CRIMINAL PSYCHOLOGY Flashcards
What is operant conditioning?
Operant conditioning is learning from the consequences of actions.
A school group is collecting money for charity.
The collection box is kept at the back of the room.
One day, Richard notices the tutor room is empty and takes a pound coin from the box. Each day Richard returns and takes another pound coin.
Explain what type of reinforcer is shown in this example.
This is an example of a secondary reinforcer. Richard feels as if he is getting away with this theft and keeps doing it as he knows he can.
He is not stealing to satisfy a basic biological need.
Due to several angry outbursts at work, Scott has been asked to participate in 10 anger management sessions.
What can Scott expect on this programme of treatment?
Scott will be working in a small group with a therapist.
Scott will be encouraged to identify a trigger to his angry outbursts and to reflect on his feelings.
He will be encouraged to learn new skills to help him control his anger and find alternative ways to resolve conflict situations.
Scott may be taught relaxation techniques and/or assertiveness training.
This programme of treatment is a three-stage process which involves cognitive preparation, skills acquisition and application practice.
Explain one strength and one weakness of this type of anger management treatment programme.
A strength of this treatment programme is based on research findings;
Dowden, Blanchette and Serin (1997) found that high-risk offenders who received anger management treatment were less likely to re-offend compared to high-risk offenders who did not undergo intensive anger- mangement treatment.
A weakness of this treatment programme is; offenders can abuse the programme.
This programme does teach offenders to control and manage their anger, yet Rice (1997) suggests that psychopaths were more likely to reoffend and become more dangerous after this pogramme as they had learnt new skills which meant they could manipulat others effectively.
What are demand characteristics?
These are features of an experiment which help participants work out what is expected of them and lead them to behave in certain predictable ways.
What was the conclusion of Bandura’s (1961) study?
The research demonstrated that children learn through observation.
This study showed that children learn aggression from adult role models.
Exposure to aggressive adult role models may serve to weaken inhibitory responses in children and increase the likelihood that they will give aggressive reactions.
Briefly describe the findings of Hutchings and Mednick’s 1975 study into genetic explanations for criminality.
They found that 21 percent of adopted children who went on to commit a crime had a biological father who was convicted of a crime.
This was compared to 10 per cent of childrem whose biological father was not convicted of a criminal offence, but the adoptive father had a criminal record.
A young offenders’ unit is starting to implement token economy with an aim of increasing prosocial behaviour in this institution.
Using your knowledge of token economy programmes, explain what the unit will need to consider when implementing this programme.
The Young Offenders’ unit will need to consider what type of tokens they use and what these tokens can be exchanged for. They will need to establish what rewards are genuinely valued by the prisoners.
These should be distributed as soon as a prosocial behaviour has been displayed. The unit must make sure there is consistency amongst the staff in implementing these tokens.
What was the background and what were the aims of Charlton’s 2000 study?
BACKGROUND:
This study was conducted on the island of St Helena. This island did not have access to mainland television channels, but there were plans to introduce it via satellite so the researchers wanted to see what influence television would have on the children of the island.
AIMS:
To investigate the effects of television on children’s behaviour. The researchers were particularly interested to see whether television would cause the children to become more aggressive.
Describe one way in which Charlton’s study could be improved.
The researchers should try to control the many variables that affected viewing habits, e.g. make sure the same television programmes which were watched on mainland television were watched on the island.
This would ensure accurate and consistent measurement of behaviour.
Daniel is 14 years old and sees his 16-year-old-brother, James, in a fight with some other boys in the park.
The teenagers watching cheer and clap as James wins the fight.
James is really pleased and his friends and other children tell him they think he did very well to win against the other boy.
They all follow James to the shop, praising him about his fight.
The next day, Daniel gets into a fight with a group of boys outside the shop.
Assess whether the findings from Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961) can explain Daniel’s anti-social behaviour.
Bandura’s study found that boys are more likely to imitate male role models. His brother is his role model, same gender and someone Daniel can identify with.
Daniel has imitated his brother’s fighting so has learned aggressive behaviour through observational learning and witnessing vicarious reinforcement of aggression as the children cheered and praised his brother’s fighting.
Biological influences may also be implicated. Testosterone plays a role in aggressive behaviour and could explain why both boys were fighting rather it being explained by social learning theory (SLT).
The use of a laboratory experiment limits the generalisability of Bandura’s findings to real-life scenarios such as a park or school.
The influence of being in a group may explain anti-social behaviour, such as fighting, more accurately than the idea of learning behaviour from one observed incident.
What is negative punishment?
A. The use of reinforcers such as school grades and tokens
B. Receiving a negative consequence for a behaviour
C. Taking away something pleasant as a consequence of a behaviour that is not desired
D. Using corporal punishment to instil rules in children
C. Taking away something pleasant as a consequence of a behaviour that is not desired
When did Bandura conduct his key study into transmission of aggression?
A. 1965
B. 1963
C. 1961
D. 1967
C. 1961
What is a psychopath?
A. A person who is assertive and outspoken
B. A person who is characterised by a lack of guilt and emotion, antisocial behaviour and selfishness
C. A person who is a loner, moody and often depressed
D. A person who is logical, creative and conscientious
B. A person who is characterised by a lack of guilt and emotion, antisocial behaviour and selfishness
What type of doll was used in Bandura’s study?
A. Barney
B. Baby
C. Bobo
D. Barbie
C. Bobo
