Forensic psychology Flashcards
What was Lombroso’s theory
Atavistic form for identifying criminality.
Claims criminals possess similar characteristics to lower primates.
“A throwback to an earlier species of man”
What are 5 features of atavistic form
Large jaws
Low sloping forehead
High cheekbones
Scanty beard
Hard shifty eyes
Insensitivity to pain
How did Lombroso come to this conclusion
Post-mortem examinations of criminals and studying the faces of 50,000 bodies.
In one study of 383 convicted Italian criminals, 21% had 1 atavistic trait and 43% had at least 5.
Name Lombroso’s 3 types of criminals
Born criminals (atavistic types)
Insane criminals (suffering from mental illness)
Criminaloids (large general class of offenders; mentally predisposed them to criminal behaviours)
What did Sheldon believe
Believed people could be categorised into different body types which correspond with different personality types
What were Sheldon’s three body types
Endomorphic - fat and soft, sociable and relaxed
Ectomorphic - thin and fragile, introverted and restrained
Mesomorphic - muscular and hard, tend to be more aggressive and adventurous
What did Sheldon find
Sheldon found many convicts were mesomorphic and were least likely to be ectomorphic
What were 3 weaknesses of Lombroso’s theory
No control group - lowers validity
Charles Goring’s study - after comparing 3k criminals with 3k non-criminals found no evidence of facial features causing crime.
Gender bias - androcentric, focussed on males. Believed women were less intelligent more maternal and unlikely to be criminal.
Name one positive of Lombroso’s theory
Contribution - effectively founded forensic psychology, and was the first to take a deterministic approach and argue individuals had limited control over behaviours. Developed a more scientific approach to researching criminality.
What was Brunner’s study on
MAOA gene
Researched 28 members of a Dutch family with history of violent criminality
Analysed DNA of male members found gene leading to abnormally low MAOA
Tiihonen’s research
Finnish study on 900 offenders
Found low MAOA AND low activity from CDH-13 gene
Estimates 5-10% of Finnish violent crime is due to abnormality in one of those 2
What did Raine (2004) do
71 brain scans on murderers and psychopaths found reduced functioning in prefrontal cortex
Also found those legally insane had abnormalities in limbic system, particularly amygdala.
What are the two parts to the neural explanation
Regions of the brain (Raine)
Neurotransmitters
What are the two neurotransmitters believed to cause offending
Low serotonin - can lead to impulsive aggression
Noradrenaline - both very high and very low levels are associated with aggression. High level activates fight or flight
List a pro and a con of genetic explanation
Research support - Crowe 1972 studied adopted children with a biological criminal parent, found they had 50% greater chance of having a criminal record by 18 than those with non criminal parents, who were 5%.
Can’t explain non violent crime - most research relates to aggression or violence
List a pro and a con of the neural explanation
RWA - can lead to treatment, e.g giving criminals diets to enhance serotonin levels
Are abnormalities in the brain the cause of crime or the result of it?
Overall issues with biological approach
Only explores violent crime
Deterministic, doesn’t account for free will
Who uses the top down approach
FBI
How was the top down approach developed
Interviews with 36 convicted murderers and serial killers with 118 known victims between them.
What is the two type of offender in top down approach
Organised
Disorganised
What are features of an organised crime scene
Prepare by bringing weapons/restraints
Take care tidying crime scene
Hide body
What are features of a disorganised crime scene
Weapon found at scene
Leave lots of evidence
Don’t try hide the body
What are the 4 stages of top down offender profiling
Data assimilation - information is gathered from the crime (autopsy, witnesses photographs, victim choice and location)
Scene classification - analysis of information suggest organised/disorganised
Crime reconstruction - both offender and victims behaviour before and during the offence is hypothesised
Profile generation - a range of inferences are made such as demographics, gender age and behaviours
What is a benefit of top down profiling
Ressler developed organised/disorganised offenders through extensive interviews with serial killers like Ted Bundy.
As 24 were organised and 12 disorganised, it suggests there are distinct types of offender
What are 2 limitations of top down offender profiling
Resslers research only used 36 serial killers in self report - hard to generalise. May also have lied for notoriety or reduced sentence.
Conflicting evidence
Canter 2004 reviewed 100 serial killers and analysed 39 aspects of their offence
Found disorganised features were rare and didnt form a distinct type
What is the bottom up approach
Using statistical analysis of data collected at the scene which is compared against a large database
Who developed the bottom up approach
Canter
What is the five factor model for interpreting a crime scene made of
Interpersonal coherence - suggests a persons interaction with victim is the same as with other people in their lives, e.g aggressive
Time/place significance - offenders likely to feel more comfortable/controlled in a place they know better
Criminal characteristics - how the crime has been committed suggests aspects of the offenders characteristics
Criminal career - how following crimes by the same offender change due to the criminal gaining experience
Forensic awareness - the criminal showing knowledge of criminal justice systems/ investigative processes
Geographical profiling
A branch of bottom up profiling focusing on where an offender is likely to be based
What is distance decay
The number of crimes will decrease the further away from the offenders base.
However, there will be a “buffer zone” around their home base to decrease the chances of being recognised
What is the circle hypothesis
Suggests offenders operate according to a limited spatial mindset, so crimes radiate out from their home base creating a circle
What are the two types of criminal behaviour in the circle theory
Marauder - base is within their circle of crimes
Commuter - circle of crimes is further away from their house; e.g a man in Chippenham committing crimes in Corsham
2 Support for bottom up approach
Canter and Larkin (1993)
Showed 87% of a sample of 45 British serial sexual assaulters were marauders. This supports the circle theory and the idea that choice of place is significant factor.
Based on careful statistical analysis, so is seen as more scientific than top down
What is a limitation of the marauder/commuter labels
Difficult to know if a criminal is a marauder of commuter before they are apprehended.
Relies on all crime committed by them being recorded, or the ‘circle’ could be skewed.
Two limitations of offender profiling
Effectiveness is difficult to assess, as is never used in isolation. Other forensic techniques are used so it is difficult to see how much a profile contributes
Alison (2003) states many profiles are too ambiguous. Gave two groups of detectives the same profile, with details of extremely different offenders. In each group 75% rated the profile as somewhat accurate.
What is a benefit of offender profiling
Snook (2007)
Found Canadian major crime officers agreed criminal profiling helps solve cases (94%) and is a valuable investigative tool (88.2%)
Who created the ‘criminal personality’
Eysenck
What were the three personality dimensions to Eysencks criminal personality
Extravert/introvert
Neurotic/stable
Psychoticism
What was the criminal personality
Highly extroverted, neurotic, and psychotic.
E - More likely to take risks, act on impulse and seek thrills
N - Feels negative emotion more strongly, increasing likelihood of heat of moment crimes
P - Not put off by feelings of guilt or empathy. Psychoticism associated with aggression.
Support to Eysencks criminal personality
McGurk and McDougall
Gave Eysenck personality test to 100 inmates and 100 bricklayers. 17-20yrs old.
Results showed inmates scored higher on extrovert, neurotic and psychotic
What are 2 limitations of Eysencks criminal personality
Relative importance of factors
Some factors, such as psychoticism, were found to have a much higher correlation with crime.
Reductionist
Many people who score highly on extroversion, neuroticism and psychoticism do not commit crimes, meaning there has to be other factors at play
What is the cognitive explanation for criminality
Suggests there are internal mental processes about the world and moral decisions that lead to offending
Who theorised the levels of moral reasoning
Kohlberg (1969)
What are the three levels
Pre-conventional
Conventional
Post conventional
What stage are most criminals at
Pre conventional stage
What is the pre conventional stage
Morality is considered only in terms of how their actions will affect them.
Split into two stages
What are the two stages to the pre conventional stage
Stage 1 - Punishment orientation
Correct behaviour is whatever helps avoid punishment, so crime will happen if they feel they can get away with it
Stage 2 - Reward orientation
Correct behaviour is whatever will be most rewarding so criminal behaviour will happen if reward outweighs the risk
What is the conventional level
Criminal behaviour less likely to occur as they consider what is best for personal relationships and society
What is post conventional level
Criminal behaviour least likely as people consider general moral principles and fundamental rights and wrongs
What are cognitive distortions
When the mind fails to accurately perceive the true reality of the world around us.
This misunderstanding leads to behavioural responses that
What is hostile attribution bias
When our inferences about other peoples internal mental states are biased to assume they have negative intentions. For example, accidentally bumping into someone is interpreted as an attack
What is minimalisation
When interpreting our own behaviour is seen as less serious than it really is, such as by denying harm to the victim or placing blame on them.
This is to try justify behaviour and reduce feelings of guilt.
What is a support for level of moral reasoning
Hollin and Palmer (1998)
Compared level of moral reasoning between offenders and non deliquents between 13 and 22.
Male offenders had poorer moral reasoning on 10 of the 11 questions, suggesting offenders have developmental moral deficits
What are 2 limitations of Kohlbergs research
Gender bias
Kohlberg assumed his theory would apply to women as well (beta bias)
But when women were tested they were found to be less morally developed than men, even though men are more likely to be offenders.
Social desirability factors
Based theory around hypothetical dilemma
People may have changed their response to avoid judgement, or would not have known how they would act
What is differential association theory
A belief that criminality is the result of association with criminals.
Believes criminal behaviour is learnt
What is differential association
Everybody having a unique set of people around them
What do criminals learn through their association
Deviant norms
Pro-criminal attitudes.
How are criminal behaviours learnt and reinforced
Reinforced - expectations of the criminals who will approve of crime
Offending techniques - passed down through peer groups, e.g how to pick a lock
What are three supports of differential association theory
Explains both violent and non-violent crime
Sutherland looked at things like fraud or bad business practice as well as bank robbery.
RWA
Stops people putting first time offenders in confinement with experienced criminals who may reinforce pro criminal attitudes or pass on techniques
Rejected racist view
In Sutherlands time, the ‘born criminal’ was a popular thoery, this provided an alternative
2 limitations differential association
Doesn’t explain statistics
Younger males more likely to commit crimes than older males, who would haave been further exposed to criminal attitudes.
Correlational
Could be that those who are biologically predisposed to crime seek out others.
What are the two theories in psychodynamic explanation of crime
Freudian theory
Bowlbys attachment
Outline the 3 superego explanations for offending
Underdeveloped super ego
A lack of identification with same sex parent results in an underdeveloped super ego, which is not able to control the id by providing guild or reward.
Over-developed super ego
Overly strict parenting and over identification produces excessively dominant superego.
The need to justify this extreme guilt leads to more crime being committed.
Deviant superego
Same sex parent is identified with normally, but is a criminal/ The behaviours and values imitated are criminal and so morality rules are different.
How do Freudian defence mechanisms fit to crime
Denial - criminal rejects serious nature of crimes; “I didn’t really hurt him, he’s playing it up”
Displacement - criminal feels anger towards a target they cannot express anger to, so release that anger on weaker targets. e.g, man is angry with his boss, so attacks his wife
Rationalisation - criminal justifies their crime; “he doesn’t care if I break in and take stuff, the door was unlocked”
What are the two theories in psychodynamic explanation of crime
Freudian theory
Bowlbys attachment
What are the two theories in psychodynamic explanation of crime
Freudian theory
Bowlbys attachment
What does Bowlby’s theory suggest on crime
A poor infant-caregiver attachment causes crime
How does a poor attachment cause crime
Affectionless psychopathy (44 thieves)
What are 2 limitations of Freudian concepts to crime
Not directly observable or falsifiable.
A different superego cannot be empirically tested and compared to delinquency so is not scientific enough.
Alpha bias
As females don’t resolve Oedipus complex, they should have weaker superegos, an example of alpha bias.
But, women commit less crime than men, decreasing validity
What is a strength to Freudian theory
RWA
Parenting classes can be adjusted to ensure a child does not over or under develop their superego.
What is a limitation to Bowlbys theory
Correlational
Range of alternative explanations also mean cause and effect cant be established
What is custodial sentencing
Holding convicted criminals in a secure facility like a prison or young offenders institution
What are the four aims of custodial sentencing
Deterrence - put criminals off reoffending and crime
Incapacitation - protect society from criminal
Retribution - provide the victim and society a sense criminals have paid for their crime
Rehabilitation - opportunity to learn new skills and behaviour
What are psychological impacts of custodial sentencing
Depression - prisoners often feel helpless in frightening environment, and so highly stressed.
Institutionalisation - prisoners adapt to prison environment and struggle to adapt to outside life
Deindividuation - prisons can strip people oftheir sense of socialised individual identity, leading to high aggression
What is revidivism
When an offender reoffends after being released from jail.
Stats on UK recidivism
77% of ex inmates go on to reoffend
What are 3 limitation of custodial sentencing
Prisons may not rehabilitate or deter offenders, as 77% went on to reoffend.
Differential association
Putting prisoners together can result in pro-criminal attitudes and sharing of criminal skills
Expensive
Cost per prisoner per year in the UK is 42,000 pounds.
What is a benefit of custodial sentencing
Many members of society believe giving offenders long sentences is an appropriate punishment, and sentences lacking in retribution, like probation, are labelled ‘soft’
What is behaviour modification
Based on behaviourist approach
Uses operant condition through token economy
How does token economy in prison work
Offenders rewarded with tokens for predefined desired target behaviours such as helping in canteen.
Tokens are secondary reinforcers, which can be exchanged for primary reinforcers such as chocolate.
What is a research support of token economy in prison
Hobbs and Holt
Used token economy for young offenders
Found significant increase in appropriate behaviour, compared to no behavioural change in control group
What is a limitation of token economy
Has no long term effects in reducing recidivism
What does anger management treatment assume
Aggression is a cognitive process that can be controlled with a form of CBT
What are the three stages of anger management therapy
Cognitive preparation
Skills acquisition
Application practice
What is cognitive preparation
Offenders learn to assess their own thoughts for triggers of irrational aggressive emotion. Examples from their lives are used and reinterpreted.
What is skills acquisition
Ways to control anger are developed from calming/ relaxation exercises to improving communication skills to avoid conflict
What is application practice
Therapist and offender play out role play scenarios that would have caused an aggressive response.
What is a support of anger management therapy
Ireland (2004)
Self report questionnaires were completed by offenders before and after treatment. 48% of the group showed improvement.
What is a limitation of anger management therapy
Self report techniques
Effectiveness is gauged through self report, which is flawed as often there is an incentive for completing anger management like a reduced sentence, so prisoners likely to lie
What is restorative justice
An attempt to rehabilitate the offender by getting them to cognitively understand the effect their crime has had on the victim and wider soceity
What is restorative justice
An attempt to rehabilitate the offender by getting them to cognitively understand the effect their crime has had on the victim and wider society
What are the two stages in restorative justice
Meeting - victim and offender take part in a meeting supervised by trained mediator. Victim encouraged to explain the harm caused to them.
Reparation - Offender accepts responsibility by way of repayment, be it cash of community service
What is a benefit of restorative justice schemes
Ministry of Justice assessment
Found 14% reduction in recidivism, 62% of victims felt better, and for every £1 spent on RJ, it saved £8 from recidivism.
What is a limitation to restorative justice
Depends on the victim cooperating, may not be the case if the victim feels the offender will be playing along to avoid a harsher sentence.
