PSYC39H3 Lecture Notes - Juvenile Delinquency, Reinforcement, Classical Conditioning
Document Summary
Theories of crime: learning and environment (chapter 3) Humans are inherently anti-social; driven by pleasure-seeking and destructive impulses. Crime occurs when impulses are not adequately controlled. Id: pleasure principle; present at birth; represents primitive, instinctual desires. Ego: reality principle; suppresses id"s impulses, allows people to function in socially acceptable ways. Superego: conscience and ego-ideal; moral regulator; internalizes group standards. Freud: psychosexual stages (oral, anal, phallic, latent, genital) Problems in superego formation affect one"s behaviour. Children need maternal care to develop normally ok. Lack of maternal care the child does not develop means to control his conduct: limited empirical support for this theory. Negative parenting variables: lack of warmth, emotional disturbances, greater carelessness in supervision of children. Prediction of juvenile delinquency based on physical, attitudinal, psychological, socio-cultural data. Social bond theory: people with well developed social bonds do not violate the law, social bonds promote conformity, types of social bonds: Low self-control + opportunities to commit crimes propensity to criminal behaviour.
