Forensic psych Flashcards
offender profiling definition
a behavioural and analytical to that is intended to help investigators predict + profile the characteristics of unknown criminals
aim of offender profiling
narrow the field of enquiry and the list of key suspects
where is top down profiling from?
america from FBI
2 types of top down approach
organised + disagorganised
organised offender characteristics
- plan crime
- victim type
- high control degree
- deliberate target
- skilled profession
- intelligent
- family
- little evidence left
disorganised offender
- spontaneous
- live alone/close to crime
- unemployed
- history of failed relationship
- little planning
- lower than average IQ
4 stages of FBI profile
1) data assimation
2) crime scene classification
3) crime reconstruction
4) profile generation
top down profiling limitations
- only applies to specific crimes
- based on outdated model of personality
- evidence doesn’t support disorganised offender (Canter)
- only apples to particular crimes such as rape/ arson not common crimes like burglary - limited approach to criminal identification
- based on idea that behaviour remains same across different crimes - critics suggest approach is naïve as doesn’t include external factors affecting personality - reduces validity as can’t predict offenders next move
- Canter - analysed 100 USA murdered with 39 characteristics of organised and disorganised - no evidence for distinct disorganised type
bottom up profiling definition
profilers collect evidence and develop hypotheses about likely characteristics, motivation + social background of offender
2 types of bottom up profiling
- investigative psych
- geographical profiling
investigative profiling definition
matches details from crime scene with statistical analysis or typical offender behaviour patterns, based on psychological theory
geographical profiling definition
based on principal of spatial consistency (offenders operational base) and possible future offences are revealed by geographical location of previous crimes
3 features or investigative psychology
- interpersonal coherence
- time + place
- forensic awareness
interpersonal coherence definiton
offenders behaviour at scene and how it may reflect behaviour in more everyday situations
forensic awareness definition
certain behaviours might reveal awareness of police techniques + past experiences
two models of offender behaviour
marauder + commuter
marauder definition
offender who operated in close proximity to home base
commuter definition
offender who has likely travelled a distance away from usual residence
what does geographical profiling do?
understands spatial pattern of offender behaviour and provides investigator with a ‘centre of gravity’ - ‘the jeopardy surface’ is where the offender is likely to stike next
bottom up to profiling supportive evidence
lundrigan + canter (2001)
- 120 murder cases with serial killers
- location of each disposal sight different from previous ‘centre of gravity’
- supports canters claim that spatial info is key factor to determining offenders base
bottom up profiling strengths
- scientific
- application
- evidence supports investigative psych (canter + heritage)
- more scientific then top down, more grounded in evidence, less speculation, offenders are more accurately + quickly identified
- can be applied to wide range of offences
- 66 sexual assault cases - used smallest space analysis for behaviour patterns e.g. lack of victim reaction - shows offender behaviour changing over different crimes - shows support of investigative psych as shows how ST can be applied
bottom up profiling weaknesses evidence (rachel)
rachel nickell’s death
- original suspect ruled out due to height difference
- might lead investigation in wrong direction
- only good to narrow potential offenders
bottom up weakness evidence (copson)
copson (1995)
- surveyed 48 police officers
- only led to accurate offender identification in 3%
- reliability + accuracy issues
4 psychological explanations of offending behaviour
- Eysenck’s theory
- Cognitive explanations
- Differential association theory
- Psychodynamic explanation
5 parts of Eysenck’s theory
- general personality theory
- biological basis
- the criminal personality
- the role of socialisation
- measuring the criminal personality
what is general personality theory?
includes introversion/ extraversion + neuroticism/ stability to form personality characteristics + psychoticism
what is biological basis?
-personality comes from what we inherit e.g extroverts have under active nervous system
what is the criminal personality?
it is neurotic-extrovert + will score highly in psychoticism
what is the role of socialisation?
people with high N and E scores are more likely to act anti socially in situations
what is measuring the criminal personality?
personality can be measured usind EPI using E and N dime tons to determine personality type
Eysencks theory strengths
-evidence (combo)
-Eysenck + Eysenck compared 2070 male prisoners EPI scores with 2422 male controls - subdivided into age groups - prisoners had higher E N + P scores than controls
HOWEVER
-Farrington reviewed studies where offenders had high P scores but not E+N - there is little evidence of EEG differences between extroverts + introverts = doubt on eysencks theory
Eysencks theory weaknesses
- single criminal type
- Cultural bias
- offending behaviour as single criminal type is criticised -Moffitt proposed several types of male offender based on first offence timing - e.g Digmans 5 factor model suggests there are other combinations to help define offender so E + N scores don’t mean offending is inevitable
- Bartol + Holsnchock - studies hispanics + African American offenders in prison in New York- divided into 6 groups based in crime - all found less extrovert than control group - due to different cultural group used than Eysenck - lacks generalisability
3 types of cog explanations
- level of moral reasoning
- kohlbergs model + criminality
- cog distortions
what is level of moral reasoning?
-right + wrong can be summarised in theory of moral development - higher stage = more sophisticated reasoning - criminals have lower - kohlberg used moral dilemma tech ire on criminals
what is kohlbergs model + criminality?
- criminals are at pre-conventional level of model (punishment + rewards)
what are cog distortions?
-errors in people info processing system characterised by faulty thinking
2 cog distortion examples
- hostile attribution bias
- minimalisatioj
hostile attribution bias definiton
misinterpret others actions e.g think someone is being confrontational when they aren’t
minimalisation definiton
attempt to deny it or downplay seriousness of the offence
cog explanations strengths
- level of moral reasoning evidence
- application of research
- Palmer + Hollin compared moral reasoning between 210 female + 122 male non-offenders with 126 offenders using SRM-SF (contained 11 moral dilemma related questions) -criminals showed less mature moral reasoning (consisted with kohlbergs predictions )
- understanding cog distortions is beneficial in criminal behaviour treatment - CBT is best treatment in rehabilitation of sex offenders as encourages then to face up to their actions - studies show reduced denial + minimalisation in therapy is correlated with reduced risk of reoffending + this is key feature of anger management - practical applicant job
cog explanation weaknesses
- alternative theories
-Gibbs proposed revised version of Kohlberg’s theory using 2 levels (mature + immature) - first level uses punishment + personal gain and second level uses one’s own conscience - these equivalent to kohlbergs pre-conventional + conventional stages - gibbs argued post-conventional shours be discarded as was culturally biased - Gibbs may be better kohlberg as isn’t biased
study for hostile attribution bias
Schonenberg + Justye presented 55 offenders with images of facial expressions - compared to control group - violent offenders more likely to perceive images as angry and hostile
study for minimalisation
Barbaree found among 26 rapists, 54% denied commuting offence + 40% minimised harm caused
differential association theory definition
individuals learn values, attitudes, techniques + motives for criminal behaviour through association + interaction with different people
4 parts of DAT
scientific basis
crime as a learned behaviour
pro criminal attitudes
learning criminal acts
what is scientific basis of DAT?
“the conditions which are said to cause
crime should be present when crime is present, and they should be absent when the
crime is absent’’
what is crime as a learned behaviour in DAT?
Criminality arises from two factors: learned attitudes towards crime, and the learning
of specific criminal acts.
what is pro-criminal attitudes in DAT?
-values and attitudes of a group that are pro-crime - says we should be able to mathematically predict how likely an individual will be to commit a crime from how much they have been exposed to pro-crime values
what is pro crime attitudes in DAT?
how often a person is exposed to pro crime attitudes can help us mathematically predict how likely they are to commit a crime
what is learning criminal acts in DAT?
learning techniques for commuting a crime
DAT strengths
- explanatory power
- shift focus
- can account for crime within all sectors of society - e.g burglary in working class communities or crime in affluent groups - sutherland interested in ‘white collar crimes’ or corporate crimes - good application
- sutherland moved emphasis away from biological - DAT draws attention to the fact social circumstances + environments may be more to blame for criminality that dysfunctional people - makes approach more desireable as offers more realistic solution to problem or crime
DAT weakness
-difficulty testing (combo)
-hard to see how the number of pro-criminal attitudes someone has or has been exposed to could be measured - theory is built on how anti and pro crime attituges outweigh eachother - can’t measure - theory doesn’t provide solution to these issues -undermines scientific credibility
psychodynamic explanations of offending 2 parts
- inadequate superego
- maternal deprivation theory
inadequate super ego description
Blackburn suggested that if superego is deficient then then criminal behaviour is inevitable as id is given free rein
3types
- weak = same sex parent absent in phallic stage then no oppurtunity for identification
-deviant = superego has immoral values (don’t associate guilt with wrongdoing)
-overharsh = crippled with anxiety so commit crimes to satisfy need for punishment
maternal deprivation theory description
-failure to establish mother figure bind can result in affection less psychopathy meaning more likely to engage in acts of crime
psycho explanations weakness
- gender bias
- contradictory evidence
- unconscious concept
- girls have weaker superego than boys having not experienced castration anxiety - means girls should commit more crimes however there is no evidence to support this from male-female ratio in prison - Hoffman found hardly any evidence for gender differences and when there was, girls were more moral than boys
- little evidence that children without same sex parent are less law abiding - contradicts blackburn - similarly children raised by parents with pro crime attitudes could commit crim from generic rather than deviant super ego - overharsh superego doesn’t make sense as most criminals try not to get caught
- lack of falsifiability - superego can’t be empirically tested - can only be judged by face value rather than scientific worth -psychodynamic is pseudoscience
