4.3.9 - Forensic Psychology

Question 1

What is offender profiling?

Answer 1

A behavioural and analytic tool that is intended to help investigators accurately predict and profile the characteristics of unknown criminals.

Question 2

What is the top-down approach?

Answer 2

Profilers start with pre-established typology and work down to lower levels in order to assign offenders to one of two categories based on witness accounts and evidence from the crime scene.

Question 3

Who created the top-down approach?

Answer 3

It originated in the US as a result of work carried out by the FBI in the 1970s.

Question 4

How did the FBI Behavioural Science Unit use the top-down approach originally?

Answer 4

• They drew data gathered from in-depth interviews with 36 sexually-motivated murderers including Ted Bundy and Charles Manson.
• Concluded that the data could be categorised into organised or disorganised crimes/murders.
  -Each category had certain characteristics which meant in a future situation, if the data from a crime scene matched some of the characteristics of one category, we could then predict other characteristics of the criminal.

Question 5

Features of organised offenders

Answer 5

-Show evidence of having planned the crime in advance
-Victim is deliberately targeted and suggests that the offender has a specific type of victim they will seek out
-The offender maintains a high degree of control during the crime and may operate with almost detached surgical precision.
-Little or no evidence left behind at the scene
-Tend to be above-average intelligence
-Usually married or have children

Question 6

Features of disorganised offenders

Answer 6

-Little evidence of planning
-Offences may be spontaneous
-Crime scene tends to reflect the impulsive nature of the attack
-Body still usually at the scene and appears to have been very little control
-Lower than average IQ
-Unskilled and unemployed
-History of sexual dysfunction and failed relationships
-Tend to live alone and often relatively close to where the offence took place

Question 7

What are the four main stages in the construction of an FBI profile?

Answer 7

1. Data assimilation - the profiler reviews the evidence
2. Crime scene classification - as either organised or disorganised
3. Crime reconstruction - hypotheses is terms of sequence of events, behaviour of the victim
4. Profile generation - hypotheses related to the likely offender

Question 8

Features of the top-down approach?

Answer 8

• qualitative approach (interviews, analysis of crime scene and details)
• uses typologies (types of offender)
• based on police experience and case studies rather than psychological theory

Question 9

When is the top-down approach suitable?

Answer 9

For more extreme/unusual crimes e.g. murder, rape, ritualistic crimes.

Question 10

What is the bottom-up approach?

Answer 10

• generates picture of offender
• systematic analysis of evidence at crime scene
• ‘data driven’ (does not have fixed typologies)
• based on scientific/psychological theory and research

Question 11

Who are the main bottom-up researchers?

Answer 11

David Canter
Kim Rossmo

Question 12

Two types of bottom-up profiling?

Answer 12

1. Investigative Psychology
2. Geographical Profiling

Question 13

What is investigative psychology?

Answer 13

Involves applying statistical procedures with psychological theory to analyse evidence.

→patterns that occur and co-exist across crime scenes are used to generate offender data.
→based on psychological theory of matching behavioural patterns to generate data.
→create statistical ‘database’ to compare offences with (may determine if offences are linked).
→can show whether crimes are carried out by the same person.

Question 14

Principles of investigative psychology?

Answer 14

1. Interpersonal coherence - there is a consistency between the way offenders interact with their victims and with others in their everyday lives.
2. Significance of time and place - could reveal where the offender is living.
3. Forensic awareness - those who have been interrogated by the police before and may want to cover their tracks.

Question 15

What is geographical profiling?

Answer 15

Uses info about location of linked crime scenes to make inferences about the likely home or base of the offender (also known as 𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗚).

• can use with psychological theory (e.g. alongside Investigative Psychology)
• creates hypothesis about how offender is thinking and their motives
• assumes serial offenders stay in areas they are familiar with
• ‘Centre of gravity’ provided by understanding spatial pattern of behaviour → likely to include offender’s base
• can make guesses about where they will commit a crime next → the ‘Jeopardy surface’

Question 16

What did Rossmo (1997) say about geographical profiling?

Answer 16

Stated that an offender’s operational base of possible future offences are revealed by the geographical location of their previous crimes.
Refers to offender behaviour as having ‘hunting patterns’.

Question 17

What is Canter’s Circle theory?

Answer 17

• based on geo profiling
• pattern of offending likely to form a circle around usual residence
• can give insight into nature of offence and other factors about the offender
• proposed two models of offender behaviour: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗿 which offer insight into the nature of the offence e.g. planned or opportunistic.

Question 18

According to Canter, what is the Marauder?

Answer 18

The offender operates in close proximity to their home base.

Question 19

According to Canter, what is the Commuter?

Answer 19

The offender is likely to have travelled a distance away from their usual residence.

Question 20

Who was John Duffy?

Answer 20

The “Railway Rapist” who committed 24 sexual attacks in the 1980s and 3 murders in railway stations across North London.

David Canter used geographical information to draw up a surprisingly accurate profile of Duffy using bottom-up profiling techniques.

Question 21

Biological explanations of crime?

Answer 21

• Assume crime is an innate tendency.
• May be genetically determined or the result of neural abnormalities.

2 explanations:
1. Atavistic Form (a historical approach)
2. Genetic and Neural explanations

Question 22

What is the Atavistic form?

Answer 22

Theory by Cesare Lombroso in the 1800s
Atavus = ancestor
- Means the tendency to revert to an ancestral type (thought criminals were “genetic throwbacks”)
- Not evolved enough to conform to rules of society
- Offending is rooted in the genes of criminals and is biologically determined and innate (not a choice)

Criminals can be identified by how they look; Lombroso identified physiological markers linked to particular crimes.

Question 23

Atavistic features of criminals?

Answer 23

• strong, prominent jaw
• high cheekbones
• dark skin
• extra toes, nipples or fingers
• insensitivity to pain
• facial asymmetry

Question 24

Atavistic features of murderers?

Answer 24

• bloodshot eyes
• curly hair
• long ears

Question 25

Atavistic features of sexual deviants?

Answer 25

• swollen, fleshy lips
• glistening/sparkling eyes

Question 26

Atavistic features of fraudsters?

Answer 26

Thin and reedy lips

Question 27

Non-physical atavistic form traits?

Answer 27

• unemployment
• tattoos
• use of criminal slang

Question 28

What did Lombroso investigate?

Answer 28

The facial and cranial features of Italian convicts both living and dead.
After examining over 383 dead criminals and 3829 living criminals, I concluded that 40% of criminal acts could be accounted for by atavistic characteristics.

Question 29

What does androcentric mean?

Answer 29

Describes a predominantly male perspective that often minimises or completely excludes the female experience and perspective.

Question 30

What androcentric ideas did Lombroso have about women?

Answer 30

→He did not study women in original research but it does suffer from gender bias.

He believed women are:
- naturally jealous
- insensitive to pain
- passive
- low in intelligence

→He said that women have a maternal instinct which neutralises negative traits making them less likely to be criminals.
→Women who became criminals had masculine characteristics which are fine in a man but creates a monster in a woman.

Question 31

What did Francis Galton believe? (Eugenics Movement)

Answer 31

→Was influenced in 1880s by Darwin’s concept of ‘survival of the fittest’.
→His argument was that not all people in society are born equal.

→Those who are genetically fit should be allowed to to pass on their genes for the good of the human race.
→Those who were genetically unfit should not be allowed to; they should be eliminated from the gene pool.

Question 32

Evaluation of atavistic form as a biological explanation?

Answer 32

:) - Lombroso brought science to study of crime - Based ideas on empirical observation and detailed measurements.

:) - Revealed that crime may not simply be as a result of free will BUT criticised for being deterministic :(.
:( - Poor control in research - Lombroso did not give same attention to non-prisoners as he did prisoners when studying their ‘atavistic form’ (no control group). Ex. variables not controlled for.
:( - Issues with cause and effect - Atavistic characteristics does not mean this is the cause of their offending e.g. could be environmental factors.
:( - Scientific racism - a lot of Atavistic features = African descent.
:( - Contradictory research - Goring (1913) “There is no such thing as an anthropological criminal type”

Question 33

Genetic explanation of crime?

Answer 33

• Offenders inherit a gene or combination of genes that predispose them to commit crime.
• The evidence for the genetic explanation comes from twin studies, which help to separate gene from the environment.

Question 34

Research support for genetic explanation?

Answer 34

𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 (𝟏𝟗𝟑𝟎)
- 13 MZ twins and 17 DZ twins where one of the twins in each pair has spent time in prison.
- 10 of MZ + 2 of the DZ twins had a co-twin that had also spent time in prison, showing there is a correlation between genes and crime.

𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐧 (𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟕)
- 87 MZ twins and 147 DZ twins
- Found a concordance rate of 33% for MZs and 12% for DZs.
- Supports view that offending may have genetic component.

Question 35

Advantages of twin studies?

Answer 35

• controlled/objective
• real life application

Question 36

Disadvantages of twin studies?

Answer 36

• small sample
• cannot really be generalised (lacks external validity)
• twins may not necessarily be brought up in same environment
• early twin studies often unreliable since whether twins were MZ or DZ were based on appearance

Question 37

What 2 candidate genes are responsible for criminal behaviour?

Answer 37

MAOA (Monoamine oxidase A) → Controls Dopamine and Serotonin in the brain and has been linked to aggressive behaviour [known as warrior gene].

CDH13 (Cadherin 13) → Has been linked to substance abuse and Attention Deficit Disorder.

Question 38

Outline Jari Tiihonen et al (2015) - (research for genetic explanation)

Answer 38

A Finnish study.
- Abnormalities in candidate genes were found to be responsible for violent crime in 900 offenders.
- Found low MAOA and CDH13 activity and determined that 5-10% of all violent crimes are due to abnormalities in one of the 2 candidate genes.
- Individuals with this combination were 13 times more likely to have a history of violent behaviour.

Question 39

Evaluation of Jari Tiihonen et al (2015)

Answer 39

:) - Male and female ppts. = representative sample
:) - 900 = large sample

:( - Not yet been replicated - may mean results are a one off/unreliable
:( - Ethnocentric

Question 40

How may the diathesis-stress model relate to criminal behaviour?

Answer 40

• If genetics have some influence on offending it seems likely that this is at least partly moderated by the effects of the environment.
• A tendency towards offending may come about through the combination of genetic predisposition and biological or psychological trigger e.g. Being raised in a dysfunctional environment or having criminal role models.

Question 41

What is the Mobley defence?

Answer 41

→𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐲 (𝟏𝟗𝟔𝟔-𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟓): Was a convicted murderer executed by the State of Georgia for the 1991 killing of John C. Collins, a 25-year-old college student working nights as a Domino’s pizza store manager.
→On appeal, Mobley’s attorney’s advanced a novel argument that Mobley was genetically predisposed to seeking violent solutions to conflict.
→The case was described as ‘the most widely cited case in which defence lawyers used genetic factors in the defence of their client’.

Question 42

Neural explanations of crime?

Answer 42

• Evidence suggests there may be neural differences in the brains of criminals and non-criminals.
• Most of this evidence has investigated individuals diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder (formerly referred to as psychopathy).
• APD is associated with reduced emotional responses, a lack of empathy for the feelings of others, and is a condition that characteristics many convicted criminals.

Question 43

What are the 2 neural explanations?

Answer 43

Prefrontal cortex
Mirror neurons

Question 44

Prefrontal cortex neural explanation?

Answer 44

Individuals who experience antisocial personality disorder show reduced anxiety in the PFC, the part of the brain that regulates emotional behaviour.
Raine (2000) found an 11% reduction in the volume of grey matter in the PFC of people with APD compared to control groups.

Question 45

Mirror neurons neural explanation?

Answer 45

Keysers (2011) found that only when criminals were asked to empathise with others did their empathy reactions activate.
Mirror neurons control this and fire in response to the actions of others.
They may have a neural ‘switch’ which can be turned on and off unlike the ‘normal’ brain where the empathy ‘switch’ is always on.

Question 46

Issues with biological explanations?

Answer 46

• Biological reductionism - environment should be considered.
• Biological determinism creates problems for legal system - negates free will

Question 47

Evaluation of genetic explanations?

Answer 47

:( - Issues with twin evidence
:) - Support for diathesis-stress - Danish study showed genetic inheritance plays an important role in offending but environmental influence is clearly also important.

Question 48

Evaluation of neural explanations?

Answer 48

:) - Brain evidence - support for link between crime and frontal lobe. Elizabeth Kandel and David Freed 1989 reviewed evidence of frontal lobe damage and antisocial behaviour - people with such damage showed impulsive behaviour, emotional instability and inability to learn from mistakes which shows brain damage may be a causal factor in offending behaviour.

:( - Intervening variables - link between neural differences and ADP may be complex - may be childhood experiences e.g. neglect.

Question 49

What are the 4 psychological explanations of crime and what do they assume?

Answer 49

1. Eysenck’s Theory of the Criminal Personality
2. Cognitive Explanations (Kohlberg + cognitive distortions)
3. Differential Association Theory
4. Psychodynamic Explanations

Assume crime is result of social and psychological influences.
Includes influence of dysfunctional learning environments and influence of the family, cognitive factors and personality.

Question 50

What is Eysenck’s theory?

Answer 50

He proposed that personality could be represented along 2 dimensions:
- Introversion/Extroversion (E)
- Neuroticism/Stability (N)
He later added a third dimension - Psychoticism (P)

He believed our personality types are biological in origin and this depends on what kind of nervous system we inherit. Personality is innate! (and so is the criminal personality).

Question 51

What is extraversion?

Answer 51

→People with High E scores are risk takers, seek sensation and stimulation.
→E is determined by the overall level of arousal in the person’s CNS and ANS.
→High E-scorers have a naturally low level of arousal and therefore need more stimulation from their environment.
→They do not condition easily and don’t learn from mistakes.

Question 52

What is neuroticism?

Answer 52

→People with high N scores are over anxious, nervous and react very strongly to aversive (negative) stimuli.
→N is determined by the overall level of stability in a person’s CNS
→Where N is low, the person has a stable, relatively unreactive nervous system WHEREAS high N score results in high degree of instability.

Question 53

What is psychoticism?

Answer 53

→People who score high on P are aggressive, antisocial, cold and egocentric.

→Eysenck was less clear on how P related to the functioning of the nervous system.

Question 54

What is the criminal personality?

Answer 54

The neurotic-extrovert type.

People who have very changeable emotions; prone to anxiety and depression.

Question 55

How did Eysenck measure personality?

Answer 55

The Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI).

Question 56

What is Eysenck’s view of criminal behaviour (+socialisation)?

Answer 56

Eysenck viewed criminal behaviour as developmentally immature, in that it is selfish and concerned with immediate gratification.

Through socialisation, children are taught to manage their need for gratification through conditioning (e.g. punished when naughty).

He believed people with high E scores had nervous systems that were difficult to condition and unstable meaning they would not learn to respond to antisocial impulses with anxiety.
This encourages them to react on their impulses more often.

Question 57

Positives of Eysenck’s theory?

Answer 57

:) - Research support - Eysenck and Eysenck 1977 compared 2070 male prisoners with 2422 male controls and found prisoners scored higher on scores E,N +P than controls.

:) - Biological basis - fits well with other biological explanations and has some overlap with APD research.

Question 58

Limitations of Eysenck’ theory?

Answer 58

:( - Conflicting evidence - Farrington et al. 1982 reviewed studies/reports and found offenders scored higher on P measures, but not E and N.
Also little evidence of differences in EEG measures between extroverts and introverts.
:( - Mismeasurement of personality - cannot be measured by simple test as personality changes based on situation - no ‘true self’.
:( - Cultural bias - studied western values.
:( - May be incomplete - there are different types of criminals!

Question 59

What are Kohlberg’s stages of moral development?

Answer 59

1. Pre-conventional morality
2. Conventional morality
3. Post-conventional morality

Question 60

Explanation behind Kohlberg’s stages of moral development?

Answer 60

→Decisions of judgements of right/wrong summarised in these stages.
→The higher the stage, the more sophisticated the reasoning is.
→The theory is based on participants’ responses to a series of moral dilemmas such as the Heinz Dilemma.

Question 61

What are the 2 stages of Pre-conventional morality and what is the age range and description?

Answer 61

1. Obedience/Punishment → Infancy - No difference between doing the right thing and avoiding punishment.
2. Self-Interest → Pre-school - Interest shifts between doing the right thing and avoiding punishment. Effort is made to secure greatest benefit for oneself.

Question 62

What are the 2 stages of Conventional morality and what is the age range and description?

Answer 62

1. Conformity and Interpersonal Accord → School age - The ‘good boy/girl’ level. Effort is made to secure approval and maintain friendly relations with others.
2. Authority and Social Order → School age - Orientation towards fixed rules. The purpose of morality is maintaining the social order. Interpersonal accord is expanded to include the entire society.

Question 63

What are the 2 stages of Post-conventional morality and what is the age range and description?

Answer 63

1. Social Contract → Teens - Mutual benefit, reciprocity. Morally right and legally right are not always the same. Utilitarian rules that make life better for everyone.
2. Universal Principles → Adulthood - Morality is based on principles that transcend mutual benefit.

Question 64

What does utilitarian mean?

Answer 64

An ethical theory that determines right from wrong by focusing on outcomes.

Utilitarianism holds that the most ethical choice is the one that will produce the greatest good for the greatest number.

Question 65

What was Kohlberg’s 1973 study?

Answer 65

• Used moral dilemma technique with a group of violent youths.
• Found they were significantly lower in their moral development than non-violent youths.

Question 66

What did Kohlberg conclude from his 1973 study?

Answer 66

• That criminals have a lower level of moral reasoning than others.
• Criminals do not progress from the pre-conventional level of moral reasoning.
• they seek to avoid punishment and gain rewards.
• They have child-like reasoning.
• Non-criminals tend to reason at higher levels and sympathise with the rights of others, exhibiting honesty, generosity and non-violence (post-conventional moral reasoning).

Question 67

What are cognitive distortions as a cognitive explanation of criminality?

Answer 67

Errors or biases in individual’s information processing system characterised by faulty thinking.
Research has linked this to the way in which criminals interpret other people’s behaviour and justify their own actions.

Two examples:
1. Hostile attribution bias
2. Minimalisation

Question 68

What is hostile attribution bias?

Answer 68

Misinterpreting the actions of other people - assuming others are being confrontational when they are not.
e.g. misreading non-aggressive cues (being looked at) and this triggers a disproportionate, often violent response

Question 69

Research support for hostile attribution bias?

Answer 69

Schonenberg and Justye (2014) → 55 violent offenders were presented with images of emotionally ambiguous facial expressions. When compared with a control group, offenders were more likely than non-violent ppts to perceive the situation as hostile.

Dodge and Frame (1982) → Children were showed an ‘ambiguous provocation’ where the intention was neither clearly hostile or accidental. Prior to the study, children who had been judged as aggressive were more likely to perceive the situation as hostile.

Question 70

What is minimalisation?

Answer 70

An attempt to downplay or deny the seriousness of an offence.

Question 71

Research support for minimalisation?

Answer 71

Barbaree (1991) → Amongst 26 convicted rapists, 54% denied they had committed an offence at all and 40% minimised the harm they had caused the victim.

Pollock and Hashmall (1991)→ 35% of a sample of child molesters said that the crime they committed was non-sexual and 36% said that the victims had consented.

Question 72

Evaluation of cognitive theories? (Kohlberg and Cognitive distortions)

Answer 72

:) - Research support for Kohlberg - Palmer and Hollin 1998 →offenders showed less mature moral reasoning than the non-delinquent groups.
:( - Individual differences - Thornton and Reid 1982 →the level of moral reasoning may depend on the kind of offence committed (impulsive crimes do not pertain any type of reasoning).

:) - Research support for cognitive distortions
:) - Real-life application - treating criminal behaviour with CBT → encourages offenders to ‘fess up’ to what they have done + establish a less distorted view of their actions.
:( - Type of offence - Level of CG depends on type of offence→non-contact sexual offenders (images on internet) used more cognitive distortions than contact sex offenders (physical abuse).

Question 73

What is differential association theory? (Edwin Sutherland,1939)

Answer 73

• A scientific approach looking at influence of others on individuals.
• A theory designed to discriminate between individuals who become criminals and those who do not.

-Proposed that being an offender is ‘learnt’ via the accepted learning processes (conditioning and what is now called SLT) - just like any other learning.
-It proposes that through an interaction with other people individuals learn the values, attitudes, techniques and motives for criminal behaviour.

Question 74

What 2 factors does differential association theory believe criminality arises from?

Answer 74

1. Learned attitudes towards crime
2. The learning of specific offending acts/techniques

Question 75

Impact of pro-criminal attitudes on behaviour?

Answer 75

• If the number of pro-criminal attitudes the individual acquires from a group outweighs the number of anti-criminal attitudes, they will go on to offend.
• Learning process is the same whether learning criminality or conformity to the law (or anything else).

It should be possible to mathematically predict how likely it is that someone will commit a crime if we have knowledge of the frequency, intensity and duration of which they have been exposed to deviant and non-deviant norms and values.

Question 76

What may an individual learn from pro-criminal attitudes?

Answer 76

Would-be offender may learn techniques for committing a crime
e.g. may learn breaking into someone’s house is the best way to carry out a mugging through observational learning and imitation.

This offers an account of how crime might ‘breed’ in certain social groups/communities .
Also accounts for why so many convicts released from prison go on to reoffend and why prison is known as the ‘university of crime’.

Question 77

Strengths of differential association theory?

Answer 77

:) - Contribution towards changing peoples views on the origin of criminal behaviour → shifts the blaming of crime away from biological factors/factors relating to lack of morality or weakness of an individual to social factors and experiences.
:) - More realistic than Eugenics (Bio) or Punishment (Morality solution).
:) - Can explain a wider range of crime than other approaches → has good explanatory power and is more inclusive to any person e.g. not just working class.
:) - Research support - Orcutt (1987) found that marijuana smoking was related to the number of marijuana-smoking friends a person had.

Question 78

Limitations of differential association theory?

Answer 78

:( - Limited scientific credibility - hard to see how pro-criminal influences and pro-social influences could be quantified/operationalised and in what ratio these would need to occur in order to ‘tip’ an individual over into criminality → lack of predictive power.
:( - Alternative explanations - Sutherland believed that the response of the family is crucial in determining whether the individual will engage in offending → if they support criminal activity this becomes a major influence on the child’s value system (supported by Farrington 2006).
:( - Does not consider individual differences and free will - Assumes people have no free will in choosing to offend or not and doesn’t take into account that not everyone who is exposed to comparable criminal influences goes on to commit crime.

Question 79

What is recidivism?

Answer 79

The tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend (reoffending rates).

Question 80

Ways of dealing with offending behaviour?

Answer 80

• Custodial sentencing
• Behaviour Modification in Custody
• Anger Management
• Restorative justice

Question 81

What is custodial sentencing?

Answer 81

When a convicted offender spends time in prison.

(or another closed institution e.g. Young offenders’ institute, Psychiatric hospital)

Question 82

What are the 4 aims of custodial sentencing?

Answer 82

1. Deterrence
2. Incapacitation
3. Retribution
4. Rehabilitation

Question 83

What is deterrence?

Answer 83

The threat of an unpleasant experience serves to prevent the behaviour in the future.

Individual deterrence - preventing the offender from committing the same crime in the future.

General deterrence - to deter the rest of the population from committing the same crime.

Question 84

What is incapacitation?

Answer 84

The offender is out of action thus preventing reoffending.
This should protect other people in society from becoming victims.

Question 85

What is retribution?

Answer 85

Society is enacting revenge for the crime by punishing the offender.
A crime has been committed and should receive a suitable punishment.

Question 86

What is rehabilitation (reform)?

Answer 86

The experience of punishment leads to the offender becoming a ‘changed’ individual such that they will not reoffend.
Effective programmes are required in prisons.

Question 87

Psychological effects of custodial sentencing?

Answer 87

𝟏. 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 - Suicide rates and self-harm rates higher in prison than in general population. Stress of prison experience also increases risk of psychological disturbance following release.

𝟐. 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 - Offenders adapt to the norms and routines of prison life to the extent where they cannot function on the outside.

𝟑. 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 - Prisoners are socialised into adopting an “inmate code”. Behaviour that may be considered unacceptable in the outside world may be encouraged or rewarded inside prison.

Question 88

Wandsworth prison facts?

Answer 88

• In London
• Largest and most feared prison in UK
• 2011 - A report said the treatment of inmates at Wandsworth was ‘demeaning, unsafe and fell below what should be classed as decent’
• One of the most overcrowded prisons in England and Wales
• Violence, rape and psychological pressure common

Question 89

Evaluation of custodial sentencing?

Answer 89

:) - Evidence to support psychological effects
- Bartol (1997) → suicide rates about 15 times higher than those in general pop.
- Prison Reform Trust (2014) → 25% women and 15% men in prison reported symptoms of psychosis.
HOWEVER this means it is proved to have a negative effect on priso
:) - Opportunities for training and treatment → rehabilitation, education and training available, treatment programmes BUT may lack resources for this.

:( - Individual differences - not all prisoners will react in the same way → may depend on: length of sentence, reason, previous convictions, prior psychological issues.
:( - Universities for crime - incarceration with more experienced criminals may give offenders a chance to learn criminal skills/attitudes.
:( - Alternatives to custodial sentencing - community service and restorative justice have been proposed →means family contacts and perhaps employment may be maintained.

Question 90

What is behaviour modification in custody?

Answer 90

Undesirable behaviours are replaced with desirable behaviours through the use of positive and negative reinforcement.
(Token Economy)

Question 91

What are token economies?

Answer 91

→ Tokens are secondary reinforcers - derive their value from association with a reward.
→ Rewards vary with institutions e.g. exchanging tokens for a phone call/time in the gym/cigarettes/food.
→ These behaviours and tokens made clear to prisoner before programme begins.
→ It is emphasised that non-compliance or disobedience may result in tokens and associated privileges being withheld or removed (Punishment).

Question 92

How are token economies designed and used?

Answer 92

→ Operationalise target behaviour: A target behaviour is operationalised by breaking it down into a component part. E.g. improved interaction with other prison inmates → broken down into “speaking politely to others”, “not grabbing an inmate when passing them”. Should be objective and measurable and agreed with inmates and staff in advance.

→ Scoring systems: Staff and inmates must be aware of how much each behaviour is “worth”. Behaviours are hierarchical (some more demanding so receive greater rewards). Some may be awarded tokens directly, others may be awarded points which are converted into tokens. Recommended reinforcements should outnumber punishments by 4:1 ratio.

→ Train staff: Prison staff need full training in order to implement the token economy system successfully which could take several hours/weeks. The aim is to reach standardised procedures meaning staff must record when they have awarded tokens so the progress of the individual prisoners can be assessed.

Question 93

How can prison staff change behaviour through token economies?

Answer 93

→ Desirable behaviour is identified, broken down into small increments and a baseline measure is established.
→ Behaviours to be reinforced are decided upon.
→ All staff who come into contact with the prisoner must follow the same regime of selective reinforcement.

Prison officials oversee effectiveness on individual prisoners and programme for the prison as a whole.

Question 94

Key study for token economies in prison?

Answer 94

Hobbs and Holt (1976)

• Across 3 behavioural units, a token economy system was introduced.
• A 4th institution for young offenders acted as a control condition.
• The token economy groups showed a significant difference in the amount of positive behaviour compared with control.

The same was also found in adult institutions (Allyon 1979)

Question 95

What is a conjugal visit?

Answer 95

A scheduled visit in which an inmate of a prison is permitted to spend several hours or days in private with a visitor, usually their legal spouse. The parties may engage in sexual activity. (Legal in 6 states in America)

Question 96

Evaluation of the token economy?

Answer 96

:) - Research support → Cohen and Filipczak - T.E. Group showed more desirable behaviour than control. After 2 years, recidivism rates low but increased after 3 years.
→ Hobbs and Holt
:) - Increases desirable behaviours.

;( - Staff need training → Basset and Blanchard - benefits of system were lost when staff applied the rules inconsistently due to lack of training or high staff turnover.
;( - Prisoners not given choice → Were not given the option over whether they wanted to participate in the T.E..
;( - May be unethical → Withdrawal of privileges such as exercise or phone calls to loved ones may be ethically questionable.
;( - “Little rehabilitative value” → Any positive changes may be quickly lost when offenders are released.
;( - Rewards and frequency of these rewards must be tailored to the individual offender.

Question 97

What is anger management?

Answer 97

A therapeutic programme offered in prison to identify triggers and allow offenders to deal with the situation in a positive and calm manner.
It is a form of CBT → offenders recognise triggers and implement cognitive techniques that deal peacefully with the situation whilst avoiding anger.

Question 98

3 stages of anger management?

Answer 98

1.Cognitive Preparation
2.Skill Acqusition
3.Application practice

Question 99

What is cognitive preparation as a stage of anger management?

Answer 99

• The offender reflects on their past experience of anger and triggers.
• The therapist will aim to identify if the response is irrational and aim to break an irrational automatic response in the future.

Question 100

What is skill acquisition as a stage of anger management?

Answer 100

Offenders are introduced to a range of techniques and skills to help them deal with triggers more effectively.

E.g.
Cognitive skills: positive self-talk
Behavioural: assertiveness training to help them communicate more effectively
Physiological: methods of relaxation and/or medication

Question 101

What is application practice as a stage of anger management?

Answer 101

• Offenders are given the opportunity to practice their skills within a monitored environment using role-play.
• The successful response would be met with positive reinforcement from the therapist.

Question 102

What did Keen (2000) find out about anger management?

Answer 102

→ The National Anger Management Package was trailed in England and Wales with offenders aged 17-21.
→ Although there were initial issues of offenders not taking the course seriously and forgetting their routines, the programme overall was considered a success.
→ Offenders reported high levels of self-control and increased awareness of the course.

Question 103

Evaluation of anger management?

Answer 103

:) - Eclectic/multidisciplinary approach - covers cognitive, behavioural and social areas
:) - Better than T.E. as tackles the cause of the offending rather than superficial behaviour → gives offenders insight into the cause of their criminality + ways of managing their behaviour outside of prison, more likely to lead to permanent behaviour change and lower recidivism rates

:( - Expensive and required commitment - require services of highly trained professionals (costly) → many prisons cannot fund this/don’t have the resources, prisoners may be uncooperative and apathetic
:( - Research agains A.M. - little evidence to suggest anger management reduces recidivism in the long term → role play in application stage does not cover all the possible situations in which anger can arise in real life. E.g. busy pub environment
:( - May only benefit offenders who suit a certain profile
:( - Many crimes do not involve anger e.g. tax fraud

Question 104

What is restorative justice?

Answer 104

A system of dealing with criminal behaviour which focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation within victims.
Offenders see the impact of their crimes and the process empowers victims by giving them a “voice”.

Question 105

How does restorative justice change the emphasis from punishment to coming to terms with the crime?

Answer 105

Historically a person who had committed a criminal offence would have been regarded as committing a crime against the state.

RJ programmes switch the emphasis from the needs of the state (need for punishment) to needs of the individual victim (to come to terms with the crime and move on).

Victims are encouraged to take an active role in the process and offenders are required to take responsibility and face up to what they have done.

Question 106

Key features of restorative justice?

Answer 106

→ Focus on acceptance and positive change - less emphasis on punishment.
→ Not restricted to courtrooms - survivors and those responsible for harm may voluntarily choose to meet face-to-face in non-courtroom setting.
→ Active rather than passive involvement for everyone wherever possible.
→ Focus on positive outcomes for survivors and those who have engaged in wrongdoing.

Question 107

Variations of restorative justice?

Answer 107

• Offender may have to make a financial restitution (pay for damage) to the victim which may reflect the psychological damage done - or physical damage done.
• May involve offender repairing damage themselves.
• Flexible and can be alternative to prison (especially if offender is young).
• Can be used as an ‘add-on’ to community service or an incentive which may lead to reduction of existing sentence.

Question 108

Who organises restorative justice and what do they do?

Answer 108

The Restorative Justice Council (RJC)

They are an independent body.
→ Their role is to establish clear standards for use of restorative justice.
→ Supports victims and specialist professionals in the field.
→ Advocates (suggests) use of RJC in managing conflict in many areas - schools, children’s services, workplaces, hospitals and communities (as well as prison).

Question 109

What is the Muslim Sharia law based on?

Answer 109

It is based on the Koran and is dispensed by elders who decided on the amount of compensation a victim or victim’s family is entitled to.

They suggest that this system works better than the UK system.

Question 110

Evaluation of restorative justice?

Answer 110

:) - Allows offender to apologise and explain their wrongdoing.
:) - Flexible.

:( - Offender may not take it seriously.
:( - Depends on offender showing remorse → if they have affectionless psychopathy, they may not be willing to change/communicate with victims and have remorse.
:( - Considered a soft option.
:( - Expensive.
:( - May not be suitable for all crimes → females have said they believe it should be banned for domestic violence cases as there are issues with a power imbalance in relationship between victim and abuser + wider community.

Question 111

What are the 2 psychodynamic explanations?

Answer 111

1. The inadequate superego
2. Maternal deprivation

Question 112

What did Blackburn (1993) believe about the superego?

Answer 112

If the superego formed in the phallic psychosexual stage does not function as it should (deficient or inadequate) the Id is not controlled well and this can lead to offending behaviour.

Question 113

What are the 3 types of inadequate superego?

Answer 113

1. Weak superego - The same sex parent is absent which means there is no opportunity for identification
2. The deviant superego - The child internalises immoral or deviant values (parent that is criminal)
3. The over-harsh superego - The superego is overly punitive and needs satisfying, instilling a constant sense of guilt and anxiety

Question 114

What is Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory?

Answer 114

→He thought that a person who had not had a continuous, loving relationship with a mother-figure in childhood will suffer serious effects as an adult.
→One of these effects includes affectionless psychopathy leading to lack of guilt, empathy, feelings for others and the inability to form a lasting relationship in adulthood (no internal working model)
→ Supported by 44 thieves study

Question 115

Bowlby’s 44 thieves study?

Answer 115

• interviewed 44 juvenile thieves
• 14 showed characteristic of affectionless psychopathy
• of this 14, 12 had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers during infancy
• in non-criminal group, only 2 had experienced similar early separation

He concluded that the early effects of Maternal Deprivation had caused affectionless psychopathy and delinquent behaviour.

Question 116

Evaluation of 44 thieves study?

Answer 116

:) Interviews are cheaper/less time consuming
:( Ethical issues/socially sensitive
:( Issues with interviews
:( Small sample size
:( Lacks temporal validity
:( Deprivation and privation confused

Question 117

Evaluation of psychodynamic explanation?

Answer 117

:) - Research support - Goreta 1991 BUT ignores biological factors, small sample and has conflicting evidence
:) - Contribution - psychodynamic explanations were some of the first to link early experience in childhood to moral behaviour and offending

:( - Gender bias - according to Freud, girls develop a weaker superego than boys (statistics show higher ratio of males:females in prison)
:( - Contradictory evidence - may be genetic/neural factors or DAF
:( - Lack of falsifiability
:( - Methodological issues - researcher bias and failed to distinguish between deprivation and privation