3.3: Criminal behaviours

Farr and Gibbons

Outlined 7 different categories of crime. Characteristics.

Property fraudulent crime

Crime that involves deceit or manipulation in order to convert property or services to their own use, such as fraud. Part of Farr and Gibbons 7 categories of crime. Characteristics.

Transactional vice

Victimless offences where there is a willing exchange of goods and services, such as prostitution. Part of Farr and Gibbons 7 categories of crime. Characteristics.

Victim based and against society

The two categories of crime outlined by The Office of National Statistics (ONS). Characteristics.

Blackburn

Argues that the best way to define crime is the conscious breaking of rules. This therefore excludes those considered insane, but could include those who commit acceptable crimes, such as Martin Luther King. Characteristics.

White, middle aged, esteemed, friendly

How fraudsters, the most common criminals, are described by KPMG. Fraud has above 3 million reported instances in the UK alone. Characteristics.

Dispositional

Method of attributing behaviour described by Gudjonsson and Singh. Behaviour is attributed to an innate problem with the individual, for example, a rude cashier is just rude. Heider identified we are more likely to perform this attribution. Cognitive biases.

Situational

Method of attributing behaviour described by Gudjonsson and Singh. Behaviour is attributed to environmental factors, for example, a rude cashier recently had a mean customer. Cognitive biases.

Hostile

An attribution bias that causes an individual to believe those around them have the worst intentions, and therefore are more likely to act aggressive and violent. Cognitive biases.

Gudjonsson and Singh

Defined two types of attribution - which is the process of making causal explanations of their own and others behaviour - dispositional and situational. Cognitive biases.

Hollin et al

Devised justifications for crime at each level of moral reasoning. Those at pre-conventional - who make up most criminals - believe that breaking the law is justified if punishment can be avoided, or if the benefits outweigh the costs. Cognitive biases.

Actus reus and mens rea

UK law requires these two elements to convict an individual. Means voluntarily committing an act, and the intention to commit an act respectively.

Heider

Identified the Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE) - people are more likely to attribute behaviour dispositionally than externally.

Schoenberg and Justye

Showed emotionally ambiguous faces, which ranged from happy, sad and fearful to 55 antisocial violent offenders, comparing them to a matched pairs control. They found that offenders were more likely to interpret anger as aggression, supporting the HAE. Cognitive biases.

Chen and Howitt

Used a test based on Kohlberg’s moral stages to assess 330 male adolescent offenders in Taiwan. Found those with a higher moral reasoning were less likely to be involved in violent crime, suggesting Kohlberg’s theories only explain violent criminal behaviour. Cognitive biases.

67

Percentage Eysenck claimed the three traits were biologically based via inherited nervous systems. The other factor is socialisation, as Eysenck believed humans were inherently hedonistic and enjoyed violence, and socialisation would form a conscience to prevent these acts. Personality.

Cortical arousal

What extraverts seek in order to stimulate their inherited under aroused nervous system. This restores optimum functioning. This makes them more likely to be thrill seekers and risk takers, and to condition more slowly than introverts, as they have a natural fear aversion. Personality.

Sympathetic

Neurotics inherit a reactive form of this nervous system. This causes them to overreact, act unstable, and be quick to anger and fear. Also increases the effects of other personality aspects, such as extraversion. Personality.

Testosterone

Hormone psychotics have high amounts of, causing their aggressive and impulsive behaviour which links them to crime. Personality.

Dunlop et al

Gave the EPQ to students and their friends, finding that delinquency (defined as minor offences from traffic offences to armed robbery in the past 12 months) was predicted by extraversion and psychoticism. Personality.

Zuckerman

Found a +28 correlation difference between MZ and DZ twins neuroticism scales, and a +39 correlation difference between MZ and DZ twins extraversion. This gives these traits around a 40% heritability - a 27% difference to Eysenck. Personality.

Mischel and Peake

Proved the situational perspective of personality - that people react consistently across similar situations, but not all situations. They asked friends, family and strangers to rate 63 students in a variety of situations, finding no correlation between the traits displayed. Personality.

Sutherland

Proposed differential association and gender socialisation theories. Shifted the perception of crime from biologically caused to socially caused, and wrote a book on white collar crime. DA.

Differential association

Theory by Sutherland that states people become criminals by having more unfavourable definitions than favourable of the law. Believed this was learned by intimate peer groups. They learn what crime is desirable, how to do crime, and via operant conditioning and role modelling. DA.

1-6

Key principles of DA which outlines that criminal behaviour is learned via associations within interpersonal groups, includes techniques and the directions of motives, which causes unfavourable definitions to outweigh favourable ones. DA.

7-9

Key principles of DA which outlines that differential associations vary in frequency, duration and intensity, are learned through the same processes as any learning, and that criminal behaviour is an expression of needs and values, but is not explained by these. DA.

Osborn and West

Found that 13% of sons with non-criminal fathers had criminal records by the age of 18, compared to 40% of sons with criminal fathers. DA.

3,240,000 and 591

Amount of fraud cases compared to homicides in 2023, showing that white collar and ‘smaller‘ crimes make up most of crime. DA.

Gender socialisation

A theory by Sutherland which argues that boys are encouraged to be tough and risk taking, while girls are encouraged to conform. Girls are also more supervised and controlled, as they are more likely to have curfews, less likely to walk around at night, and perform more housework than men. Gender.

Cohen

Suggests it is harder for boys to model their father’s behaviour as they are traditionally absent, causing them to reject their mother’s socialisation and seek out male peer groups. These encourage male behaviour, which could lead to criminal behaviour. Gender.

96

Percentage of the prison population which is male in 2023. Gender.

Pollak

Suggested the chivalry hypothesis - men are socialised to protect women, and the majorly male justice system is less likely to arrest and prosecute them. Gender.

Carlen

Reported women viewed as ‘good‘ mothers were less likely to imprisoned than those with children in the care system, showing that gender roles play an impact in convictions. Gender.

14.3

The gender pay gap in 2023, showing that although the strictness of gender roles has shifted, differences are still highly present. Gender.

Novaco

Labelled 3 key aims for anger management programmes, and created a programme based on stress inoculation training. AM.

Conceptualisation

The initial phase of stress inoculation theory, developed by Novaco, where clients learn about anger, and identify what triggers their own anger. AM.

Skill acquisition

The second phase of stress inoculation theory, developed by Novaco, where clients are taught skills to manage their anger including self-regulation, cognitive flexibility and relaxation. They are also taught better communication skills, to help resolve conflicts non-violently. AM.

Applications

The final phase of stress inoculation theory, developed by Novaco, where clients apply skills in controlled situations, such as role play, and the therapists provide extensive feedback. This can then be tried in real world settings. AM.

CALM

Anger management programme with 24 highly structured sessions and workbooks. Targeted at men, and only requires a short programme for training. Involves modelling role-play, teamwork and evaluations. AM.

Landenberger and Lipsey

Analysed 58 studies using CBT, of which 20 had a focus on anger control elements. These had a significantly higher amount of improvement. AM.

Rice

Found that violent psychopaths given treatment were more likely to offend afterward anger management, as this could improve manipulation skills. Alternatively, prison could cause this increase. AM.

124 and 9.5

Billions of pounds cost by violent crime and reoffending respectively. AM + RJ.

28 and 39, 27

The correlation difference found by Zuckerman for MZ and DZ twins, for neuroticism and extraversion. Also, the percentage heritability this allowed him to calculate. Personality.

Cognitive restructuring

One of Novaco’s aims for anger management programmes. This aims to gain greater self-awareness and control over the cognitive dimensions of anger. AM.

Regulation of arousal

One of Novaco’s aims for anger management programmes. Aims to gain control over the physiological state. AM.

Behavioural strategies

One of Novaco’s aims for anger management programmes. This aims to learn skills such as problem solving, strategic withdrawal and assertiveness. AM.

Rehabilitation

One of the two aims of restorative justice. Aims to help the offender understand the suffering they caused, allowing them to develop empathy. An active process as opposed to the passive process of punishment. RJ.

Atonement

One of the two aims of restorative justice. This is either physical, such as money or unpaid work, or psychological via guilt and empathy. This can reduce feelings of victimisation. RJ.

Reconciliation, voluntarism, neutrality, safety, accessibility and respect

The 6 key principles of restorative justice, acronym RVNSAR. Derived from the Restorative Justice Council. RJ.

Safety

Principle of restorative justice that aims to create a safe space for participants to express feelings and views. Risk assessments should be made to ensure this, and practitioners need training to maintain this. RJ.

Sherman and Strang

Reviewed 20 studies of face-to-face meetings. Found victims were less likely to desire revenge and develop PTSD. Also found this reduces recidivism better than a prison sentence in adults, and better for those convicted of serious crimes. RJ.

UK Restorative Justice Council

Claim that if young offenders were diverted to restorative justice from community orders, £1 billion could be saved over the course of 2 parliaments. RJ.

Prancis et al

Incorporated talking pieces and a keeper to maintain an atmosphere of respect and articulate solutions in peace circles. These are adopted in high crime areas to allow victims support, and offenders mutual understanding. RJ.

Raine

Reviewed research into delinquent twin behaviour, finding a 52% concordance rate for MZ, compared to 21% for DZ. Genes.

52 and 21

Percentage concordance rates identified for delinquent behaviour by Raine, for MZ and DZ twins respectively. Not 100%, suggesting other factors are involved. Genes.

Tiihonen et al

Studied 900 offenders, and found low MAOA activity and low CDH13 gene activity. Monoamine oxidase A is linked to low serotonin production, and the CDH13 gene is involved in signalling between cells, and has been linked to ADHD, SCZ, ASD, etc. Genes.

Caspi et al

Used data from a longitudinal study, and assessed antisocial behaviour at 26. They found 12% of men with the low MAOA gene had been abused, but they accounted for 44% of violent convictions. Genes.

12 and 44

Percentage of men with MAOA were abused, and the percentage of violent convictions they accounted for. Identified by Caspi et al. Genes.

27 and 13

The percentage of ethnic minorities in the prison population compared to the general population. Indicates bias. Genes.

Amygdala

Part of the brain that is made up of grey matter. Made up of a cluster of 13 nuclei. Located in the medial temporal lobe of the brain, and part of the limbic system with links to the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. There are two. Amygdala.

Mattheis et al

Scanned individual’s brains for amygdala function and had participants fill in the Life History of Aggression Assessment (LHA). Found those highly aggression had a 16-18% smaller amygdala. Amygdala.

Feinstein et al

Studied a woman (SM) who had lesions to both amygdala. Found she had no fear response to haunted houses or live snakes, and reported no fear during multiple crimes she was the victim of. Was able to express all other emotions. This could suggest those with amygdala dysfunction are more vulnerable as they are not able to assess danger. Amygdala.

Harmon

Found that those with brain injuries made up 8.5% of the US population, but 60% of the prison population. Could be the cause of amygdala dysfunction. Amygdala.

8.5 and 60

Percentage of the population with brain injuries in the US population and in prisons respectively, identified by Harmon. Amygdala.

Gesch et al

Administered nutrient capsules containing vitamins and minerals to prisoners. Compared to a placebo, the intervention group had 35% less disciplinary offenses than before, which was 26% less than the placebo group. Amygdala.

35 and 26

Amount that the average disciplinary offenses fell by, and the difference between the intervention and the placebo group in Gesch et al’s study. Amygdala.

3 and 63

Increase in the amount of self harm in prisons, male and female respectively, from 2022-2023. AM and RJ.

28.5

Amount of prisoners who have been assaulted in 2023, which increased from the year before. AM and RJ.

Feldman

Discusses a New York programme mandates all violent offenders to attend AM programmes. Offenders then felt monitored, uncomfortable, did not discuss personal issues and felt root causes went unaddressed.

13 and 40

Percentage of sons without criminal fathers who had criminal records compared to sons with criminal fathers. Identified by Osborn and West. DA.