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Psychology Paper 3 > Forensic Psychology > Flashcards

Forensic Psychology Flashcards

1
Q

What is Offender Profiling?

A

used to identify characteristics of a criminal to narrow down a list of possible subjects

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2
Q

What are the two offender profiling approaches?

A
  • top-down
  • bottom- Up
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3
Q

What are the 4 steps to the top-down appraoch?

A
  • Assimilation
  • Classification
  • Reconstruction
  • Profile Generation
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4
Q

What is the top-down approach?

A

Starts with a pre-defined criminal profiles and then adds specific details

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5
Q

What occurs during assimilation?

A

data from the scene like fingerprints are gathered

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6
Q

What occurs during classification?

A

the offender is classified into an organised or disorganised offender

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7
Q

What occurs during reconstruction?

A

Try to reconstruct the crime, identifying the timeline

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8
Q

What occurs during profile generation?

A

Fill in specific details about criminal like their physical and psychological characteristics

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9
Q

What is an organised offender?

A

usually intelligent, and has planned/organised crime

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10
Q

What is a disorganised offender?

A

usually unintelligent and has an uncontrolled crime with evidence left behind

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11
Q

What is the bottom-up approach?

A

Starts with the criminals specific characteristics and develops a general profile afterwards

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12
Q

What are the 2 factors in the bottom-up approach?

A
  • Investigative psychology
  • Geographical profiling
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13
Q

What is investigative psychology?

A

uses scientific psychology and theories to solve crimes

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14
Q

What is interpersonal coherence?

A

key concept in investigative psychology which suggests that the way a criminal behaves when committing the crime will be consistent with how they behave in everyday life
e.g. someone who commits aggressive murder is likely to be an aggressive person generally

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15
Q

What is Geographical profiling?

A

using statistical analysis to work out the offends geographical location

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16
Q

What is the circle hypothesis?

A

suggests that offenders carry-out crimes in a geographical circle

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17
Q

Who tested the circle hypothesis?

A

Canter and Larkin

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18
Q

What 2 different models did Canter and Larkin find?

A
  • Marauders
  • Commuters
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19
Q

What is the Marauders model?

A

where they commit crimes within a range form their own home

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20
Q

What is the Commuters model?

A

when they travel away form home to commit crimes in that area

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21
Q

Who came up with the Atavistic form?

A

Lombroso (father of criminology)

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22
Q

What did the Lombroso suggest about criminals?

A

they are biologically different from other humans and have more in common with out evolutionary ancestors; more like a savage, pre-human species

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23
Q

What are the distinctive features of criminals suggested by Lombroso?

A
  • Heavy brow
  • Strong jaw
  • Extra fingers and toes
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24
Q

What are Lombroso’s suggested features for murderers and sex offenders?

A

Murderer = bloodshot eyes
Sex offenders = swollen lips

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25
How is the atavistic form viewed today?
considered a historical approach as very few scientists will follow this today
26
How did Lombroso test the Atavistic form?
used skull structures of past criminals and observed their features. Didn't have a control group
27
How is twin studies used to support the genetic explanation of offending behaviour?
- can show how much a behaviour is caused by genes - Christiansen analysed the concordance rate (similarity rate) for criminal convictions among over 3,500 pairs of twins - Among males concordance rate was 35% for identical twins and 12% for non-identical twins
28
How has adoption studies supported the genetic explanation of offending behaviour?
having a biological parent who is a criminal is suggested to be a better predictor of whether the child will become a criminal than if the adopted parent was a criminal
29
What gene has been linked with criminal behaviour?
MAOA-L gene
30
How does the MAOA-L gene support the genetic explanation of offending behaviour?
- Has been linked with aggressive behaviour which intern is linked to criminal behaviour - Brunner et al studied a family with a history of criminal behaviour and found all male member had the MAOA gene - Affects how neurotransmitters e.g. serotonin is processed which also supports the neural explanation of criminal behaviour
31
What two factors are neural explanations of offending behaviour?
- Brian Structures - Neurotransmitters
32
How does brain structures support the neural explanation of offending behaviour?
- Research suggests that reduces activity in the prefrontal cortex links to criminal activity - Raine et al compared brain scans on 41 murderers and 41 controls and found murders had reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex compered to the control group
33
How does neurotransmitters support the neural explanation of offending behaviour?
- Serotonin may also link with criminal behaviour (regulates emotions) - Brunner found that MAOA gene which is responsible for processing neurotransmitters increases violent behaviour
34
What does Eysenck's theory of personality suggest?
suggests that different personality traits can predispose you to criminal behaviour
35
What are the 3 personality traits detailed by Eysenck?
- EXTROVERT v Introvert - NEUROTIC v Stable - PSYCHOTIC v Non-psychotic
36
How would you describe Extrovert-Introvert personality and how it relates to criminal behaviour?
- Extrovert is social, talkative and more impulsive - Introvert usually spends time alone, less risk taking - Extroverts are more likely to act impulsively, take risks and are thrill seekers so would find a thrill in criminal behaviour
37
How would you describe Neurotic-Stable personality and how it relates to criminal behaviour?
- Neurotic is prone to strong negative emotions like jealousy, anxiety and nervousness; not a sad person just when you are sad you feel it intensely, can also have strong positive emotions - Stable is more emotionally stable and calm - Neurotic are more emotional so are more likely to commit a crime in the heat of the moment
38
How would you describe Psychotic-Non-psychotic personality and how it relates to criminal behaviour?
- Psychotic tend to be unconventional, don’t feel guilt or empathy - Non-psychotic have a conscious and do feel guilt - Psychotic are more likely to commit a crime as they don’t have feelings of empathy or guilt to stop them
39
How did Eysenck test his theory?
made a questionnaire called Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ)
40
What are the 2 factors that support cognitive explanations of offending behaviour?
- Level of Moral reasoning - Cognitive distortions
41
Who argued there were 3 stages of moral development?
Kohlberg
42
What was Kohlberg's Stage 1 suggesting?
Pre-conventional morality – this is when actions are chosen from self interest e.g. if I don’t get punished for it, it is okey to steal
43
What was Kohlberg's Stage 2 suggesting?
Conventional morality – this is when actions are chosen according to wider societal interests e.g. someone shouldn’t steal as it is against the law
44
What was Kohlberg's Stage 3 suggesting?
Post-conventional morality – this is when your actions are chosen to your own moral principles e.g. stealing a loaf of bread to feed your family
45
Using, the level of morality reasoning, why do people commit crime?
People that don’t progress past the childlike pre-conventional morality stage makes them more likely to commit a crime
46
What is cognitive distortions?
Consistently deviating form rational internal mental processes that mean you are perceiving things inaccurately and these might therefore explain criminal behaviour
47
What are the 2 cognitive distortions?
- Hostile attribution bias - Minimalization
48
What is meant by hostile attribution bias?
- When someone misinterprets someone’s action as hostile - More likely to commit a crime as would feel under threat
49
What is meant by minimizalition?
- Downplaying how bad your behaviour really is - Reducing your sense of guilt making it more likely for you to commit a crime
50
What is the differential association theory?
- Suggests that criminal behaviour is learned by associating with people who commit crimes - More likely to engage in criminal activity if you have a close relationship to criminals and you spend a lot of time with them
51
How did Sutherland suggest you can predict the likelihood to be a criminal?
suggested frequency, duration and intensity of association with a criminal could be used to mathematically predict how likely someone is to be a criminal
52
What did Sutherland suggest?
Criminals are not born they are made
53
How does the differential association theory suggest people re-offend?
In prison they learn specific techniques form other more experienced criminal and may be eager to put into practice upon their release
54
How does the psychodynamic explanation explain offending behaviour?
Explains crime as a result of the unconscious conflicting with the rest of your mind. Uses the super-ego, displacement defence mechanism and maternal deprivation as explanations.
55
What are the 3 explanations in how the Super-ego causes criminal behaviour?
- Under developed Super-ego - Over developed Super-ego - Deviant Super-ego
56
Who suggested the Super-ego causes criminal behaviour?
Blackburn
57
How does the under developed Super-ego cause criminal behaviour?
might give into criminal impulses of the ID
58
How does the over developed Super-ego cause criminal behaviour?
someone is subject to excessive feeling of guilt as super-ego is too strong, but instead of making them less likely to commit a crime, it makes them more likely to commit a crime as thy have an unconscious desire to be caught and punished to alleviate the feelings of guilt
59
How does the over deviant Super-ego cause criminal behaviour?
in the phallic stage children identify with their same sex parent internalising their values into their own. However, if the parents values are deviant (criminal) the child’s Super-ego won’t prevent them from committing similar crimes
60
How does Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation explain offending behaviour?
- Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis states that being maternally deprived may explain criminal behaviour as he suggests that some of the symptoms of maternal deprivation and affectionless psychopathy and delinquency – 44 thieves study is the supporting evidence - Aggression and depression also symptoms so explains criminal behaviour

Psychology Paper 3 (4 decks)

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