final exam

Question 1

approaches to profiling

Answer 1

actuarial and clinical

Question 2

clinical approach

Answer 2

case focused and used to infer characteristics of offender from evidence gathered at crime scene
-focus: an individual based on material gathered in the case. sometimes supplemented by gut feelings

Question 3

actuarial approach

Answer 3

large data sets- these data were gathered from other individuals who committed similar crimes. the accumulated data from these groups represent base rates

Question 4

psychological profiling

Answer 4

suspect is already known, can be used for posing purposes
1) threat assessment: known individual makes a threat, how serious is it? (combo of actuarial and clinical)
2) risk assessment: probation

Question 5

suspect-based profiling

Answer 5

largely actuarial; found in airports, border patrol; identifying the psychological and behavioral features of persons who may commit a particular crime (ex school violence)

Question 6

geographical profiling

Answer 6

technique to locate where an offender resides or will “strike next”1 (highly actuarial)

Question 7

crime scene profiling

Answer 7

developing of a rough personality or sketch of unknown offender from clues at a crime scene

Question 8

modus operandi (MO)

Answer 8

method of doing something; oftentimes the MO changes

Question 9

personation or signature

Answer 9

anything that goes beyond what is necessary to commit the crime
-undoing: psychological undoing of the crime, brought about by extreme distress (comfort/compassion, dehumanization)

Question 10

staging

Answer 10

intentional alteration of the crime scene prior to arrival of police
-sometimes this is done by someone other than the perpetrate (ex- family member)
-mislead law enforcement (wipe of fingerprints)
-protect the victim or victim’s family

Question 11

profiling

Answer 11

seems to be most helpful in cases including:
1) serial sexual offenders (rape/homicide)
-part of the reason is large data base
2) profiling more successful in case of serious psychopathology
3) profiling is less successful with fraud, burglary, political crimes

Question 12

crime can leave 2 signatures at crime scene

Answer 12

1) crime scene signature = conscious mind
-offender intentionally leaves this (ex. Zodiac killer)
2) psychological signature = unconscious mind (habits, unknowingly left behind)

Question 13

basic flaws in modern day profiling

Answer 13

1) assumption (“framing”) that behavior is consistent across different situations
2) evidence at the crime scene is directly related to personality characteristics
3) results are sometimes so ambiguous that they aren’t useful (this can be true across all types of psychological assessment)
4) compounding the problem is that in the ambiguity, people see wha they want to see = confirmation bias

Question 14

classic mass murder

Answer 14

when an individual walks into or barricades himself into a public building, such as a fast-food restaurant, mall, or theater, and kills at random (but sometimes selectively)

Question 15

family mass murder

Answer 15

at least 3 family members are killed by another family member

Question 16

do most serial killer killers have specific preferences for the location of their killings?

Answer 16

yes, they frequently commit their crimes within comfort zones that are often defined by an anchor point

Question 17

what are the four hunting patterns that Rossmo identified

Answer 17

hunter, poacher, troller, trapper

Question 18

spree murder

Answer 18

used to refer to the killing of 3 or more individuals without any cooling-off period, usually at 2 or more locations

Question 19

mass murder

Answer 19

killing 4 or more persons at a single location with no cooling-off period between murders

Question 20

risk assessment is a process to evaluate what

Answer 20

individuals who have violated social norms or displayed bizarre behavior, particularly when they appear menacing or unpredictable

Question 21

serial killers generally select victims based off of what

Answer 21

availability, vulnerability, desirability

Question 22

hunter

Answer 22

identifies a specific victim in his home area

Question 23

poacher

Answer 23

prefers to travel away from home area for hunting victims

Question 24

troller

Answer 24

an opportunistic killer, he attacks victims while carrying out regular activities

Question 25

trapper

Answer 25

a spider-and-fly scenario in which an offender enjoys laying a trap for a victim

Question 26

serial killer

Answer 26

background= usually history of abuse/neglect
crimes occur “later” than other violent offenders (start at ages 24-40); average age of arrest is 36; typically active for about 4 years prior to getting caught

Question 27

mass shooters

Answer 27

no detailed profile exists to predict mass murderers

Question 28

risk factors of mass shooters

Answer 28

making threats on social media, stock piling weapons, white males, without a criminal record, frustrated/angry/helpless, grandiose aspirations for fame

Question 29

motives for mass shooters

Answer 29

revenge (for nearly all), power, loyalty/love = “save” the group from something, profit = armed robbery, to terrorize

Question 30

Hare psychopathy checklist

Answer 30

primary psychopaths score > 30
non psychopaths score < 21

Question 31

possible 5th and 6th factors

Answer 31

boldness and meanness

Question 32

recidivism

Answer 32

refers to the tendency to return to offending

Question 33

causes of psychopathy

Answer 33

-MAOA-L gene
-PFC dysfunction
-amygdala dysfunction
~problems in connection between PFC and amygdala