b)
CRIMINAL THINKING PATTERNS
1)
2)
3)
Morality & Crime
Social cognition & Crime
Rationality & Crime
This section of the course asks why offenders consider committing crime,
and whether there is something distinctive about their thinking patterns
which causes them to suspend the social controls most people have to limit
their behaviour.
Two important terms are free will and determinism. In the previous booklet
we saw ideas that propose that criminal behaviour is out of a persons control
and is determined by for example a persons genes. In contrast the theories
in this booklet argue that people have a choice whether to behave in criminal
ways i.e. free will.
DETERMINISM
FREE WILL
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1)MORALITY & CRIME
Moral thinking is a way of thinking about the right and wrong way people
behave within a society.
How does morality develop?
Moral development is the learning of ‘correct’ moral thinking. Many believe
it is a product of socialization, the child’s upbringing and the social values of
the time. It represents the internalization of societies rules through the
influence of parents, teachers or peers.
On this level, moral discriminations are biological responses for reward and
the avoidance of punishment. Moral action is irrational conformity to the
cultural standards. It is passive internalizing of moral judgments of the
socializing agents, parents, peers etc..
There are three psychologists who put forward theories on moral
development; Piaget, Kohlberg & Freud.
Some theories (like Piaget & Kohlberg) see moral development as occurring in
stages. In these theories there is an increase in moral development as the
child gets older and interacts more with their society. Children construct
their own beliefs based on these interactions.
Piaget
Piaget is better known for his theory of intellectual development. The
stages of moral development are pre-set by changes in intellectual
development. The stage of concrete operational thought is associated with a
complete acceptance of adult rules by children. When the child entered the
formal operational stage the moral development shifts so that rules are
viewed as the product of group agreement and an understanding of justice
develops. Children believe in reciprocity (do unto others as you would have
them do to you).
Piaget believes that these stages are universal invariant and
hierarchical.
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AGE
STAGE
INTELLECTUAL
DEVELOPMENT
MORAL
DEVELOPMENT
Kohlberg
Kohlberg also sees the development of moral reasoning in terms of more
advanced understanding. Morality develops through stages which are also
invariant, universal and hierarchical. The principle of justice is very
important.
Justice
Kohlberg developed his theory by analyzing the responses of people to the
Heinz Dilemma.
The Heinz Dilemma
In Europe a woman was near death from a very special kind
of
cancer. There was one drug that doctors thought might
save
her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the
same town had recently discovered. The drug was
expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten
times what the drug cost him to make. He paid $200
for
the radium and charged $2000 for a small dose of
the drug. The sick woman’s husband, Heinz, went to
everyone he knew to borrow the money, but
he could only get together about $1000, which is half of what it cost. He
told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or
to let him pay later, but the druggist said “No, I discovered the drug and I’m
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going to make money from it”. So Heinz got desperate and broke into the
mans store to steal the drug for his wife.
Should Heinz have done that? Why?
Kohlberg was interested primarily in the reasoning behind people’s answers,
and not their response as to whether Heinz was right or not. On the basis
of the reasoning he found the ages at which different types of reasoning
were prevalent and developed his theory of moral development.
He says there are three levels of moral reasoning, each having two stages.
Level 1 – Preconventional Level
Stage 1
Stage 2
Level 2 – Conventional Level
Stage 1
Stage 2
Level 3 – Post Conventional Level
Stage 1
Stage 2
The preconventional level is associated with Piagets concrete operational
thinking and is shown by pre-adolescent children and a minority of
adolescents and adults. Goodness (or badness) is determined by
consequences.
Most adolescents and adults reach the conventional level which is associated
with Piagets concrete operational thinking. Children (and adults) conform to
the rules of society to gain rewards and they will do nice things for others if
they feel they will benefit from this in the long run (…………………………..).
4
The post conventional level (associated with Piagets formal operational
thinking) is reached by only a minority of adults. An increased understanding
of the intentions of others leads to a decrease in egocentrism. A set of
rules is internalized that transcends social laws and rules but also maximizes
social welfare. Laws are questioned if they do not uphold individual rights.
How would the responses differ for people in the different stages of moral
thinking?
Level 1 – Preconventional
Level 2 – Conventional
Level 3 – Post conventional
The six stages form a hierarchical sequence of more complex and abstract
ways of thinking. The stages re invariant and universal. Progression to the
next stage is dependent on appropriate levels of cognitive development and
role taking. Movement to a higher stage depends on cognitive stimulation,
social experiences through participation in groups and cognitive conflict
resulting from exposure to the logic of the next higher stage.
Assessing the Level of Moral Judgment
The moral judgment interview (MJI) presents the subject with hypothetical
dilemmas, which offer a choice between acting on the basis of sanctioned
authority or human welfare needs. Responses are scored to determine
reasoning on issues such as punishment, personal relationships and
conscience. Early test were subjective but now the method and scoring are
standardized.
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EVALUATION OF KOHLBERG
ETHNOENTRICITY
APPLICABILITY
ANDROCENTRISM – GILLIGAN
ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY
Morality & Delinquency
Delinquency is not synonymous with immoral behaviour and no clear
relationship can be found between moral stage and offences committed
although it is thought that the reasoning of higher moral stages is less likely
to fit in with a criminal lifestyle. However, justification for violating the law
can be found at all the stages;
If it involves no punishment –
If it preserves relationships –
If it protects basic human rights –
Lower moral maturity may be a consequence of restricted role playing
opportunities in the family background. More mature reasoning is found in children
whose parents encourage participation and collective problem solving. Hudgens &
Prentice (1973) found that the mothers of delinquents showed significantly lower
moral reasoning than the mothers of non delinquents. Delinquents who experience
the absence of a father are also particularly more likely to show lower moral
reasoning.
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KEY STUDY PALMER & HILLING – MORAL REASONING IN DELINQUENTS
Outline of the study
Design
Determinism
Demand Characteristics
Reliability
Reductionism
Ethics
Ethnocentrism
Ecological Validity
Evidence
Androcentrism
Approach
Anthropomorphism
Applicability
Method
Sample
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Lack of Conscience
Often when talking about criminal behaviour, people refer to a lack of
conscience, or feeling no remorse for the behaviour. There are two main
theories about the development of conscience, the psychoanalytic theory
(Freud) and classical conditioning (Aronfreed).
Freud’s Theory of Personality Development
Freud believed that humans are inherently antisocial and that we are all
biologically programmed with egocentric pleasure seeking and destructive
impulses which often conflict with the demands of the social group. In order
to survive socially these impulses must be controlled or redirected. This is
done in two ways;
i)
the pleasure seeking drive of the id is opposed by the emergence
of the ego which is driven by the reality principle. This allows the
delay of gratification of the id through imagination and fantasy.
ii)
In channeling the drives of the id the ego is guided by the
superego. The superego is the ideal and completely unselfish self
who is driven by the need for approval from others.
The ego regulates the behaviour and impulses of the id in accordance with
the superego standards.
Superego formation depends on psychosexual development and the child’s
relationship with its parents. It is associated with the resolution of the
oedipal conflict around the age of five. Satisfying parental relationships are
therefore critical to early development. If the superego is not well
developed then the ego will have difficulty in balancing the impulses of the
id and superego. Deviant behaviour may result. For example, a criminal
father may have a good relationship with his son, who internalizes the
father’s criminal attributes as part of the resolution of the Oedipus
conflict.
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EVALUATION OF FREUD
ANDROCENRTISM
UNCONSCIOUS CONFLICTS
APPLICABILITY – HARTSHORNE & MAY (1930)
Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning theory states that we learn behaviours by
associating them with rewards and punishments. Pavlov’s dogs learnt to
salivate at the sound of a bell ringing because the ringing bell was
associated with a reward in the form of food.
This could be applied to criminal behaviour. If a child is smacked
because they stole something they are punished for the behaviour and in
future will associate stealing with pain and anxiety and so will not steal.
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KEY STUDY – ARONFREED (1963)
Outline of the study
Design
Determinism
Demand Characteristics
Reliability
Reductionism
Ethics
Ethnocentrism
Ecological Validity
Evidence
Androcentrism
Approach
Anthropomorphism
Applicability
Method
Sample
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2) SOCIAL COGNITION & CRIME
Social cognition is a term used to describe how the individual thinks about
people (including themselves) and their actions. It can explain the
development of many factors which lead to crime, including moral reasoning
(which we have already covered), attribution & locus of control, cognitive
dysfunction, and impulsivity.
a)Attribution
What are attributions?
How do you think the attributions of criminals may differ from others with
regard to their offending behaviour?
SYKES & MATZO (1957) – TYPES OF NEUTRALISATIONS
Type of neutralization
Example
Studies to support Sykes & Matzo
Byers, Crider & Briggs (1999)
Scully & Marolla (1984)
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Henderson & Hewstone (1984)
However, even though they can find neutralizations for their behaviour,
offenders are aware of how others will see their behaviour and tailor
explanations accordingly;
Blumental et al (1999)
Scully & Marolla (1984) - vocabulary of motive
EVALUATION OF STUDIES OF ATTRIBUTION
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Attribution & Locus of Control
The dimensions of internal versus external locus of control reflect the
beliefs that outcomes are controlled either by ones own actions or external
factors such as chance or powerful others. Because delinquents often
experience external barriers to legitimate achievement it has been
suggested that they are more likely to believe that things are beyond their
own personal control.
However, we are all capable of external attribution, this is not a unique
feature of delinquent thinking.
e.g. the actor observer effect – Perlman (1981)
e.g. the consequences of action effect – Walster (1966)
How can we measure attribution?
Gudjonson (1984) developed the Blame Attribution Inventory, isolating three
types of attribution from the answers of the offenders;



External Attribution
Mental Element
Guilt Feeling
The Blame Attribution Inventory was then developed into the Attribution
of Blame Scale. Loza & Clements developed the ABS to assess the
offenders blaming of the victims, themselves, alcohol or society for their
behaviour.
13
Examples from the Attribution of Blame Scale
EVALUATION
ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY
APPLICABILITY
ANDROCENTRISM
RELIABILITY
14
b) Cognitive Dysfunction
Yochelson & Samenow (1976) emphasis cognition in their analysis of the
criminal personality which is based on extensive interviews with 240 male
offenders.
They say that criminals have quite distinct thinking patterns which differ
from the general population. Although they say that criminals may be
less intelligent than non criminals, they are essentially in control of their
lives and their criminality is a result of choices made from an early age.
They identified 40 thinking errors which lead to a distorted self image,
criminal choices and denial of responsibility. The thinking errors fall into
three categories;
CATEGORIES OF THINKING ERRORS
Criminal Thinking Patterns
Automatic Thinking Errors
Crime related Thinking Errors
Yochelson & Samenow are therefore suggesting that criminals are not
necessarily impulsive, that they have perhaps planned and fantansied
about their actions for a long time.
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EVALUATION OF YOCHELSON & SAMENOW
Design
Determinism
Demand Characteristics
Reliability
Reductionism
Ethics
Ethnocentrism
Ecological Validity
Evidence
Androcentrism
Approach
Anthropomorphism
Applicability
Method
Sample
d) Impulsivity
Impulsivity is the tendency to follow impulses instinctively without
thought for the consequences. It has been suggested that this is a
common characteristic of most offending behaviour. Impulsivity is
strongly associated with psychopathy and anti social personality.
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3) RATIONALITY & CRIME
This section argues that the decision whether or not to carry out a crime
is a rational and reasoned one, i.e. it makes sense to the criminal.
There are many rewards of criminality. List as many as you can think.
So why don’t more people commit crimes? People deal with the
temptation to rob or murder as they deal with many other decisions;
they weigh up the pros and cons, the justifications and objections, the
possible consequences for themselves and their families i.e. they reason.
Criminal behaviour is reasoned.
TUCK & RILEY (1986) THEORY OF REASONED ACTION
This theory has been successfully applied to a variety of social
behaviours in the medical, health and political and educational fields.
Intentions to perform a particular behaviour are determined by our own
attitudes and our motivation to comply with the expectations of
significant others in our lives.
There are three components to the decision to carry out a particular
behaviour, attitudes, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control.
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Attitudes
Attitudes come from the beliefs about the consequences of behaving in a
particular way and our evaluation of these consequences, such as getting
caught or the rewards we may expect. Some beliefs may be highly
circumstantial like the physical location of a particular house and the
likelihood of getting caught.
Subjective norm
This is the attitude of significant other people to the behaviour; this is
the attitude of parents or friends to criminal behaviour and what we
believe is normal.
Perceived Control
This is the amount of control a person has over a situation, this may be
determined by beliefs about the resources and opportunities we have.
The theory of reasoned action is supported by the following studies;
Cusson & Pisonneault (1986)
Feeney (1986)
Bennet & Wright (1984)
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EVALUATION OF TUCK & RILEY
Design
Determinism
Demand Characteristics
Reliability
Reductionism
Ethics
Ethnocentrism
Ecological Validity
Evidence
Androcentrism
Approach
Anthropomorphism
Applicability
Method
Sample
Generalisability
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