Criminal Psychology - Non-physiological explanations of criminal behaviour (Background) Flashcards
To learn the social factors that influence violent behaviour
What were the four risk factors found in the Cambridge study for factors influencing violent behaviour?
- measures of family criminality
- low school attainment
- daring/risk taking
- poor parenting and poverty
What is Sutherland’s theory of differential association?
The more a person is in contact with criminal activity or exposed to it by family and friends, the more likely they are to be involved in criminal activity
Despite being a flawed explanation of factors influencing criminal behaviour, what can Sutherland’s theory of differential association help explain?
It can help explain white collar crime such as stealing stationary or fiddling expenses because ‘everybody does it’ and so the behaviour has become an accepted social norm
How does Kohlberg’s pre-conventional stage of moral reasoning help explain non-physiological explanations of criminal behaviour?
It suggests that criminal behaviour is only seen as right or wrong depending on the individual’s stage of moral reasoning.
What was the aim of Palmer and Hollin’s study?
To see if moral development was delayed in young offenders
What was the procedure of the study?
Participants completed a self-report questionnaire and two psychometric measures
What was the name of the first psychometric measure used in Palmer and Hollin’s study and what does it stand for?
SRM-SF = Self Reflection Measure - Short Form
What did the SRM-SF measure?
It measured the level of moral reasoning
What was the name of the second psychometric measure used in Palmer and Hollin’ study and what does it stand for?
SRD = Self-Reported Delinquency Checklist
What did the SRD checklist measure?
The level of delinquency in participants
what were the results from Palmer and Hollin’s study in terms of Kohlberg’s stage of moral development?
Male offenders used the pre-conventional stage
Non-offenders used the conventional stage
What was concluded from Palmer and Hollin’s study?
Male offenders have less mature reasoning in value areas relating to delinquent behaviour
