forensic psych Flashcards
what is crime?
an action or omission that goes against the law of the state or crown
what is deviance?
an action that is not against the law but is wrong/ against social norms
what are cultural issues in defining crime?
what is considered crime/ how its dealt with is diff between cultures
most research is ethnocentric (only relevant where research was carried out)
eg bigamy is illegal in uk but not other cultures
what are historical issues in defining crime?
definitions of crime change over time
eg homosexuality became legal in Britain in 1967
what is offender profiling?
the process of predicting the characteristics of an offender based on the information available
what is the top down approach?
used by the FBI
starts with the big picture and then fills in the details
how was the top down approach developed?
1970s
FBIs Behavioural Science Unit gathered data from 36 sexually motivated serial killers
problems with how the top down approach was developed?
all men- androcentric
sexually motivated- very specific type of crime
1970s- temporal validity
developed in USA- ethnocentric
36 criminals- quite a small sample size
what are the 4 main stages of constructing a profile in top down approach
1) data assimilation- profiler reviews evidence
2) crime classification- organised and disorganised
3) crime reconstruction- hypotheses formation of how crime may have taken place
4) profile generation- hypotheses related to LIKELY characteristics of the offender
organised crime
planned, self control at crime scene, few clues, target stranger, controls victim
above avg IQ, socially/sexually competent, married, angry/ depressed, follows media coverage of crimes, skilled occupation
disorganised crime
little planning, little attempt to hide evidence, minimum use of constraint random disorganised behaviour, lives alone near crime scene, sexually and socially inadequate, unemployed, abused in childhood, frightened/ confused
who produced the theory of organised/ disorganised crimes? when?
Hazelwood and Douglas
1980
evaluation of top-down typology
can only be applied to sexually motivated serial killers due to limitations of og sample
alison et al 2002 argues its based on outdated theories of personality being stable (external, situational factors have major influence)
reductionist. offenders arent either organised or not- may be features of both. may start disorganised and become more organised as they develop their modus operandi
what is the bottom up approach?
who created it and when?
the UK approach
start with details and create the bigger picture
looks for consistencies in behaviour
no initial assumptions made about offender
relies heavily on computer databases
canter 1990 (more recent)
made up of smallest space and geographical profiling
what is Canter’s most famous case?
John Duffy
see page 8
what is smallest space analysis?
used to identify patterns and see if a series of offences are linked
what is interpersonal coherence?
behaviour of the offender at the time of the crime is comparable to what they are like in every day life
central to approach of investigative psychology and bottom up approach
what is geographical profiling/crime mapping?
used to make inferences about where an offender is likely to live
what is canters circle theory (1993)?
problem?
proposes 2 models of offender behaviour
marauders- commit crimes close to where live/ feel secure. usually disorganised
commuters- commit crimes away from where live. usually organised
reductionist
evaluation of bottom up approach
evidence supports investigative psych- canter and heritage 1990 analysed 66 sexual assault cases using smallest space and identified clear common patterns of behaviour
evidence supports geographical profiling. lundrigan and canter 2001 collated evidence from 120 murder cases and found offenders home base was in centre of crime scene pattern
computer databases and smallest space analysis makes the approach more scientific that top down
wider applications, can be applied to other crimes
despite copson 1995 finding 83% police forces found it useful, in only 3% of cases did it lead to accurate identification of offender. eg Rachel Nickel case- arrested collin stagg instead of robert knapper
what was Cesare Lombroso’s theory of anthropological criminology?
stated that criminality is inherited and someone born criminal could be identified by physical defects
what is atavistic form? 1876
what is the study?
biological explanation of criminality.
lombroso used it to explain that offenders are genetic throwbacks or a primitive sub-species not suited to conforming to rules of modern society
distinguishable features.
study of 383 dead and 3839 living Italian criminals (ethnocentric and androcentric), found 40% had atavistic characteristics (nowhere near statistically significant)
example characteristics of atavistic form
large jaw, forward projection of jaw, high cheek bones, flattered/upturned nose, hard shifty eyes, insensitive to pain, tatoos, baldness etc etc (all very subjective and similar to hitlers ideas of eugenics)
what are sheldons body types (1942)- how environmental factors could explain lombrosos characteristics?
ectomorph (skinnier)- artistic, sensitive, apprehensive, introverted
endomorph (larger)- tolerant, relaxed, love comfort/ luxury, pleasant, extraverted
mesomorph (muscley)- courageous, energetic, active, dynamic, assertive, aggressive, risk-taker (most male delinquents are mesomorph)
evaluation of atavistic form
outdated and seem ridiculous but represent beginning of offender profiling (lombroso was 1st to move away from lack of morality as cause for crime)
lombroso used scientific methods- evidence based approach to research, hundreds of obs and measurements
no control group so those characteristics could have just been common in general pop
scientifically racist- characteristics he identified are more prevalent in certain racial groups- but still issue today (eberhardt found stereotypically black looking men more likely to get death penalty in USA than others)
characteristics described are likely due to poverty, diet, illness, disease
Goring 1913 found evidence that criminals are likely to have lower IQ but this may mean its due to education not biology
lack of temporal validity- around the time eugenic theories were popular
what is the diathesis-stress model?
the way that biological factors and external factors work together
diathesis- biological vulnerability to poor mental health
stress- external factors eg physical, psychological
protective factors- support network from family, friends, medical professionals etc)
eg may have biological vulnerability but wont express due to support network and lack of stress
outline neural explanations of crime?
anatomy of brain and neurotransmitters
adrian raine (2000) found abnormalities in criminal brains (specifically people with APD) eg 11% reduction in grey matter and reduced activity in prefrontal cortex (regulates emotional behaviour, control impulses, feel guilt)
diagnostic features of APD
repeatedly breaking the law
repeatedly being deceitful
being impulsive
being irritable and aggressive
being reckless
disregard for personal safety and for safety of others
lack of remorse
what did keyers 2011find?
what are mirror neurons?
mirror neurons did not function in individuals w APD as in normal controls
mirror neurons enable us to feel empathy
individuals w APD werent completely without empathy but had to be told to feel empathy when watching a film showing someone in pain
can switch on/off mirror neurons
evaluation of neural explanations of offending behaviour
+
research support- Raine
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not every criminal has APD or abnormal brain structures- reductionist- everyone has free will
what are genetic explanations for offending behaviour?
the way genes influence behaviour
eg MAOA gene
what did Price (1966) find?
(genetic explanation)
males w extra Y chromosome (XYY) are supermale and predisposed towards violent crime
cause them to be above avg height and below avg intelligence (links to atavistic form)
what did Christiansen (1977) do?
(genetic explanation)
looked at 3586 twin pairs in Denmark
52% concordance rate for criminality was found for MZ twins and 22% for DZ
problems:
- shared upbringing
- not 100% for MZ