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A-Level Psychology > Forensic Psychology > Flashcards

Forensic Psychology Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the different types of offender profiling

A
  • top down approach
  • bottom up approach
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2
Q

What is offender profiling

A
  • behavioural and analytical tool
  • intended to help investigators accurately predict and profile the characteristics of unknown offenders
  • uses information about the crime, crime scene and victim
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3
Q

Who created the top down approach

A

FBI
- 1970s

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4
Q

Factors that help create the suspect pool

A
  • offenders personality
  • age
  • race
  • type of employment
  • religion
  • marital status
  • level of education
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5
Q

What is the top down approach

A
  • profiles start with pre established typology
  • work down to lower levels to assign the criminal to one of two categories
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6
Q

What are the two categories for the top down approach

A
  • organised offender
  • disorganised offender
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7
Q

How was the top down approach created

A
  • interviews of 36 sexually motivated serial killers
  • classified the crimes as either organised or disorganised
    - based on offenders behaviour and the type of victim
  • then able to predict other characteristics that were likely to
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8
Q

Examples of organised offenders

A

Ted Bundy

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9
Q

What is the murder like for organised offenders

A
  • plan crime in advance
  • show self control at the scene
  • leave little evidence
  • victim likely to be a targeted stranger
  • attempts to control victim
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10
Q

What is the offender profile like for organised offenders

A
  • intelligent
  • skilled occupation
  • socially/sexually competent
  • married/cohabiting
  • likely to follow the story in the media
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11
Q

Examples of disorganised offenders

A
  • Charles Manson
  • Jeffery Dahmer
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12
Q

What is the murder like in disorganised offending

A
  • little evidence of planning
  • likely to leave more clues
    • spontaneous
  • likely to be know by the victim
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13
Q

What is the offender profile like for disorganised offenders

A
  • socially inadequate
  • unskilled occupation
  • sexual problems (abuse)
  • lives along
  • live close to the crime scene
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14
Q

What are the 4 main stages for constructing an FBI profile

A
  • data assimilation
  • crime scene classification
  • crime reconstruction
  • profile generation
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15
Q

What happens in data assimilation - FBI profiles

A
  • reviewing all the information
  • police reports, photos, crime scene
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16
Q

What happens in crime scene classification - FBI profiles

A
  • decide if the crime is organised or disorganised
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17
Q

What happens in crime reconstruction - FBI profiles

A
  • make hypothesises about what happened
  • based on victim behaviour and crime sequences
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18
Q

What happens in profile generation - FBI profiles

A
  • present the profile hypothesis
  • physical characteristics, behavioural habits
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19
Q

What is the bottom up approach - offender profiling

A
  • doesn’t begin with a fixed typology
  • investigator scrutinises the details of the offence/crime scene “data driven”
  • data put into a software: helps analyse data
  • much more grounded in psychological theory
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20
Q

Who created the bottom up approach

A

David Canter
- attempted to move offender profiling into a more scientific _ empirical domain

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21
Q

What are the different parts of the bottom up approach

A
  • investigative psychology
  • geographical profiling
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22
Q

What is investigative psychology

A
  • applying statistical procedures
  • centralised data base
  • establishes patterns of behaviour
    • allows you to link crimes
  • develops a statistical database
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23
Q

What is the 5 factor model of investigative psychology

A
  • interpersonal coherence
  • criminal career
  • forensic awareness
  • criminal characteristics
  • significance of time and place
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24
Q

What is interpersonal coherence - investigative psychology

A

Consistency between crime and real life

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25
Q

What is criminal career - investigative psychology

A

Any past criminal evidence that they may have had

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26
Q

What is forensic awareness - investigative psychology

A

Previous experience with the police
- gloves
- wiping surfaces

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27
Q

What are criminal characteristics - investigative psychology

A
  • controlling
  • quiet
  • nervous
  • polite
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28
Q

What is the significance of time and place - investigative psychology

A
  • where they work
  • went to college
  • left school early
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29
Q

What is the railways rapist

A
  • support for the bottom up approach
  • John Duffy (1986)
  • 24 rapes and 3 murders over 4 years
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30
Q

Comparison between the profile created and Duffy’s profile - railway rapist

A

Profile
- lived in Kilburn
- marriage problems
- small, unattractive
- martial arts
- dominate women
- fantasy of rape/bondage

Duffy
- lived in Kilburn
- divorced
- 5’4”, acne
- part of a martial arts club
- violent: raped wife
- used bondage with his wife

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31
Q

What are the evaluation points for the bottom up approach
- investigative psychology

A
  • Canter + Heritage
  • practical application
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32
Q

Who created geographical profiling

A

Rossmo
1997

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33
Q

What are the three key parts of geographical profiling

A
  • mental maps
  • least effort principle
  • spatial consistency
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34
Q

What are mental maps - geographical profiling

A

Way of getting around
- where we feel comfortable
- consist of a place of work, recreation and home

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35
Q

What is the least effort principle - geographical profiling

A
  • wont put in any more effort that needed
  • attempts to make predictions about offending
  • based on information about location and timings
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36
Q

What is spatial consistency - geographical profiling

A

Offenders operate within geographical areas
- places they know
- consistent with everyday life

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37
Q

What is the circle theory

A
  • circle around crimes
  • show where likely to offend and reside
  • center of gravity
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38
Q

Who proposed the circle theory

A

Canter + Larkin
- 1993

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39
Q

What are the different types of offenders in geographical profiling

A
  • Marauders
  • commuters
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40
Q

What is a marauder

A

Operate close to their home

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41
Q

What is a commuter

A

Travels far distances to commit a crime

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42
Q

What is distance decay

A

Crimes are less likely to occur further away from an offenders home

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43
Q

Evaluation points for bottom up approach
- geographical profiling

A
  • evidence for geographical profiling
  • insufficient geographical evidence
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44
Q

What are the different types of biological explanations for offending

A
  • historical approach
  • genetic + neural
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45
Q

What are the different psychological explanation for offending

A
  • Eysenck’s theory
  • cognitive
  • differential association theory
  • psychodynamic
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46
Q

What do twin studies allow you to look at

A
  • concordance rates
  • risk of getting a behaviour
  • MZ = 100% same genes
  • DZ = 50% same genes
  • make it difficult to establish the relative contribution of nature + nurture (AO3)
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47
Q

What do family studies allow you to look at

A
  • inherited studies
  • make it difficult to establish the relative contribution of nature + nurture (AO3)
48
Q

What do adoption studies allow you to look at

A

Biological parents: nature, genes
Adoptive parents: nurture, environment
- seperate the contribution of nature + nurture
- age of adoption
- biological parent contact

49
Q

What are the genetic explanations for offending

A
  • one or more gene predisposed individuals to criminal behaviour
  • supporting evidence from analysing the concordance rates in twin studies
50
Q

What study was done looking into the genetic explanation for offending

A

Christiansen (1977)
- 3500 twin pairs in Denmark
- MZ = 35% concordance rate
- DZ = 13% concordance rate
- supports view that offending has a genetic component
- higher concordance rate when 100% same genetics (MZ twins)

51
Q

What adoption study was done looking at the genetic explanation of offending

A

Crowe (1972)
- individuals with biological mothers that have a criminal record
- 50% risk of a criminal record by 18 years old
- non-biological mothers with a criminal record
- 5% risk of a criminal record by 18 years old

52
Q

What candidate genes are responsible for criminal behaviour

A
  • MAOA
  • CDH13
  • abnormalities in these genres were found in 800 offenders (5-10%) in Tihonen’s Finnish study
53
Q

What does the MAOA gene do

A
  • aggression
  • warrior gene
  • regulates serotonin in the brain
54
Q

What does the CDH13 gene do

A
  • substance abuse + ADHD
  • impulsiveness
55
Q

What does the diathesis-stress model show in the genetic explanation of offending

A
  • the influence that genes have of offending is partially due to effects of the environment
  • tendency toward offending behaviours may come through a combination of genetic predispositions + biological/psychological triggers
56
Q

Evaluation points of genetic explanations for offending

A
  • issues with twin evidence
  • support for diathesis-stress
57
Q

What are the neural explanations for offending

A
  • structures of the brain may be different in criminals
58
Q

Role of prefrontal cortex in offending

A
  • reduced functioning (cognitive tasks)
  • regulates emotions + morals, impulse control
59
Q

What research was done looking into the role of the prefrontal cortex in offending

A

Raine (2002)
- 11% reduction in the volume of grey matter in the PFC (smaller, less developed)
- individuals with antisocial personality disorder when compared to a control group
- less activity in PFC or 41 murdered
- especially emotionally driven
- Amygdala: emotional behaviour
- fear, aggression, anger
- 500 pps had high amygdala activity

60
Q

What is the role of mirror neurons in offending

A
  • specialised brain cells
  • allow you to learn and empathise by observing actions of another person
61
Q

What research was done looking into the role of mirror neurons in offending

A

Keysers (2011)
- only when criminals were asked to empathise with other did their empathy reactions activate
- controlled by mirror neurons
- suggests criminals experience empathy, just not an automatic response
- criminals do not have an automatic empathy switch

62
Q

What does Eysekch’s theory state

A

Proposed that personality can be represented along three dimensions
- determined largely by genetics (INNATE)
1) introversion - extraversion
2) neuroticism - stability
3) psychoticism - sociability

63
Q

What is the criminal personality made of - Eysenck

A

Extroverted - neurotic
- also scored high on psychoticism
- high ENP

64
Q

How does Eysenck explain criminal behaviour

A

Seen as an outcome of interactions between different processes
- occur at several different levels of explanation

65
Q

What are the different levels of Esenck’s personality theory

A

Social - responses to socialisation
Psychological - stable psychological traits
Biological - function of the nervous system

66
Q

What is extraversion

A
  • high E scores are risk takers, seen sensation + stimulation
  • have an under aroused NS, therefor need more stimulation from their environment
  • do not condition easily or learn from mistakes
67
Q

What is neuroticism

A
  • high N scores have high levels of reactivity in their SNS
  • respond quickly to situations of threat
  • makes them anxious nervous, jumpy and unpredictable
68
Q

What is psychoticism

A
  • high P scores are aggressive, antisocial + egocentric
  • not sure how its linked to the NS
  • linked to higher levels of testosterone
69
Q

What is the role of socialisation in criminals

A
  • children are taught to manage their need for instant gratification through conditioning
  • Eysenck suggested that high E+N children are difficult to condition + socialise
  • criminal behaviour is developmentally immature + concerned with immediate gratification
    • offenders are selfish + cannot wait for things to
70
Q

How are we able to measure criminal personality

A

Eysenck’s personality questionnaire (EPQ)
- asked questions that place you along the E, N + P dimensions
- people Amy tend towards socially desirable answers
- countered by the use of a lie scale

71
Q

What are the two parts of the cognitive explanation of offending

A
  • kohlberg’s stages of moral reasoning
  • cognitive distortions
72
Q

What does Kohlberg suggest are the reasons for offending

A

As you age so does your cognitive maturity
- sophistication
- three main stages

73
Q

What are the three main stages of moral development

A

1) pre-conventional morality
2) conventional morality
3) post-conventional morality

74
Q

What happens during pre-conventional morality

A
  • infancy —> pre school (3-4)
  • no concept of right + wrong
    • stop to avoid punishment
  • interest shifts to rewards over punishment
    • what can they gain?
75
Q

What happens during conventional morality

A
  • school age
  • good boy/girl level
  • want to secure approval
  • law and order (societal level)
76
Q

What happens in post-conventional morality

A
  • teens + adulthood
  • morally + legally right aren’t always the same
77
Q

Where do criminals fall in the different stages of moral development

A
  • criminals have a lower level of moral reasoning
  • dont progress from the pre conventional levels of moral reasoning g
  • seen to avoid punishment and gain rewards
  • more egocentric
78
Q

What study was done looking into the different levels of moral reasoning

A

1973
- moral dilemma technique
- group of violent youths were significantly lower in their moral development than non-violent youth
- criminals think differently to non-criminals

79
Q

How does each stage of moral development approach the Heinz dilemma

A

Pre-conventional level
- approached a moral problem from the concrete interests of the individuals involved in a situation

Conventional level
- concerned on protecting society as well as our own interests

Post-conventional level
- a societal perspective
- decide what kink of system could both prevent the loss of innocent life + protect the pharmacists right to property

80
Q

Evaluation points for level of moral reasoning to explain offending

A
  • supporting evidence
  • applicability to other crimes
81
Q

What is cognitive distortions

A
  • a form of irrational thinking
  • ways that reality has been twisted
  • what is perceived no longer represents what is actually happening
82
Q

What are examples of cognitive distortion

A
  • hostile attribution bias
  • minimalisation
83
Q

What is egocentric bias

A

There is an emphasis on your own needs rather than the needs of others

84
Q

What is causal attribution

A

Blaming other people for your behaviour
- not taking responsibility
- having an external locus of control

85
Q

What is hostile attribution bias

A
  • tendency to misinterpret the actions of other people
  • assume people are being confrontational
86
Q

Evidence for hostile attribution bias

A

Schonenberg + Justye (2014)
- 55 violent offenders
- presented with images of emotionally ambiguous facial expressions
- offenders were more likely to perceive the images as angry/hostile
- in comparison to a control group

87
Q

What is minimalisation

A
  • consequences of a situation are under-exaggerated, denied or downplayed
  • criminals use ‘euphemistic labelling’
88
Q

What is euphemistic labelling

A
  • sanitised language
  • down playing what actually happened
89
Q

Evidence for minimalisation

A

Howitt + Sheldon (2007)
- questionnaires given to sexual offenders
- non-contact violent offenders (content online)
- used more cognitive distortions thats contact sex offenders
- suggests that distortions are not made consistently across all types of offenders

90
Q

Evaluation points for cognitive distortions as a way of explaining offending

A
  • practical applications
  • type of offence
91
Q

What does the psychodynamic explanation of offending look at

A
  • focuses on te role for the parent child relationship in developing the personality of a criminal adult
  • the unconscious mental processes that lead to criminal behaviour
92
Q

What’s the role of the inadequate superego in offending

A
  • worlds on the morality principle
  • punishes the ego through guilt for any wrong-doing behaviour
  • rewards the ego with pride for good moral behaviour
  • formed at the end of the phallic stage
    • resolved Oedipus/Electra complex
93
Q

What did Blackburn (1993) say about the superego

A
  • argued that offenders have a deficiency or inadequate superego
  • leads to the ID being given ‘free rein’
94
Q

What are the three types of inadequate superego

A
  • weak superego
  • deviant superego
  • over harsh superego
95
Q

What is the weak superego

A
  • same sex parent is absent
  • no identification
  • cannot internalise a fully formed superego
  • questionable morals
96
Q

What is the deviant superego

A
  • child internalises immoral or deviant values
  • from a deviant same sex parent
97
Q

What is the over-harsh superego

A
  • overly harsh parenting
  • superego is constantly crippled with guilt and anxiety
  • commit crimes to satisfy need for punishment
98
Q

What is the role of emotion in offending

A
  • an inadequate superego allows for primitive, emotional demands to guide moral behaviour
  • key part of the psychodynamic view
  • emotional life of the individual
99
Q

What is the role for maternal deprivation in offending

A

Bowlby (1944)
- someone without a continuous, loving relationship with a mother figure during childhood
- suffers serious effects as an adult
- affection less psychopathy
- lack of guilt, empathy, feeling for others, inability to form lasting relationships
- no internal working model
- likely to engage in acts of delinquency
- 44 juvenile thieves study (1944)

100
Q

Evaluation points for the psychodynamic explanation of offending

A
  • research support
    • counterpoint
  • gender bias
  • other factors
101
Q

What are the different ways to deal with offending behaviour

A
  • custodial sentencing (prison)
  • behaviour modification in custody
  • anger management
  • restorative justice
102
Q

What does custodial sentencing involve

A

When a convicted offender spends time in prison or another closed institution
- young offender’s institute
- psychiatric hospital

103
Q

What are the 4 main reasons for custodial sentencing

A
  • retribution
  • rehabilitation
  • incapacitation
  • deterrence
104
Q

What is retribution - custodial sentencing

A
  • society is getting revenge by making the criminal suffer
  • level of suffering should be proportionate to the seriousness of the crime
  • punishment (spending time in jail)
105
Q

What is rehabilitation - custodial sentencing

A
  • objective of prison is not only to punish, but to reform
    • through access to skill development
  • should leave prison better adjusted + ready to integrate into society
106
Q

What is incapacitation - custodial sentencing

A
  • offender is taken out of society to prevent them reoffending
    • protects the public
107
Q

What is deterrence - custodial sentencing

A
  • unpleasant prison experience is designed to put of individuals from offending
    • conditioning through vicarious punishment
108
Q

What are the psychological effects of custodial sentencing

A
  • stress and depression
  • institutionalisation
  • prisonisation
109
Q

What is the effect of prisons of stress and depression

A

Suicide rates are considerably higher in prison than in the general population
- self mutilation
- self harm

110
Q

What is the effect of prisons in prisonisation

A
  • accepting the culture and social life of prison society
  • socialised into adopting an ‘inmate code’
  • adjusting to the outside society become more difficult
111
Q

What is the effect of prison in institutionalisation

A
  • deficits or disabilities in social + life skills
    • developed after spending a long time in mental hospitals or prison
  • deprived of independice and responsibility
    • unable to manage many of societal demands
  • psychologically more prone to mental health problems
    • Zimbardo’s study
112
Q

What is recidivism

A

Reoffending rates

113
Q

How do you measure the effectiveness of custodial sentencing

A

Recidivism
- expressed as a percentage of reoffending

114
Q

Stats for recidivism for custodial sentencing

A

UK has the highest rates of recidivism (excluding US)
- 45%
Norway has the lowest rates
- very different prison system
- focuses on rehabilitation
- critics argue it is the ‘soft option’: no punishment
14 prisons in the UK and Wales
- make up 70% of recidivism rates

115
Q

What is behavioral modification

A
  • application of the behaviorist approach to treatment
  • based on principles of operant conditioning
  • replace undesirable behaviours with more desirable ones
  • positive/negative reinforcement
116
Q

Examples of behavioral modification

A

Token economy

A-Level Psychology (11 decks)

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