cognitive explanations

Question 1

level of moral reasoning

Answer 1

kohlberg - proposed decisions and judgements on issues of right or wrong can be summarised in a stage theory of moral development - higher stage = more sophisticated reasoning

Question 2

kohlberg’s model of criminality

Answer 2

criminals more likely to be classified at pre-conventional level - characterised by need to avoid punishment and gain rewards and is associated with less mature, childlike reasoning

adults and adolescents who reason at this level may commit crime if they can get away with it or gain rewards

Question 3

cognitive distortions

Answer 3

faulty, irrational ways of thinking - perceive other people inaccurately and are usually negative.

research links this to way criminals interpret others’ behaviour and justify their own actions

Question 4

hostile attribution bias

Answer 4

judging ambiguous situations or actions of others as aggressive and threatening when in reality they might not be

dodge and frame - children shown ‘ambiguous provocation’ where intention was neither clearly hostile or accidental - prior to study, children who had been judged as aggressive were more likely to perceive situation as hostile

Question 5

minimalisation

Answer 5

attempt to downplay or deny seriousness of offence

barbaree - amongst 26 convicted rapists, 54% denied they had committed an offence at all and a further 40% minimised harm they had caused victim.

Question 6

evaluation - level of moral reasoning evidence

Answer 6

palmer and hollin - compared moral reasoning between 210 female non-offenders, 112 male non-offenders and 126 convicted offenders using Socio-Moral Reflection Measure (SRM) which contains moral-dilemma related questions

offenders showed less mature moral reasoning than non-delinquent groups.

Blackburn suggests this is due to childhood lacking moral role-play opportunities which help mature moral reasoning to develop

Question 7

evaluation - alternative theories of moral reasoning

Answer 7

Gibbs proposed two levels of moral reasoning - mature and immature - equivalent to pre-conventional and conventional stages

argued Kohlberg’s post-conventional stage should be abandoned since it contains a Western cultural bias

supported by Piaget’s theory of moral development - suggests child-like (criminal) moral reasoning is self-centred and ego-centric

Question 8

evaluation - individual differences

Answer 8

level of moral reasoning may depend on type of offence

thornton and reid - individuals who committed crimes for financial gain were more likely to show pre-conventional moral reasoning than those convicted for impulsive crimes which didn’t pertain any type of reasoning. pre-conventional reasoning tended to be evident where offenders believe they have good chance of evading punishment

therefore, level of moral reasoning may depend on kind of offence committed.