Evaluation

Question 1

Strengths of psychoanalysis / proof of its success

Answer 1

• Some studies have concluded that psychoanalysis works as well as other psychotherapies such as the more common cognitive behavioural therapy.

Question 2

Weaknesses of psychoanalysis / proof of its failure

Answer 2

• It’s costly and time consuming, so it’s never been used on a large scale. (Little proof of its effectiveness)
• Psychoanalysis gives the analysts the power to define what is normal / abnormal. Risks abuse.
• Blackburn (1993) claimed there are very few positive evaluations for psychoanalysis as treatment for offenders.

Question 3

Evidence to suggest prison works.

Answer 3

• Some people find prison an awful experience -> which means they might not offend again.
• Governers have control over the budget. They can spend money in the right places.

Question 4

Evidence to suggest prison doesn’t work.

Answer 4

• Prisoners can still access drugs and various other items in prison. Feeds addiction and prevents rehabilitation.
• Prisons are understaffed and overcrowded -> the officers have little control.
• Mental health isn’t a priority. Some peoples mental health really deteriorates in prison.

Question 5

Strengths of behaviour modification / evidence to suggest it works.

Answer 5

• Makes prisons more manageable.
• Offenders who have undergone the programme usually take longer to reoffend than others.

Question 6

Weakness of behaviour modification / evidence to suggest it doesn’t work.

Answer 6

• Once the reinforcements stops, the behaviours tend to disappears. It doesn’t have long term effects.
• Sometimes unethical -> some cases prisons have taken away food / basic human rights.

Question 7

Strength of left realism

Answer 7

• most sociologist

Question 8

Weakness of left realism

Question 9

Strength of right realism

Question 10

Weakness of right realism

Question 11

Strength of labelling.

Answer 11

• Demonstrates how law is often enforced in a discriminatory way and highlights the consequences of labelling.
• Shifts the focus onto how the police create crime by applying labels based on stereotypes-> highlights the issue so it can be solved.

Question 12

Weakness of labelling.

Answer 12

• Wrongly implies that once someone is labelled, a deviant career is inevitable. This makes it deterministic.
• It doesn’t explain where the power to label comes from. It focuses on officials and agents of social control who apply the labels -> rather than the people who create them (capitalist society)

Question 13

Strengths of Marxism?

Answer 13

• Shows how poverty and inequality can cause working class crime and how capitalism promotes greed and encourages upper class crime -> helps us understand / fix the problems within society.
• Highlights the faults in law enforcement -> creates openings for change.

Question 14

Weaknesses of Marxism?

Answer 14

• Largely focuses on class and ignores the relationship between crime and other inequalities (gender+ethnicity) -> other factors play a role. Reductionist.
• Not all capitalist societies have high crime rates (Japans homicide rate is only about a fifth of the UKs) - not representative of all of capitalist society.

Question 15

Strength of Freud - personality theory.

Answer 15

• Positive contributions to criminological psychology -> pointed out the importance of childhood relationships. Can help prevent criminality.

Question 16

Weaknesses of Freud

Answer 16

• Freud used a biased sample -> studied a group of largely middle-class women. This does not represent the population , and therefore lacks validity.
• Explains why behaviours happen but not how to solve them. Only identified cause and not solution - makes it less useful.

Question 17

Strengths of Bandura?

Answer 17

• Reliable -> he used highly controlled variables -> study can be replicated leading to higher accuracy -> consistent proof to back theory.

Question 18

Weakness of Bandura?

Answer 18

• Low ecological validity-> the situation the children were in was not a natural environment-> not accurate portrayal of how they would act -> cannot rely on the theory 100%.

Question 19

Strength of Eysenck

Answer 19

• Has research to support his theory -> tested on soldiers -> could lead to interventions or early treatment to reduce crime -> practical application

Question 20

Weakness of Eysenck

Answer 20

• Lacks reliability -> people might not respond the same to the questions every time, or the answers are simply yes or no. Doesn’t provide detail -> deterministic.
• Claims criminality is only down to persjonlity.

Question 21

Lombroso Strengths

Answer 21

• Lombrosos work went on to be the foundation of criminal profiling. His work can be applied to real life scenarios -> real life application thag can be used to reduce crime.

Question 22

Lombroso weakness

Answer 22

-> Lombroso based his theory on facial measurements of hundreds of criminals and the skulls of deceased criminals. Didn’t compare this to a control group of non- criminals. Findings cannot support his claim. Lacks validity.

Question 23

Strength of Sheldon

Answer 23

Shelton’s study had a sample of 200 subjects. Used a control group of non-offenders to compare his results against. Study can be deemed reliable - his study clearly shows a link between mesomorphs and criminality.

Question 24

Weakness of Sheldon

Answer 24

Theory does not take into account tbag peoples body types aren’t fixed. Peoples bodies change throughout their lives, and an individual may be all three. Sheldon doesn’t detail if this equates to a personality change. - doesn’t account for all possibilities (deterministic maybe?)