Transcript The Psychology of Crime

Psychology and Crime
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Psychoanalytic Theory/Psychoanalysis
Cognitive Psychology
Principles of Learning
Personality and Crime
IQ/Intelligence and Crime
Psychoanalytic Theory
▪ Sigmund Freud
▪ 1856–1939
▪ Psychic Determinism
 A CIGAR IS NEVER JUST A CIGAR
Freudian Elements of Personality
▪ Conscious vs.
Unconscious Mind
▪ Id: “If it feels good, do it!”
▪ Superego: conscience—
“Stealing is wrong.”
▪ Ego: psychological
thermostat that regulates
the wishes of the id with
the social restrictions of
the superego
Defense Mechanisms
▪ Used to reduce anxiety
 REPRESSION
 RATIONALIZATION
 DENIAL
 PROJECTION
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…
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
Principles of Learning
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Three types of learning
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Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
Observational (vicarious) learning
Classical Conditioning
How is classical conditioning
related to crime?
 As a cause of crime? Not likely
 Use as a foundation for rehabilitation
 Aversion Therapy
Operant Conditioning
▪ 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
Principles of Learning
▪ Delinquency tied to parents’ failure to
effectively condition their children away
from bad behavior
 Inconsistent and harsh punishment
– Glueck and Glueck study from 1950s
Principles of Learning
GERALD PATTERSON AND FRIENDS
Do parents matter that much?
 Patterson and others
 Effective parenting (monitoring, punishing, and
reinforcing behavior)non-deliquent
 Judith Rich Harris
 Argues that parental behaviors may have few effects
on the child’s long-term development.
 Instead, parenting is related to kids behavior because
troublesome kids evoke angry parenting.
 How would you tell who is correct?
How to Train Your Parent
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.
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
Policy Implications of Operant
Conditioning
 Manipulate Reward Structure of Offenders
 Token Economy
 Contract Contingencies
 Parent Management Training
 Reinforcement works better than
punishment!
 Immediate reinforcement works best (or you
end up owning a yellow raft).
The Yellow Raft
The “Contingency”
Contract
The Child Reaction after
Failing to Meet Quota
Cognitive Psychology
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Humans’ ability to think creates unique
learning processes
Cognitions (like behaviors) can be
learned, and humans can use cognition
to self-reinforce
Focus on:
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Cognitive structure (how people think)
Cognitive content (what people think)
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
Kohlberg’s 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 one’s 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 other’s standards.
Kohlberg’s 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.
Cognitive Content
▪ Rationalizations or denials that support
criminal behavior
▪ For example, a criminal thinks, “I’m 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 individual’s thoughts.
▪ Combination cognitive-behavioral have
track record of success
Theory in Action
▪ Multisystematic therapy (MST)
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Creator Scott Henggeler and associates
Example of “Cognitive-Behavioral” Approach
Observe family, design specific intervention
Targets many areas for change (parenting,
school/peer systems, home environment…)
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
Personality Traits and Crime (2 of 3)
▪ Personality dimensions in the MPQ
▪ Constraint
▪ Traditionalism
▪ Harm avoidance
▪ Control
▪ Negative emotionality
▪ Aggression
▪ Alienation
▪ Stress reaction
Personality Traits and Crime (1 of 3)
▪ A number of related traits combine to form
super factors
▪ Several different models
▪ Five-factor model
▪ Tellegen’s personality model
▪ Recent studies use the Multidimensional
Personality Questionnaire (MPQ)
Personality Traits and Crime (3 of 3)
▪ Personality dimensions in the MPQ
▪ Positive emotionality
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Achievement
Social potency
Well-being
Social closeness
Criminal Personality:
The Psychopath
▪ A distinct “criminal personality”
▪ One of the oldest concepts in criminology
 “MORAL INSANITY”
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
“Psychopath” is narrower concept
 Hervey Cleckley’s (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
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 nonpsychopath inmates)
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?
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?
A Brief History of
Intelligence Testing
▪ Binet started out like his peers: Measuring
people’s skull size
 Not much difference—worried 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
IQ and Crime
▪ There is an IQ gap of 8–10 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
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
Conclusion
▪ Psychological theories  the individual
▪ Modern Theory
 LEARNING
 COGNITION and IQ
 PERSONALITY
▪ Many psychological theories translate well
into treatment programs.