Complete summaries why women commit less violent crimes than men; profile of female arsonists; female murderers; comparison between male and female serial killers; correlation existing between spousal violence and murder; and robbery as least associated with women.
ESSAY 4: CRITICALLY DISCUSS REASONS WHY WOMEN COMMIT LESS VIOLENT CRIME THAN MEN
Women have a significantly lower violent crime rate than men. The reasons why women have a lower rate
are largely socio-psychological. Violence-prone persons are usually deficient in verbal and social skills, and to
resolve conflict they use violence to attain their needs. It is assumed that women are more verbal when
involved in conflict and use their social skills to resolve the conflict.
Another reason can be explained by the differential reinforcement theory by Burgess and Akers. They
suggested that behaviour is learned through instrumental conditioning, where behaviour is learned as a
result of the effects it has on an individual’s environment through reinforcement and punishment. If a person
decides to abandon a crime, it is because their perception of the benefits is no longer there or the risk of
apprehension is too great. Just like Burgess and Akers’ theory, it is argued that violence is learned through
modelling and reward structures. This can be taken back to traditional gender roles where women are
socialised to be less aggressive, and males are often rewarded for aggressive behaviour.
The last valuable reason why women have a lower violent crime rate can be explained by the rational choice
theory. The rational choice theory adopts a utilitarian belief that humans are reasoning actors who weigh
means and ends, costs and benefits, and make a rational choice based on those thoughts. It is argued that it
is simply not rational for women to be violent because aggressive behaviour is unrewarding and they are not
likely to succeed during a physical encounter. Women rather make the rational choice not to be violent.
There are three significant violent crimes that women commit: arson, murder and robbery. The profiles of
each will be discussed.
, KRM 320(A) UNIT 2 : IN TRODUCTION
ESSAY 4 SUMMARY
Women have significantly lower violent crime rate than men
Reasons why are largely socio-psychological
Violence-prone persons are usually deficient in verbal/social skills & resolve conflict by use of violence
to attain needs
Assumed that women are more verbal when involved in conflict & use social skills to resolve
Another reason is explained by differential reinforcement theory by Burgess & Akers
Suggested behaviour is learned through instrumental conditioning
Behaviour is learned as result of effects it has on individual’s environment = through reinforcement
and punishment
Person decides to abandon crime if benefits are no longer there/risk of apprehension too great
Just like theory = it’s argued that violence is learned through modelling & reward structures
This can be taken back to traditional gender roles
Women socialised to be less aggressive
Males often rewarded for aggressive behaviour
Last valuable reason is explained by the rational choice theory
Adopts utilitarian belief that humans are reasoning actors who weigh means & ends, costs & benefits
Then make rational choice based on those thoughts
Argued that it’s not rational for women to be violent = aggressive behaviour is unrewarding & they aren’t
likely to succeed during physical encounter
Women make a rational choice not to be violent
3 significant crimes committed by women = arson, murder & robbery
Profiles will be discussed below
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