Explanations for Offending

758 Words4 Pages
Outline and explain two explanations for offending. Refer to evidence in your answer. (12 marks) The biological theory of offending does not believe one single gene causes criminality, and instead proposes 3 genetically influenced abnormalities that may cause it (Hollin 1992); abnormalities in the CNS because it impairs decision making, abnormalities in the ANS because it means they only react to strong stimuli, and abnormalities in the endocrine system because atypical hormonal activity can be linked to certain offences (i.e. testosterone and sexual/violent crimes). The psychodynamic theory of offending believes criminality is caused by abnormal development of the psyche. The theory explains criminality happening for 4 different reasons, first being a weak superego as it doesn't punish them for acting on impulses from the id, second being a deviant superego as it has deviant values so doesn't react to certain crimes, third being a strong superego as they commit a crime to be punished to rid the guilt imposed by the superego or they suppress so much anger and frustration that one day they 'explode' releasing it in one go, and forth being maternal deprivation (proposed by Bowlby) as it leads to affectionless psychopathy so they can't form meaningful relationships. A major problem with the psychodynamic theory is that the concepts are difficult to test, and it relies on the unconscious mind which is impossible to prove meaning there is no empirical evidence. The biological approach can also be argued as difficult to test or proved because the CNS, ANS and endocrine system are very complex and interact with each other in a complex way, and because of this they are still not completely understood. The biological research is arguably better than the psychodynamic research because it relies on quantitative and objective data which will be interpreted the same by
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