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Forensic psychology Flashcards

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1
Q

What was Lombroso’s theory

A

Atavistic form for identifying criminality.
Claims criminals possess similar characteristics to lower primates.
“A throwback to an earlier species of man”

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2
Q

What are 5 features of atavistic form

A

Large jaws
Low sloping forehead
High cheekbones
Scanty beard
Hard shifty eyes
Insensitivity to pain

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3
Q

How did Lombroso come to this conclusion

A

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.

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4
Q

Name Lombroso’s 3 types of criminals

A

Born criminals (atavistic types)
Insane criminals (suffering from mental illness)
Criminaloids (large general class of offenders; mentally predisposed them to criminal behaviours)

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5
Q

What did Sheldon believe

A

Believed people could be categorised into different body types which correspond with different personality types

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6
Q

What were Sheldon’s three body types

A

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

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7
Q

What did Sheldon find

A

Sheldon found many convicts were mesomorphic and were least likely to be ectomorphic

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8
Q

What were 3 weaknesses of Lombroso’s theory

A

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.

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9
Q

Name one positive of Lombroso’s theory

A

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.

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10
Q

What was Brunner’s study on

A

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

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11
Q

Tiihonen’s research

A

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

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12
Q

What did Raine (2004) do

A

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.

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13
Q

What are the two parts to the neural explanation

A

Regions of the brain (Raine)
Neurotransmitters

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14
Q

What are the two neurotransmitters believed to cause offending

A

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

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15
Q

List a pro and a con of genetic explanation

A

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

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16
Q

List a pro and a con of the neural explanation

A

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?

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17
Q

Overall issues with biological approach

A

Only explores violent crime
Deterministic, doesn’t account for free will

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18
Q

Who uses the top down approach

A

FBI

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19
Q

How was the top down approach developed

A

Interviews with 36 convicted murderers and serial killers with 118 known victims between them.

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20
Q

What is the two type of offender in top down approach

A

Organised
Disorganised

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21
Q

What are features of an organised crime scene

A

Prepare by bringing weapons/restraints
Take care tidying crime scene
Hide body

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22
Q

What are features of a disorganised crime scene

A

Weapon found at scene
Leave lots of evidence
Don’t try hide the body

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23
Q

What are the 4 stages of top down offender profiling

A

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

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24
Q

What is a benefit of top down profiling

A

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

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25
Q

What are 2 limitations of top down offender profiling

A

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

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26
Q

What is the bottom up approach

A

Using statistical analysis of data collected at the scene which is compared against a large database

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27
Q

Who developed the bottom up approach

A

Canter

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28
Q

What is the five factor model for interpreting a crime scene made of

A

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

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29
Q

Geographical profiling

A

A branch of bottom up profiling focusing on where an offender is likely to be based

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30
Q

What is distance decay

A

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

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31
Q

What is the circle hypothesis

A

Suggests offenders operate according to a limited spatial mindset, so crimes radiate out from their home base creating a circle

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32
Q

What are the two types of criminal behaviour in the circle theory

A

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

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33
Q

2 Support for bottom up approach

A

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

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34
Q

What is a limitation of the marauder/commuter labels

A

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.

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35
Q

Two limitations of offender profiling

A

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.

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36
Q

What is a benefit of offender profiling

A

Snook (2007)
Found Canadian major crime officers agreed criminal profiling helps solve cases (94%) and is a valuable investigative tool (88.2%)

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37
Q

Who created the ‘criminal personality’

A

Eysenck

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38
Q

What were the three personality dimensions to Eysencks criminal personality

A

Extravert/introvert

Neurotic/stable

Psychoticism

39
Q

What was the criminal personality

A

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.

40
Q

Support to Eysencks criminal personality

A

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

41
Q

What are 2 limitations of Eysencks criminal personality

A

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

42
Q

What is the cognitive explanation for criminality

A

Suggests there are internal mental processes about the world and moral decisions that lead to offending

43
Q

Who theorised the levels of moral reasoning

A

Kohlberg (1969)

44
Q

What are the three levels

A

Pre-conventional

Conventional

Post conventional

45
Q

What stage are most criminals at

A

Pre conventional stage

46
Q

What is the pre conventional stage

A

Morality is considered only in terms of how their actions will affect them.
Split into two stages

47
Q

What are the two stages to the pre conventional stage

A

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

48
Q

What is the conventional level

A

Criminal behaviour less likely to occur as they consider what is best for personal relationships and society

49
Q

What is post conventional level

A

Criminal behaviour least likely as people consider general moral principles and fundamental rights and wrongs

50
Q

What are cognitive distortions

A

When the mind fails to accurately perceive the true reality of the world around us.
This misunderstanding leads to behavioural responses that

51
Q

What is hostile attribution bias

A

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

52
Q

What is minimalisation

A

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.

53
Q

What is a support for level of moral reasoning

A

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

54
Q

What are 2 limitations of Kohlbergs research

A

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

55
Q

What is differential association theory

A

A belief that criminality is the result of association with criminals.
Believes criminal behaviour is learnt

56
Q

What is differential association

A

Everybody having a unique set of people around them

57
Q

What do criminals learn through their association

A

Deviant norms
Pro-criminal attitudes.

58
Q

How are criminal behaviours learnt and reinforced

A

Reinforced - expectations of the criminals who will approve of crime

Offending techniques - passed down through peer groups, e.g how to pick a lock

59
Q

What are three supports of differential association theory

A

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

60
Q

2 limitations differential association

A

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.

61
Q

What are the two theories in psychodynamic explanation of crime

A

Freudian theory

Bowlbys attachment

62
Q

Outline the 3 superego explanations for offending

A

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.

63
Q

How do Freudian defence mechanisms fit to crime

A

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”

64
Q

What are the two theories in psychodynamic explanation of crime

A

Freudian theory

Bowlbys attachment

65
Q

What are the two theories in psychodynamic explanation of crime

A

Freudian theory

Bowlbys attachment

66
Q

What does Bowlby’s theory suggest on crime

A

A poor infant-caregiver attachment causes crime

67
Q

How does a poor attachment cause crime

A

Affectionless psychopathy (44 thieves)

68
Q

What are 2 limitations of Freudian concepts to crime

A

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

69
Q

What is a strength to Freudian theory

A

RWA
Parenting classes can be adjusted to ensure a child does not over or under develop their superego.

70
Q

What is a limitation to Bowlbys theory

A

Correlational
Range of alternative explanations also mean cause and effect cant be established

71
Q

What is custodial sentencing

A

Holding convicted criminals in a secure facility like a prison or young offenders institution

72
Q

What are the four aims of custodial sentencing

A

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

73
Q

What are psychological impacts of custodial sentencing

A

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

74
Q

What is revidivism

A

When an offender reoffends after being released from jail.

75
Q

Stats on UK recidivism

A

77% of ex inmates go on to reoffend

76
Q

What are 3 limitation of custodial sentencing

A

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.

77
Q

What is a benefit of custodial sentencing

A

Many members of society believe giving offenders long sentences is an appropriate punishment, and sentences lacking in retribution, like probation, are labelled ‘soft’

78
Q

What is behaviour modification

A

Based on behaviourist approach
Uses operant condition through token economy

79
Q

How does token economy in prison work

A

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.

80
Q

What is a research support of token economy in prison

A

Hobbs and Holt
Used token economy for young offenders
Found significant increase in appropriate behaviour, compared to no behavioural change in control group

81
Q

What is a limitation of token economy

A

Has no long term effects in reducing recidivism

82
Q

What does anger management treatment assume

A

Aggression is a cognitive process that can be controlled with a form of CBT

83
Q

What are the three stages of anger management therapy

A

Cognitive preparation
Skills acquisition
Application practice

84
Q

What is cognitive preparation

A

Offenders learn to assess their own thoughts for triggers of irrational aggressive emotion. Examples from their lives are used and reinterpreted.

85
Q

What is skills acquisition

A

Ways to control anger are developed from calming/ relaxation exercises to improving communication skills to avoid conflict

86
Q

What is application practice

A

Therapist and offender play out role play scenarios that would have caused an aggressive response.

87
Q

What is a support of anger management therapy

A

Ireland (2004)
Self report questionnaires were completed by offenders before and after treatment. 48% of the group showed improvement.

88
Q

What is a limitation of anger management therapy

A

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

89
Q

What is restorative justice

A

An attempt to rehabilitate the offender by getting them to cognitively understand the effect their crime has had on the victim and wider soceity

90
Q

What is restorative justice

A

An attempt to rehabilitate the offender by getting them to cognitively understand the effect their crime has had on the victim and wider society

91
Q

What are the two stages in restorative justice

A

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

92
Q

What is a benefit of restorative justice schemes

A

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.

93
Q

What is a limitation to restorative justice

A

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.

Psych (10 decks)

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