3 - Forensic Psychology

Question 1

What is a crime?

Answer 1

An act that violates the law and results in punishment by the state. It is behaviour that has been identified as wrong by the law.

Question 2

What is offender profiling?

Answer 2

Police build a picture of who they are looking for to help them make an arrest. It is not easy, and focuses more on narrowing down pre-existing suspects.

Question 3

List some possible details that could be provided in an offender profile

Answer 3

Offender’s personality, age, race, type of employment, religion, marital status, level of education.

Question 4

Explain the top down approach

Answer 4

It was based on 36 interviews with sexually motivated killers. It begins with a general classification of the crime scene into organised or disorganised. Profilers will match what is known about the crime to a pre-existing template. This classification informs subsequent police investigation.

Question 5

What happens after classification in the top-down approach.

Answer 5

Once profilers have matched the crime to the pre-existing template, they can now construct a profile.
This includes a hypothesis about the offender’s background; habits, beliefs etc.
This is used to work out a strategy of investigation.
Profilers also consider how the offender is likely to react if they are being investigated.

Question 6

List characteristics of an organised criminal

Answer 6

Quiet environments, planned crime/escape, pre-meditated attack, experienced, stalking, specific victim, body transported from scene, weapon is hidden, high intelligence, socially and sexually competent, have a car, follow their crimes in the media, multiple crimes/experienced.

Question 7

List characteristics of a disorganised criminal

Answer 7

Any location, impulsive/spontaneous, inexperienced, one-off, no stalking, more evidence, unplanned crime, random victim, offender unlikely to engage with victim, necrophilia, weapon and clues may be at the scene.

Question 8

Evaluate the top-down approach to offender profiling

Answer 8

+ good application - eg: Arthur Shawcross. This approach helps label, describe and catch criminals. It’s useful and effective.

• only applies to specific crimes: rape, arson, murder, dissections, torture etc. More common offences (burglary, theft) don’t create crime scene.
• based on outdated models of personality - typology classification system - based on the assumption that offenders have patterns of behaviour and motivations that remain consistent across situations and contexts. Several critics (Alison et al. ‘02) say it’s naïve and informed by old fashioned models - they see behaviour as being driven by stable dispositional traits instead of external factors that may be constantly changing. The approach is based on “static” models. Poor validating when identifying criminals/predicting next moves.
• classification is too simplistic - what if someone shows both organised and disorganised traits (give eg:). Other typological models: Holmes (‘89) says there’s 4 types of serial killer: visionary, mission, hedonistic, power/control. Keppel and Walter (‘99) said there are different motivations rather than specific types.

Question 9

What did David Canter do?
What was the aim of his study?
When was this?

Answer 9

Provided evidence that the classification had little basis in reality.
Aim: to test the reliability of the top-down typology by applying them to 100 cases.
2004

Question 10

What was the procedure of Canter’s study?

Answer 10

A content analysis or 100 cases of serial killers from the USA.
The cases came from published accounts of serial killers and were cross-checked with court reports and officers where possible.

Question 11

What were the findings of Canter’s study?

Answer 11

Twice as many disorganised crimes as organised crimes were identified, suggesting that disorganised offenders are more common or easier to identify.
2 behaviours in the organised typology occurred a level significantly above chance.
In 70% of cases, the body was concealed.
In 75% of cases, sexual activity had occurred.
Further analysis failed to reveal any significant differences between organised and disorganised variables.

Question 12

What were the conclusions of Canter’s study?

Answer 12

He concluded that instead of their being a distinction between the 2 types of serial murderer, all of the crimes had to have an organised element to them.
The distinction between serial killers may be a function of the different ways in which they exhibit disorganised aspects in their activities.
It would be better to look at personality differences between offenders

Question 13

Describe the bottom-up approach

Who made it?

Answer 13

Canter. It looks for consistencies in the offender’s behaviour during the crime. These can be inferred from the crime scene, or from surviving victims’ accounts. No initial assumption is made about the offender until a statistical analysis using correlations techniques has been carried out on the details of the cases.
This approach relies heavily on computer databases being accurate.
This approach can be considered more objective and reliable.

Question 14

List the 7 possible issues of offender profiling using the bottom-up approach

Answer 14

Human error
Anomalous data
Eye witness testimonies
Leading questions
Data being lost
Not all crimes are followed up
Not all crimes are reported

Question 15

Explain investigative psychology

Answer 15

This inputs data to create a statistical database which then acts as a baseline for comparison. Information and characteristics can be added from new crime scenes to show personality traits from previous similar crimes. They use stats to analyse large volumes of data to find correlations. This also helps to determine if offences are linked.

Question 16

Define interpersonal coherence

Answer 16

The way an offender behaves at the scene, including how they “interact” with the victim. An offender’s crime scene behaviour may reflect their everyday behaviours.

Question 17

Explain geographic profiling

Answer 17

Based on areas where crimes take place - they plot them and commonly there is a circle theory - where there is eventually a circle around the criminals location as their crimes create a circle and surround them.

Question 18

What are the 2 models of offender behaviour in geographic profiling?
Define them

Answer 18

The marauder - a criminal that lives near to where the crime takes place
The commuter - a criminal that lives far away from their crimes (they commute)

Question 19

What are the 2 parts of the bottom-up approach to offender profiling?

Answer 19

Investigative profiling

Geographic profiling

Question 20

Evaluate the bottom-up approach to offender profiling

Answer 20

+ evidence for investigative psychology - Canter and Heritage (‘90) conducted a content analysis of 66 sex assault cases. They did this using smallest space analysis. This is a program that identifies correlations across patterns of behaviour. Some characteristics are described as common. These will occur in different patterns in different people. This leads to knowing how their behaviour may change throughout different crimes. This supports the usefulness (validity) of I.P - it shows how statistical techniques can be applied.
+ evidence for geographic profiling - Lundrigan and Canter (‘01) collected info on 120 murders with serial killers in USA. Smallest space analysis revealed spatial consistency and a “centre of gravity.” This is more noticeable for marauders. This supports Canter’s claim that spatial information is an important for determining location of offenders.
- human error - incorrect information can be inputted. EWT can be affected, missing evidence or incorrect input of data - validity.
+ scientific bases for bottom-up, more evidence based than top-down; more statistics - reliability.
- Gary Coppson studied 48 police forces and found that 83% were useful but only 3% were accurate - validity.
+ wider application - B-U can be applied to a wider range of offences compared to T-D. They can be used for burglary and theft as well as murder and rape.

Question 21

Define atavism

Answer 21

The tendency to return to our ancestral types

Question 22

Using Darwin’s theories, Lombroso thought criminals were a

Answer 22

Separate species of mankind

Question 23

When did Lombroso develop his explanation?

Answer 23

1876

Question 24

What are the 4 distinguishing characteristics that Lombroso professed that criminal could be identified by?

Answer 24

Asymmetrical face
Unusually large or small ears
A low receding forehead
Prominent eyebrows, cheekbones or jawbones

Question 25

List and define the 3 types of criminals Lombroso identified

Answer 25

Born criminals - the atavistic type
Insane criminals - suffering from mental illness
Criminaloids - mental characteristics predisposed them to criminal behaviour under the right circumstances

Question 26

What are the 4 somatotypes?
Define them
Who identified them?
When did they do this?

Answer 26

Kretschmer - 1921
Leptosome/asthenic - tall and thin; petty thieves
Athletic - tall and muscular; violent crimes
Pyknic - short and far; commit crimes of deception, sometimes violence
Dysplastic/mixed - more than 1 type; crimes against morality (eg: prostitution, drugs, illegal gambling etc.)

Question 27

Evaluate the historical explanation

Answer 27

• Lombroso believed women were less evolved than men. He believed they were less likely to commit crimes because they were passive, low in intelligence and had maternal instincts. However, he never studied women - generalisability, socially sensitive research.
• Goring (1913) found no differences between convicts and non-convicts (3,000 of each). There was no distinct group of unusual facial and cranial characteristics. This decreases reliability.
  + Lombroso has been praised for bringing science to the study of crime. His types of criminal have been heralded as the beginning of criminal profiling - reliability.
• Delisi (2012) drew attention to the distinct racial undertones. Most features were African. Also, his description of criminals being uncivilised, primitive and savage supported eugenic philosophies of the time - ethics

Question 28

What is a gene?

Answer 28

A unit of hereditary which is transferred from a parent to offspring and is held to determine some characteristic of the offspring.

Question 29

Who conducted the first study into twins and criminal behaviour?
When was this?
Explain the study

Answer 29

Lange - 1930
13 MZ twins and 17 DZ twins where within each pair, one had served time. 10 MZ twins had their co-twin in prison, only 2 DZ twins.

Question 30

Explain the hormones involved in criminal behaviour

Answer 30

Monoamine oxidase A has been associated with aggression.
MAOA regulates the metabolism of serotonin in the brain. Low levels of serotonin are linked with impulsive and aggressive behaviour.
CHD13 is linked to ADD and substance abuse.

Question 31

What does MAOA stand for?

Answer 31

Monoamine oxidase A

Question 32

Explain Tiihonen’s study

When did this take place?

Answer 32

2015
900 offenders found low MAOA activity and also low activity of the CDH13 gene.
They estimated around 5-10% of all violent crime in Finland is due to abnormalities in one of these 2 genes.

Question 33

Explain Mednick’s study and the results

When did this take place?

Answer 33

1984
He conducted an adoption study on 13,000 Danish adoptees. He compared the likelihood of being criminal.
No criminal record for biological or adoptive families - 13.5%
Biological parents had criminal record - 20%
Biological and adoptive parents had criminal record - 24.5%

Question 34

Evaluate the genetic explanation for crime

Answer 34

+ supports diathesis stress model. Mednick’s study shows that environmental influence cannot be disregarded - reliability
- problems with adoption studies - many kids are either adopted late or keep in touch with their biological parents. This makes it hard to assess environmental impacts of biological parents - int validity.
Also, Mednick’s study - the crimes by the kids weren’t violent - so his study is not applicable to serious forms of crime - application.

Question 35

What does Raine say are the 4 main predictors for becoming a violent offender?

Answer 35

Low rising heart rate,
Poor functioning pre-fronts cortex,
Mum drinking/smoking during pregnancy,
Birth complications

Question 36

Raine says that brain-imaging research is going to allow us to predict whether individuals are going to commit a violent offence in how many years?

Answer 36

3-4

Question 37

What has Raine discovered about people who have a reduced volume or their amygdala?

Answer 37

4x more likely to commit a crime in the next 3 years

Question 38

What does Raine mean by the neuro-ethical dilemma?

Answer 38

Locking people up before crimes have occurred, based on neuro-imaging and then possibly applying it to laws and the justice system

Question 39

Raine describes a violent offender like a jigsaw puzzle - what does he mean by this?

Answer 39

There a social factor pieces and biological pieces. All these factors fit together to create the violent offender.

Question 40

What are the 2 brain structures we need to know about?

Answer 40

Prefrontal cortex

Lambic system

Question 41

What are the 2 neurotransmitters we need to know about?

Answer 41

Serotonin

Noradrenaline

Question 42

Explain the prefrontal cortex

Answer 42

Raine (2004) - 71 brain imaging studies showed that criminals have reduced functioning in the prefrontal cortex. Lowered activity in this area is associated with a loss of control.

Question 43

Explain the limbic system

Answer 43

This is made up of structures such as the thalamus and the amygdala, which are linked to emotion.
Raine (1997) found that members who were not guilty by reason of insanity has reduced activity in the limbic system.

Question 44

Explain serotonin

Answer 44

Researchers suggest that low levels of this neurotransmitter may predispose individuals to aggressive and criminal behaviour. Serotonin inhibits the prefrontal cortex. Dopamine hyperactivity May enhance this effect.

Question 45

Explain noradrenaline

Answer 45

Very high and very low levels have been associated with aggression and criminal behaviour. High levels are associated with activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the fight or flight response. Low levels would reduce the ability for people to react to perceived threats.

Question 46

Evaluate the neural explanation for crime

Answer 46

• it’s difficult to determine cause and effect with neural explanations. This raises concerns about determinism. Are brain regions and neurotransmitters the cause of crime, the result of it, or just an intervening variable? Research only shows correlation between head injuries and later criminality. It could be a fake relationship. Injury could be caused by abuse - which causes criminality - internal validity.
• diathesis-stress - there are genes involved which are triggered by environmental factors - eg: family upbringing, social life etc - interval val.
  + application - could it lead to treatment f aggressive behaviour. Eg: low serotonin levels cause more aggressiveness in criminals, then people in prison could be given specific diets. Artificial sweeteners contain chemicals that increase difficulty in production of serotonin - reduce this.
• it’s based on aggression research not offending research - research on animals (Curran and Renzetti - 2001) is relied upon for neurotransmitter research. There’s no 100% correspondence rate with any area of the brain or neurotransmitter, so data can’t be used to predict who might/not be an offender.

Question 47

What was Eysenck’s personality theory based on?

Answer 47

The idea that character traits tend to cluster along three dimensions. These are:
Extraversion and introversion
Neuroticism and stability
Psychoticism and stability

Question 48

What are the 3 dimensions of Eysenck’s theory’s biological bases?

Answer 48

They are mainly innate.
Extraversion - determined by arousal in the nervous system.
Neuroticism - determined by the level of stability in the somatic nervous system - how much someone reacts in fight or fought situations.
Psychoticism - related to higher levels of testosterone.

Question 49

What does it mean if someone has high:
Extraversion?
Neuroticism?
Psychoticism?

Answer 49

Extraversion - they seek more arousal so are more likely to engage in dangerous activities.
Neuroticism - they are unstable and therefore prone to over react in some situations - may explain some criminal behaviour.
Psychoticism - individuals are aggressive and lack empathy - easily linked to crime.

Question 50

Evaluate Eysenck’s personality theory

Answer 50

• simplistic to consider personality in just 2 dimensions. Moffat (‘93) suggested several distinct types of adult male offender based on age of 1st offence and duration of offences. Also, Eysenck’s criminal type isn’t as expanded as it should be Digman’s (‘90) 5 finger model adds several other dimensions - reliability.
  + consistent evidence that extroverts have differences in their cortical arousal compared to introverts so Eysenck + Eysenck (‘77) compared 2070 EPI scores with 2422 male controls. Subdivided into age groups from 16-69 male. Prisoners scored higher on all measures on all age groups. But Farrington et al. (‘82) reviewed several studies and found that offenders scored high on P but not E or V. Also, little evidence of consistent differences in EEGs (used to measure cortisal arousal) between extraverts and introverts which doubts the theory reliability.
• Eysenck’s theory is questioned in research by Barton and Holanchock (‘79) who studied Hispanic + Afro-American offenders in a prison and subdivided into 6 groups on criminal history. All groups were less extroverted than non-criminal group. Bartol et al. suggested this was coz it was very different cultural groups - generalisability.
• Eysenck’s theory presumes personality is consistent and can be scored but it can change/develop over time. Certain circumstances may cause reactions of offence. Internal validity - extraneous variables.
• research only compared to criminals who have been caught. Generalisability.

Question 51

What is the assumption of the cognitive approach?

Answer 51

Behaviour is a result of internal mental processes such as language, memory, perception and decision making.

Question 52

What are the 3 main points of cognitive theory?
Define them?
Which 2 are examples of something?

Answer 52

Cognitive distortion is a form of irrational thinking. Distortions are ways reality has become twisted.
2 types of cognitive distortion!
Hostile attribution bias - someone who always attributes behaviours to negative things, who always thinks the worst.
Minimalisation - consequences of behaviour are down-played.

Question 53

Explain the stages of moral development

Answer 53

Level I - preconventional morality:
Stage 1 - punishment orientation - rules are obeyed to avoid punishment.
Stage 2 - instrumental orientation or personal gain - rules are obeyed for personal gain.
Level II - conventional morality:
Stage 3 - ‘good boy’ or ‘good girl’ orientation - rules are obeyed for approval.
Stage 4 - maintenance of the social order - rules are obeyed to maintain the social order.
Level III - postconventional morality:
Stage 5 - morality of contract and individual rights - rules are obeyed if they are impartial; democratic rules are challenged if they infringe on the rights of others.
Stage 6 - morality of conscience - the individual establishes his or her own rules in accordance with a personal set of ethical principles.

Question 54

Who developed cognitive therapy?

Answer 54

Kohlberg (‘69)

Question 55

How did Kohlberg make the stages of moral development?

Answer 55

He interviewed boys and men about their reasons for moral decides and subsequently made them.

Question 56

Evaluate cognitive theory

Answer 56

+ evidence - Palmer and Hollin (‘98) compared moral reasoning between 210 female non-offenders and 126 convicted offenders using the (SRM-SF) Socio-Moral Reflection Measure - Short Form, which contains 11 moral dilemma-related questions such as not taking things that belong to others and keeping a promise to a friend. Criminals are less mature. Blackburn (‘93) suggested delinquents may show poor moral development due to lack of role playing opportunities in childhood. Opportunities should therefore be provided - reliability.
- Gibbs (‘79) - alternative theories of moral reasoning. He proposed a revised version of Kohlberg’s theory comprising 2 levels of reasoning. Supported by Piaget’s theory of moral development - validity.
+ CBT in rehabilitating sex offenders encourages offenders to face up and establish a less distorted view. Reduced minimisation is highly correlated with reduced risk of reoffending - this is a key feature in anger management - application
- individual differences. Level of moral reasoning may depend on the type of offence. Thornton and Reid (‘82) found that those who committed crimes for financial gain were more likely to show pre-conventional moral reasoning than those convicted of crimes eg: assault. Pre-conventional is with crimes that are likely to not be caught Langdon (‘10) found that is could be due to intelligence, the smarter, more lie,unto crime.

Question 57

What approach is the differential association theory associated with?

Answer 57

Social learning theory

Question 58

Who theorised the differential association theory?

Answer 58

Sutherland

Question 59

What are the 9 key principles for Sutherland’s differential association theory?

Answer 59

Criminal behaviour is learned.
It is learnt through association with others.
The association is with intimate personal groups.
Techniques and attitudes are learned.
The learning is directional - could be for or against crime.
If favourable attitudes outweigh unfavourable attitudes, that person will becomes an offender.
The learning experiences vary in frequency for each individual.
Criminal behaviour is learned through the same process as any other behaviour.
General ‘need’ is not a sufficient explanation for crime.

Question 60

Evaluate the differential association theory

Answer 60

+ it changed peoples views about the origins of criminal behaviour. It marked a shift from blaming individual factors to pointing to social factors. The theory suggested that crime did not have to be explained in terms of personality (mad or bad). + application coz learning environments can be changed.
+ evidence. Osborne and West (‘82) - when there’s a father with a criminal conviction, 40% of the sons had committed a crime by 18 compared to 13% of non-criminal fathers. Crime runs in families - it’s a result of social learning.
- methodological issues coz it’s largely based on correlational issues. It’s not possible to determine the cause from the effect with this data - internal validity.
- absence of biological factors. The diathesis-stress model may offer a better account by combining social factors with vulnerability factors. Predisposing factors may be innate genetic ones or early experiences such as maltreatment.
- struggles to account for all kinds of crime. It’s probably confined to smaller crimes rather than violent and impulsive ones. On the other hand, in England and Wales in 2014 there were 500 murders and 400,00 burglaries - so its able to explain a large proportion of crime - generalisability.

Question 61

What do psychodynamic explanations state?

Answer 61

That early experiences coupled with innate drives create the adult personality

Question 62

State and explain the 4 features of maternal deprivation

Answer 62

Critical period - an attachment must be formed before the age of 2.
Continuity hypothesis - if an attachment is not formed within the critical period, there will be negative effects that will follow the child into layer life. Eg: affectionless psychopathy.
Intellectual development - Bowlby believed that maternal deprivation would lead to mental retardation, an extremely low IQ.
Emotional development - Bowlby believed maternal deprivation would lead to problems with emotional stability. He identifies them as affectionless psychopathy, who do not experience guilt, no strong empathy for others and are unable to appreciate the emotions of others.

Question 63

Summarise Bowlby’s 44 thieves study

Answer 63

It looked at 44 juvenile thieves accused of stealing. Interviewed for affectionless psychopathy signs. Families interviewed to discover any separation/deprivation. They were compared to a group of non-criminal but emotionally disturbed young people.
Bowlby found 14/44 of the thieves could be classified as affectionless psychopaths, and 12 of these had experienced a prolonged separation from their mother during the critical period. In the control group, only 2 had experienced separation.

Question 64

Why is the superego likely to be involved in criminal behaviour?

Answer 64

It is our “moral compass” and it is concerned with right and wrong

Question 65

Blackburn (‘93) theorised 3 types of superego. State and define them.

Answer 65

Strong superego - usually law abiding. Exceptions - desire for sex leads to strong feelings of guilt. Guilt = need to be punished. Crime = punishment. Punishment satisfies guilt.
Weak superego - lack of loving parent figure during childhood = selfish, uncaring, uncontrolled aggression. No care for self or others = no concern for consequences.
Deviant superego - Oedipus complex - boy models on father. If the father is deviant, the son will imitate.

Question 66

Evaluate the psychodynamic approach to explaining offending behaviour

Answer 66

+ supportive evidence. Ressler et al (‘88) out of 36 sex murderers interviewed in USA, 42% were found having been sexually abused in childhood. Deitz and Warren (‘95) found that 76% of 41 serial rapists were abused in youth - reliability.
- gender bias. Implied assumption with Freud is that girls develop weaker SUPEREGOS than boys. No castration anxiety, girls are under less pressure to identify with their mothers. Full sense of morality is realised. This implies that females should be more prone to criminal behaviour. No evidence to support - gender prison ratio contradicts this. Hoffman (‘75) found hardly any gender differences - alpha bias generalisability.
- if a child is raised by deviant parents - genetic factors? Socialisation (diff association) - internal validity.
+ only approach to explaining offending behaviour which considers emotions of people eg: rejection and how those feelings impact behaviour - GRAVE TBC.

Question 67

State and define the 5 aims of custodial sentencing

Answer 67

Incapacitation - to protect the public
Retribution - to atone for wrongdoing
Rehabilitation - to educate or offer therapy
Deterrence - to discourage the general population from committing crimes
Punishment - to prevent recidivism

Question 68

Define recidivism

Answer 68

The tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend

Question 69

State, define and explain the 4 psychological effects of custodial sentencing

Answer 69

De-individuation - the loss of individual identity, leading to increased aggression. Zimbardo found that uniform leads to this.
Depression, self-harm & suicide - Abrahamson (‘89) said offenders may feel hopeless and helpless. Young men are at highest risk of suicide in the first 24 hours of imprisonment.
Overcrowding & lack of privacy - Calhoun (‘62) showed that overcrowding with rats led to increased aggression, hyper-sexuality, stress and increased physical illness using rats. Recent data suggests 25% of prisoners in overcrowded accommodation, with 2 people in a cell designed for 1.
Effects on the family - Glover (‘09) parents in prison experience guilt and separation anxiety, and their children suffer financially and psychologically.

Question 70

Evaluate custodial sentencing

Answer 70

• behaviourists have found that punishment is most effective when it occurs straight away. This is not the case with offending behaviour - reliability - it isn’t utilised effectively.
• only a small number of prisoners are dangerous to society - ext validity.
• cost of prison means alternatives such as probation, fines and community may be preferred - application - other are more costeffective.
• the prison reform trust (‘14) found that 46% of adults were reconvicted within one year of release. 67% of under 18s were reconvicted in a year - reduces accuracy - validity.
• Sutherland’s (‘39) differential association theory. Prison may increase the likelihood of crime as they are “universities for crime” - youngers learn “tricks of the trade”. Reliability - supports prison reform trust.
  + gives opportunities for training and treatment - social skills, rehab, AMP - application.

Question 71

State evidence that can be used to further evaluate custodial sentencing (5 points).

Answer 71

In the US, murder rates are not lower in states with the death penalty.
The Howard League for prison reform reported 10,000 self-harm incidents in 2008.
Klein et al. (‘77) found that offenders sentenced to rehabilitation were less likely to reoffend.
50% of prison populations reoffend.
Recent data suggests that 25% of prisoners are in overcrowded accommodation. Calhourn (‘62) showed that rats in overcrowded conditions became aggressive, stressed, ill, and ‘hyper-sexed’.

Question 72

What are token economy programmes used for?
What are they a form of?
What does a token economy programme involve?
What are tokens called? Why is this?
What are primary reinforcers in TEP?
When in prisons, what do many of the programmes also use? Why?
Give examples of this.

Answer 72

To obtain desirable behaviour in closed institutions such as prisons, and they are used for juvenile and adult offenders.
They are a form of behaviour modification.
A TEP involves a system of rewards being set up for desired behaviour, sometimes with punishments to discourage behaviour which is undesirable.
Secondary reinforcers - they have no intrinsic value.
Things wanted by the person. Tokens can be exchanged for these.
Negative reinforcement - in order to reduce undesirable behaviour such as non-compliance and aggression.
Eg: removal of privileges, such as watching TV or going to the exercise yard.

Question 73

In a token economy programme, what is it very important that there are clear definitions of?

Answer 73

What is a desired behaviour?
What is a token?
How tokens are allocated?
What is a reward?
How will there be gradual changing of the giving of tokens to shape the behaviour?
How many tokens are needed for each reward?
How will the reward be removed once the behaviour is achieved?

Question 74

Define:
Shaping
Primary reinforcer
Positive reinforcement
Schedule of reinforcement
Token
Secondary reinforcer
Negative reinforcement

Answer 74

Gradually altering behaviour through selective reinforcement of behaviour that approximated the desired outcome.
An item that the person physically needs or desires.
A reward for showing desired behaviour.
A choice of how to implement a reinforcement strategy.
Item given as a reward.
Tokens given as rewards for target behaviour.
Positive feelings following the removal of an aversive stimuli.

Question 75

Explain Hobbs and Holt’s study. Include:
Investigation,
Participants,
Setting and date,
Target behaviours,
Data collection,
Tokens and reinforcers,
Results,
Discussion

Answer 75

To investigate the effect of token reinforcement on the behaviour of delinquents in cottage settings.
125 delinquent males committed to the Alabama Boys Industrial School (ABIS). 12-15 yr olds (mean 14,4 yrs,months). IQ: 50-136 (mean: 75). 30% were classed as mildly/moderately retarded. 65% Black. 35% white. Charges ranged from truancy & being uncontrollable to arson and homocide.
1976. 5 independent cottage units in ABIS, located in an urban area.
Following rules in group games, doing chores, following cottage rules, line behaviour, interacting with peers.
Boys’ names listed on a daily behaviour chart; cottage supervisors marked each category when they met the criteria for each. Boys in each cottages were rated by 2 staff members to check reliability.
Tokens peer boy counted each day by supervisor. Boys went to a token economy store weekly for stuff. Or tokens could be saved in the bank for more expensive reinforcers eg: football/basketball trips, 4 day pass home.
Data was collected over 14 months. Cottage A: appropriated behaviour increased from 66% to 91.6%. B: 46.7% to 80.8%. C: 73.2% to 94.2%.
No data on maintained behaviour after release. Generalisation can’t take place. Ethics - line behaviour is for staff convenience.

Question 76

Evaluate behaviour modification

Answer 76

+ easy to implement - no need for expertise/specialist professionals eg: anger management. They can be implemented by anyone anywhere. Cost effective and easy to follow once workable methods of reinforcement have been established - application.

• little rehabilitative value - Blackburn (‘93) - any positive change in behaviour whilst the offender is in prison may quickly be lost after realise. It’s at its best when establishing appropriate conduct within prison but it’s unlikely to extend beyond custodial sentencing. Coz no reinforcement outside. Rewards received from breaking the law are greater - application
• ethics - 1 - convenience of the staff, not to help behaviour. 2 - Maya & Atchenburg (‘74) - Ts&Cs of B.M are regarded as manipulative and dehumanising. Participation is compulsory. Although they can decide whether to comply, they still lose privileges; exercise and loved ones.
• generalisability- Hobbs and Holt - research into T.E is beta bias. Applied to women without studying.

Question 77

What is anger management a kind of?
What does it aim to reduce?
What are its 2 aims when used with prisoners?

Answer 77

CBT.
An emotional response by reconceptualising the emotion.
Reduce anger and aggression in prisons in the short term and reduce recidivism in the long term.

Question 78

Which approach does Novaco’s model for anger management draw on?
State and explain the 3 key steps of it.

Answer 78

The stress inoculation approach.
Cognitive preparation - clients learn about anger and how it can be adaptive and non-adaptive.
Skill acquisition - clients are taught various skills to help manage their anger.
Application training - clients apply their skills, first in controlled situations and later in real world settings.

Question 79

Explain Ireland (‘04)

Answer 79

Jane Ireland (‘04) - 92% of patient’s showed an improvement on at least one measure. In prison, 50 males in A.M.P, 37 aren’t (control). Both groups are then assessed on 3 things: cognitive behaviour interview, officer checklist - 29 behaviours rated 0-2 a week before the interview, self-report method - 53 items on questionnaire. The the same 50 do C.A.L.M (another type of A.M.P) and the control don’t. The groups are then assessed again.
Findings: self-report lower on C.A.L.M group and lower aggression rated by prison officers. No significant reduction in either for control group. Treatment group - 92% showed treatment in 1 measure, 48% on both, 8% had no improvement/deterioration.
Conclusion: prisoners are helped by the programme but unknown if its long term.

Question 80

Evaluate anger management

Answer 80

+ research support - Ireland, Taylor and Novoca (‘06) reported 75% improvement rates based on 6 case studies. McGuire (‘08) found reduction in reoffending after one year. Long term success of AMP is more likely than with behaviour modification as it looks at the cause of the crime - reliability- consistency.

• methodological issues - some studies only last a few day but some last years. Some AMP are run by psychologists, others by prison staff - int val
• individual differences - some offenders may drop out of voluntary anger management programmes as they are not ‘ready to change’ - application
• contradicting evidence - Blackburn (‘93) long term effectiveness is not effective in reducing recidivism as therapy relies on artifical role-play and not real life events - external validity.

Question 81

What is the aim of restorative justice?

Answer 81

It seeks to achieve justice by repairing the harm done by an offender. This may be a payment, letter or interaction between the victim and the offender.

Question 82

What are the 4 key features of restorative justice?

Answer 82

Focus on acceptance of responsibility and positive change for people who harm others.
Not restricted to court rooms. Offenders and victims may meet outside of the courtroom.
Active rather than passive involvement of all parties.
Focuses on positive outcomes for survivor and those involved in wrong doings.

Question 83

Give 4 benefits to the victim of restorative justice

Answer 83

Enables them to put the crime behind them, for example why they were targeted. Acts as closure.
Empowerment in terms of a sense of personal power.
Develop an understanding of why the crime was committed.
Gives victims a greater voice in the Criminal Justice System.

Question 84

Give 4 benefits to the offender of restorative justice

Answer 84

Opportunity to address and heal the underlying issues and opportunity to change.
Opportunity to apologise and accept responsibility.
Opportunity to repair the harm done as a result of the crime.
Develop an understanding of the effect of their actions.

Question 85

Give 4 benefits to the wider community and economy of restorative justice

Answer 85

Restorative justice reduces the frequency of reoffending, so community is safer.
Saves money – £8 in savings to the criminal justice system for every £1 spent on restorative justice.
Shows the community that offenders are making up for their actions so gives sense of retribution.
Opportunity to (re)build a sense of community and mutual accountability.

Question 86

Evaluate restorative justice

Answer 86

+ research shows effectiveness. The U.K. Restorative Justice Council (‘15) reported that most victims (85%) felt a sense of satisfaction following face-to-face meetings with baddies. Reduction in reoffending rates - application.
+ restorative justice instead of custodial sentencing reduces differential association theory taking place in prison. Also saves on money - int val.
- ethics - all parties must cooperate. The offender must show remorse; sometimes they do it to get out of prison. The victim must be civil. May end up badly if all parties don’t agree to take part with the best intentions.
- doesn’t get much public support. It’s regarded as a soft option. Politicians echo this, emphasising they are ‘tough on crime’.