AC2.2 Describe individualistic theories of criminality

This topic looks at the following theories:

Psychodynamic theories
Eysenck's personality theory
Learning theories
Cognitive theories

Psychodynamic theories

Psychodynamic theories suggest that our personalities contain active forces which affect how we behave. Sometimes these powerful forces conflict with our unconscious mind and as a result of a failure to resolve these conflicts individuals behave in a socially unacceptable way.

Psychoanalysis

The Institute of Psychoanalysis and Sigmund Freud

Freud explained his famous model for brain function in the 1927 publication, The Ego and the Id. Since then, the theory has been explained with reference to a horse and chariot:

The id is the "horse". It is the unevolved instinctive part of our brain, responsible for the urges and desires we try to repress.

The ego is the "driver" of the chariot, and the rational part of our brain. It is able to guide the id, but never has full control - just as the driver is aware that if the horse wants to go in a different direction, he is ultimately powerless to stop it.

The superego is the chariot driver's father, sitting behind him, pointing out his mistakes. It is the part of our brain responsible for criticism and moralising.

Bowlby - Attachment theory

Bowlby (1969, 1988) was very much influenced by ethological theory in general, but especially by Lorenz’s (1935) study of imprinting. Lorenz showed that attachment was innate (in young ducklings) and therefore has a survival value.

During the evolution of the human species, it would have been the babies who stayed close to their mothers that would have survived to have children of their own. Bowlby hypothesized that both infants and mothers have evolved a biological need to stay in contact with each other.

Bowlby (1969) believed that attachment behaviors (such as proximity seeking) are instinctive and will be activated by any conditions that seem to threaten the achievement of proximity, such as separation, insecurity, and fear. Bowlby also postulated that the fear of strangers represents an important survival mechanism, built in by nature.

Take-home Messages of Bowlby's Theory

Bowlby’s evolutionary theory of attachment suggests that children come into the world biologically pre-programmed to form attachments with others, because this will help them to survive.
A child has an innate (i.e. inborn) need to attach to one main attachment figure. This is called monotropy. This concept of monotropy suggests that there is one relationship which is more important than all the rest.
Bowlby’s suggests that there is a critical period for developing at attachment (2.5 years). If an attachment has not developed during this time period then then it may well not happen at all. Bowlby later proposed a sensitive period of up to 5 years.
Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis suggests that continual disruption of the attachment between infant and primary caregiver could result in long term cognitive, social, and emotional difficulties for that infant.
According to Bowlby, an internal working model is is a cognitive framework comprising mental representations for understanding the world, self and others, and is based on the relationship with a primary caregiver. It becomes a prototype for all future social relationships and allows individuals to predict, control and manipulate interactions with others.

Eysenck's Personality theory

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Eysenck’s Personality Inventory (EPI) (Extroversion/Introversion)The Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) measures two pervasive, independent dimensions of personality, Extraversion-Introversion and Neuroticism-Stability, which account for most of the variance in the personality domain. Each form contains 57 “Yes-No” items with no repetition of items. The inclusion of a falsification scale provides for the detection of response distortion. The traits measured are Extraversion-Introversion...

Eysenck (1952, 1967, 1982) proposed a theory of personality based on biological factors, arguing that individuals inherit a type of nervous system that affects their ability to learn and adapt to the environment.

During 1940s Eysenck was working at the Maudsley psychiatric hospital in London. His job was to make an initial assessment of each patient before their mental disorder was diagnosed by a psychiatrist.

Through this position, he compiled a battery of questions about behavior, which he later applied to 700 soldiers who were being treated for neurotic disorders at the hospital (Eysenck (1947).

He found that the soldiers' answers seemed to link naturally with one another, suggesting that there were a number of different personality traits which were being revealed by the soldier's answers. He called these first-order personality traits

He used a technique called factor analysis. This technique reduces behavior to a number of factors which can be grouped together under separate headings, called dimensions.

Eysenck (1947) found that their behavior could be represented by two dimensions: Introversion / Extroversion (E); Neuroticism / Stability (N). Eysenck called these second-order personality traits.

Eysenck on criminality

Eysenck postulated a general theory of criminality that predicts that criminals as a group will have significantly higher scores on the personality dimensions of psychoticism, extroversion-introversion, and neuroticism-stability.

Furthermore, the theory supposes that inherited features of the nervous system influence criminal behavior.

Hans Eysenck’s theory of criminal personality suggests that personality is biologically based and that personality traits include dimensions of extraversion and neuroticism that can be measured using a personality questionnaire. Extraversion refers to a biological need individuals have for high or low levels of environmental stimulation, determined by the level of arousal in a person’s central and autonomic nervous system. This means that people with high levels of extraversion have a low level of arousal, meaning they require more environmental stimulation to fuel their excitement. In the context of forensic psychology, this environmental stimulation may include criminal behaviour. Neuroticism refers to the stability of personality and a high neuroticism score would represent someone who is more reactive and volatile and perhaps more likely to engage in offending behaviour. Later, Eysenck added a third personality dimension, psychoticism, which relates to the degree to which somebody is anti-social, aggressive and uncaring. Eysenck (1964) argued for there being a criminal personality, which would characterise people who score highly on these three dimensions.