Chapter 4 - Origins of Criminal Behavior Learning and Situational Factors Lecture Notes PDF

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Chapter 4 lecture notes on the origins of criminal behavior learning and situational factors. For the course Psychology of Criminal Behavior PSYC 311 with professor Sarah Ehlke....

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Chapter 4 - Origins of Criminal Behavior: Learning and Situational Factors ● Behaviorism ○ John Watson (1913) ○ Psychology = science of behavior not mind ■ Can’t observe mind ○ Ivan Pavlov ■ Dog saliva ● Skinnerism ○ Focuses on reward/punishment ○ B.F. Skinner ○ Psychology = prediction and control of behavior ○ Skinner's Theory of Behavior ■ IV - Person, object, or event that elicits behavior (stimuli) ■ DV - the elicited behavior (response) ■ Variable - anything that can be measured ○ To understand criminal behavior must focus on environmental stimuli, observable behavior and rewards ○ Behaviorism as a method of science ■ Identify and observe each variable; operationally define ○ Animal models ■ Conclusions based on animal behavior and apply to humans ○ Situationism ■ Belief that all behavior is at the mercy of environment/stimuli ● People have no control ○ Reductionism ■ Break complex behaviors down and study ● Skinnerian concepts ○ Operant conditioning/learning ■ Make or withhold a response because of its consequences ○ Acquire or eliminate behaviors ○ Receive reward, avoid punishments ■ Rewards ● Physical (money) ● Psychological (self-control) ● Social (acceptance) ○ Reinforcements - rewards ■ Increase the probability of future responding ○ Positive reinforcement - gain something we desire as consequences of behavior ○ Negative reinforcement - avoid an unpleasant event as a consequence of

behavior ■ No school if fake being sick, faking the illness was negatively reinforced - do again in future ○ Punishment - receive painful stimuli as consequence of behavior ■ Not effective because only changes behavior temporarily ○ Extinction - received neither punishment or reinforcement ■ Will learn behavior does not bring reinforcement and behavior is dropped Goal

Action

Positive Reinforcement

Increases a desired behavior

Introduce pleasant stimulus following a desired behavior

Negative Reinforcement

Increases a desired behavior

Remove an aversive stimulus following a desired behavior

Punishment

Decreases undesired behavior

Introduce aversive stimulus following undesired behavior

Extinction

Eliminated undesired behavior

No reinforcement of punishment for undesired behavior

● Operant learning and crime ○ People born neutral, learn bad behaviors ○ Criminal behavior reinforced (attention) ○ Spanking child is aggravated assault (crime) ■ Bad because effect on child’s development, not because a crime ○ Shoplifting ■ Rewarded with physical/material items ○ Cultural differences exist in good/bad behaviors ○ Mental states and cognitive processes play a role in criminal offending ● Social learning ○ Learn by observing and listening ■ Learn through observation ■ Behavior maintained if reinforced ○ Social learning theory ■ To understand criminal behavior must examine perceptions, thoughts, expectancies, competencies, and values

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● Cognitive (internal) process Observational learning/modeling ○ Type of model ■ Respected (ex. Teacher, parent) ● Behavior = more strongly reinforced ○ Follow own advice? ■ Ex. don't do drugs then they do drugs ○ High profile person punished, less likely for their behavior to be imitated Expectancy Theory ○ A person’s performance level is based on their expectation that behaving in a particular way will make a particular outcome ○ Person develops expectations (cognitions) about the consequences (outcome) of a behavior ○ “What do you think will happen if…” ■ good/bad? Can predict behavior ○ People commit crime due to expectations of what will occur after Making domestic violence arrests: a test of expectancy theory ○ 1. Officers who perceive that they are expected to make arrests for DV will make these arrests more often than officers who do not perceive this expectation ○ 2. Officers who perceive that they are rewarded for making arrests for DV will make these arrets more than officers who do not perceived they will be rewarded ○ METHOD ■ N= 401 officers from cincinnati OH ● 5.5% females; mean age= 34; mean years as officer= 11 ○ Materials ■ Arrest / self report of DV calls (%) ● Higher % = more likely to make arrest for each call received ■ Perception that police chief/supervisor think domestic violence enforcement is a department priority ■ Perception that department recognizes and rewards officers for DV arrests ○ Expectation that the department prioritizes and will reward DV arrests is correlated with higher actual DV arrests Socialized and Individualized offender ○ Socialized offender ■ Learn how to offend through models ● Expect rewards due to social environment ○ Individualized offender ■ Not having needs met for a long period of time

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● Long series of frustrations Frustration-Induced Criminality ○ Frustration = internal state of arousal ■ Behavior for specific goal is blocked, arousal increases, person has drive to reduce it ○ Deviant behavior may result from frustration ○ No longer receive rewards from behavior may become hostile and angry ○ High control over life feel more frustrated and engage in more deviant behaviors than those who feel hopeless ○ Society continuously suppressed status or abilities may feel frustration and rebel Frustration-induced ○ What influences why some of these protests turn violent? ○ Frustration played a role in all of these protests but not all turned into riots ○ Deprivation -> Frustration -> Criminal Behavior ■ Want to bring change but frustration turns to aggression Situational Instigators and Regulators of Criminal Behavior ○ Personality + situational variables -> criminal behavior ■ Many studies do not study situational variables ○ Fundamental Attribution Error ■ Ignores the influence of the situation and explains behavior by referring to the personality of the actor instead ● Explaining someone else's behavior ○ Self serving bias ■ When it comes to ourselves, attribute good things that occur to internal/personality characteristics. ■ Bad things to external (explaining own behavior) Authority and criminal behavior ○ Crimes of obedience ■ Act a certain way (ex. Criminal behavior) because authority figure said to Deindividuation ○ People lose their sense of individuality in large crowds or groups ○ Zimbardo NYC vs Palo Alto, CA ■ Abandoned car ■ NYC = populated, CA = less populated ■ NYC everyone blends in. Not bothering me so it doesn't matter

NYC: car looted in 26 hours

CA: car went untouched for 7 dayes

● The bystander effect ○ Kitty Genovese ■ NYC ■ Young woman was stabbed to death ■ No one called police or helped ○ Researchers examined why there was so much apathy and callousness displayed by witnesses ○ Bystander effect ■ There are a complicated set of factors that determine who will assist in life-threatening or dangerous situations ■ More people around, less likely to help ■ Bystanders may not lack apathy, but tried to help unsuccessfully. Or did not know event was happening...