Forensic Psychology Flashcards
What are the different types of offender profiling
- top down approach
- bottom up approach
What is offender profiling
- 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
Who created the top down approach
FBI
- 1970s
Factors that help create the suspect pool
- offenders personality
- age
- race
- type of employment
- religion
- marital status
- level of education
What is the top down approach
- profiles start with pre established typology
- work down to lower levels to assign the criminal to one of two categories
What are the two categories for the top down approach
- organised offender
- disorganised offender
How was the top down approach created
- 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
Examples of organised offenders
Ted Bundy
What is the murder like for organised offenders
- plan crime in advance
- show self control at the scene
- leave little evidence
- victim likely to be a targeted stranger
- attempts to control victim
What is the offender profile like for organised offenders
- intelligent
- skilled occupation
- socially/sexually competent
- married/cohabiting
- likely to follow the story in the media
Examples of disorganised offenders
- Charles Manson
- Jeffery Dahmer
What is the murder like in disorganised offending
- little evidence of planning
- likely to leave more clues
- spontaneous
- likely to be know by the victim
What is the offender profile like for disorganised offenders
- socially inadequate
- unskilled occupation
- sexual problems (abuse)
- lives along
- live close to the crime scene
What are the 4 main stages for constructing an FBI profile
- data assimilation
- crime scene classification
- crime reconstruction
- profile generation
What happens in data assimilation - FBI profiles
- reviewing all the information
- police reports, photos, crime scene
What happens in crime scene classification - FBI profiles
- decide if the crime is organised or disorganised
What happens in crime reconstruction - FBI profiles
- make hypothesises about what happened
- based on victim behaviour and crime sequences
What happens in profile generation - FBI profiles
- present the profile hypothesis
- physical characteristics, behavioural habits
What is the bottom up approach - offender profiling
- 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
Who created the bottom up approach
David Canter
- attempted to move offender profiling into a more scientific _ empirical domain
What are the different parts of the bottom up approach
- investigative psychology
- geographical profiling
What is investigative psychology
- applying statistical procedures
- centralised data base
- establishes patterns of behaviour
- allows you to link crimes
- develops a statistical database
What is the 5 factor model of investigative psychology
- interpersonal coherence
- criminal career
- forensic awareness
- criminal characteristics
- significance of time and place
What is interpersonal coherence - investigative psychology
Consistency between crime and real life
What is criminal career - investigative psychology
Any past criminal evidence that they may have had
What is forensic awareness - investigative psychology
Previous experience with the police
- gloves
- wiping surfaces
What are criminal characteristics - investigative psychology
- controlling
- quiet
- nervous
- polite
What is the significance of time and place - investigative psychology
- where they work
- went to college
- left school early
What is the railways rapist
- support for the bottom up approach
- John Duffy (1986)
- 24 rapes and 3 murders over 4 years
Comparison between the profile created and Duffy’s profile - railway rapist
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
What are the evaluation points for the bottom up approach
- investigative psychology
- Canter + Heritage
- practical application
Who created geographical profiling
Rossmo
1997
What are the three key parts of geographical profiling
- mental maps
- least effort principle
- spatial consistency
What are mental maps - geographical profiling
Way of getting around
- where we feel comfortable
- consist of a place of work, recreation and home
What is the least effort principle - geographical profiling
- wont put in any more effort that needed
- attempts to make predictions about offending
- based on information about location and timings
What is spatial consistency - geographical profiling
Offenders operate within geographical areas
- places they know
- consistent with everyday life
What is the circle theory
- circle around crimes
- show where likely to offend and reside
- center of gravity
Who proposed the circle theory
Canter + Larkin
- 1993
What are the different types of offenders in geographical profiling
- Marauders
- commuters
What is a marauder
Operate close to their home
What is a commuter
Travels far distances to commit a crime
What is distance decay
Crimes are less likely to occur further away from an offenders home
Evaluation points for bottom up approach
- geographical profiling
- evidence for geographical profiling
- insufficient geographical evidence
What are the different types of biological explanations for offending
- historical approach
- genetic + neural
What are the different psychological explanation for offending
- Eysenck’s theory
- cognitive
- differential association theory
- psychodynamic
What do twin studies allow you to look at
- 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)
What do family studies allow you to look at
- inherited studies
- make it difficult to establish the relative contribution of nature + nurture (AO3)
What do adoption studies allow you to look at
Biological parents: nature, genes
Adoptive parents: nurture, environment
- seperate the contribution of nature + nurture
- age of adoption
- biological parent contact
What are the genetic explanations for offending
- one or more gene predisposed individuals to criminal behaviour
- supporting evidence from analysing the concordance rates in twin studies
What study was done looking into the genetic explanation for offending
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)
What adoption study was done looking at the genetic explanation of offending
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
What candidate genes are responsible for criminal behaviour
- MAOA
- CDH13
- abnormalities in these genres were found in 800 offenders (5-10%) in Tihonen’s Finnish study
What does the MAOA gene do
- aggression
- warrior gene
- regulates serotonin in the brain
What does the CDH13 gene do
- substance abuse + ADHD
- impulsiveness
What does the diathesis-stress model show in the genetic explanation of offending
- 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
Evaluation points of genetic explanations for offending
- issues with twin evidence
- support for diathesis-stress
What are the neural explanations for offending
- structures of the brain may be different in criminals
Role of prefrontal cortex in offending
- reduced functioning (cognitive tasks)
- regulates emotions + morals, impulse control
What research was done looking into the role of the prefrontal cortex in offending
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
What is the role of mirror neurons in offending
- specialised brain cells
- allow you to learn and empathise by observing actions of another person
What research was done looking into the role of mirror neurons in offending
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
What does Eysekch’s theory state
Proposed that personality can be represented along three dimensions
- determined largely by genetics (INNATE)
1) introversion - extraversion
2) neuroticism - stability
3) psychoticism - sociability
What is the criminal personality made of - Eysenck
Extroverted - neurotic
- also scored high on psychoticism
- high ENP
How does Eysenck explain criminal behaviour
Seen as an outcome of interactions between different processes
- occur at several different levels of explanation
What are the different levels of Esenck’s personality theory
Social - responses to socialisation
Psychological - stable psychological traits
Biological - function of the nervous system
What is extraversion
- 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
What is neuroticism
- high N scores have high levels of reactivity in their SNS
- respond quickly to situations of threat
- makes them anxious nervous, jumpy and unpredictable
What is psychoticism
- high P scores are aggressive, antisocial + egocentric
- not sure how its linked to the NS
- linked to higher levels of testosterone
What is the role of socialisation in criminals
- 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
How are we able to measure criminal personality
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
What are the two parts of the cognitive explanation of offending
- kohlberg’s stages of moral reasoning
- cognitive distortions
What does Kohlberg suggest are the reasons for offending
As you age so does your cognitive maturity
- sophistication
- three main stages
What are the three main stages of moral development
1) pre-conventional morality
2) conventional morality
3) post-conventional morality
What happens during pre-conventional morality
- infancy —> pre school (3-4)
- no concept of right + wrong
- stop to avoid punishment
- interest shifts to rewards over punishment
- what can they gain?
What happens during conventional morality
- school age
- good boy/girl level
- want to secure approval
- law and order (societal level)
What happens in post-conventional morality
- teens + adulthood
- morally + legally right aren’t always the same
Where do criminals fall in the different stages of moral development
- 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
What study was done looking into the different levels of moral reasoning
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
How does each stage of moral development approach the Heinz dilemma
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
Evaluation points for level of moral reasoning to explain offending
- supporting evidence
- applicability to other crimes
What is cognitive distortions
- a form of irrational thinking
- ways that reality has been twisted
- what is perceived no longer represents what is actually happening
What are examples of cognitive distortion
- hostile attribution bias
- minimalisation
What is egocentric bias
There is an emphasis on your own needs rather than the needs of others
What is causal attribution
Blaming other people for your behaviour
- not taking responsibility
- having an external locus of control
What is hostile attribution bias
- tendency to misinterpret the actions of other people
- assume people are being confrontational
Evidence for hostile attribution bias
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
What is minimalisation
- consequences of a situation are under-exaggerated, denied or downplayed
- criminals use ‘euphemistic labelling’
What is euphemistic labelling
- sanitised language
- down playing what actually happened
Evidence for minimalisation
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
Evaluation points for cognitive distortions as a way of explaining offending
- practical applications
- type of offence
What does the psychodynamic explanation of offending look at
- 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
What’s the role of the inadequate superego in offending
- 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
What did Blackburn (1993) say about the superego
- argued that offenders have a deficiency or inadequate superego
- leads to the ID being given ‘free rein’
What are the three types of inadequate superego
- weak superego
- deviant superego
- over harsh superego
What is the weak superego
- same sex parent is absent
- no identification
- cannot internalise a fully formed superego
- questionable morals
What is the deviant superego
- child internalises immoral or deviant values
- from a deviant same sex parent
What is the over-harsh superego
- overly harsh parenting
- superego is constantly crippled with guilt and anxiety
- commit crimes to satisfy need for punishment
What is the role of emotion in offending
- an inadequate superego allows for primitive, emotional demands to guide moral behaviour
- key part of the psychodynamic view
- emotional life of the individual
What is the role for maternal deprivation in offending
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)
Evaluation points for the psychodynamic explanation of offending
- research support
- counterpoint
- gender bias
- other factors
What are the different ways to deal with offending behaviour
- custodial sentencing (prison)
- behaviour modification in custody
- anger management
- restorative justice
What does custodial sentencing involve
When a convicted offender spends time in prison or another closed institution
- young offender’s institute
- psychiatric hospital
What are the 4 main reasons for custodial sentencing
- retribution
- rehabilitation
- incapacitation
- deterrence
What is retribution - custodial sentencing
- 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)
What is rehabilitation - custodial sentencing
- 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
What is incapacitation - custodial sentencing
- offender is taken out of society to prevent them reoffending
- protects the public
What is deterrence - custodial sentencing
- unpleasant prison experience is designed to put of individuals from offending
- conditioning through vicarious punishment
What are the psychological effects of custodial sentencing
- stress and depression
- institutionalisation
- prisonisation
What is the effect of prisons of stress and depression
Suicide rates are considerably higher in prison than in the general population
- self mutilation
- self harm
What is the effect of prisons in prisonisation
- accepting the culture and social life of prison society
- socialised into adopting an ‘inmate code’
- adjusting to the outside society become more difficult
What is the effect of prison in institutionalisation
- 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
What is recidivism
Reoffending rates
How do you measure the effectiveness of custodial sentencing
Recidivism
- expressed as a percentage of reoffending
Stats for recidivism for custodial sentencing
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
What is behavioral modification
- application of the behaviorist approach to treatment
- based on principles of operant conditioning
- replace undesirable behaviours with more desirable ones
- positive/negative reinforcement
Examples of behavioral modification
Token economy
