Chapter 7 Flashcards
application of science and profession of psych to questions and issues relating to law and the legal system
forensic psychology
most psych theories of crime causation make the following fundamental assumptions:
individual is the primary unit of analysis, personality is the major motivational element within individuals cuz it is the seat of drives and source of motives, crimes result from abnormal/dysfunctional/inappropriate mental processes, crime purposeful for individual as it addresses felt needs, normality generally defined by social consensus, defective mental processes may have a variety of causes (diseased mind, inappropriate learning/conditions, emulation of inappropriate role models, adjustment to inner conflicts)
characteristic patterns fo thoughts, feelings, behaviours that make a person unique and tend to remain stable over time
personality
psych perspective that stresses observable behaviour and disregards unobservable events that occur in the mind
behaviourism
psych principle that holds that frequency of any behaviour can be increased or decreased thru reward, punishment, or association with other stimuli
conditioning
the cognitive approaches are learning theories that examine thought processes and seek to explain how ppl:
1) learn to solve problems, including those that involve questions of value and morality 2) perceive and interpret the social environment
this theory holds that individuals become criminal when they have not successfully completed their intellectual development from child to adult
moral development theory
Piaget psych stages of development:
sensory-motor stage (0-2), preoperational stage (2-7), concrete operational stage (7-11), formal operational stage (11-16)
central to moral development is the ability of :
reflection
psych perspective that involves the study of human perceptions, info processing, decision making
cognitive info processing theory
generalized knowledge about specific types of situations that is stored in the mind
scripts
psychopathology is ____ whereas psychopathy is ___
any sort of psych disorder that causes distress either for the individual or for those in the individual’s life; personality disorder characterized by antisocial behaviour and failure to feel remorse or guilt, sympathy, empathy, embarrassment ; poverty of affect
serious mental illness that distorts the way ppl think, feel, behave; primary features include inability distinguish between real and imaginary, unable think logically
schizophrenia
Cleckley numerous characteristics of psychopath:
superficial charm and good intelligence, absence of psychosis, absence of nervousness or psychoneuroticism, inability feel guilt or shame, unreliability, chronic lying, ongoing antisocial behaviour, poor judgement and inability to learn from experience, self-centred and unable to love, unresponsive in general interpersonal relations, impersonal and trivial sex life, failure to follow life plan
primary psychopaths:
neurologically diff from other ppl
secondary psychopath:
also called sociopaths, who are born with a normal personality but personal experiences when young cause them to develop psychopathic characteristics
5 basic traits:
openness to experience, extraversion, conscientiousness, neuroticism, agreeableness
behaviour that affects the enviro so as to produce responses or further behavioural cues
operant behaviour
desirable behaviour consequences likely to increase frequency of occurrence of that behaviour
rewards
undesirable behavioural consequences likely to decrease frequency of occurrence of that behaviour
punishments
social cognition theory is built on:
behaviour theory
4 types of rewards and punishments:
positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, negative punishment
central to Bandura’s social cognition theory are:
observation, imitation, modelling
why people become aggressive according to social cog theory?
provoked by triggers, perceive as holding future benefits, rewarded for aggression (reduction of aversive treatment, macho expectation)
ppl who devalue aggression may still engage in it via a process called:
disengagment
4 reasons for disengagement:
1) attributing blame to one’s victims 2) dehumanization thru bureaucratization, automation, urbanization, high social mobility 3) vindication of aggressive practices by legitimate authorities 4) desensitization resulting from repeated exposure
theory of crime derived from medical sciences that focus on individual as unit of analysis
psychiatric criminology
theory of human psych founded by Freud based on concepts of unconscious, resistance, repression, sexuality, Oedipus complex
psychoanalysis
functional disorder of mind or of emotions involving anxiety, phobia, other abnormal behaviour
neurosis
fundamental aspect of personality from which drives, wishes, urges, desires emanate(instinctual impulses, demands for immediate satisfaction of primitive needs)
id
reality-testing part of personality, also called reality principle (conscious, most immediately controls behaviour, most in touch with external reality)
ego
moral aspect of personality, like the conscience (develops by incorporation of perceived moral standards of the community, mainly unconscious, includes conscience)
superego
symbolic representation of what society values
ego-ideal
organic vs functional psychoses
resulting from damage/abnormalities in brain v. no known physical cause
3 characteristics of psychotic ppl:
1) grossly distorted conception of reality 2) moods and swings of mood that seem inappropriate to circumstance 3) marked inefficiency in getting along with others and caring for oneself
type of violence that is vented on something or someone who is not source of original frustration
displacement
satisfying one’s aggressive urges via observation is a form of ___
catharsis
frustration leads to:
regression, sublimation, aggressive fantasy, direct aggression
form of adjustment that results from changes in the enviro surround an individual (empowerment)
alloplastic adaptation
form of adjustment that results from changes within an individual (change in values)
autoplastic adaptation
dynamic attributes (dynamic risk factors) of offenders and their circumstances that are associated with rates of recidivism
criminogenic needs
what are the criminogenic needs?
antisocial attitudes/values/beliefs, antisocial personality, antisocial associates, low levels of social achievement, family factors, substance abuse, lack of pro-social pursuits
big four risk factors for criminality?
criminal history, antisocial attitudes, criminal associates, antisocial personality
branch of forensic psych concerned with diagnosis and classification of offenders, treatment of correctional populations, rehab of inmates and other law violators
correctional psych
what is CBI?
cognitive-behavioural intervention, based on belief that offenders need acquire better social skills to become more pro-social (prob solving, self control, social skills training, anger management, empathy)
classification instrument commonly used in correctional facilities
MMPI (Minessota multiphase personality inventory)
social policy that seeks to protect society by incarcerating those individuals deemed to be the most dangerous
selective incapacitation
one of the most commonly used risk assessment instruments in correctional facilities in Canada
Level of Service Inventory-Revised (score offenders as low, mod, high risk based on 54 items categorized in 10 sub levels)–>higher score=higher risk of reoffending
attempt to categorize, understand, predict behaviour of certain types of offenders based on behavioural clues they provide
psych profiling
what is ViCLAS?
violent crime linkage analysis system; centralized computer bank containing details of violent crime that assist police in recognizing patterns
mental disorder defined legally:
inability understand right from wrong or to conform one’s behaviour to the requirements of the law, a defence allowable in criminal courts
mental disorder defined psychologically:
disease of mind, including schizo, paranoia, senile dementia, melancholia, epilepsy, delirium tremens caused by alcohol abuse
standard for judging legal insanity that requires that offenders did not know what they were doing, or if they did, that they did not know it was wrong
McNaughten rule
finding that offenders are responsible for committing the offence that they have committed and because of their prevailing mental condition, should be sent to a psych hospital for treatment instead of prison
not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder
provisions for ppl NCRMD:
must attend disposition hearing which can be held by trial court or be referred to provincial review board
