PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES - created from Mind Map

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the first psychological theory to address questions of criminality was Freud's psychodynamic theory which contends that human behavior is motivated by inner forces, memories, and conflicts.

Freud suggests that himans go through a process of psychosexual development from birth to adulthood and that himans must successfully complete these stages or develop psychological problems later.

Jean Piaget contended that children learn through two primary processes; assimilation and accomodation. Piaget suggested that infants go through six stages of sensorimotor development between birth and age two, as well as three further stages on the route to an adulthood.

Lawrence Kohlberg argued that as humans grow and change, they progress through stages of moral development in which they learn to apply ethical behavior and develop a sense of justice and fairness.

According to Carol Gilligan, girls progress through three stages of moral development : orientation through individual survival, goodnesss and self sacrifice, and morality of non-violence.

The intelligence test and the concept of mental age was originated by Alfred Binet. Binet had no theory as to the nature of intelligence, linked the measure of success to success in school, and linked tests to children's mental ages.

Critics of intelligence tests are cultury and racially biased.

some individuals who do not have intelectual ability to engage in normar society activity often become clients of the justice systems, including the mentally ill, intellectually disabled , and learning disabled.

Freud's contention that personality is formed in childhood is a major feature of the study of juvenile delinquency. According to Freud , the personality comprises the id , ego, and superego.

Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck found that delinquent boys shared features that not only contributed to their delinquency , but also helped them survive. Pronounce charachteristics included extroversion, impulsivity, hostility,fearlessness,suspicion, and low-self esteem.

Resently, researchers examined the diferences between personalities of offenders and non-offenders by studying thier performance on personality inventories. The best known of these are the Minnesota Multiplastic Inventory and MMPI for adolescents.

Psychologists have labels that attempt o distinguish extreme offenders from others who break the law. A common label for these types of offenders is " psychopath". Researchers are focusing increasingly on what has become known " as juvenile psychopathy" The idea is that psychopathy is stable across the lifetime , that is young psychopaths grow up to become adult th us psychopaths.This controversial concept that disorder can me measured in youth is relatively new, and researchers are only beginning to attempt to do so.