Cognitive explanations

Question 1

what are the 2 sub categories of cognitive explanations ?

Answer 1

• moral development
• cognitive distortions (minimalisation)

Question 2

what is meant by levels of moral reasoning ?

Answer 2

• the process by which an individual uses their own value system to determine whether an action is right or wrong

Question 3

what does Piaget suggest about the age we are morally developed ?

Answer 3

• suggests we are morally developed at 9/ 10 years old
• this links to the age of criminal responsibility in the UK

Question 4

what does evidence suggest about the levels of morality in criminals ?

Answer 4

• suggests that criminals tend to have a lower level of reasoning

Question 5

What did Kohlberg do and find ?

Answer 5

• used a moral dilemma technique
• found that a group of violent youth scored lower in their moral reasoning than non-criminals

Question 6

what did Kohlberg believe about criminals and their moral reasoning ?

Answer 6

• criminals have lower level of moral reasoning than others

Question 7

what did kohlberg say that criminals do not progress from ?

Answer 7

• said criminals do not progress from the pre-conventional level of moral reasoning
• they seek to avoid punishment and gain rewards

Question 8

what did kohlberg say about non-criminals level of reasoning ?

Answer 8

• non-criminals tend to reason at higher levels and sympathise with the right of others, exhibiting honesty, generosity and non violence

Question 9

state the Heinz dilemma

Answer 9

• wife is dying and there is a drug that can save her
• drug costs more than cost of manufacturing
• heinz tried to save some money but could only get a half
  CEO said he wont accept less
• heinz can either steal and not go to prison
• dont steal as it is breaking the law
• steal and go to prison

Question 10

following the dilemma, what kind of questions did Kohlberg ask ?

Answer 10

• qualitative questions
• would it change anything if Heinz did not love his wife ?

Question 11

procedure of Kohlberg’s study about Heinz dilemma ?

Answer 11

• studied answers from 72 chicago boys aged 10-16 years old
• 58 were followed up every 3 years for 20 years
• each boy was given a 2 hour interview based on 10 dilemmas

Question 12

what did Kohlberg hope to discover ?

Answer 12

• the ways in which moral reasoning changes with age

Question 13

what was Kohlberg mainly interested in ?

Answer 13

• mainly interested in the reasons given for decisions not whether it was right or wrong

Question 14

what do cognitive distortions look at ?

Answer 14

• looks at how thinking and moral reasoning affect our behaviour

Question 15

What are cognitive distortions ?

Answer 15

• a form of irrational thinking
• a faulty, biased and irrational way of thinking
• this means we perceive ourselves, others and the world negatively

Question 16

how can minimalisation lead to offending behaviour ?

Answer 16

• criminals can look at another crime and think that it wasnt so bad and therefore if they identify with the criminal it can lead them to following in their footsteps

Question 17

what is minimalisation ?

Answer 17

• an attempt to deny or downplay the seriouseness of an offence

Question 18

what is an euphemistic label ?

Answer 18

• a burglar may describe themselves as doing a job or supporting their family

Question 19

what does evidence suggest about minimalisation ?

Answer 19

• evidence suggests that sexual offenders are prone to minimalisation
• ’ she was asking for it ‘

Question 20

AO3
supportive evidence that cognitive distortions lead to offending behaviour
- Barbaree

Answer 20

• amongst 26 convicted rapists
• 54% denied that they had committed an offence at all
• 40% minimised the harm that they caused the victim

Question 21

AO3
supportive evidence that cognitive distortions lead to offending behaviour
- Pollock + Hashmall

Answer 21

• 35% of a sample of child molesters said that the crime they committed was non-sexual
• 36% said that the victim had consented

Question 22

what is an egocentric bias ?

Answer 22

• emphasis on your own needs rather than the needs of the other people
• Gibbs 1993

Question 23

what are casual attributions ?

Answer 23

• blaming other people for your behavior, not taking responsibility and having an external locus of control

Question 24

what are hostile attributions ?

Answer 24

• tendency to judge ambiguous situations or the actions of others as aggressive and/or threatening
• offenders may misread non aggressive cues which then triggers a disproportionate response

Question 25

Study by Schonenberg + findings ?
( hostile attributions)

Answer 25

• presented 55 violent offenders with images of emotionally ambiguous facial expressions
• compared with non-aggressive control group
• found violent offenders perceived images as angry or hostile