be characterized as a psychopath or sociopath, who lacked normal inhibitions about acting on his sexually sadistic desires. He was executed on January 24, 1989. Example 2 – Clifford Olson: Canada’s most notorious criminal, a serial murderer sentenced in January 1982 to life imprisonment for the torture and killing of eleven boys and girls. He is the prototypical psychopath: bully, liar, manipulator, thief, violent man, and also charming when trying to impress others, which explains why he was able to get his young, trusting victims alone with him. He has never shown any guilt or remorse. 2 marks: Discuss psychological theories’ view of law, crime, criminal. 2 marks: Provide evidence to show that according to Carlisle or Hale, serial killers have an underlying personality disorder. Discuss whether the authors agree that the criminal law should allow those whose criminal behaviour is a product of psychogenic causes to be exempted from responsibility for their offenses. Discuss whether the authors believe that serial killers are mainly psychotics, neurotics, psychopaths, or neither of these, and explain why. Causal Logic According to psychoanalytic theories (Alexander and Healey, 1935; Bowlby, 1953; Friedlander, 1947; Polansky et al., 1950; Redl, 1966; Nietzel, 1979; Martin et al., 1981), criminal behaviour occurs when internal (ego and superego) controls are unable to restrain the primitive, aggressive, antisocial instincts of the id. Criminal behaviour is the consequence of an individual’s failure to progress through the early stages of development, which leaves the superego inadequately developed or deficient, so the individual is left susceptible to antisocial behaviour. Delinquent behaviour may be due to traumatic events whose memory has been repressed, or may be an expression of displaced hostility. According to Schoenfeld (1971), delinquent behaviour reflects a weak, defective, or incomplete superego, which results from parental deprivation and lack of affection, especially during the first few years of a child’s life. He claims that boys raised is a fatherless home will be especially prone to deviant behaviour as they attempt to establish their male identity. According to Bowlby (1953) if a stable attachment to a mother in the first few years of a child’s life does not occur, then the child will not learn to show affection to others, and, thus may hurt others with remorse. According to moral development theories (Piaget; 1932; Kohlberg), people with high moral development are more likely to make individual choices and be less influenced by friends, so they are less likely to become criminals. Personality theories (i.e. Eysenck) explain why people do not commit criminal acts. Eysenck claims that delinquents and criminals do not readily develop a conditioned response (do not experience fear of punishment when contemplating an illegal, selfish, or immoral act), either because of lack of exposure to effective conditioning practices by parents and others, or because they are less susceptible to conditioning. According to Eysenck, there are three dimensions of personality: extraverts, neurotics, and psychotics. Extraverts, because of their high need for excitement, their impulsivity, and relatively weak conscience, are believed to be more prone to criminal behaviour. Persons high on both neuroticism (characterized by anxiety and restlessness) and extraversion are