Criminal Psychology Flashcards
Five different types of crime?
A, A-S, D, S, V
A) Definition of Acquisitive?
B) Give examples
Taking money or belongings
Without consent/ knowledge
Of the Owners
Theft
Fraud
A) Definition of Anti- Social?
B) Give Examples
Causing harassment or distress
To people who are
Not part of your
Family.
Drunk and Disorderly
Graffiti
A) Definition of Drug-related?
B) Give examples
Trading or using illegal substances.
Supplying drugs
Buying drugs
A) Definition of Sexual?
B) Give examples
Making someone else
Submit to a sexual act
Against their consent.
Rape
Use of child pornography
A) Definition of Violent?
B) Give examples
Causing physical harm or
Even death to someone else.
Physical assault
Murder
Social Construct
Something that is not real
But exists because people in
Society have created it through
Social interaction.
Deviation from norms
Something that differs
From what is considered
Socially acceptable.
Defining Crime
Measuring Crime
Defining crime is about deciding
What crime is.
Measuring crime is about
How much crime is happening.
How is criminal behaviour a social construct?
Criminal behaviour is a
Social Construct because it is
Determined by the norms and values of
Society rather than be a
Real thing
What is meant by
Deviation from norms’
In relation to crime?
This is the idea that
Crime is not normal because
It breaks with the
Expected standards of society -
Normally because it is committed
By a minority
What are some of the ways that crime can be measured?
Official statistics
Collected from police records,
Offender surveys
Victim surveys
Role model
A person who is
Admired and therefore
Imitated
Who are typical role models for
Criminal behaviour?
Parents
Peers
Media figures
Can you explain the difference between
Vicarious reinforcement and
Direct reinforcement?
Vicarious reinforcement is when
Somebody wants to repeat a
Behaviour because they have
Seen someone else
Rewarded for it
Whereas
Direct reinforcement is when
Somebody repeats a
Behaviour because they have
Received a reward
As a consequence
Themselves.
How does criminal behaviour become
Internalised?
Criminal behaviour is internalised when
It happens regardless of the
outcomes
And this happens as the
Behaviour becomes reinforced
Over Time
So that becomes
part of the person.
Vicarious reinforcement
A behaviour is imitated
Because it is
Seen to be
Rewarded.
Direct reinforcement
A behaviour is repeated because it has
Been rewarded.
Internalisation
When a behaviour is
Well learned
And will happen whether it is
Rewarded or not.
Nature vs Nurture Debate is about…
The Nature vs Nuture debate
is all about whether
People are born
With a
Certain trait or behaviour
(Nature)
Or whether
It is a result of their
Experiences.
(Nurture)
The Social Learning Theory of criminality.
Key Criticism?
Other criticisms?
Key Criticism.
The theory focuses too much on nurture and ignores the role of nature. In other words, it believes criminal behaviour can be learned and therefore unlearned. It might, however, be something that is more innate.
Other criticisms.
If criminal behaviour is imitated from others, from where did it originate in the first place?
Attempts to control criminal behaviour - such as
Age restrictions on films and video games -
Have not been that successful in stopping the rise of
Crime.
Subjectivity
Based on personal opinion rather than
Fact.
Culture
A collective set of
norms and values
That determine
The way of life
Of a group of people.
Acts that deviate from norms but are not
Criminal?
Walking around naked.
Acts that are normal (most people do them) but
Are criminal?
Speeding
Acts that used to be illegal in the UK but are not any more.
Having an abortion was illegal in the UK
Until the late 1960’s.
A Cross-cultural difference in criminal behaviour?
Bigamy ( it is normal in certain countries for men to have more than 1 wife. eg Saudi Arabia, Egypt.
What type of crime involves taking property without consent?
What is the link between crime as a social construct and culture?
Culture
A collective set of norms and values that determine the way of life of a group of people.
Self-report
A method that involves participants reporting on themselves through answering questions.
Consequences
The result of something, usually negative. For example, the consequences of being ignored by your friends might be feeling depressed.
Direct Reinforcement
When a behaviour is strengthened and likely to be repeated due to positive outcomes for the individual.
What is the difference between official statistics and self-reports as measures of crime?
What distinguishes role models from other people?
Why might a crime be observed but not imitated?
What is the difference between vicarious reinforcement and direct reinforcement?
What is meant by internalisation, according to Social Learning Theory?
Where does Social Learning Theory stand in the nature versus nurture debate, and why?
Nature
Relates to behaviours that people are born with or develop naturally.
Nurture
Refers to behaviours that people learn through experience.
Discuss whether Cooper & Mackie’s comments about gender and computer games are now out of date. if so, in what ways?
Aggression
Spoken or physical behaviour that is threatening or involves harm to someone.
Randomly
To leave to chance.
Observation method
A method of collecting data which involves watching and recording people’s behaviours.
Control
A way of ensuring other variables do not affect the results of a study.
Counterbalancing
To even out trials/tasks so they do not occur in the same order each time.
Arousal
Activation of the nervous system making individuals awake, alert and attentive.
Can you explain why counterbalancing was an important control in the Cooper & Mackie (1986) study?
Disinhibition
When people have a lack of control over their own behaviour because they are not concerned about what is expected.
Which type of experimental design was used in Cooper & Mackie’s study?
What are the three conditions in the experiment ?
How was the aggression measured in the experiment?
What were some of the main differences between genders shown in the results?
What were the limitations of using an experiment to investigate the effect of video games on aggression?
Criminal personality
A set of relatively fixed traits associated with people who commit crimes.
Genetic inheritance
When genetic information is passed on from parents to child through the pairing of chromosomes at conception.
Extraversion
A trait measuring how anxious an individual is.
Neuroticism
A trait measuring how anxious an individual is.
Psychoticism
A trait measuring how impulsive and aggressive an individual is.
Biological
Relating to brain and body.
Central nervous system
A system consisting of the brain and spinal cord, to which sensory impulses are transmitted and from which motor impulses pass out.
Reticular activation system
A neural network that mediates consciousness and alertness.
Cerebral cortex
The outer layer of the brain, which is important for consciousness and alertness.
Dopamine reward system
A neural network that is responsible for people experiencing pleasure.
Autonomic nervous system
The system responsible for unconscious control of the body’s internal organs.
Limbic system
A neural network that controls emotional expression.
Dopaminergic neurons
Nerve cells that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine.
Synaptic transmission
The process where neurotransmitters are released by presynaptic neuron and bind to and activate the receptors of postsynaptic neuron.
Conditioning
Learning by association and consequence.
Early socialisation
The process where young children are conditioned to accept the norms and values of their family and wider society.
Individual differences
How people are unique and different from one another.
What three personality traits do criminals score highly on, according to Eysenck?
How is each trait associated with criminal behaviour?
What biological factors are involved in the criminal personality according to Eysenck?
In his theory, how does Eysenck consider both nature and nurture?
How can Eysenck be criticised for ignoring individual differences?
What is meant by psychoticism?
It is a trait that makes someone aggressive and inconsiderate of others.
What are the traits of a neurotic extrovert?
A neurotic extrovert would be thrill seeking, risk taking and over-optimistic.
How does the reticular activating system work differently in extroverts and introverts?
In extroverts the reticular activating system tends to be underactive so it needs a lot of stimulus from the environment to be aroused whereas it is overactive in introverts so it does not need much to stimulate it.
What is the role of dopamine in criminal behaviour?
Too much dopamine has been associated with higher levels of aggression. The dopamine reward system is also weaker in extroverts so they need more thrilling experiences to trigger feelings of pleasure.
What is the role of conditioning in criminal behaviour?
Criminal personality types are harder to condition so this means they do not easily form an association between committing a crime and its negative outcomes.
Key Criticism of Eysenck’s Theory?
Other Criticisms?
Eysenck’s theory underplays individual differences. He sees criminals as being broadly the same as they share the same personality type. Other psychologists argue that this is an over-generalisation.
Other Criticism…
The theory is too deterministic as it says that criminal behaviour is largely genetic but this suggests that there is little that can be done to control it. However, evidence suggests that criminals can be rehabilitated.
The neurotic extrovert personality links with some crimes better than others. For example its traits fit well with crimes like murder, rape and theft but less so with more introverted crimes such as fraud.
Social Learning Research Study:
Cooper & Mackie (1986)
Social Learning Research Study:
Cooper & Mackie (1986)
A study into the transmission of aggression through imitation and aggressive models.
Cooper & Mackie Hypothesis
Social Learning Research Study :
Cooper & Mackie (1986)
Hypothesis
The researchers started their investigation with a key hypothesis.
They predicted that playing an aggressive video game compared to other types of games would lead to increase aggression in children.
Criminal Personality Theory Research Study:
Heaven (1996)
Criminal Personality Theory Research Study:
Heaven (1996)
A study into delinquency, extraversion, psychoticism and self esteem.
Heaven (1996) Hypothesis
Criminal Personality Theory Research Study: Heaven (1996)
Hypothesis
The researcher predicted that measures of psychoticism, extraversion and self-esteem would be significant predictors for self-reported delinquency.
Delinquency
Delinquency
Actions that go against accepted standards or laws.
Cross-sectional study
Cross-sectional study
A study carried out at one point in time and comparing distinct groups of people.
Why is the Heaven study an example of a longitudinal study?
Who made up the original sample in the study?
How were each of the three traits investigated in the study measured?
How were each of the three traits investigated in the study measured?
How did Heaven’s conclusions take into account both nature and nurture when explaining delinquency?
In what ways were Heaven’s results potentially biased?
Punishment
Punishment
When negative consequences follow a certain behaviour and reduce the chance of that behaviour happening again.
Prison
Prison
A place where people are confined as a punishment.
Fine
Fine
A monetary charge imposed on an individual who has committed an offence.
Community sentence
Community Sentence
Time that has to be given back to the community in the form of unpaid work.
Deterrent
Deterrent
Something that reduces the likelihood of a crime being committed.
