CRIMINAL BEHAVIOURS

CRIMINAL BEHAVIOURS

1. EVALUATION Social

2. Differential association theory

   • Supporting evidence
     • Osborn and West
       • ...found that, where there is a father with a criminal conviction, 40% of the sons had committed a crime by the age of 18 compared to 13% of sons of non-criminal fathers
       • Such findings can of course be explained in terms of genetics as well
     • Ronald Akers et al
       • Surveying 2500 male and female adolescents in US to investigate drinking and drug behaviour
       • ...found the most important influence on this form of deviant behaviour was from peers and that differential association, differential reinforcement and imitation combined to account for 68% of the variance in marijuana use and 55% of alcohol use
   • Can't account for all types of crime
     • 'Smaller' crimes
       • Social learning influences are probably confined to 'smaller' crimes rather than violent and impulsive offences such as rape and murder. So, in that sense, differential association is only a partial account of offending behaviour
       • On the other hand, this kind of 'smaller' crime accounts for a bigger percentage of the crimes committed than violent and impulsive offences (which tend to grab newspaper headlines.
     • ONS, 2015
       • In England and Wales in 2014 there were about 500 homicides but more than 400,000 burglaries
     • Tim Newburn
       • A related criticism is that differential association can't explain why most offences are committed by younger people
       • ...found that 40% of offences are committed by people under 21
     • Gudjonsson and Sigurdsson
       • In contrast Eysenck's personality theory can offer an explanation for high crime rates in younger people in terms of desire for risk taking as an element of criminal behaviour
       • ...found that desire for risk was a key factor in crime

3. Gender socialisation

   • Hormones in females
     • Oestradiol
       • Apart from lower levels of 'aggression-causing' testosterone, females may be less likely to demonstrate criminal behaviour because they have higher levels of female hormones that promote more social behaviour
       • e.g, the female hormone oestradiol is found in both males and females but much higher levels in females
       • Oestradiol is thought to promote empathy, a characteristic lacking in some criminals
     • Peter Eriksson et al
       • ...compared the hormone levels of males who had a history of alcohol-related aggression with a control group of 44 men with no such behavioural history
       • The men with alcohol-related aggression showed a negative correlation between oestradiol levels and testosterone-related physical, violent aggression
       • This research suggests that both male and female hormones play a role in at least some criminal behaviours - in men the hormones may promote such behaviour whereas in females the hormones reduce such behaviours
   • Hormones in males
     • Testosterone
       • One way in which males and females differ is through the production and levels of certain hormones
       • Testosterone shown to be secreted in much higher levels in men
     • James Dabbs et al
       • ...found that 9 out of 11 inmates with the lowest testosterone concentrations had committed non-violent crimes, whereas 10 out of 11 inmates with the highest testosterone concentrations had committed violent crimes
       • Suggests that testosterone is related to increased aggression and that differences in socialisation and social control may not be the only difference that are responsible for the criminal behaviour of males and females