Cognitive Explanations For Crime Flashcards
What did Piaget believe?
That cognitive ability develops over time and that children think qualitatively differently from adults. This impacts on their ability to understand right and wrong.
What are the three stages that Piaget suggested?
Stage 1- focused on rules
Stage 2- focused on responsibility
Stage 3- focused on justice
What did Kohlberg conduct extensive research using?
Moral dilemma paradigm
What is the moral dilemma paradigm?
This uses narrative stories that feature a person committing a crime and the participants are asked who was right and who was wrong and why.
What are kohlberg’s stages of moral reasoning?
Level 1- pre-conventional morality
Level 2- conventional morality
Level 3- post conventional morality
What is the pre conventional morality level of the kohlberg’s stages of moral reasoning?
Right or wrong depends on the outcome of the behaviour
Stage 1: an act is right or wrong depending on whether it produces punishment or reward.
Stage 2: multiple views about right and wrong are recognised
What is the conventional morality level of the stages of moral reasoning?
Morality internalised from others and society
Stage 3: gain approval by following the rules and doing your duty
Stage 4: maintain order in society by obeying rules
What is the post conventional morality level of kohlberg’s stage of moral reasoning?
Individual abstract idea of justice governs behaviour
Stage 5: distinguish between morality and legality and understand that sometimes to uphold individual rights you have to break the rules
Stage 6: your conscience defines right and wrong; higher ethical principles of universal justice apply
Who are more likely to commit crime according to Kohlberg?
People who never achieve the final stages of the moral reasoning are more likely to commit crime
finish the evaluation: artificial way to investigate moral reasoning
Kohlberg’s theory has been criticised for being an artificial way to investigate moral reasoning, as there is no real consequence for the decisions being made. Thus it lacks ecological validity.
finish the evaluation: beta bias
The sample in which his theory is based was all male, suggesting an issue of beta bias. Gilligan challenged the validity of applying the theory to females, suggesting that female morality was centred on daring behaviour rather than notions of justice. Kohlberg’s theory is therefore androcentric as it suggested that women have lower levels of moral development than men.
finish the evaluation: supporting evidence
Walker showed that moral development happens other time, thus supporting Kohlberg
finish the evaluation: statistics
The theory is also supported by statistics, which show the peak age for antisocial behaviour in young adulthood
finish the evaluation: more supporting evidence
Ashkar and Kenny found that a sample of juvenile delinquents showed pre conventional levels of morality when interviewed about their specific crime, but conventional levels when suggesting that it is not as simple as Kohlberg’s theory proposes.
