criminal psychology Flashcards
What is positive reinforcement
Receiving something pleasant for a behaviour so we repeat it
What is negative reinforcement
The avoidance of something unpleasant so we do it again
What is an example of positive reinforcement
Received praise for hitting someone so they do it again
What is an example of negative reinforcement
If someone is able to stop a bully by punching them it is likely the will use their fists to solve problems in the future
What is operant conditioning
Learning from consequences of actions
What is positive punishment
Recieving something unpleasant for a behaviour so we don’t so it again
What is negative punishment
Removing something pleasant so we do not repeat the behaviour again
What is an example of positive punishment
If someone does a criminal act and is fined and imprisoned
What is an example of negative punishment
Child is disruptive at a birthday party which they are enjoying so the parent removes them from the party to sit in the corner
What is primary reinforcers
A reinforcer that satisfies a biological need
What is an example of primary reinforcers
Theft to buy water and food
What is a secondary reinforcer
Reinforcers with no survival value but learned to associate it with a primary reinforcer
What is an example of a secondary reinforcer
A credit card
What are strengths of operant conditioning
- can be used to explain a wide range of crimes
- explains punishment can remove an undesirable behaviour- offenders are punished through the removal of civil liberties
What are weaknesses of operant conditioning
- not all crime is committed through recieving reinforcement or punishment
- behaviour can be reproduced in the absence of reinforcement or punishment
What is social learning theory
Behaviour is learned through the observation and imitation of role models
What is the identification and modelling process in social learning theory
Attention
Retention
Reproduction
Motivation
Identification
What is attention to social learning theory
In order to learn something you must be able to and want to pay attention to it
What is retention to social learning theory
For learning to take place, you must be able to store or retain the new behaviour in your memory
What is reproduction to social learning theory
To be able to model the new behaviour you observed, you need to be able to reproduce it
What is motivation to social learning theory
You are more likely to model a behaviour you have observed someone do if you are motivated to reproduce it
What is identification to social learning theory
When you adopt the behaviour, beliefs and values of the role model or group
What is vicarious reinforcement
Motivation to model the behaviours of others who we see being rewarded for their behaviour
What are strengths of social learning theory
- Bandura conducted a study and it proved aggression was copied
- theory can explain why some people exposed to criminality to become criminals and others do not
What are weaknesses of social learning theory
- can’t ethically taste whether exposure to aggression can have long term effects
- some criminal behaviour cannot be explained by observational learning
What twins are both more likely to become criminals
Monozygotic
What is extra version
Behaviour that is outgoing, sensation-seeking and sociaable
What is introversion
Behaviour is reserved, calm and quiet
What is personality
Characteristics and qualities that make up someone’s individual character
What is temperament
The nature someone is born with, which affects their behaviour
What is unstable neuroticism
Personality trait associated with being over reactive in stressful situations, over emotional and anxious
What is stable neuroticism
A personality trait associated with being unreactive in stressful situations and emotionally unaffected.
What is psychotism
a personality trait that is cold, lacks empathy, is antisocial and can be aggressive.
What can personality traits be measured with
by Eysenck personality questionnaire (EPQ)
What is a high E score mean in the EPQ
People with a high E score on the EPQ are believed to have a nervous system that has a low arousal level, so they seek external stimulation to raise their biological arousal level. They do this by being outgoing and sensation-seeking.
What does a low E score mean on the EPQ
People with low E scores are believed
to have a nervous system characterised by high arousal, so they avoid thrill and excitement in order to dampen their biological arousal level.
What does a high N score mean on the EPQ mean
Unstable neurotics have a high N score and are believed to have a nervous system that responds very quickly under stressful conditions; they tend to over-react quickly.
What does a low N score mean in EPQ
In contrast, people with low N scores have an unreactive nervous system, meaning they are calm under stressful conditions.
What does a high P show in the EPQ
Having a high P score means that a person is cold, lacks compassion and can be antisocial.
What are PEN scores
Score psychotism, extroversion and neuroticism
What are high PEN scores showing
Criminality
What are strengths of Eysenck’s theory
- combines biological, psychological and social factors - holistic
What are weaknesses of Eysenck’s theory
Criminality can be considered to be more about environmental conditions than personality traits
What is recidivism
an offender is punished for their crime but commits another crime when released
What is rehabilitation
programme designed to help offenders rather than punish them.
What is custody
A prison sentence
What are strengths of a prison as a deterrent to reoffending
- removes criminal from public life so they don’t have to opportunity to commit more crimes
- keeps society safe
What are weakness of a prison as a deterrent to reoffending
- prisoners are exposed to criminality role models while serving time - role models may commit crimes within prison and may reward other inmates for breaking prison rules
- unethical as human rights are removed
What is community sentencing
an offender serves a sentence in the community rather than in prison; they have to pay back the community by doing jobs such as removing graffiti.
What is a strength of community sentencing as a way to reduce offending
- offenders are given a second chance to make up for their crime by giving something back to their community
- community sentences are only given in appropriate circumstances, they may be more suitable punishments than imprisonment
What is a weakness of community sentencing as a way to reduce offending
- seen as a soft punishment and cannot be used as an alternative to imprisonment
What is restorative justice
when a victim and offender meet; it is a process used to help a victim recover and make an offender understand the impact of their crime.
What is a strength of restorative justice as a way of reducing reoffending
- restorative justice has a high victim satisfaction rate of around 85 per cent - shows that victims are able to ask questions and communicate their point of view to an offender
- 14 per cent reduction in recidivism, compared to not using restorative justice.
What is a weakness of restorative justice as a way to reduce reoffending
- can cause distress to both offender and victim as it involves personal contact via a face-to-face meeting or by letter
- time-consuming and costly
What is a token economy programme
A programme designed to reward prisoners for prosocial behaviour; prisoners collect tokens that can be exchanged for privileges.
What is a strength of token economy programmes
- short term increase of pro social behaviour within a prison
What are weaknesses of token economy programmes
- token economies are fairly economical and can be administered by prison staff. However, they do need commitment from prison staff and prisons for them to work
- tokens are not found in everyday life
What is an anger management programme
Cognitive behavioural treatment for violent offenders to help them control their anger
What are the three stages in a anger management programme and what are they
Cognitive preparation = offender reflects on their anger
Skills acquisition = offender learns new skills to help them control their anger
Application practice = involves role playing anger triggering situations so offender can practice skills
What is a weakness of an anger management programme
- programme can be abused by offenders
-offender needs to be highly motivated
What was the aim of the imitation of aggressive role models by Bandura
children would imitate aggression that was role-played by an observed adult. The researchers were specifically interested in whether the sex of the role model and sex of the child would be an important factor in whether a child would imitate aggression or not.
What was the procedure of the imitation of aggressive role models by Bandura
- 36 girls and 36 boys aged between 37 and 69 months
- 8 groups of 6 children and.a control group of 24
- model was seen to hit the doll aggressively or played nicely and children were asked to play in another room with other toys
What was the results of the imitation of aggressive role models by Bandura
- children exposed to aggressive role model
- boys were more likely to copy the same-sex aggressive role model compared to girls
- girls spent more time with dolls and a tea set boys spent more time with a toy gun
What was the conclusion of the imitation of aggressive role models by Bandura
- children learn through observation with the absence of reinforcement
- children learn aggression from adult role models
What was the strengths of the imitation of aggressive role models by Bandura
- standardized procedure, making it replicable and reliable
- children were matched in groups according to their normal levels of aggression
What was the weaknesses of the imitation of aggressive role models by Bandura
- children were tested in a unfamiliar environment and may have guessed the aim of the research, lacking validity
- children were exposed to aggression and couldn’t predict long term effects - unethical
What was the aim of Charlton’s Study on Children’s Playground Behaviour On Broadcast Television
- effects of television on children’s behaviour
- whether television made them aggressive
What was the procedure of Charlton’s Study on Children’s Playground Behaviour On Broadcast Television
- went to an island in 1994 and recorded behaviour of children for 4 months
- set up in two primary schools aged between 3-8 years old over 2 weeks
- recorded 256 minutes
- 5 years later after television introduced and filmed again
- filmed 344 minutes over 2 week period
What was the results of Charlton’s Study on Children’s Playground Behaviour On Broadcast Television
- no change in antisocial behaviour observed in children
- boys had a tendency to display more antisocial acts than girls
What was the conclusion of Charlton’s Study on Children’s Playground Behaviour On Broadcast Television
- television had little influence on behaviour of children
- might be environmental conditions specific
What was the strengths of Charlton’s Study on Children’s Playground Behaviour On Broadcast Television
- same primary schools were used
- natural experiment as children didn’t know about the experiment
What was the weakness of Charlton’s Study on Children’s Playground Behaviour On Broadcast Television
- Williams conducted a similar study and found that television did increase aggression in children
- programmes on the island were not the same as mainland television - could contained less violence
