Assessment check - Dealing with offending behaviour - treatment

Question 1

Description of cognitive preparation? (1 mark)

Answer 1

Understanding of triggers to angry outbursts is established

Question 2

Description of application training? (1 mark)

Answer 2

Offenders learn new skills to help them combat their feelings of anger

Question 3

To investigate the effectiveness of a behaviour modification programme, psychologists observed the behaviour of prisoners at meal times which they had noted was a particularly difficult time and a time when there was a higher than average number of violent incidents. They used behavioural categories to assess the number of aggressive acts both before and after the programme had been used.
How could the psychologists test the data for reliability and what steps could be taken to ensure the data was as reliable as possible? (3 marks)

Answer 3

• Researchers meet beforehand and decided on the behavioural categories to be used
• Then they would independently observe the same behaviour
• Afterwards, then compare their observational data and correlate the findings
• = positive correlation of +0.7 or above would indicate inter-rater reliability.

Question 4

’ Statistics show that the rate of recidivism in the UK is high, suggesting prison does not work.
Using your knowledge of the reasons behind recidivism, explain why criminals re-offend. (4 marks)

Answer 4

• Criminals re-offend - institutionalisation; non-adherence to behaviourist principles and addiction

Question 5

Briefly outline and evaluate the effectiveness of anger management in treating offenders. (4 marks)

Answer 5

• Anger management involves 3 stages; Cognitive preparation, skill acquisition and application training.
• CP - understanding of anger
• SA - working on gaining skills to make them less angry when in same situation
• AT - role play scenarios for offender to put into practise.