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Forensic psychology Flashcards

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1
Q

define top down processing

A

an experienced profiler uses pre-existing templates of different types of offender to fit the offender into one of these templates, based on crime scene evidence

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2
Q

what is top down processing also known as?

A

typological approach

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3
Q

what are the six stages to top down processing?

A
  1. Profiling inputs
  2. Decision process models
  3. Crime assessment
  4. Criminal profile
  5. Report writing
  6. Apprehension
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4
Q

Detail step 1- profiling inputs

A

data is collected on the crime scene, background info about victims, details of the crime(s)

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5
Q

detail step 2- decision process models

A

data is organised based into meaningful patterns such as murder type, time/loocation factors

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6
Q

detail step 3- crime assessment

A

offender is classified as organised or disorganised based on factors such as evidence of planning, familiarity of victim, use of restraints, evidence left at the scene etc

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7
Q

detail step 4- criminal profile

A

a profile is constructed including info such as likely background, habits, beliefs

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8
Q

detail step 5- report writing

A

a written report is given to the investigating agency and the people matching the profile are evaluated. if there is new evidence or no subject is identified, the process goes back to step 2

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9
Q

detail step 6- apprehension

A

if a suspect is apprehended, the profile is reviewed at every stage to check that the conclusions made were valid

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10
Q

top down approach- evaluation peel 1

A

p- research support of usefulness in real life
ev- copson, 184 US police officers, 82% believed approach useful, 90% would use again
ex- useful in narrowing down suspect list, directing investigation and saving time, approach is both effective and useful
l- whole approach is based on flawed data, obtained from most extreme violent crimes, cannot be generalised, not useful in real life

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11
Q

top down approach- evaluation peeleel

A

p- idea of organised vs disorganised offenders is flawed
ev- canter, analysed 39 characteristics in murders by 100 serial killers, no clear division between organised/disorganised, little evidence for disorganised
ex- assumption of two specific offender types is flawed, most crimes are not disorganised, if majority are classified as organised, little is narrowed down, not effective
l- better to consider offenders on a continuum, improve the top down approach
ev- douglas et al, third category of ‘mixed’ offender, that sits on this continuum
ex- allows for offenders who have elements of both organised/disorganised, easier to classify
l- too general, may act as a ‘dustbin category’, most offenders would fit this category, doesn’t narrow suspect list, reducing effectiveness

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12
Q

define bottom up processing

A

a data driven approach that makes use of statistical data on similar crimes in order to make predictions about the characteristics of an offender

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13
Q

what is the bottom up approach sometimes known as?

A

the british approach

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14
Q

what are the two sub-sections of bottom up processing

A

investigative psychology and geographical psychology

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15
Q

what are the main features of investigative psychology (canter)?

A
  1. interpersonal coherence
  2. forensic awareness
  3. smallest space analysis
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16
Q

detail interpersonal coherence

A

the assumption that: people are consistent in their behaviour- there will be a correlation between the crime and how people behave in everyday life, and that people’s behaviour changes over time- looking at differences in crimes over a 4 year period might offer further clues

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17
Q

detail forensic awareness

A

certain behaviours may reveal an awareness of particular police techniques and past experience

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18
Q

detail smallest space analysis

A

a statistical technique identifying various characteristics common to different types of offender, as identified by canter (48 crime scenes from 82 stranger murders)

19
Q

what are the types of offender as identified by smallest space analysis?

A

violence, sexuality, impersonal, intimacy, criminality

20
Q

what are the three themes of offender in the bottom up approach?

A

instrumental opportunistic- using murder to obtain something through easy opportunities
instrumental cognitive- concern over being detected, planned crimes
expressive impulsive- uncontrolled, highly emotional, possible provoked

21
Q

what did canter propose under geographical psychology

A

criminals also reveal themselves through the locations they commit crimes in, it makes sense to assume that offenders are more likely to commit crimes near to where they live or habitually travel

22
Q

how does geographical psychology work

A

analyses data regarding the locations of a connected series of crimes, considering where the crimes were committed, the spatial relationship between crime scenes and how they may relate to an offender’s residence

23
Q

define routine activity theory

A

the assumption that serial offenders will restrict their work to geographical areas they are familiar with

24
Q

define jeopardy surface

A

understanding the spatial pattern of offenders will allow authorities to determine the base of an offender and where they may strike next

25
Q

detail circle theory

A

a criminal’s base may be identifiable by looking at the spatial distribution of crime scenes- crimes of a similar nature can be plotted on a map and usually a circle of points will form

26
Q

bottom up processing- evaluation peel 1 (investigative)

A

p: scientific basis
ev: uses objective statistical techniques and computer analysis- data driven small space analysis from crime scene data, interviews, maps and characteristics
ex: technique is more likely to be valid, less subjective than top down which used interviews and no data (junk science)
l: only as good as the data inputted, based on underlying assumptions- interpersonal coherence and consistency of behaviour, not reliable

27
Q

bottom up processing- evaluation peel 2 (investigative)

A

p: investigative approach is useful
ev: survey of 48 UK police forces reported 75% usefulness
ex: narrows down suspects/offender profiles and focuses investigation, positive economic implications- allocates resources more effectively, saving time and money
l: same study, only 3% reported approach was useful in IDing the offender, not useful in catching of offenders

28
Q

bottom up processing- evaluation peel 3 (geographical)

A

p: circle theory is useful
ev: research found offender’s base was usually in centre of body disposals / 91% of serial offenders are marauders
ex: suggests patterns of offences can lead police to offenders and narrow down suspect list, allowing suspect to be IDed
l: geographical processing on its own is not enough to ID an offender

29
Q

bottom up processing- evaluation peel 4 (geographical)

A

p: useful for multiple different types of crimes
ev: research found that geographical information is more useful than the crime scene in linking data to a burglar
ex: geographical processing is useful in catching multiple different types of offenders, unlike top down which can only catch offenders in the most extreme cases
l: cannot use profiling alone, it is a useful aide

30
Q

what did lombroso find in his experiment?

A

4000 living criminals, almost 400 dead- 21% had one atavistic trait, 43% had at least 5

31
Q

what does atavistic forms theory suggest about offending?

A

criminals have distinguishing physical features, originating from more primitive stage of development (atavistic forms)
criminals as biologically different, genetic throwbacks, a primitive sub species- so cannot fit into society and so offend
features specific to crimes- murderers had bloodshot eyes and curly hair

32
Q

lombroso- evaluation peeleel

A

p: lombroso conducted research to support his theory
ev: physical features of (4000 alive and 400 dead) italian criminals, 21% had 1 atavistic trait, 43% had at least 5
ex: very influential in developing forensic psychology, shifted study of criminals into more scientific basis, from previous moral/religious beliefs, foundation for modern offender profiling
l: no control group, no comparison to ‘normal’, likely that physical features were coincidental, can be found amongst any large group, atavistic forms not a valid explanation for criminal behaviour
ev: replication of lombroso’s research, offenders compared to non-criminals, no significant differences between groups
ex: issues in validity of lombroso’s research, no correlation between criminality and physical features
l: another factor must cause criminality

33
Q

lombroso- evaluation peel

A

p: interactionist between genetics and environment- people with atavistic features may be more likely to become criminals because of the way they are treated
ev: kaplan’s “self-derogation” theory, individuals experience poor interactions with others, develop low self esteem and increased frustration with others, so more likely to offend
ex: maybe not the features themselves causing criminality but rather the societal treatment of these people, possibly stereotyping due to lombroso’s theory- socially sensitive, self fulfilling prophecy?
l: reductionist to assume features alone, likely a biological element which is encouraged by the environment (diathesis stress)

34
Q

genetic explanation- chromosomes

A

likelihood of offending can be explained by our genetic material, typical person has one X and Y, XYY can lead to increased testosterone, linked to aggression

35
Q

genetic explanation- candidate genes definition

A

a gene located in a chromosome region suspected of being involved in the expression of a trait

36
Q

genetic explanation- candidate genes MAOA

A

MAOA-L decreases serotonin production in PFC, lower ability to make decisions and increased impulsivity
MAOA-L increases dopamine production in limbic system, over-exaggerated fear and threat processing

37
Q

genetic explanation- candidate genes CDH-13

A

reward system, responsible for neurotransmitters, increased dopamine in limbic system

38
Q

genetic explanation of offending- evaluation peel 1

A

p- research support, twin studies
ev- 13 MZ and 17 DZ twins where one had been in prison, 10 MZ twins and 2 DZ twins had co-twin in prison
ex- increased number of shared genes (100% in MZ) led to increased commonality in criminal behaviour, genes must have an impact
l- not 100% of MZ twins had criminal co-twin, if purely genetic 100% correspondence for MZ

39
Q

genetic explanation of offending- evaluation peel 2

A

p- research support, adoption studies
ev- 13,000 danish adoptees, 13.5% for no criminal parents (biological or adoptive), 20% if biological parent had criminal record, 24.5% when both had convictions
ex- greater increase in criminality when biological parent had conviction suggests biology plays a role
l- further increase when adoptive parent had criminal record suggests environment (nurture) must also impact

40
Q

genetic explanation of offending- evaluation peel 3

A

p- research support, family studies
ev- longitudinal study, 411 boys followed ages 8-48, at age 48 611 had convictions, positive correlation between convicted parent and persisters (convictions before and after age 21)
ex- persisters, convictions outside of juvenile delinquency with criminal parents suggests biological component (criminal gene)
l- lots of environmental factors also found by farrington eg poverty, poor school performance, environment must impact too

so…diathesis stress, not genes alone

41
Q

neural explanations- raine’s study

A

pet scans of convicted criminals brains, 41 ppts (39 male, 2 female)- 6 with schizophrenia, control and experimental group, IV- non-murderer or murderer pleading NGRI, DV- brain dysfunction (levels of glucose metabolism), found murderers pleading NGRI had significantly different levels of glucose metabolism and reduced activity in prefrontal cortex, corpus callosum and left than right lambic system

42
Q

neurophysiological explanation for offending- evaluation peel 1

A

p- research support
ev- raine et al examined 71 brain imaging studies, murderers, psychopaths and violent individuals have reduced functioning in PFC
ex- increased reliability of meta analysis, common reduced functioning in PFC, link between brain functioning and criminality, PFC has role in decision making- impaired activity means violence is not inhibited
l- only accounts for aggressive behaviour, not every offender is violent, theory cannot explain other types of crime such as white collar, not generalisable

43
Q

neurophysiological explanation for offending- evaluation peel 2

A

p- link between brain abnormalities and later criminality is dubious
ev- research only highlights correlation between brain activity and criminality, impossible to manipulate experimentally
ex- cannot be sure brain functioning impacts criminality, difficult to establish cause and effect
l- does criminality affect how brain works instead, lack of validity

Psychology (9 decks)

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