1. Psychology and Crime Psychoanalytic Theory/Psychoanalysis
Cognitive Psychology
Principles of Learning
Personality and Crime
IQ/Intelligence and Crime

2. Psychoanalytic Theory
▪ Sigmund Freud
▪ 1856–1939
▪ Psychic Determinism
A CIGAR IS NEVER JUST A CIGAR

3. 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

4. Defense Mechanisms ▪ Used to reduce anxiety REPRESSION RATIONALIZATION
DENIAL
PROJECTION

5. 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…

6. 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

7. Principles of Learning
▪ Three types of learning
▪ Classical conditioning
▪ Operant conditioning
▪ Observational (vicarious) learning

8. Classical Conditioning

9. 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

10. 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 child’s long-term development (Harris).

11. How to Train Your Parent

12. Principles of Learning
GERALD PATTERSON AND FRIENDS

13. 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.

14. 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

15. Policy Implications of Behaviorism
▪ Criminals can learn pro-social behaviors to replace criminal actions.
▪ Classical Conditioning  Aversion therapy
▪ Operant Conditioning Token economy

16. 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)

17. 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

18. Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development (1 of 2)
▪ 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.

19. Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development (2 of 2)
▪ 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.

20. 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 ▪

21. 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

22. 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)

23. 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

24. 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)

25. Personality Traits and Crime (2 of 3)
▪ Personality dimensions in the MPQ
▪ Constraint
▪ Traditionalism
▪ Harm avoidance
▪ Control
▪ Negative emotionality
▪ Aggression
▪ Alienation
▪ Stress reaction

26. Personality Traits and Crime (3 of 3)
▪ Personality dimensions in the MPQ
▪ Positive emotionality
▪ Achievement
▪ Social potency
▪ Well-being
▪ Social closeness

27. Criminal Personality: The Psychopath
▪ A distinct “criminal personality”
▪ One of the oldest concepts in criminology
“MORAL INSANITY”

28. 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

29. “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

30. 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)

31. 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?

32. 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?

33. 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

34. 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

35. 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

36. Conclusion ▪ Psychological theories  the individual ▪ Modern Theory
LEARNING
COGNITION and IQ
PERSONALITY
▪ Many psychological theories translate well into treatment programs.