Cognitive Factors Flashcards
What is moral reasoning?
The study of how people think about right and wrong and how they apply moral rules to situations
What level of moral development are criminals on?
Pre-conventional with only a basic understanding of morality and believes the reward outweighs the punishment
Why are people in the post-conventional stage less likely to commit crimes?
A stronger moral compass does not fit with criminal behaviour
Which types of crimes are likely to occur at which levels?
Pre-conventional - fraud, murder, rape
Conventional - theft, self-defence
Post-conventional - protesting
What is the age of criminal behaviour in the UK?
10 years old
What is Chen and Howitt’s (2007) supporting research of moral reasoning?
Moral development was significantly lower in offenders than controls despite their age being higher. Those with more advanced moral reasoning were less likely to be involved in violent crimes.
What are cognitive distortions?
Patterns of thinking that do not reflect reality
What is Hostile Attribution Bias?
When we see someone’s actions and make an inference about what it means and leans towards thinking the worst
How might Hostile Attribution Bias explain criminal behaviour?
If people always think negatively, they may misinterpret things differently with negative tendencies e.g. looks at you and you believe they hate you
What is minimalisation?
Justifying and minimising consequence e.g. “it’s not even that bad, they probably could pay it”
What is maximisation?
Blows a situation out of proportion and assumes worst case scenario e.g. “the police will arrest me”
Which cognitive distortion are criminals likely to experience?
Minimalisation - underplay and justify their actions to avoid guilt
What is a strength of cognitive factors in relation to practical applications?
If we can see the moral development differing we can use early interventions to prevent criminal behaviours and increase morality levels
What is a weakness of cognitive factors in relation to explaining criminal behaviour?
The faulty cognitions of criminals does not explain why criminal behaviour begins and only describes the process through cognitive thoughts
