Core study 16- Hancock (ID) Flashcards
Background
What is Maslow’s hierachy?
A hierarchy of needs that must be met for a person to reach their potential (SELF-ACTUALISATION)
Background
What are the 5 stages in Maslow’s hierarchy and what does each one mean?
From bottom to top (lowest to highest):
1. Physiological- food, water, breathing (basic needs)
2. Safety- shelter, security
3. Love/ belonging- Relationships, family, sexual intimacy
4. Esteem- self-esteem and confidence
5. Self-actualisation- creativity, morality (highest level- reach potential)
Background
Which levels/ stages do psychopaths tend to focus on more and why?
- Physiological and security needs (bottom 2 levels)
- They are egocentric and do not care for higher needs such as relationships or esteem
Aims
What was the aim of the study?
To investigate features of language used in crime narratives by psychopaths
Aims
What was language analysed specifically for within the investiagtion?
- Predatory world view (self obsession and lack of concern for others)
- Unique socio-emotional needs
- Lack of ‘affect’ (emotion) in language
Method
What research method was used?
Self-report interviews (face to face)
Sample
What did the sample cinsist of for this study?
who, quantity, location, gender
- 52 convicted murderers- 14 psychopathic, 38 non-psychopathic inmates
- All male
- Collected from Canadian prison
Sample
What experimental design was used and why?
- Matched pairs
- Groups were matched in terms of crime type and age
Sample
What was the mean age at the time of their homicide?
28.9 years (30)
Procedure- part 1
How were participants assed to see whether they were a psychopath or not?
The Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R)
Procedure- part 1
What were participants assessed against?
20 different measures/ criteria such as impulsiveness, emotional needs etc
Procedure- part 1
Which type of reliabilty were the scores checked for after the diagnosis?
Who were they checked by?
Inter-rater reliability
A psychology graduate
Procedure- part 2
Which ethic was adhered to before the interviews started?
Why could this be a weakness?
Participants were briefed (told aims etc)
Demand characteristics- they could alter their descriptions as they know they’re taking part in research
Procedure- part 2
What were the offenders asked to describe?
Why could this be unethical?
Crime narratives- they were told to desrcibe their crime in as much detail as possible
It may trigger the offender to bring up/ talk about their crime (Protection from harm)
Procedure- part 2
How were participants prompted when describing?
Interviewers prompted them by using “Step-Wise interviews”
Procedure- part 2
What are “Step-Wise interviews”?
What type of data will this produce?
They facilitate open questioning
Qualitative
Procedure- part 2
Who were the interviewers?
Why is this a strength?
2 psyhcology students- they were both blind to psychopathy scores
Avoids researcher bias
Procedure- part 2
When interviews were transcribed, what 2 tools were used to analyse them and what did each one measure?
- Wmatrix- measured semantic concepts
- Dictionary of Affect in Language (DAL)- measured tone and emotion
Results
What words did psychopaths tend to include in their descriptions?
What did this kind of qualitative language show?
- Because
- Since
- As
- So that
Cause and effect (explanation to WHY)
Results
Which group (psycho/ non-psycho) made more reference to basic needs (physiological)?
Psychopaths referred to basic needs, non-psychopathic group referred to spiritual meaning etc
Results
What reasons did the results show for psychopaths being more deatched from their crime?
They used more past tense and less emotive language within their descriptions
Results
What words did psychopaths use to show they were less fluent in their speech?
Fillers such as “um” and “ah”
Conclusions
What was concluded about how psychopaths tend to view their crimes?
They tend to view them as logical outcomes of their plans (there is reasoning behind them)
Conclusions
What needs are psychopaths more likely to focus on?
Their own basic/ physical needs
Conclusions
Do psychopaths show emotion or positivity in speech?
No- they’re less positive and less emotional
GREEDUM- evaluation
Why can generalisability be argued as a weakness?
Sample is ethnocentric and androcentric
Lacks population validity
GREEDUM- evaluation
Why could demand characteristics be argued as a weakness?
Participants may have lied when describing their crimes as they knew they were taking part in research that measures the language they use
GREEDUM- evaluation
Why could usefulness be argued as a strength?
Helps understand and become familiar with developing appropriate ways of rehabilitating psychopaths (may need different treatment to that of an average non-psychopath)
GREEDUM- evaluation
Why could methodology be argued as a strength?
Open questions provide qualitative insights and allow for cause and effect to be established
