Criminal Psychology Flashcards
Operant conditioning
Learning from the consequences of actions
Positive reinforcement
Receiving something pleasant for behaviour so we can repeat it
Negative reinforcement
The avoidance of something unpleasant, so we can do it again
Positive punishment
Receiving something unpleasant for a behaviour so we do not do it again
Negative punishment
Removing something pleasant so we do not repeat the behaviour again
Primary reinforcer
A reinforcer that satisfies a basic biological need
Secondary reinforcer
A reinforcer of no survival value but we have learned to associate it with a primary reinforcer
Social learning theory
Behaviour is learned through the observation and imitation of role models
Modelling
Learning a new behaviour through paying attention to retaining and reproducing the behaviour of a role model
Observational learning
Learning new behaviours through watching and modelling a role model
Role model
A person who we admire or with whom we share similar characteristics
Attention
In order to learn something new you must be able to and want to pay attention to it
Retention
For learning to take place you must be able to store or retain the new behaviour in your memory
Reproduction
To be able to model the new behaviour that you observed, you need to be able to reproduce it
Motivation
You are more likely to model a behaviour you have observed someone do it you are motivated to reproduce it
Vicarious reinforcement
Motivation to model the behaviours of others who we see being rewarded for their behaviour
Identification
Temporarily adopting the behaviour of a role model or group
Monozygotic twins
Twins developed from one fertisilised egg that has split in two monozygotic twins are genetically identical
Dizygotic twins
Twins developed from two different eggs fertisilsed during the same pregnancy dizygotic twins are not genetically identical
Temperament
The nature someone is born with which affects their behaviour
Extraversion
Behaviour that is outgoing sensation seeking and sociable
Introversion
Behaviour that is reserved calm and quiet
Unstable neuroticism
A personality trait associated with being over reactive in stressful situations over emotional and anxious
Stable neuroticism
A personality trait associated with being unreactive in stressful situations and emotionally unaffected
Psychoticism
A personality trait that is cold lacks empathy, is antisocial, and can be aggressive
Eysencks personality questionnaire (EPQ)
A questionnaire to measure extroversion introversion stable and unstable neuroticism and psychotism
Socialisation
The way you are raised and taught to behave
Holism
The theory of explaining something as a whole
Recidivism
When an offender is punished for their crime but commits another crime when released (rate of offending)
Rehabilitive
A programme designed to help offenders rather than punish them
Humanitarian
A concern with the welfare of humans
Community sentencing
When 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
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
Token economy programme
A programme designed to reward prisoners for prosocial behaviour, prisoners collect tokens that can be exchanged for privileges
Anger management programme
Cognitive behavioural treatment for violent offenders to help them control their anger
Psychopath
A person who is characterised by a lack of guilt and emotion, antisocial behaviour and selfishness
