6. psychological explanations: cognitive explanations Flashcards
who first researched the concept of moral reasoning
kohlberg
what did kohlberg propose about the level of moral reasoning
peoples decisions and judgements on issues of right and wrong can be summarised in a stage theory of moral development - higher stage = more sophisticated the reasoning. kohlberg based his theory on peoples responses to a series of moral dilemmas (such as the heinz dilemma).
many studies have suggested that criminals tend to show a lower level of moral reasoning than non criminals. kohlberg (using his moral dilemma technique) found that a group of violent youths were significantly lower in their moral development than non violent youths - even after controlling for social background.
what does kohlberg model suggest about criminality
criminal offenders are more likely to be classified at the pre conventional level of the model (stage 1 and 2) whereas non criminals have generally progressed to the conventional level and beyond.
the pre conventional level is characterised by a need to avoid punishment and gain rewards - associated with less mature and childlike reasoning. thus adults and adolescents who reason at this level may commit crime if they can get away with it or gain rewards in the form of money or increased respect.
this assumption is supported by studies which suggest that offenders are often more egocentric and display poorer social perspective taking skills than non offender peers. individuals who reason at higher levels tend to sympathise more with the rights of others and exhibit more conventional behaviours such as honesty and non violence.
what are cognitive distortions
errors or biases in peoples information processing system characterised by faulty thinking.
what are two examples of cognitive distortions
hostile attribution bias
minimalisation
what is hostile attribution bias
the tendency to judge ambiguous situations or the actions of others as aggressive and/or threatening when in reality they may not be.
offenders may misread non aggressive cues (such as being looked at) and this may trigger a disproportionate and often violent response.
what research is there to support hostile attribution bias
researchers presented 55 violent offenders with images of emotionally ambiguous facial expressions. when compared with a non aggressive matched control group the violent offenders were significantly more likely to perceive the images as angry and hostile.
the roots of this behaviour may lie in childhood - researchers showed children a video clip of an ambiguous provocation (where the intention was neither clearly hostile nor clearly accidental). children who had been identified as aggressive and rejected prior to the study interpreted the situation as more hostile than those classed as non aggressive and accepted.
what is minimalisation
a type of deception that involves downplaying the significance of an event or emotion - common strategy when dealing with feelings of guilt.
for instance burglars may describe themselves as doing a job or supporting their family as a way of minimising the seriousness of their offences.
what research is there to support minimalisation
studies suggest that individuals who commit sexual offences are particularly prone to minimalisation. researchers found that among 26 incarcerated rapists - 54% denied they had committed an offence at all and a further 40% minimised the harm they had caused to the victim.
similarly more researchers reported that 35% of a sample of child molesters argued that the crime they had committed was non sexual (they were just being affectionate) and 36% stated that the victim had consented.
what research evidence is there for levels of moral reasoning
researchers compared moral reasoning between 210 female non offenders, 120 male non offenders and 126 convicted offenders using the socio-moral reflection measure short form which contains 11 moral dilemma related questions (not taking things that belong to others and keeping a promise to a friend).
the delinquent group showed less mature moral reasoning than the non delinquent group which is consistent with kohlberg’s predictions.
blackburn suggests that delinquents may show poor moral development due to a lack of role playing opportunities in childhood = such opportunities to develop moral reasoning should therefore be provided
what alternative theories are there to limit the cultural bias in kohlberg’s theory
gibbs proposed a revised version of kohlberg’s theory comprising two levels of reasoning: mature and immature.
first level = moral decisions are guided by avoidance of punishment and personal gain.
second level = by empathy, social justice and ones own conscience.
these stages are equivalent to kohlberg’s pre conventional and conventional levels. gibbs argued that kohlberg’s post conventional level should be abandoned because it was culturally biased (towards western culture) and did not represent a natural maturational stage of cognitive development.
this view is supported by piaget’s theory of moral development - suggests that child like (criminal) reasoning is self centred and egocentric which gives way to empathy and a concern for the needs of others as children get older.
how does the application of research strengthen the theory
understanding the nature of cognitive distortions has proven beneficial in the treatment of criminal behaviour. the dominant approach in the rehabilitation of sex offenders is cognitive behaviour therapy which encourages offenders to face up to what they have done and establish a less distorted view of their actions.
studies suggest that reduced incidence of denial and minimalisation in therapy is highly correlated with a reduced risk of reoffending (as acceptance of ones crimes is thought to be an important aspect of rehabilitation) and this is a key feature of anger management.
how does individual differences limit the theory
level of moral reasoning may depend on the type of offence - researchers found that individuals who committed crimes for financial gain (such as robbery) were more likely to show pre conventional moral reasoning than those convicted of impulsive crimes such as assault where reasoning of any kind tended not to be evident. pre conventional moral reasoning tends to be associated with crimes in which offenders believe they have a good chance of evading punishment.
also another researcher suggested that intelligence may be a better predictor of criminality than moral reasoning. this would explain the finding that groups of people with very low intelligence are actually less likely to commit crime (despite the fact they show lower levels of moral reasoning).
