forensic psychology

Question 1

define offender profiling

Answer 1

investigate tool to help police when solving crimes
careful scrutiny of the crime scene and analysis of evidence to help propose a hypothesis of the potential characteristics of the offender

Question 2

what is the American approach to offender profiling

Answer 2

the top-down approach
as a result of work carried out by the FBI in the 1970s
the FBI’s behavioural science unit drew upon data from in-depth interviews with 36 sexually motivated killers e.g. Ted Bundy

Question 3

define the top-down approach

Answer 3

profiles start with a pre-established typology
will match what is known about the crime and the offender to a pre-existing typology that the FBI developed
they work down in order to assign offenders to one of two categories based on witness accounts and evidence from the crime scene
e.g. organised or disorganised
on the basis of the evidence `and this classification informs the subsequent police investigation

Question 4

define organised offenders

Answer 4

show evidence of having planned the crime in advance
deliberately targeted and will often reflect the criminal has a ‘type’ of victim
maintain a high degree of control and may operate with almost detach surgical precision
little evidence or clues left
above-average intelligence
in a skilled professional occupation, married and are socially and sexually competent

Question 5

define disorganised offender

Answer 5

show little evidence of planning
may have been spontaneous
crime scene tends to reflect the impulse nature of the attack
little control on the part of the offender
lower than average IQ unskilled, history of sexual dysfunction and failed relationships
tend to live alone close to where the offence took place

Question 6

what are the 4 main stages of constructing an FBI profile

Answer 6

data assimilation - profiler reviews the evidence
crime scene classification - as either organised or disorganised
crime reconstruction - hypotheses in terms of sequence of events
profile generation - hypotheses related to the likely offender

Question 7

evaluation of top-down approach

only applies to particular crimes

Answer 7

the approach Is best suited to crime scenes that reveal important details about the suspect e.g. rape and arson as well as crimes that involve macabre practices such as torture
more common offences such as burglary and destruction of property do not lent themselves to profiling because the resulting crime scene reveals very little about the offender
means its a limited approach to identifying a criminal

Question 8

evaluation of top-down approach

based on outdated models of personality

Answer 8

the typology of classification is based on the assumption that offenders have patterns of behaviour and motivations that remain consistent across situations and contexts
several critics Alison et al 2002 have suggested this approach is naive and is informed by old-fashioned models of personality that see behaviour as being driven by stable dispositional traits rather than external factors that may be constantly changing
means the top-down approach which is based on static models of personality is likely to have poor validity when it comes to identifying possible suspects and/or predicting their next move

Question 9

evaluation of top-down approach

evidence does not support the disorganised offender

Answer 9

Canter et al 2004, using a technique called smallest space analysis analysed data from 100 murders in the USA
details of each cases were examined with reference to 39 characteristics thought to be typical of organised and disorganised killers
although findings did suggest evidence of a distinct organised type, this was not the case for disorganised which seems to undermine the classification system as a whole

Question 10

define the bottom up approach

Answer 10

the aim is to generate a picture of the offender - their likely characteristics, routine behaviour and social background
through systematic analysis of evidence at the crime scene
this is the British approach, does not begin with fixed typologies
instead the profile is data driven and emerges as the investigator engages in deeper and more rigorous scrutiny of the details of the offence
more grounded in psychological theory

Question 11

define investigative psychology and its role in bottom-up approach

Answer 11

investigate psychology is an attempt to apply statistical procedures alongside psychological theory, to the analysis of the crime scene evidence
the aim is to establish patterns of behaviour that are likely to occur or co-exist across crime scene
this is in order to develop a statistical database which then acts as a baseline for comparison
specific details can then be matched agaisint this database to reveal important details about the offender
central to the approach is concept of interpersonal coherence- that the way an offender behaves at the scene, including how they interact with the victim
significance of time and place are key variables
forensic awareness describes those individuals who have be subject to police interrogation before, behaviour may denote how mindful they are of covering their tracks

Question 12

define geographical profiling

Answer 12

frist described by Kim Rossmo 1997
uses information to do with the location of linked crime scenes to make inferences about the likely home or operational base of an offender -crime mapping
it can be used in conduction with psychological theory to create hypotheses about how the offender is thinking as well as their modus operandi
assumption is that serial offenders will restrict their work to geographical areas they are familiar with, as so understanding spatial pattern of their behaviour provides investigators with a centre of gravity which is likely to include the offenders base
may also help investigators make educated guesses about where the offender is likely to strike next

Question 13

define Canter’s circle theory

Answer 13

for the bottom up approach
Canter and Larkin 1993 proposed two model of offender behaviour
the marauder - who operates in close proximity to their home base
the commuter - who is likely to have travelled a distance away from their usual residence
pattern of offending is likely to form a circle around their usual residence and this becomes more apparent the more offences there are

Question 14

evaluation of bottom-up approach

evidence supports investigative psychology

Answer 14

Canter and Heritage 1990 conducted a content analysis of 66 sexual assault cases
the data was examined using the statistical technique smallest space analysis - a computer program that identifies correlations across patterns of behaviour
several characteristics were identified as common is most cases, e.g. the use of impersonal language and a lack of reason to the victim
these characteristics will occur in different patterns in different people

Question 15

evaluation of bottom-up approach

evidence supports geographical profiling

Answer 15

Lundrigan and Canter 2001 collated information from 120 murder cases involving serial killers in the USA
smallest space analysis revealed spatial consistency in the behaviour of the killers
the location of each body disposal site was in a different location from the previous sites, creating a centre of gravity, the offenders base was invariably located in the centre of the pattern
the effect was more noticeable for offenders who travelled short distances - marauders
supports canter’s claim spatial information is a key factor in determining the base of an offender

Question 16

evaluation of bottom-up approach

scientific basis

Answer 16

Canter’s argument is that bottom up profiling is more objective and scientific than the top down approach as it is more grounded in evidence and psychological theory and less driven in speculation and hunches

Question 17

Eysenck’s theory of the criminal personality

general personality theory

Answer 17

Eysenck 1947 proposed that behaviour could be represented along 2 dimensions
introversion/extraversion E and neruoticism/stability N
the two dimensions combine to form a variety of personality characteristics or traits
Eysenck later added a third dimension -psychoticism P

Question 18

Eysenck’s theory of the criminal personality

biological basis

Answer 18

our personality traits are biological in original and come about through the type of nervous system we inherit
thus all personality types including the criminal personality type have an innate biological basis
extraverts have an underachieve nervous system which means they constantly seek excitement and stimulation
they tend not to condition easily and don’t learn from mistakes
neurotic individuals tend to be nervous jumpy and over anxious

Question 19

what did Eysenck think the criminal personality was

Answer 19

the type was neurotic-extravert
a combination of all the characteristics and behaviours described above for both neuroticism and extraversion
he suggested that typical offenders will also score highly on measures of psychoticism a personality characterised as cold and prone to aggression

Question 20

the role of socialisation in Eysenck’s theory

Answer 20

personality is linked to criminal behaviour via socialisation processes
saw criminal behaviour as developmentally immature in that it is selfish and concerned with immediate graitification
they are impatient and cant wait for things
process of socialisation is one which children are taught to become more able to delay gratification and more socially oriented
he believed people with high E and N scores had nervous systems that made them difficult to condition
therefore they wouldn’t learn to easily respond to antisocial impulses with anxiety

Question 21

how did Eysenck measure the criminal personality

Answer 21

he developed the Eysenck Peronsality Inventory
a form of psychological test which locates respondents along the E and N dimensions to determine their personality type
later scales wer reintroduced to measure psychoticism

Question 22

evaluation of Eysencks theory

evidence supporting it

Answer 22

Eysenck and Eysenck 1977 compared 2070 male prisoners scores on the EPI with 2422 male controls
the groups were subdivides into age groups from 16 to 69
on measures of psychoticism extraversion and neuroticism across all age groups prisoners recorded higher scores than controls which support predicted theory
However Farrington et al 1982 reviewed several studies and reported that offenders trended to score high on P measures but not E and N

Question 23

evaluation of Eysencks theory

the idea of a single criminal type

Answer 23

the idea all criminal behaviour can be explained by a single personality type has been heavily criticised
Moffitt 1993 proposed several distinct types of adult male offender based on the timing of the first offence and how long offending persists
Eysencks theory out of date with modern personality theories

Question 24

evaluation of Eysencks theory

cultural bias

Answer 24

Bartol and Holanchock 1979 looked into cultural differences
studied Hispanic and African American offenders in a maximum security prison in New York and divided these into 6 gorups based on their criminal history and nature of offence
it was revealed all 6 groups were found to be less extravert than non-criminal group
Bartol suggested this was because of their sample as a very different cultural group than investigate by Eysenck which questions the generalisability of criminal personality

Question 25

psychodynamic approach for offending

the inadequate superego

Answer 25

Blackburn 1993 argued that the superego is somehow deficient or inadequate and that criminal behaviour is inevitable because the id is given ‘free reign’
there are three types of inadequate superego proposed:
weak superego
deviant superego
over-harsh superego

Question 26

define weak superego

Answer 26

if the same sex parent is absent during the phallic stage, the child cannot internalise a fully-formed superego as there is no opportunity for identification

Question 27

define deviant superego

Answer 27

if superego that the child internalises has immoral or deviant values this would lead to offending behaviour

Question 28

define over-harsh superego

Answer 28

an overly harsh superego means the person is riddled with guilt or anxiety
this may unconsciously drive the person to commit criminal acts to satisfy the superego’s need for punishment

Question 29

psychodynamic explanation

the maternal deprivation

Answer 29

Bowlby 1944 argued that the ability to form meaningful relationships in adulthood was dependent upon thence child forming warm continuous relationship with a maternal figure
Bowlby saw this bond as unique and vital to development
failure to develop this early on in later will cause problems later on
leads to affection less psychopathy characterised by a lack of guilt

Question 30

supporting evidence for maternal deprivation theory

Answer 30

Bowlby 1944 44 Juvenile thieves study
14 showed characteristics characterised in affection less psychopathy
12 of these had prolonged separation with their mother during infancy
in non-criminal group only 2 experienced this type of separation

Question 31

the psychodynamic approach to criminality evaluation

gender bias

Answer 31

implicit assumption by Freud was that girls develop a weaker superego that boys
having not experienced castration anxiety, girls are under less pressure to identify with their mothers
so their sense of morality is not fully realised
not supported by any evidence
Hoffman 1975 found hardly little gender difference, if any girls experienced more morality than boys

Question 32

the psychodynamic approach to criminality evaluation

contradictory evidence

Answer 32

little evidence absence of same-sex parent leads to more criminal behaviour
contradicts Blackburn’s superego argument
children raised by parents who commit crime who then go on to commit crime themselves may be due to genetics or socialisation rather than the forming of a deficient superego

Question 33

the psychodynamic approach to criminality evaluation

unfalsifiable

Answer 33

many of psychodynamic assumptions take place in the unconscious mind
the superego itself acts unconsciously so there is no way to test its accuracy
not scientific

Question 34

what does the differential association theory propose and who proposed this

Answer 34

Sutherland 1939
individuals learn the values attitudes and motives for criminal behaviour through association and interaction with different people

Question 35

the scientific basis of differential association theory

Answer 35

Sutherland wanted to propose a set of scientific principles that could explain all types of offending 
e.g. the conditions which are said to cause crime should be present when crime is present 
his theory is designed to discriminate between individuals who become criminals and those who don't, whatever class of ethnic background

Question 36

differential association theory of crime as a learned behaviour

Answer 36

offending behaviour may be acquired in the same way as any other behaviour through the processes of learning
this occurs most often through interactions with significant others that the child associates with
criminality arises from 2 factors
learned attitudes towards crime
and learning of specifc criminal acts

Question 37

differential association theory pro criminal attitudes

Answer 37

when a person is socialised into a group they become exposed to values and attitudes towards law
some of these values will be pro-crime some of these will be anti crime
Sutherland argues if the number of pro criminal attitudes the person comes to acquire outweighs the number of anti-criminal attitudes they will go on to offend
the learning process is the same whether a person is leanring criminality or conformity
differential association suggests that it should be possible to mathematically predict how likely it is that an individual will commit crime if we have knowledge of the frequency intensity and duration of which they have been exposed to deviant and non deviant norms and values

Question 38

differential association theory learning criminal acts

Answer 38

the offender may also learn particular techniques for committing crime
these might include how to break into someones house
can also account for why so many convicts released go to reoffend. it Is reasonable to assume whilst inside prison inmates will learn specific techniques of offending from other more experienced criminals that they may be eager to put into practice upon their release
may occur through observational learning and imitations or direct tuition from criminal peers

Question 39

evaluation of differential association theory

explanatory power

Answer 39

its strength is that its able to account from crime within all sectors of society
whilst Sutherland recognised that some types of crime may be clustered within certain inner-city working class communities, it is also the care some crimes are more prevalent in affluent groups
e.g. corporate crimes white collar crimes

Question 40

evaluation of differential association theory

shift of focus

Answer 40

successful in moving the emphasis away from biological accounts of crime such as Lombrosos atavistic theory
as well as from those explained offending as the product of individual weaknesses or immorality
differential association theory draws attention to the fact that dysfunctional social circumstances and environments may be more to blame for criminality that dysfunctional people
more desirable as it offers a more realistic solution to the problem of crime

Question 41

evaluation of differential association theory

difficulty of testing

Answer 41

despite Sutherlands promise to provide scientific mathematical framework within which future offending behaviour could be predicted
its rather difficult to test
it is hard to see how the number of pro-criminal attitudes a person has or has been exposed to could be measured
built on the assumption that offending behaviour will occur when pro criminal values out number anti-criminal ones
without being able to measure these its difficult to know at what point the urge to offend is realised and criminal career is triggered
doesnt provide satisfactory solution to this undermining credibility

Question 42

cognitive explanation - level of moral reasoning

Answer 42

Kohlberg proposed peoples decisions an judgements on issues of right and wrong can be summarised in a stage theory of moral development
the higher the stage, the more sophisticate reasoning
Kohlberg based his theory on peoples responses to a series of moral dilemmas
many studies have suggested that criminals tend to show a lower level of moral reasoning than non-criminals
Kohlberg et al 1973 using his moral dilemma technique found that a group of violent youths were significantly lower in their moral development that non violent youths even after controlling for social background

Question 43

Kohlbergs model and criminal - cognitive explanation

Answer 43

criminal offenders are more likely to be classified at the pre-conventional level of kohlbergs model stage 1 and 2
whereas non criminals have generally progressed to the conventional level and beyond
the pre-conventional level is characterised by a need to avoid punishment and gain rewards
the assumption is supported by suggests that offenders are more often egocentric and display poorer social perspective skills that non-offender peers
individuals who reason at higher levels tend to sympathise more with the rights of others and exhibit more conventional behaviours e.g. honesty

Question 44

Kohlberg’s cognitive distortions

Answer 44

errors or biases in peoples information processing system characterised by faulty thinking
e.g. when explaining our own behaviour but research has linked this to the way in which criminals interpret other peoples behaviour and justify there own actions

Question 45

cognitive distortion - hostile attribution bias

Answer 45

propensity for violence is often associated with a tendency to misinterpret the actions of other people
to assume others are being confrontation when they are not
offenders may misread non-aggressive cues and this may trigger a disproportionate response
Schonenberg and Justye 2014 presented 55 violent offenders with images of emotional ambiguous facial expressions
when compared with a non-aggressive matched control group the violent offender were more likely to perceive images as angry
the roots of this may lie in childhood Dodge and Frame 1982 showed children a video clip of an ambiguous provocation
children who had been identified as aggressive prior to the study interpreted the situation as more hostile

Question 46

cognitive distortions - minimalisation

Answer 46

attempt to deny or downplay the seriousness of an offence and has elsewhere been referred to as the application of ‘euphemistic label’ for behaviour Bandura 1973
e.g. supporting their family
studies suggest individuals who commit sexual offences are particularly prone to minimisation
Barbaree 1991 found among 26 incarcerated rapists 54% denied they had committed an offence at all and further 40% minimised the harm they caused to the victim
Pollock and Hasmall 1991 reported 35% of a sample of child molesters argued that the crime they had committed was non-sexual and 36% states the victim had consented

Question 47

evaluation fo cognitive explanation

level of moral reasoning evidence

Answer 47

Palmer and Hollin 1998 compared moral reasoning between 210 female non offenders, 122 male non-offenders and 126 convicted offenders using the Socio-Moral Reflection Measure-Short Form
which contains 11 moral dilemma-related questions such as not taking things that belong to others and keeping a promise to a friend
the delinquent group showed less mature moral reasoning that non delinquent group which is consistent with Kohlberg’s predictions
Blackburn 1993 sugests delinquents may show poor moral development due to a lack of role playing opportunities in childhood

Question 48

evaluation fo cognitive explanation

alternative theories of moral reasoning

Answer 48

Gibbs 1979 proposed a revised version of Kohlberg’s theory compromising two levels of reasoning mature and immature
in first level moral decisions are guided by avoidance of punishment and personal gain, in the second level by empathy social justice and own conscience
stages are euqalvent to Kohlberg’s pre-conventional and conventional levels
Gibbs argued that Kohlberg’s post-conventional level should be abandoned because it was cultural bias and did not represent a natural maturational stage of cognitive development

Question 49

evaluation fo cognitive explanation

application of research

Answer 49

proved beneficial in the treatment of criminal behaviour
dominant approach in the rehabilitation of sx offenders is cognitive behaviour therapy which encourages offenders to face up to what they have done and establish a less distorted view of their actions
studies suggests that a reduced incidence of denial and mineralisation in therapy is highly correlated with a reduced risk of reoffending and this is a key feature of anger management