Explanations of Offending- Cognitive, Psychodynamic (Forensic Psychology)

Question 1

Lawrence Kohlberg (cognitive)

Answer 1

• first researcher to apply the concept of moral reasoning to criminal behaviour
• based his theory on criminal and non-criminal responses to a number of moral dilemmas
• decisions and judgements were then summarised into a stage theory of development. The higher the stage - the more sophisticated the reasoning

Question 2

Kohlberg’s levels

Answer 2

-level 1: pre conventional reasoning
* an action is morally wrong if the person who commits it is punished as a result
* the right behaviour is the one that is in your best interest

-level 2: conventional reasoning
* the right behaviour is the one that makes other people think positively about you
* it is important to obey laws and follow social conventions because they help society to function properly

-level 3: post conventional reasoning
* the right course of action is the one that promotes the greatest good for the greatest number of people
* actions are driven by abstract, universal principles of right and wrong, which do not depend on the situation

Question 3

Kohlberg (1973) findings

Answer 3

-found criminals have a lower level of moral reasoning than others:
• criminals do not progress from the pre-conventional level of moral reasoning, they seek to avoid punishment and gain rewards and have child-like reasoning
• non-criminals tend to reason at higher levels and sympathise with the rights of others, exhibiting honesty, generosity and non-violence (post-conventional moral reasoning)
• serious offenders have a moral outlook that differs from that of the law-abiding majority
• Allen et al (2001) supported this assumption by showing that criminals tend to have a lower level of moral reasoning

Question 4

Chandler (1973)

Answer 4

offenders are more egocentric and display poorer social perspective-taking skills (evaluating and considering others)
• 45 chronically delinquent 11-13 year old males and 45 non delinquents
1. experimental drama programme - showed some improvement
2. placebo condition
3. nontreatment control condition

Question 5

Gibbs et al. (1995) cognitive distortions

Answer 5

• errors or biases in people’s informational processing characterised by irrational thinking
• distortions are ways of thinking so that reality has become twisted and what we perceive no longer represents what is actually true
• the result is that a person’s perception of events is wrong but they think it is accurate
• in the case of criminal behaviour- these distortions lead to offenders denying or rationalising their behaviour

Types are: hostile attribution bias and minimalisation

Question 6

Hostile attribution bias

Answer 6

• an attribution: what we think when we observe someone’s actions and inferring what their actions mean
• attribution bias: when someone has a leaning towards always thinking the worst. In the case of criminals, such negative interpretations can be linked to their aggressive or violent behaviour
• offenders misinterpret social cues and justify their actions by attributing cause to victim

Question 7

Minimalisation

Answer 7

• both magnification and minimalisation are cognitive distortions where the consequences of a situation are either over or under- stated. This bias acts to reduce an offender
• s feeling of guilt
• ‘euphemistic label’ of behaviour (Bandura 1973)
• in the case of criminal behaviour, offenders may use minimalisation to reduce the negative interpretation of their behaviour after a crime has been committed

Question 8

Wegrzn et al. (2017) Hostile faces

Answer 8

• 62 males- 30 violent criminals (VC); 15 history of sexual abuse (SA) in children and 17 controls
• shown 20 ambiguous faces: 10 male and 10 female and asked to rate fear and anger
• VC: shown to have a hostile attribution bias as they rated the faces as angry more often than control and SA

Question 9

Hostile attribution bias evidence

Answer 9

Schonberg and Justye (2014)
• Method: presented 55 violent offenders with images of emotionally ambiguous facial expressions and compared these results with a control group of non-offenders
• the faces showed angry, happy or fearful emotions in varying levels of intensity
• findings: the violent offenders were more likely to perceive images as angry and hostile compared to the control group

Question 10

Dodge and Frame (1982)

Answer 10

• Method: children were read five stories in which same sex peers caused an act of instrumental aggression but intention is ambiguous
• neither clearly hostile nor clearly accidental
• children asked a series of questions about intent and retaliation and punishment
• Findings: aggressive boys responses contained attributions of hostile intent

Question 11

Hostile bias of aggressive boys to over attribute hostile intentions to peers

Answer 11

• study 1: 81 aggressive kindergarten up to 5th grade boys matched with non-aggressive peers
• found that biased attributions were implicated as a direct precedent to aggressive responses
• study 2: 80 of the same aggressive boys assessed the role of selective attention to and recall of hostile social cues
• found that selective recall of hostile cues did lead to biased attributions but did not fully account for differences between the boys
• study 3: 48 2nd grade boys observed peer-directed aggressive behaviours. Aggressive behaviour occurred at much higher rates towards their peers than the other way round

Question 12

Yochelson and Samenow (1976): Criminal thinking patterns

Answer 12

-Method: longitudinal study over 14 years, (255 male offenders) interviewed over a number of years
groups were
• offenders at a hospital for ‘secure treatment’ found NGRI
• offenders in ‘normal’ prisons
-Results: only 30 finished the study, 52 thinking patterns common across all prisoners
• criminal thinking: fear and need for power
• automatic thinking errors: lack of trust/empathy and impulsiveness
• crime-related thinking errors: fantasising about criminal behaviours
-Conclusion: criminals share common thinking patterns and thinking errors
-Evaluation:
• no control group- less valid
• gender bias
• difficult and expensive to replicate
• ecological validity

Question 13

Evidence for minimalisation as being common among sexual offenders

Answer 13

• Barbaree (1991) among 26 incarcerate rapists, 54% denied they had committed an offence at all and 40% minimised the harm they had caused to the victim
• Pollock and Hashmall (1991) 35% of child molesters in their sample argued the crime they had committed was non-sexual and 36% claimed the victim had consented
• 21 distinct excuses were given

Question 14

Giles (1979) alternative theory of moral reasoning

Answer 14

• proposed two levels of moral reasoning- mature and immature
• level 1: avoidance of punishment and personal gain
• level 2: empathy, social justice and one’s own conscience
• maintained that Kohlberg’s post-conventional stage should be abandoned since it contains a western cultural bias and does not represent a ‘natural’ maturational stage of development

Question 15

Kohlberg Vs Gilligan

Answer 15

• Gender bias- stated the principles were universal but Kohlberg only investigated American men
• Gilligan- male morality is based on abstract principles (importance of justice) where as female morality is influenced by the ethic of care and responsibility for others
• Kohlberg- argued that the natural female tendency towards care would place women at a lower and les mature level of moral reasoning

Question 16

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

Answer 16

• children think differently to adults
• when our existing schemas do not allow us to make sense of something new, leads to an unpleasant sensation of disequilibrium
• to escape this, we adapt by exploring and learning what we need to know
-Assimilation: when we understand a new experience and equilibrate by adding new information to our existing schemas
-Accommodation: response to dramatic new experiences, radically changing current schemas or forming new ones

Question 17

Piaget 1932

Answer 17

• his theory suggested that child-like (criminal) moral reasoning is egocentric and eventually gives way to empathy and a concern for the needs of others as children mature
• found that, when presented with moral scenarios, younger children focus on the consequences of actions (moral realism) while children aged 10 and above usually saw the motivation or intent behind actions as more important (moral relativism)

Question 18

Hollin and Palmer (1998): Level of moral reasoning

Answer 18

• compared moral reasoning between 210 female non-offenders, 112 male non-offenders and 126 convicted offenders using the Socio-Moral Reflection Measure (SRM)
• this contained 11 moral-dilemma related questions such as not taking things and keeping a promise to a fried
• the offenders showed less mature moral reasoning than the non-offending groups
• Blackburn (1993) suggests this is due to their childhood lacking moral role-play opportunities which may have helped mature moral reasoning to develop
• suggests possible treatment

Question 19

Thornton and Reid (1982) Individual differences in moral reasoning

Answer 19

• pre conventional moral reasoning tends to be associated with crimes such as robbery whereas impulsive crimes such as assault did not pertain to any type of reasoning
• pre conventional reasoning tended to be evident in crimes where the offender thought they might have had a good chance at evading punishment
• therefore, the level of moral reasoning may depend on the kind of offence committed
• Langdon et al. (2010) intelligence as a predictor of criminality
• people with very low levels of intelligence are less likely to commit crimes but have lower levels of mora reasoning

Question 20

Application of cognitive distortions research

Answer 20

Evaluation
• understanding the nature of criminal distortions- supporting research suggests it is beneficial in the treatment of criminal behaviour
• Cognitive behaviour therapy- used to treat sex offenders, encourages offenders to establish a less distorted view of their actions and ‘face up’ to what they have done
• reduced risk of reoffending- linked to reduced incidence of denial and minmalisation (acceptance of one‘s crimes = important aspect of rehabilitation)
• economic?

Question 21

Homicidol and Hybristophilia

Answer 21

• huge admiration/attraction to serial killers either real or fictional
• Dahlén and Söderlund (2012) found that successful women were more likely to idolise criminals
• hybristophilia- mentally and sexually attracted to dangerous people

Question 22

Differential association theory (DAT) outline

Answer 22

• this term was coined by Sutherland (1939)- a highly influential and controversial sociologist in the USA
• DAT- a social learning theory of crime which suggests that crime is learnt just like any other behaviour through relationships and associations
• this was the first theory that suggested crime was not genetically inherited but instead acquired through learning and association

Question 23

(DAT) Crime is a learned behaviour

Answer 23

• a child learns whether crime is desirable or undesirable
• if someone learns pro-criminal attitudes they have the potential to offend
• children learn which types of crimes are acceptable and unacceptable in their community, as well as methods for committing crime

Question 24

(DAT) Procriminal attitudes and effect on criminality

Answer 24

the degree to which a local community supports or opposes criminal involvement determines the difference in crime rates from one area to another

Question 25

(DAT) Sutherland on learning criminal acts

Answer 25

• Sutherland argued that the degree, frequency, length and personal meaning of such social associations will determine the degree of influence
• if they are exposed to criminals and pro-criminal attitudes, they may learn particular techniques for committing crime

Question 26

The Cambridge study of Delinquent Development: Farrington et al. (1996: 2006) [1]

Answer 26

• development of offending and antisocial behaviour in 411 males
• longitudinal study: children were aged 8 in 1961 and all lived in working-class, deprived, inner city are of South London
• Jack Straw (Labour’s home affairs spokesman)- specialised education for criminal parents
“I teach my children the difference between right and wrong. Criminal families teach theirs wrong and wrong”

Question 27

Farrington et al. (1996: 2006) [2]

Answer 27

Childhood risk factors aged- aged 8-10:
1. disruptive child behaviour
2. criminality in the family
3. low intelligence or low school attainment
4. poor child rearing
5. impulsiveness
6. economic deprivation

• to predict the extent of criminality, a measure of vulnerability was developed based on: low family income, large family size, a convicted parent, poor child rearing, low non-verbal IQ (>90)

• reinterviewed at 48 years life success criteria: satisfactory accommodation history, satisfactory cohabitation history, satisfactory employment history, not involved in fights in last 5 years, satisfactory alcohol use, no drug use in last 5 years, no self-reported offence in the last 5 years, satisfactory mental health, no convictions in last 5 years

• men who scored 67% or greater (succeeding on 6 or more of criteria) were considered to be leading successful lives (age 25), 78% at 32, 88% at 48

Question 28

Blackburn (1993)

Answer 28

If the superego is somehow deficient or inadequate then criminal behaviour is inevitable because the id is given free reign
-The Weak Superego: if the same-sex parent is absent during the phallic stage there is no identification so the child cannot internalise a fully-formed superego - making immoral/criminal behaviour likely.
-The Deviant Superego: if the superego the child internalises has immoral or deviant values this would lead to offending behaviour, e.g. criminal parents.
-Over-Harsh Superego: an excessively harsh or punitive super-ego makes the individual crippled by guilt or anxiety. They may then commit criminal acts to satisfy the superego’s need for punishment.

Question 29

Bowlby Maternal deprivation theory (1944)

Answer 29

• the ability to form meaningful relationships in adulthood is dependent upon the child forming continuous, positive relationships with a mother figure
• maternal bond is superior to any other
• failure to establish this in first few years - leads to damaging and irreversible consequences
• affectionless psychopathy: lack of guilt, empathy and feelings for others, engaging in delinquency

Question 30

Englander (2007) Displacement

Answer 30

• displaced aggression in offenders might explain their antisocial behaviour
• if offenders cannot control their aggression, which comes from their instinctive id, the aggression might spill out of their unconscious, resulting in violent and offending behaviour

Question 31

(Evaluations of psychodynamic explanation) Gender/sex bias

Answer 31

• alpha bias in Freud’s research- women have lower status
• argued women develop a weaker superego than men because they do not identify with their same-sex parents as much as boys do
• superego is not fully realised as well as their sense of morality
• if Freud’s views were correct, there should be more female criminals than men because of a weak super-ego
• Hoffman (1975) very little difference in terms of gender for resistance to temptation

Question 32

(Evaluations of psychodynamic explanations) Contradictory evidence in Blackburn’s research

Answer 32

• little evidence that children raised without same-sex parents are less law-abiding as adults- contradicting the weak super ego argument
• if children born to criminals go on to commit crime, this could be due to genetics or socialisation rather than the formation of a deviant superego
• unconscious desire for punishment- implausible as many criminals go to great lengths to conceal their crimes

Question 33

(Evaluations of DAT) Explanatory power

Answer 33

-ability to account for crime within all sectors of society

-supported by Short (1955): 176 school children, using a questionnaire that measured delinquent behaviour and association with criminals

-Sutherland (1938) highlighted how white collar crimes such as fraud can also take place rather than simply focusing on working class crime

-middle-class social groups who share deviant norms and values

Question 34

(Evaluations of DAT) Shift of Focus

Answer 34

-dysfunctional social circumstances and environments may be more to blame than dysfunctional people

-such an approach has real world application- learning environments can be altered but genetics cannot. Therefor offers a more realistic solution to crime

Question 35

(Evaluations of DAT) Difficulty of Testing

Answer 35

-DAT is difficult to test despite the promise of providing a scientific, mathematical framework to predict future offending behaviours

-can we really measure the number of pro-criminal attitudes someone is exposed to?

-theory is built on the assumption that offending behaviour will occur when pro-criminal values outweigh anti-criminal values

-scientific credibility is undermined- at what point does one realise their urge to offend and when is a criminal career triggered

Question 36

(Evaluations of DAT) Supporting evidence

Answer 36

Alarid et al (2000) tested 1,153 criminals- found differential association theory was a good theory of crime- necessary for looking at the context of offending in predicting crime

• more consistent effects for males

-parental attachment is a significantly stronger predictor of female participation in violent crime

Question 37

(Evaluations of DAT) Alternative explanations

Answer 37

• Family is crucial in determining whether the individual is likely to engage in offending
• if the family is seen to support criminal activity, making it seem legitimate and reasonable- becomes a major influence on child’s value system

-Farrington et al. (2006)

-Mednick et al. (1984)

Question 38

(Evaluations of DAT) Individual differences

Answer 38

-danger of stereotyping individuals who come from impoverished, crime ridden backgrounds as ‘unavoidable criminals’

-ignores our ability to choose

Question 39

(Evaluations of DAT) Methodological issues

Answer 39

-the data collected was correlational- does not tell us the cause and effect, e.g., offenders may seek offenders as peers

-Cox et al (2014)- difficult to test this theory as learned and inherited influences are difficult to separate

-Matssueda (1988)- this theory is vague and needs more testing. Need for concrete causal conditions and targets for controlling crime

-law differs in different societies and cultures

Question 40

(Evaluation of DAT) The role of biological factors

Answer 40

Diathesis-stress model may be a better alternative to differential association theory as it takes into account vulnerability factors and social factors

Question 41

(Evaluation of DAT) Types of crime

Answer 41

-does not explain why most crimes are committed by young people - Newburn (2002)- 40% of offences are committed by people under 21

-does not explain individualistic crimes such as embezzlement or murder (individual and not influenced by others usually)

-However, 2014, there were 500 homicides but 400,000 burglaries

Question 42

(Evaluations of psychodynamic explanation) Consideration of emotion

Answer 42

-unlike most of the other approaches, the psychodynamic approach deals with the role of emotional factors

-it explains how anxiety and/or feelings of rejection may contribute to offending behaviour

-it also recognises the role of biological influences and early childhood experiences in moulding adult personality

Question 43

(Evaluations of psychodynamic explanation) Unconscious concepts

Answer 43

-psychodynamic explanations are unconscious concepts, lacking falsifiability and are not open to empirical testing

-psychodynamic explanations are therefore regarded as ‘pseudoscientific’

Question 44

(Evaluations of psychodynamic explanation) Methodological issues with Bowlby’s research

Answer 44

-researcher bias- preconceptions about what he expected to find influencing his research and retrospective

-criticised by Rutter (1981) for failing to distinguish between privation and depreivation

-many of the thieves he studied had experienced privation which is considered to be more damaging

-Curtiss (1977) case of Genie

Question 45

(Evaluations of psychodynamic explanation) Correlation not Causation

Answer 45

-Lewis (1954) analysed data drawn from interviews with 500 young people

-found maternal deprivation- poor predictor of future offending and the ability to form close relationships in adolescence

-there could be alternative explanations such as genetics or social influences

Question 46

(Evaluations of psychodynamic explanation) Correlation not Causation

Answer 46

-Lewis (1954) analysed data drawn from interviews with 500 young people

-found maternal deprivation- poor predictor of future offending and the ability to form close relationships in adolescence

-there could be alternative explanations such as genetics or social influences