Criminological Psychology Flashcards

Question

Labelling as an explanation of crime

Answer 1

People can be labelled as ‘criminal’ or ‘deviant’ - this would define them and how society behaves towards them Becker (1963) - argues that powerful groups in society create deviance by making up rules and plying them to people they see as ‘outsiders’ Criminal behaviour is only considered so when labelled by others - crime is a social construct

Answer 2

The ‘deviant’ as labelled by society comes to see themselves in this way because of the stereotyped response of others towards their label, making deviant behaviour more likely Stigmatised and isolated from society, the offender would seek support from deviant groups and subcultures, draws the individual further into crime, confirming their criminal identity and deviant status

Answer 3

Observational learning: criminal behaviour learned indirectly through observing and imitating actions, the observer must have the skill and capacity to perform such behaviour, also must be motivated to produce behaviour Vicarious reinforcement: to be imitated, it must be seen to be rewarded (e.g. money, increased status, etc.) Role models: young offenders may be susceptible to the influence of role models, e.g. they may look up to a gang leader, encouraging them to continue this behaviour

Answer 4

Jahoda (1964) Studied boys in Ghana where they are named after the day they are born Found that ‘Kwadku’ those born on a Wednesday are labelled as more aggressive and volatile, found that ‘Kwadku’ are more likely to be involved in violent crimes than ‘Kwadwo’ who are more even-tempered

Answer 5

Zebrowitz et al. (1998) Found that boys with a ‘baby face’ were more likely than their mature-faced peers to be delinquent and involved in crime May be overcompensating for the perception that they may be ‘weak’ or ‘childlike’ rather than fulfilling their label

Answer 6

Only a partial explanation of offending Implies that without labelling, crime would not exist - also seems to suggest that those who committed an offence but aren’t label aren’t criminals Suggests that labelling theory is too simple to be a single explanation of crime

Answer 7

Though many studies support labelling and self-fulfilling prophecy, mostly confined to educational settings These may not be generalisable to the context of crime There are also many factors that may affect the relationship between labelling and crime

Answer 8

Knowledge of labelling may help reduce the negative effects of labelling Braithwaite (1989) Claimed that societies have lower crime rates and reoffending rates if they community shame about crime effectively If the offender receives support and is helped back into society with guidance from the family and prison staff, they are less likely to continue offending Suggests how offenders are labelled may affect how well they retake their place in society

Answer 9

An account of an event or crime that was seen by an observer ‘first hand’ Although these are useful to the police, they may also be unreliable, and affected by factors such as anxiety and post-event information

Answer 10

Any information after the event that may affect or distort an eye-witness’ memory of what happened As human memory is reconstructive, schemas may be influenced on post-event information

Answer 11

A form of post-event information and may trigger schemas The way questions are phrased and when the witness is asked to recall the event E.g. Loftus and Palmer, changed the critical word (‘bumped’, ‘touched’, ‘smashed’) with different verbs Found that participants would over- or under- estimate depending on the word they got This may lead to the witness incorrectly guessing the information

Answer 12

Dramatic events are likely to be stressful for a witness, may affect their ability to recall events Deffenbacher (1983) conducted a review of 21 studies and concluded that moderate levels of anxiety are actually helpful to memory However, if an eye-witness’ anxiety continues to rise, and becomes too extreme, this may lead to a decline in recall

Answer 13

Violent crimes where the perpetrator is carrying a weapon, the brain may only focus on that as a source of stress Means that recall may leave out important details Explained by tunnel theory - noticing a weapon produces a form of selective attention which excludes or ignores any other competing bits of information

Answer 14

Loftus and Palmer (1974) When participants were shown video clips of car accidents, their estimate of how fast the cars were travelling was related to the form of question they were asked ‘Smashed’ as critical word gave higher estimates, while alternatives like ‘contacted’ gave lower estimates Shows that post-event information may lead to inaccurate recall of memory

Answer 15

Yuille and Cutshall (1986) Interviewed witnesses to a real-life shooting in Canada 13 witnesses interviewed by police after event, then re-interviewed by researchers 5 months later Produced accurate accounts of event despite deliberate misleading questions Self-reported anxiety was also high Suggests leading questions, weapon focus may be less pronounced in real life events

Answer 16

Johnson and Scott (1976) Group A: overheard conversation in another room, man then walked out carrying a pen Group B: overheard argument in another room, man then walks out with a bloody knife Found 49% of group A correctly identified man, while 33% of group B identified man Suggests that group B mainly focused on the weapon

Answer 17

Pickel (1998) Similar effect when a man pulled out a raw chicken or Pillsbury Dough Boy to pay a Cheshire rather than presenting his wallet ‘Weapon focus’ may be more related to surprise than anxiety

Answer 18

Caused changes in the legal system Introduction of social framework evidence - psychological evidence may be introduced to demonstrate the unreliability of testimonies Legal cases also recognises the fallibility of human memory to reduce miscarriages of justice