Evaluation of Psychological Formulations for Understanding the Offender Flashcards
+ Explain to offender
Useful for explaining to an offender what led to them committing the offense and therefore help them to manage future situations - strength of PFs as they reduce recidivism
+ Easy diagram
When done in diagram form, PFs can simplify a great deal of information and explain individual offender behaviour to other professionals - can be understood by many experts (police, psychologists, psychiatrists, etc.) to quickly understand the offender and to make the best decisions for them
+ Personal
PFs are more personal and individualised - a useful method for understanding unique and complex cases (e.g. serial killers), meaning the support/treatment will be more individualised and the most suitable method of rehabilitation for the offender will be found
- Reliability and validity
PFs carry issues surrounding reliability and validity due to the need to interpret info given - there may be bias/subjectivity on the part of interviewer in the way they conduct the interview and the way they interpret the offender’s behaviour, which may be different to another’s interpretation
- Difficult to gain info
It can be difficult to gain all the information from the individual offender - offender may display demand characteristics/social desirability bias as PFs can be used in court, so there is incentive to lie. This reduces the validity of the information
- Reductionism
There is the issue of reductionism, oversimplifying, or underestimating the impact of the complex live events that led the individual to commit the crime in question - focusing on a few factors identified as potentially influencing the offender’s behaviour may mean there is a lack of consideration for other possible influences that are missed which may be crucial for understanding the offender (e.g. financial motivation), and there may be interconnection between factors
