Criminal

Question 1

What are the biological explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour?

Answer 1

Head injury- Williams et al.(2010) found that from 196 inmates of a UK prison, 60% suffered a brain injury.
Amygdala and aggression- Rain et al. (1997) found that murderers who pleaded not guilty due to reasons of insanity found there was less activity in the left amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. Controlling behaviours.
XXY syndrome- males born with an additional Y chromosome- generally taller and less intelligent, impulsive and experience behavioural difficulties. Prison population is 9 in 315 and general population is 1 in 315.

Question 2

Support for brain injuries

Answer 2

Fazel et al (2011) analysed data from the Swedish population. Those who had experienced ABI (acquired brain injury) 8.8% committed violent crimes, while 3% of the controlled matched pairs.
However this doesn’t show causation as they may have been other factors as people who experience brain injuries are also more likely to experience mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse.

Question 3

Relationship between the amygdala and crime

Answer 3

The amygdala doesn’t operate alone but heavily influenced by the OFC (orbitofrontal cortex), which is apart of the frontal lobe and not apart of the limbic system. This regulates self control and reduce functioning is thought to increase aggression.

Question 4

Are XYY and offending related?

Answer 4

They are unrelated and there is a lack of evidence. Re and Birkoff (2015) considered 5- years of evidence and concluded that there is no link between crime and XYY chromosomes. It may be explained with social factors.

Question 5

Application of biological explanations

Answer 5

William et al argue to raise awareness of brain injuries throughout the criminal justice system, screening young people when they are first offending. It is used is decision making in criminal trails.

Question 6

Eysenck’s theory of the criminal personality

Answer 6

Extraversion and introversion. Extraversion are more likely to take risks and don’t condition easily (learn from their mistakes). Neuroticism (nervous- difficult to predict) and stability. Criminal personality type is extravert-neurotic.

Question 7

What is the biological basis for personality explaining crime and anti-social behaviour?

Answer 7

Personality traits can be explained by the type of of nervous system we inherit. Extraverts can be explained with an underactive nervous system which requires a unusually high levels of arousal. Similarly those who score high on neuroticism scales are volatile and react strongly to situations other would find less stressful, or even neutral.

Question 8

What is the third-dimension (psychoticism)?

Answer 8

Later on Eysenck added a third dimension to the criminal type. Less clear in terms of its connection to the nervous system. Individuals who are seen as self-centred, cold, lack empathy for others. Criminal type is characterised by a person who scores highly on all three dimensions. Developed Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), places respondents along the E, N, and P dimensions to determine a personality type.

Question 9

What is the socialisation process?

Answer 9

Eysenck did acknowledge in most people the socialisation process in childhood will determine whether a person becomes law-abiding or not. However, extraverts are natural reward seekers makes less receptive to operant conditioning and therefore less effective to punishment for wrongdoing. High neuroticism interferes with efficient learning which may relate to difficulty taking on broad social rules. Extravert-neurotics more likely to behave anti-socially.

Question 10

Evaluation of explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour- Personality- Strength

Answer 10

Empirical basis and there is supporting evidence the existence of a criminal type. Boduszek et al. (2013) investigated the prevalence of Eysenck’s personality among repeat offenders (recidivism). 133 violent and 179 non-violent male prisoners in a high-security prison. Criminal thinking ‘style’ is correlated with high levels of psychoticism, extraversion and neuroticism .

Question 11

Evaluation of explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour- Personality- Strength (opposing)

Answer 11

However, evidence for criminal personality is not conclusive. Farrington et al (1982) found very little evidence for Eysenck’s questionnaire was an adequate measure for predicting offending in juveniles and adults, may lack validity.

Question 12

Evaluation of explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour- Personality- Weakness (other models)

Answer 12

There is only one type of criminal personality. Recent models have challenged Eysenck’s model. Five factor model (Digman 1990) adds on openness, conscientiousness and agreeableness. Of these, low agreeableness and conscientiousness are related to repeat offending. Lipsey and Derzon 1998 claim that impulsivity is a better predictor of anti-social behaviour

Question 13

Evaluation of explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour- Personality- Strength of biological basis

Answer 13

Raine et al (1990) took physiological measures from participants aged 15 years and related these to later criminal status. Those with a criminal record 24 years later had recorded more signs of under arousal in the nervous system when aged 15 years. But there is also likely to be lots of social variables in predicting criminal behaviour.

Question 14

Evaluation of explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour- Personality- Application

Answer 14

Useful applications in preventing crime. Theory argues that criminal tendencies, such as lack of response to conditioning can be identified in early childhood. This means that if intervention comes early enough, it would be possible to modify the socialisation experiences of high-risk individuals to prevent them from becoming offenders. Such experiences may be best delivered in school or at home with support of external agencies. Tackling crime, Eysenck’s theory may be beneficial.

Question 15

Explanations of crime and anti-social behaviour: social explanation- Labelling

Answer 15

Humans are given labels to enable us to make judgements about what is going on in the inside- what kind of person they are. Labelling someone a ‘deviant’, that will come to define them and how society behaves towards them.

Question 16

Labelling theory

Answer 16

Becker (1963), sociologist, argues that powerful groups in society create deviance by making up rules and applying them to people they see as an ‘outsider’. Social contruct.

Question 17

Self fulfilling prophecy

Answer 17

The ‘deviant’ label comes to see themselves in that way due to stereotyped response of other towards their label, making their deviant behaviour more likely. Stigmatised and isolated behaviour from society, the offender seeks support from other deviants. Draws the individual further into the crime, confirming their criminal identity and deviant status.

Question 18

Observational learning with criminals

Answer 18

Criminal behaviour is learned indirectly by observing and imitating others. The behaviour must be attended to, recalled, have the skill and capacity to carry out the behaviour and then motivated to carry it out.

Question 19

Vicarious reinforcement in crime

Answer 19

Criminal behaviour is to be imitated, it must be seen to be rewarded. It is not difficult to see how offending behaviour could be rewarded, through the acquisition of money, increase status of criminal gang.

Question 20

Role models in crime

Answer 20

Social learning theory is a development explanation that can account for the development of criminal activity at different ages. Young offenders may be more susceptible to the influence of role models. Young offender looks up to and want to be in an gang like for having respect and enjoy their lifestyle that is glamorous and attractive.

Question 21

Evaluation of crime and anti-social behaviour: social explanations- Strength

Answer 21

Jahoda (1954) studied the Ashanti of Ghana where boys are named after the day they were born, Monday (Kwadwo) were thought to be even tempered compared to Wednesday (Kawdku), thought to be aggressive. Wednesday boys were 3x more likely to be involved in a violent crime that Monday boys over a 5 year period.

Question 22

Evaluation of crime and anti-social behaviour: social explanations- Strength- opposing

Answer 22

Zebrowitz (1998) found that boys with a ‘baby face’ were more likely than matured faced peers to be delinquent and involved in crimes. Overcompensating for the perception of being ‘weak’ or ‘childlike’ rather than accepting the ‘baby/innocent’ label

Question 23

Evaluation of crime and anti-social behaviour: social explanations- Weakness

Answer 23

There is a limited amount of evidence for labelling as applied to crime. Jacobsen and Rosenthal found that that was a teacher student relationship, much different when it comes to crime. This makes to much more difficult to replicate them in the context of crime.

Question 24

What did Jacobsen and Rosenthal find out?

Answer 24

Labelled half of the class as ‘bloomers’ and told the other half they had reached their potential. They found that the IQ of the ‘bloomers’ had increases, while those who were told they have reached their potential, their IQ dropped.

Question 25

Evaluation of crime and anti-social behaviour: social explanations- Application

Answer 25

Braithwaite (1989) societies have lower crime rates and reoffending rates if they communicate about the crime effectively. Reintegrative shaming is preferable to to disintegrative shaming. The offender is demonised by society and the criminal justice system which means they are more likely to reject a new way of life and return to their 'old ways' upon release. Offender receives support and help and are less likely to continue offending and retake their place in society.

Question 26

Police interviewing techniques. What are the main techniques for a cognitive interview?

Answer 26

Report everything and reinstate the context to get as much information as possible. Reverse order and change the perspective to reduce the chance of schemas.

Question 27

What is enhanced interviewing?

Answer 27

Developing the original techniques but pay more attention between the interaction between the interviewer and the interviewee like maintain eye contact, reduce distractions, asking open-ended questions and getting the witness to speak slowly rather tan rushing (Fisher et al 1987)

Question 28

What are the ethical interviewing techniques?

Answer 28

Royal Commission on Criminal Justice in 1991 concluded that many false confessions and miscarriages of justice were the result of police using unethical interviewing. Police making threats, false promises and even using physical force to extract confessions. Teach officers to keep an open mind and behave less aggressively towards suspects.

Question 29

What is the PEACE model?

Answer 29

Developed in the 1990s and was a collaboration between law enforcement agencies and psychologists in England and Wales. Based on the idea that suspects are more likely to cooperate with police and give a true confession. Relaxed, secure, not threatened. P= preparation and planning. E= engage and explain. A= account, clarification, challenge. C= closure (suspect asks questions) E= Evaluate

Question 30

Evaluation of cognitive interview techniques- Strength

Answer 30

Geiselman and colleagues (1985) showed participants a film of a violent crime and later they were interviewed by an officer using either cognitive interview or a standard interview or an interview hypnosis. The average number of accurately recalled facts was 41.2 for the cognitive interview, 29.4 for the standard interview and 38.0 for the hypnosis. Cognitive interviews lead to more superior recall compared to alternative interviewing techniques.

Question 31

Evaluation of cognitive interview techniques- Weakness

Answer 31

Kohnken et al (1999) recorded an 81% increase in correct information using CI techniques but also increase 61% of incorrect information, compared with standard interviewing techniques.

Question 32

Evaluation of ethical interview techniques- strength

Answer 32

Christianson (2002) carried out a study on murderers and sex offenders found that when characterised by intimidation and dominance had more denials. EI may result in more cooperative interviewees.

Question 33

Evaluation of ethical interview techniques- weakness

Answer 33

EI means police are unlikely to engage in the kinds of questionable practises that have led to wrongful arrested such as Colin Stagg (accused of murder but was dismissed- innocent). Gudjonsson (1992) argues that some EI techniques are naïve, and that 'social skills' approach to questioning should not entirely replace more persuasive methods.

Question 34

Evaluation of cognitive and ethical interview techniques- application

Answer 34

Milne and Bull (2002) observed any individual elements of CI in isolation tend to be more effective at eliciting accurate information than standard interview techniques. Combination of report everything and context reinstatement was the better options. Time consuming but uses abridged versions of the CI in some circumstances.

Question 35

What is cognitive behaviour treatment?

Answer 35

Novaco (1975) suggest that offenders inability to control their anger leads them commit crimes. Some offenders are more likely to see an situation as threatening and stressful. It comes in 3 stages: Cognitive preparation (offenders find out what triggers them), skill acquisition (relaxation techniques), and application and practise (role play)

Question 36

What was the Ireland study?

Answer 36

Sample- randomly allocated to either a treatment group of 12 sessions or on the waitlist group. Assessed two weeks before and eight weeks after. 92% of the treatment group showed significant improvement on one measure and 48% showed improvement on both measures. Controlled group showed no improvements on any measure. Anger management is more effective than no treatment at all, more effective with those with a history of violence.

Question 37

Evaluation of the cognitive behavioural treatment- strength

Answer 37

- Holbrook (1997) studied 26 male prisoners with a history of aggression chosen for anger management training. Complete a vengeance scale which showed a significant reduction in scores after treatment. This suggests that anger management may have long-term outcomes, including decreasing the desire for revenge. - It addresses different aspects of offending behaviour. Interdisciplinary approach that works on different levels in the role play. Phase 1 is cognitive, phase 2 is behavioural, and phase 3 is social. Acknowledges the fact that offending is a complex psychological activity that requires an eclectic approach to treatment.

Question 38

Evaluation of cognitive behavioural treatments- weaknesses

Answer 38

- Blackburn (1993) argued that anger management may help offenders control their conduct in the short term, but have little impact long term reoffending rates. There isn't a casual relationship between anger and offending. - Only useful if anger was the cause of the crime - John Monckton was murdered in 2006 by Hanson who received anger management therapy and convinced the parole board to release him, the offender may become manipulative. Home Secretary insisted on scaling back anger management therapy. - Ireland's study was a short period of time

Question 39

What is the psychological formulation?

Answer 39

A form of diagnosis. It aims to explain the cause of a person's difficulties by constructing an individual summary or story of a person's life. This summary is jointly constructed by the person and their therapist. Predict reoffending and the safety of the community. Assess what has influenced criminal behaviour (financial, brain injury, situations, genetic).

Question 40

Step 1 of psychological formulation

Answer 40

Understanding the offender. Offence analysis: - offender motivation - case information is ideographic (relevant) Forensic psychology: - Aim to assess the risk of reoffending- what possible triggers could be removed or changed to reduce the risk

Question 41

What is included when finding out why the offender committed the crime and their motivation?

Answer 41

Early experience (bullied) -- core beliefs (fight it out) -- triggers (being in crowded spaces) -- situations (someone through a drink over me)

Question 42

Case study of Mr C for psychological formulation

Answer 42

28-year-old New Zealand Maori, heavily tattooed with the images that depict his lifelong allegiances to a criminal gang. Long criminal history with 20 convictions. Past trauma. Treated with 100 hours of intensive cognitive behavioural treatment. 10-week violent preparation.

Question 43

What is Beck's Triad?

Answer 43

Cognitions and thoughts lead to feelings leading to behaviour but can be stopped with the ideas being challenged.

Question 44

Step 2 of psychological formulation

Answer 44

Understanding the function of offending. Purpose serves the individual. Like fulfilling a craving or need (Hodge et al. 2011). Rapists may compensate for their own feelings of worthlessness by exceeding power over their victims. Crime may be reinforced as it is rewarding for the individual.

Question 45

Step 3 of psychological formulation

Answer 45

Roots in the field of mental health treatment, and of course there may be overlap here, as offenders also have mental health problems. Established some form of intervention. A rehabilitation programme that is recommended should reflect how the offending started in the first place, the risk of reoffending, and how likely the offender is to stick with the programme. Reassess and adapted.

Question 46

Strength of the psychological formulation

Answer 46

- Involves multi-agencies - they are all working together to understand the criminal reasons for offending; NHS, social workers, and mental health workers - Used in complex cases. Reduced simple explanations and then incorrect treatments.

Question 47

Weaknesses of the psychological formulation

Answer 47

- Receiving all the information that it is difficult to decipher all the aspects of the person and the interpretation may end up being biased - Reliant on retrospective gathering information. Experience/childhood or previous offences. Information could be skewed, inaccurate or missing vital pieces of information based on incorrect recall. - We cannot necessarily measure reoffending. Offenders may avoid conviction and further prosecution. Only able to measure reconvictions.

Question 48

Application of the psychological formulation

Answer 48

Offers a different approach to reducing offending. Tackle offending at the source. Educating the offenders, about how they have arrived at their current predicament and reducing reoffending in the future which remain at an all-time high (currently estimated at 70%)

Question 49

High sugars and crime- Biological treatments

Answer 49

Moore et al. (2009) found that 69% of a group of violent offenders reported eating 'confectionary' (sweets/sugary snacks) almost every day during childhood. A high-sugar diet causes changes in blood sugar levels. Junk food creates high glucose levels which trigger major insulin secretion to soak these up. This leads to a shortage of glucose (called hypoglycaemia) which is associated with irritability, difficulty in making judgements and violent outbursts. Benton et al (1996) found that children playing violent video games become more aggressive as their blood sugar levels decreased.

Question 50

Vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids

Answer 50

Deficiencies in unsaturated fatty acids (omega 3), magnesium, zinc, iron, and vitamins B, C, and D have been linked to crime. The more junk food you eat, the less space in your diet for healthy nutritional content. The lack of nutrients has been linked to mental illnesses and behavioural problems

Question 51

Diet changes as a treatment for crime

Answer 51

Diet improvements start with a baseline measure of diet- this ascertains which minerals and vitamins an offender is lacking and how that can be addressed. In most cases, a multi-vitamin is added to the offender's diet, then effects on behaviour are monitored over a given period

Question 52

Criminal practical- hypothesis

Answer 52

Experimental / Alternative Hypothesis: The use of a misleading question ‘how long is the stick?’ will increase the Eye Witness estimation of stick length. Null Hypothesis: There is no effect on the estimation of the length of the stick using the misleading questions about how Long/Short the stick is

Question 53

Criminal practical- aim

Answer 53

To find out whether misleading questions affect the estimation of stick length used in a dramatized scene watched by witnesses

Question 54

Criminal practical- procedure

Answer 54

- Questionnaire including open and closed questions - Apparatus – questionnaire and stick - Opportunity sampling using 6th form students (higher than average IQ) - Filler questions about the stick not including the misleading question - Standardised instructions. Right to withdraw and the aims of the experiment -Full debrief after the questionnaire -Mathematical capabilities screened for using a question to determine ability – whether it was taken at A level.

Question 55

Criminal practical- findings

Answer 55

The mean for long was 43.86 and the mean for short was 26.42. The calculated value of 8.5 was less than the calculated value of 11, at a p<0.05 on a one-tailed test with a na=7 and nb=7. This shows we are 95% confident that our results are significant. We accept the experimental hypothesis that misleading questions 'how long is the stick?' will increase the Eye witness estimation of the stick.

Question 56

What are the aim, procedure, findings and conclusion of Gesch et al. (2002)?

Answer 56

Aim- Wanted to test whether an improved diet was linked to a reduction in anti-social behaviour. Procedure- 231 inmates in a young offenders institute were randomly allocated to the experimental group (daily vitamin, mineral and fatty acid supplement) or control group (placebo), matched on disciplinary incidents. Double-blind trial. Baseline measurement of diet, anger, anxiety and depression. Findings- 35.1% reduction in disciplinary incidents per thousand (just 6.7% in the placebo group), 37% reduction in serious violent incidents (10.1% in the placebo group) Conclusions-Supplementing offenders' diets with vitamins, minerals and fatty acids are linked to a decrease in incidents of anti-social behaviour, including violent behaviour.

Question 57

2 strengths of improving diets

Answer 57

- Supported by research- Schoenthaler (1983) found a 48% reduction in formal disciplinary incidents amongst 276 young offenders. Took over 2 years and saw a reduction in sugars consumed. A high-sugar diet is associated with anti-social behaviour - Gesch was well-controlled- double-blind trial limits the effect of demand characteristics and also the experimenter's effects on self-administering the pills. Groups matched on key variables (not explained by other factors). Increased validity of findings

Question 58

2 weaknesses of improving diets

Answer 58

- Crime is a complex social behaviour that is unlikely to be addressed by treating a single factor alone. Poorest diets more likely to live in socially and economically deprived circumstances- may cause crime. Short-lived effects if the offender returns to the same circumstances. - Mostly controlling aggressive urges. Not all crimes are linked to aggression like financial crimes are not helped by a change in diet- may only apply to particular types of offenders.

Question 59

Factors influencing eye-witness testimony: Post-event information

Answer 59

Human memory is reconstructive (Bartlett- 'War of the Ghosts'). Memory doesn't record events in exact detail instead it fits memories within the pre-existing framework of expectations and past knowledge. Based on their schema when recalling.

Question 60

What is eye-witness testimony?

Answer 60

Legal terms refer to the account given by a witness of a crime or other dramatic event. Reliability= consistent

Question 61

What is a leading question?

Answer 61

Suggests a particular answer because of the way it is being phrased and may point the eye-witness towards a specific response. Loftus and Palmer. Eye witnesses may incorrectly access the information provided in the question, rather than what they have actually remembered.

Question 62

What is the influence of anxiety?

Answer 62

May affect a person's ability to recall the event. Deffenbacher (1983) reviewed 21 studies and concluded that moderate anxiety helps memory, but if it continues to rise it creates a decline in the recall. Inverted U

Question 63

What is the weapon focus effect?

Answer 63

Violent crimes perpetrator is carrying a weapon, the brain's neutral tendency is to zoom in on the main source of stress. Eye-witness recall is relatively poor and other details are not noticed/distorted. Tunnel theory- the presence of a weapon leads to selective attention. Excludes or ignores competing bits of information.

Question 64

Strengths of the factors affecting reliability

Answer 64

- Supporting evidence for leading questions- Loftus and Palmer- participants who heard smashed gave the highest estimate (40.8 mph) and contacted had the lowest (31.8) - Supporting evidence for Johnson and Scott (1976) half of their participants saw a man with greasy hands carrying a pen after hearing a conversation. The other half saw a man with bloody hands holding a knife running after hearing an argument. 49% of the control participants were able to correctly identify the man but 33% of the condition were able to identify the man.

Question 65

Weaknesses of the factors affecting reliability

Answer 65

- Yuille and Cutshall (1986) assessed the recall of 13 witnesses to a real-life shooting who rated themselves as very anxious at the time. Questioned them again 5 months later and gave the same recall. -Pickle (1998) found that there was a similar effect to Johnson and Scott (1976) when a man pulled out a raw chicken to pay a cashier rather than a wallet. Related to surprise as much as anxiety.

Question 66

Application of the factors affecting reliability

Answer 66

Introduction of the social framework. Psychologists may be called to provide some 'context' to the jury. Recognising the fallibility of human memory is useful in reducing the miscarriages of justice.

Question 67

Factors influencing jury decision-making: Attractiveness

Answer 67

Abwender and Hough (2001) asked 207 participants to judge an imaginary drunk and reckless driver who killed a pedestrian. The female participants were more lenient with an attractive female defendant, and less towards an unattractive defendant. Males showed the opposite. Attractiveness Leniency Hypothesis (ALE)- attractive defendants favoured by jury.

Question 68

Factors influencing jury decision-making: Race

Answer 68

Bradbury and Williams (2013) analysed real US cases. Juries comprised mostly white jurors (and Hispanic jurors) were more likely to convict a black defendant. In both cases, the effect was more marked for certain crimes (e.g. drug offences). Pfeifer and Ogloff's (1991) participants read a transcript of a trial in which the race of the victim and the defendant were varied: participants rated the guilt of the defendant- participants rated black defendants guiltier than white defendants, especially if the victim was white.

Question 69

Factors influencing jury decision-making: Accent

Answer 69

Dixon et al. (2002) played a recorded conversation between a male suspect and a male policeman to 119 participants: The suspects' accent was varied so participants either heard a Birmingham accent or a 'standard British' accent- the guilty rating was significantly higher for the suspects with a Birmingham accent

Question 70

Pre-trail publicity (PTP)- Steblay et al (2004)- Procedure, Findings and Conclusion

Answer 70

Procedure- Meta-analysis of 44 mock jury trials or questionnaires. Negative information is given to the experimental group (not the control group). All were asked to decide the defendant's guilt. Findings- Experimental participants were more likely to return guilty verdicts than controls (59% vs 45%). PTP effects are greater for murder or sexual abuse. PTP effects are reduced for disorderly conduct. Conclusions- PTP produces a greater likelihood to return a guilty verdict. Suggests trails attracting PTP could be held overseas. Creates schemas in the mind of the jurors which are hard to shift- the more publicity, the more entrenched the schemas.

Question 71

Strength of the factors influencing jury decision making

Answer 71

- Mock juries and 'imaginary' cases allow us to manipulate variables that would have not been practical or ethical in real trials. Bradbury and Williams used secondary data from trials.

Question 72

Weaknesses of the factors influencing jury decision making

Answer 72

- Research (Abwender and Hough) studies characteristics of defendants, but there may be other more important factors affecting jury decision-making. Such as juries' personal experience with the offence, charismatic leaders who sway opinion or whether the characteristics of the jurors and the defendant match.

Question 73

Application of the factors influencing jury decision making

Answer 73

Jurors are human beings subject to bias which may affect their neutrality, so should remain impartial and not let extra-legal factors distort judgement. Pfeifer and Ogloff - racial bias- disappeared when jurors were reminded their guilty decision was beyond a reasonable doubt.

Question 74

What was the aim of Loftus and Palmer?

Answer 74

To investigate whether memory is influenced by information which occurs after an event.

Question 75

What was the procedure, findings and conclusion of Loftus and Palmer- Experiment 1

Answer 75

Procedure- Opportunity sample of 45 students shown clips from traffic accidents by Evergreen Safety Council and the Seattle Police department. 5-30 seconds long. After participants were asked the critical question "About how fast were the cars going when they ___ (into) each other?". The Independent variable was the different verb- smashed collided, bumped, hit or contacted. The dependent variable was the participant's speed estimate. Findings- 'smashed' elicited the highest response of 40.8 mph compared to 'contacted' with 31.8 mph and in the middle was 'bumped' with 38.1 mph. Conclusion- Powerful evidence for post-event information and the effect of recall.

Question 76

What were the procedure, findings and conclusion of Loftus and Palmer- Experiment 2?

Answer 76

Procedure- 150 participants were shown a one-minute film including a short scene of a car accident. The independent variable was the wording of the critical question. Group 1- 'How fast were the cars going when they hit each other?'. Group 2- 'How fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?'. The control group got no questions on speed. A week later the participants returned to ask 'Did you see any glass?'. Findings- 'smashed' had the highest yes response with 16 and the highest estimate speed. 'hit' had 7 yes responses. Conclusion- Post-event information did not simply create a response bias. It altered the initial memory and generated expectations.

Question 77

Strengths of Loftus and Palmer

Answer 77

- It was a lab setting so the variables could be easily controlled. The only variable/experience that did change was the critical question. Content interviews were standardised. High internal validity - They added extra elements to control demand characteristics - High external reliability as Loftus and Pickrell found that when interviewing participants about their childhood- implant memory of being lost in a shopping mall when younger- 20% believed the false memory and still clung to it after the debrief.

Question 78

Weakness of Loftus and Palmer

Answer 78

- Not generalisable and therefore representative as all the participants were American college students around the same age- 18-21 - Contradicting evidence- Yuille and Cutshall- 13 witnesses gave accurate recall after 5 months of being interviewed after witnessing a real-life shooting. - Low ecological validity- conducted in a lab

Question 79

Application of Loftus and Palmer

Answer 79

Delvin's report (1976) used EWT research (and recommended that juries shouldn't convict on a single eye-witness testimony. Changed police interviewing- cognitive-based.

Question 80

Contemporary study: Valentine and Mesout (2009)- Aim

Answer 80

Investigating eye-witness identification in an everyday situation in which anxiety would be high and participants would not release their memory was being tested.

Question 81

Contemporary study: Valentine and Mesout (2009)- Procedure

Answer 81

Setting- Labyrinth (London Dungeon) and a 'scary person'. A pre-test of visitors showed the Labyrinth did lead to an increased heart rate, suggesting elevated levels of arousal/fear. Sample- 56 visitors agreed to complete the questionnaire in exchange for a reduced ticket price. Each volunteer/participant walked around the Labyrinth- the first 7 minutes they met the 'scary person'. Then spend 45 mins on the rest of the exhibit. In the end, they were informed consent was sought from participants. Consenting participants were given 3 questionnaires to complete: Trait anxiety inventory (TAI)- typical state of anxiety, Sate anxiety inventory (SAI)- felt in the Labyrinth, and Memory questionnaire- the recall of a scary person. Participants identify the 'scary person' from a photo line-up of 9- photos matched to the scary person actor (sex, age, ethnic origin).

Question 82

Contemporary study: Valentine and Mesout (2009)- Findings

Answer 82

The mean score of the SAI in the Labyrinth (49.0) was significantly higher than the mean TAI score (36.8)- participants found the Labyrinth was anxiety-inducing. High state anxiety (higher than the median)- 17% correctly identified the scary person from the line-up. The low state of anxiety-75% correct identification

Question 83

Contemporary study: Valentine and Mesout (2009)- Conclusions

Answer 83

Accurate eye-witness testimony is impaired under conditions of high anxiety as memory is negatively affected by increased physiological arousal.

Question 84

Contemporary study: Valentine and Mesout (2009)- Strengths

Answer 84

- High validity of the questionnaires as they were tested using other participants. Subjective anxiety scores showed a high correlation with their heart rate as they walked the Labyrinth. Carefully timed the time participants had in the Labyrinth- standardised- high internal validity. - The participants didn't know they were being tested so there were less demand characteristics and were more accurate in their recall of events than onlookers

Question 85

Contemporary study: Valentine and Mesout (2009)- weaknesses

Answer 85

- Christianson and Hubinette interviewed 110 witnesses to 22 real-life bank robberies. Witnesses who had been directly threatened or attacked were more accurate in their recall than onlookers. - Those who are going to the London Dungeon are looking for a scary experience and therefore may be more up for it.

Question 86

Contemporary study: Valentine and Mesout (2009)- Application

Answer 86

Suggest eye-witness testimony accounts should be treated with caution, especially eye witnesses as they have experienced trauma and stress during the incident. Anxiety may improve recall for central details but the memory of peripheral details is affected.

Question 87

Key question: Is eyewitness testimony too unreliable to trust? (AO1)

Answer 87

-An account from someone who has seen a crime first-hand and used by police to help convict someone. - May lead to miscarriage of justice from false accusation - Distort the truth and let real criminals go free - 75% of false accusations from inaccurate eyewitness testimony, and 100 people are wrongfully convicted each year (The Conversation) - 48% of wrongful convictions lead to the perpetrator reoffending (The Conversation) - (the ICF) the actual offender was only identified in 31% of cases in wrongful convictions - People may lose faith in the justice system - Wrongfully convicted person may become depressed

Question 88

Key question: Is eyewitness testimony too unreliable to trust? (AO3)

Answer 88

1) Reconstructive memory - Bartlett 2) Leading questions- Loftus and Palmer 3) Flashbulb memories (trauma)- Yuille and Cutshall 4) Weapon focus effect- Johnson and Scott and Christianson and Hubinette 5) Deffenbacher's theory of anxiety (inverted U)- Valentine and Mesout.

Question 89

What is thematic analysis?

Answer 89

1) Read 2) Break down into units 3) Assign a code to the units 4) Group units into broader themes 5) Data chunks can be given more than one code 6) Re-read the text ensuring you understand all the important aspects are covered 7) Report or analysis should include quotes 8) What conclusions from the data can be made + could replicate- the same stimulus + objective- no preconceived ideas - subjective- different things different codes

Question 90

What is grounded theory?

Answer 90

- Inductive or 'bottom up' - Theories emerge from or based on the data - The study or data is collected - Categories are generated based on the data that is collected. - Developed by thematic analysis + Representative of the data that is gathered and the participants - not generalisable - subjective- get to know people