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Forensic Psychology 🤧 Flashcards

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1
Q

what is the aim of offender profiling?

A
  • to narrow down the list of likely suspects
  • generate hypotheses about characteristics of offender
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2
Q

what are the two approaches to offender profiling?

A
  • top down approach (American)
  • bottom up approach (UK)
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3
Q

when did the top down approach originate?

A
  • 1970s by FBI
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4
Q

how did top down approach start?

A
  • gathered data from in depth interviews with 36 sexually motivated murderers including Ted Bundy and Charles Manson
  • concluded data could be categorised into organised or disorganised crimes
  • used to predict characteristics used to find the offender
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5
Q

what are the types of murder most likely to be carried out by an organised offender (top down approach)?

A
  • planned crime
  • victim specifically targeted
  • leaves few clues
  • body transported from scene of crime
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6
Q

what are the types of murder most likely to be carried out by a disorganised offender (top down approach)?

A
  • unplanned crime
  • little attempt to hide evidence at crime scene
  • random victim
  • sexually sadistic acts performed post death
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7
Q

what are the likely characteristics of an organised offender (top down approach)?

A
  • generally high IQ
  • socially/ sexually competent
  • usually living with a partner
  • confident and attractive
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8
Q

what are the likely characteristics of a disorganised offender (top down approach)?

A
  • lives alone near crime scene
  • sexually inadequate
  • severe forms of mental illness
  • confused and distressed
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9
Q

what are the stages of conducting an FBI profile?

A
  1. data assimilation
  2. crime scene classification (organised or disorganised)
  3. crime reconstruction
  4. profile generation
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10
Q

what research support is there for distinct organised category of offenders (top down approach)?

A
  • Canter et al conducted analysis of 100 US murders, each committed by a different serial killer
  • technique called smallest space analysis was used to assess co-occurrence of 39 aspects of serial killings which matched FBI’s typology (good validity)
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11
Q

what is a counterpoint to the research support for organised category of offenders (top down approach)?

A
  • organised and disorganised types are not mutually exclusive (variety of combinations)
  • Godwin argues that it is difficult to classify killers as one or the other
  • killer may have multiple contrasting characteristics ie. higher intelligence but commits a spontaneous murder leaving victims body at the crime scene
  • organised disorganised typology is more of a continuum
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12
Q

what limitation is there for top down approach for profiling?

A

flawed evidence on which it is based
- FBI profiling was developed in interviews with 36 murderers in US, 25 were serial killers
- at the end of the process 24 were classified as organised and 12 were disorganised
- Canter argued sample was poor (wasn’t random or large and consisted of very few different kinds of offenders)
- no standard set of questions so each interview was different and therefore not really comparable
- does not have a sound, scientific based

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13
Q

what is another name for the bottom up approach?

A
  • data driven approach!
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14
Q

where is the bottom up approach based?

A
  • UK
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15
Q

according to the bottom up approach, how are profiles created?

A
  • in terms of characteristics, social background and routine behaviour
  • through systematic analysis of evidence at the crime scene
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16
Q

what are the two sections of the bottom up approach?

A
  • investigative psychology
  • geographical profiling
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17
Q

what is investigative psychology and who was it developed by (bottom up approach)?

A
  • David Canter
  • uses psychological theory and statistical procedures to analyse crime scene evidence
  • way a criminal behaves during a crime mirrors how they behave normally, so patterns will be revealed about their lifestyle when analysing behaviour during an offence
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18
Q

what is geographical profiling (bottom up approach)?

A
  • concerned with where rather than who
  • analyses locations of connected series of crimes and considers where they were committed, spatial relationships between different crime scenes and how they might relate to an offenders place of residence
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19
Q

what are the 3 main parts of investigative psychology (bottom up approach)?

A
  • interpersonal coherence
  • forensic awareness
  • smallest space analysis
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20
Q

what is interpersonal coherence (bottom up approach)?

A
  • consistent behaviour so links can be made between crimes
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21
Q

what is forensic awareness (bottom up approach)?

A
  • offenders have awareness of police techniques and past experiences of crime
  • ie. may cover up fingerprints
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22
Q

what is smallest space analysis (bottom up approach)?

A
  • statistical technique
  • uses analysis to find correlating patterns of behaviour
  • used by Canter and Salfati (found 3 themes)
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23
Q

what are the 3 themes Canter and Salfati found for smallest space analysis (bottom up approach)?

A
  • instrumental opportunistic
  • instrumental cognitive
  • expressive impulsive
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24
Q

what does instrumental opportunistic mean when referencing smallest space analysis (bottom up approach)?

A
  • commit a crime to obtain a goal
  • relatively easy/ simple
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25
Q

what does instrumental cognitive mean when referencing smallest space analysis (bottom up approach)?

A
  • offender is concerned about detection by police
  • planned crime
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26
Q

what does expressive impulsive mean when referencing smallest space analysis (bottom up approach)?

A
  • uncontrolled
  • offender has been provoked
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27
Q

what are the 2 main parts of geographical profiling (bottom up approach)?

A
  • circle theory
  • criminal geographical targeting
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28
Q

what is the circle theory (bottom up approach)?

A
  • identifies criminals by looking at spatial distribution of crime scenes
  • if similar crimes are plotted on a map, and they form a circle, the criminals base would be in the centre of it
  • can be marauders (home within geographical area) or commuters (travel)
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29
Q

what is criminal geographical targeting and who developed it (bottom up approach)?

A
  • Rossmo, based on Rossmo’s formula
  • produces a 3D map displaying spatial data related to time, distance and movement to and from crime scenes
  • map is called a jeopardy surface where different colours indicate closeness to residence
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30
Q

what evaluation is there for the bottom up approach?

A

is it useful?
- Rossmo claimed that while profiling may not always identify actual offenders its useful in prioritising house to house calls and identifying a geographical area where DNA might be
- doesn’t distinguish between multiple offenders in same area and is limited to spatial behaviour rather than individual characteristics
- Rossmo worked for Canadian police but had to leave after they decided his methods weren’t helpful

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31
Q

what research evaluation is there for bottom up approach?

A

study of 45 sexual assaults by Canter and Larkin
- support found for distinction between commuters and marauders
- however 91% were marauders (majority) so is it useful if most offenders are marauders anyway
- Petherick pointed out that if an offenders home isn’t at centre of geographical circle, police may look in the wrong area anyway

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32
Q

how can the railway rapists be used to evaluate the bottom up approach?

A
  • success in Canters first profiling case (railway rapists)
  • helped police reduce suspect pool and led effective conviction
  • surveys of 48 police forces found 75% said profiling was helpful
  • only 3% said it had helped identify actual offender
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33
Q

how did the historical approach to explaining offenders behaviour originate?

A
  • Early Greeks were first to link physical form to personality
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34
Q

what type of explanation is the historical approach to explaining offenders behaviour?

A
  • biological approach
    NOTE: DIFFERENT FROM BIOLOGICAL APPROACH TO EXPLAINING OFFENDERS BEHAVIOUR
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35
Q

why is the historical approach to explaining offenders behaviours a biological explanation?

A
  • criminals are seen as lacking evolutionary development and their savage temperament would make it difficult for them to live in modern society and would turn to crime
  • criminality is a result of their genes and an innate tendency and they were not to blame
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36
Q

what theory is used in the historical approach to explaining offenders behaviour?

A
  • Atavistic form (Lombroso, 1876)
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37
Q

what is atavistic form (historical approach)?

A
  • early biological explanation which proposed criminals are a sub species of genetic throwbacks that cannot conform to rules of modern society
  • such individuals are distinguishable by particular facial and cranial characteristics (act as markers for particular crimes)
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38
Q

what does the atavistic form theory suggest about the facial/ cranial characteristics of criminals (historical approach)?

A
  • strong prominent jaw
  • high cheekbones
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39
Q

what does the atavistic form theory suggest about the facial/ cranial characteristics of muderers (historical approach)?

A
  • blood shot eyes
  • long ears
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40
Q

what does the atavistic form theory suggest about the facial/ cranial characteristics of sexual deviants (historical approach)?

A
  • glinting eyes
  • swollen fleshy lips
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41
Q

what does the atavistic form theory suggest about the facial/ cranial characteristics of fraudsters (historical approach)?

A
  • thin and reedy lips
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42
Q

what empirical research did Lombroso carry out, in relation to atavistic form theory (historical approach)?

A
  • systematically examined facial and cranial characteristics of convicts (3839 alive and 383 dead)
  • concluded that there is Atavistic form
  • found 40% of crime was committed by those with atavistic characteristics
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43
Q

how does the historical approach also link to environmental influences to explaining offenders behaviour?

A
  • atavistic form interacted with a persons physical and social environment (nature and nurture)
  • 3 categories of criminals
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44
Q

what are the 3 categories of criminals linking to environmental and biological influences to explaining offenders behaviour (historical approach)?

A
  • born criminals
  • insane criminals
  • criminaloids
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45
Q

what are born criminal characteristics (historical approach)?

A
  • atavistic form
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46
Q

what are insane criminal characteristics (historical approach)?

A
  • suffering from a mental illness
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47
Q

what are criminaloids characteristics (historical approach)?

A
  • innate characteristics predisposes them to criminal behaviour under the right circumstances
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48
Q

what else does the historical approach cover in reference to criminal types?

A
  • somatotypes (body types)
  • by Kretschmer (studied 4000 criminals)
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49
Q

what are the four somatotypes explained by the historical approach?

A
  • leptosome
  • athletic
  • pyknic
  • dysplastic
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50
Q

what is leptosome body type and how does it link to offending behaviour (historical approach)?

A
  • tall and thin
  • petty thieves
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51
Q

what is athletic body type and how does it link to offending behaviour (historical approach)?

A
  • tall and muscular
  • violent crimes
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52
Q

what is pyknic body type and how does it link to offending behaviour (historical approach)?

A
  • short and fat
  • crimes of deception and violent
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53
Q

what is dysplastic body type and how does it link to offending behaviour (historical approach)?

A
  • mixed
  • more than one type of crime or crimes against morality (ie. prostitution)
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54
Q

what is a limitation of the research into historical approach to explaining offending behaviour?

A

methodological issues with Lombroso’s research
- lack of control group
- Goring did use a control group in a similar study and found little differences in facial features although offenders tended to be of slightly smaller build than non offenders
- failed to account for other variables such as psychological disorders
- issue of causation
- didn’t study females, reflecting the views at the time that females were less intelligent than men and that those who committed crimes had masculine traits

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55
Q

how was Lombroso’s research criticised, apart from methodological issues (historical approach)?

A
  • accused of scientific racism
  • linked to Eugenics movement (Galton, 1880’s)
  • influenced by Darwin and survival of genetically fit theory
  • suggested desirable traits inherited (ie. intelligence) and these groups should breed for the good of society as they have a genetic advantage and others should not
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56
Q

what support is there for the historical approach?

A

contribution to science of criminal psychology
- shifted emphasis away from moralistic discourse towards a more scientific realm
- prior, criminals were assumed to have free will which could be deterred if punished
- laid foundation of offender profiling by trying to explain how particular types of people are likely to commit particular crimes
- evidence based, raised possibility that criminal mind could be studied scientifically

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57
Q

what are the two main biological explanations to offending?

A
  • genetics
  • neural
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58
Q

what sections does genetics cover when explaining offender behaviour (biological approach)?

A
  • twin and adoption studies
  • candidate genes (MAOA and CDH13)
  • diathesis stress model
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59
Q

what sections does neural cover when explaining offending behaviour (biological approach)?

A
  • regions of the brain (prefrontal cortex and limbic system)
  • neurotransmitters (serotonin and noradrenaline)
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60
Q

how does genetics explain offending behaviour (biological approach)?

A
  • suggests that would-be offenders inherit a gene, or combination of genes, that predispose them them to commit crimes
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61
Q

what twin study did Karl Christiansen carry out for genetic explanations (biological approach)?

A
  • studied over 3500 twins in Denmark
  • found concordance rates for offender behaviour of 35% for MZ male twins and 13% for DZ male twins
  • offender behaviour was checked against Danish police records
  • data indicates that it is not jus the behaviour that might be inherited but underlying predisposing traits
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62
Q

what adoption study was carry out by Raymond Crowe for genetic explanations (biological approach)?

A
  • found adopted children whose biological mother had a criminal record had a 50% risk of having a criminal record by age 18
  • whereas adopted children whose biological mother didn’t have a criminal record only had a 5% risk
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63
Q

who carried out the study on candidate genes for genetic explanations (biological approach)?

A
  • Tiihonen et al
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64
Q

what was Tiihonen et al’s study on candidate genes (biological approach)?

A
  • genetic analysis of 800 Finnish offenders
  • suggested two genes (MAOA and CDH13) may be associated with violent crimes
  • 5-10% of all severe violent crime in Finland is attributed to MAOA and CDH13 genotypes
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65
Q

what are the two candidate genes linked to (biological approach)?

A
  • MAOA gene regulates serotonin and low levels is linked to aggressive behaviour
  • CDH13 gene is linked to substance abuse and ADHD
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66
Q

how does the diathesis stress model link to genetic explanations of offending (biological approach)?

A
  • genetic influence is at least partly moderated by environmental effects
  • tendency towards offending behaviour may come about through a combination of genetic predisposition and a biological/psychological trigger
  • ie. being raised in a dysfunctional environment or having criminal role models
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67
Q

how does neural explain offending behaviour (biological approach)?

A
  • neural differences in brains of offenders and non offenders
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68
Q

where has a lot of the evidence for neural differences in offenders and non offenders come from (biological approach)?

A
  • involved individuals diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder (APD)
  • associated with reduced emotional responses, lack of empathy for others feelings
  • condition that characterises many convicted offenders
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69
Q

what were the two brain regions relating to offending behaviour according to neural explanations (biological approach)?

A
  • prefrontal cortex
  • limbic system
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70
Q

who studied the role of the prefrontal cortex in offending behaviour and how (biological approach)?

A
  • Adrian Raine
  • conducted many studies of ADP brain, reporting several dozen (71) brain imaging studies showing that murderers, psychopaths and violent individuals have reduced functioning in prefrontal cortex (regulates emotional behaviour)
  • lowered activity in this area is associated with impulsiveness and loss of control
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71
Q

who studied the role of the limbic system in offending behaviour and how (biological approach)?

A
  • Raine
  • studied murderers who were found not guilty by reason of insanity
  • found, compared to controls, abnormal asymmetries in limbic system, especially the amygdala
  • reduced activity on the left and increased activity on the right
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72
Q

what are the two neurotransmitters associated with offending behaviour (biological approach)?

A
  • serotonin
  • noradrenaline
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73
Q

how does serotonin link to offending behaviour according to neural explanations (biological approach)?

A
  • researchers suggest low levels of serotonin may predispose individuals to impulsive aggression and criminal behaviour
  • low levels means a lack of inhibition by prefrontal cortex of impulsive aggressive urges
  • dopamine hyperactivity may enhance this effect
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74
Q

how does noradrenaline link to offending behaviour according to neural explanations (biological approach)?

A
  • both very high and very low levels of noradrenaline have been associated with aggression, violence and criminality (Wright et al)
  • high levels are associated with the sympathetic nervous system and fight or flight response, and this is linked to aggression
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75
Q

what research support is there from adoption studies for genetic explanations of offending behaviour (biological approach)?

A
  • Crowe found adopted children who had a biological parent with a criminal record had a 50% greater risk of having a criminal record by the age of 18, whereas adopted children whose mother didn’t have a criminal record only had a 5% risk (also AO1)
  • Medrick et al’s study of 14000 adoptees found 15% of sons adopted by a criminal family went on to be criminals compared to 20% whose biological mothers’ parents were criminal
  • findings suggest inherited genes are a marginally more significant factor than environmental influences
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76
Q

how are genetic explanations to explain offending behaviour criticised (biological approach)?

A
  • questions about deterministic explanations
  • can be argued inherited genes will determine later behaviour
  • Tiihonen et al suggest those with defective gene were 13 times more likely to have a history of repeated violent behaviour, but this means that not everyone with this gene had to become an offender
  • law questions whether the cause of behaviour is outside a person’s control and it does appear men find it harder to avoid criminal behaviour than women
  • therefore a determinist view of criminal behaviour cannot be totally ruled out, though elements of free will need to be considered too
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77
Q

how do neural explanations to explaining offending behaviour have real world application/ support (biological approach)?

A
  • leads to possible methods of treatment
  • eg. if serotonin levels are related to increasing aggressiveness in criminals, then people in prison could be given diets that enhance serotonin levels and hopefully decrease their aggression
  • artificial sweetners are also high in phenylalanine and low in tryprophan, both of which make the production of serotonin difficult
  • suggests drugs and changes in diet could be used to help some individuals
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78
Q

how can neural explanations be evaluated in terms of issues of validity (biological approach)?

A
  • based on research related to aggression rather than offending
  • studies in this area often use non human animals (Curran and Renzetti, 2001)
  • undermines potential relvance of such information for understanding offending behaviour
  • also, as with genetic evidence, there is not 100% correspondence with any area of the brain or neurotransmitters
  • data cannot be used to predict who might become an offender or can it be generalised to non violent crimes
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79
Q

how can neural explanations be evaluated in terms of cause and effect (biological approach)?

A
  • raise concerns about determinism
  • one issue is whether abnormalities in brain regions/ neurotransmitter levels are the cause of offending behaviour, result of it or just an intervening variable
  • research only highlights a correlation between head injuries and later criminality
  • possible it is a spurious relationship, ie. individual who grew up in a violent household are more likely to suffer head injury (link between head injury and offending behaviour could be because of a violent childhood or a preference for risk)
  • therefore may only highlight an association and not a causal link with crime
80
Q

what are the four psychological explanations of offending behaviour?

A
  • Eysenck’s criminal personality explanation
  • cognitive explanation
  • differential association theory
  • psychodynamic
81
Q

what is Eysenck’s criminal personality explanation for offending (psychological explanation)?

A
  • based on idea that character traits (ie. moodiness, talkativeness, etc) tend to cluster along three dimensions
  • has a biological basis
82
Q

what are the three dimensions of Eysenck’s criminal personality explanation for offending (psychological explanation)?

A
  • extravert vs introvert
  • neurotic vs stable
  • psychoticism vs normal
83
Q

how are extraverts characterised in Eysenck’s criminal personality explanation for offending (psychological explanation)?

A
  • extraverts are characterised as outgoing, having positive emotions
  • may get bored easily
84
Q

how is neuroticism characterised in Eysenck’s criminal personality explanation for offending (psychological explanation)?

A
  • neuroticism is tendency to experience negative emotional states
  • ie. anger, anxiety and depression
  • rather than positive emotional states
85
Q

how are psychotics characterised in Eysenck’s criminal personality explanation for offending (psychological explanation)?

A
  • psychotics are egocentric, aggressive, impulsive, impersonal, lacking in empathy
  • generally not concerned about the welfare of other people
86
Q

what is the biological basis of being an extravert in Eysenck’s criminal personality explanation for offending (psychological explanation)?

A
  • determined by overall level of arousal in a persons nervous system
  • under aroused require more stimulation
  • an over aroused person does not require this
  • extraverts seek external stimulation to increase cortical arousal
  • introverts are innately over aroused (avoid stimulation)
87
Q

what is the biological basis of neuroticism in Eysenck’s criminal personality explanation for offending (psychological explanation)?

A
  • determined by level of stability (ie. amount of reactivity) in the sympathetic nervous system
  • this is how much a person responds to threats (fight or flight)
  • neurotics are slightly unstable and react/ get upset quickly
  • stable people have more unreactive nervous system (calm under pressure)
88
Q

what is the biological basis of psychoticism in Eysenck’s criminal personality explanation for offending (psychological explanation)?

A
  • psychoticism has been related to higher levels of testosterone
  • means that men are more likely to be found at this end of the spectrum
89
Q

how can extraversion be linked to offending behaviour in Eysenck’s criminal personality explanation for offending (psychological explanation)?

A
  • extraverts seek more arousal
  • engage in more dangerous activities
90
Q

how can neuroticism be linked to offending behaviour in Eysenck’s criminal personality explanation for offending (psychological explanation)?

A
  • neurotics are unstable
  • therefore are prone to over-react to situations of threat
91
Q

how can psychoticism be linked to offending behaviour in Eysenck’s criminal personality explanation for offending (psychological explanation)?

A
  • explains criminality in terms of outcome between innate personality and socialisation
  • a person is born with certain personality traits, but environmental interaction is key in the development of criminality
92
Q

how can Eysenck’s criminal personality explanation for offending be linked to conditioning (psychological explanation)?

A
  • in a ‘normal’ person, wrong doing is avoided due to previous punishment
  • Eysenck claimed people high in extraversion and neuroticism were less easily conditioned
  • therefore do not learn to avoid antisocial behaviour
93
Q

who investigated the relationship between personality and criminality in Eysenck’s criminal personality explanation for offending (psychological explanation)?

A
  • McGurk and McDougall
94
Q

what was the procedure carried out by McDurk and McDougall in Eysenck’s criminal personality explanation for offending (psychological explanation)?

A
  • 100 students classed as delinquents and 100 non delinquents completed Eysenck’s personality questionnaire
  • scores were calculated
95
Q

what were the findings of McGurk and McDougall’s study in Eysenck’s criminal personality explanation for offending (psychological explanation)?

A
  • significant differences in scores of all three dimensions between both groups
  • the delinquent group had a combination of high psychoticism, extraversion and neuroticism scores
  • there is a relationship between personality and delinquent behaviour
96
Q

how can Eysenck’s criminal personality explanation be supported through real world application (psychological explanation)?

A
  • three traits are good predictors of delinquency, probably not close enough to use as a means of detecting who is likely to become an offender
  • may provide useful ideas on how to prevent criminality
  • ie. by modifying the socialisation experiences of children who may have the potential to become offenders
  • pay greater attention to conditioning experiences to ensure that people with high extraversion and neuroticism do learn from their experiences
97
Q

how can Eysenck’s criminal personality explanation of offending behaviour be criticised (psychological explanation)?

A
  • personality may not be consistent
  • assumes a person who is lively/ anxious is like that all the time
  • however, psychologists suggest a situational perspective (people maybe consistent in similar situations but not across situations)
  • ie. calm at home but neurotic at work
  • Mischel supported this situational theory when they asked family, friends and strangers to rate 63 students in a variety of situations and found almost no correlation between traits displayed
  • any regularity of behaviour is likely to be due to the fact we often tend to be in similar situations
  • means notion of a criminal personality is flawed as people don’t simply have ‘one’ personality
98
Q

what support is there for the link between personality and offending behaviour in Eysenck’s criminal personality explanation of offending behaviour (psychological explanation)?

A
  • Dunlop et al found extraversion and psychoticism (as well as lie scales) were good predictors of delinquency
  • however, participants were all students and their friends (aged 15-75 years old) and delinquency was an assessment of minor offences in the previous 12 months
  • Van Darn et al found only small group of male offenders in a juvenile detention centre had a high score on all three of Eysenck’s variables
99
Q

what are the two aspects of cognitive explanations for offending behaviour (psychological explanation)?

A
  • cognitive distortions
  • Kohlberg’s morality (levels of moral reasoning)
100
Q

what are the two types of cognitive distortions (psychological explanation)?

A
  • minimalisation
  • hostile attribution bias
101
Q

what are cognitive distortions (psychological explanation)?

A
  • forms of irrationa thinking (errors and biases) that means the individual has a distorted perception of reality
  • often reinforces negative thoughts and emotions
  • allow an offender to perceive their behaviour as non criminal by denying or rationalising their crimes
102
Q

what is hostile attribution bias (psychological explanation)?

A
  • individuals always think the worst
  • negative interpretations lead to hostile behaviour
  • leads to increased level of aggression
  • ie. sometimes smiles at you but you think they are having negative thoughts about you
103
Q

what is minimalisation (psychological explanation)?

A
  • consequences of a situation are over or under exaggerated
  • criminal may reduce negative interpretations of their behaviour before or after a crime has been committed
  • helps individuals accept consequences of their behaviour and reduce negative emotions
  • ie. burglar may steal from a wealthy family and think it has little effect on their lives so they don’t feel guilty
104
Q

what is Kohlbeg’s level of moral reasoning (psychological explanation)?

A
  • cognition and morality develop in stages
  • each stage represents a more advanced form of moral understanding
  • 3 stages, 2 substages each
105
Q

what are the three stages of Kohlberg’s levels of moral reasoning (psychological explanation)?

A
  • pre conventional level
  • conventional level
  • post conventional
106
Q

what is Kohlberg’s pre conventional level of moral reasoning and its subsections (psychological explanation)?

A
  • individuals accept rules of authority figures and judge actions by their consequences
  • punishment and obedience/ instrumental purpose
107
Q

what is Kohlberg’s conventional level of moral reasoning and its subsections (psychological explanation)?

A
  • individuals continue to believe that conformity to social rules is desirable but this is not due to self interest
  • good boy or girl/ social order
108
Q

what is Kohlberg’s post conventional level of moral reasoning and its subsections (psychological explanation)?

A
  • individual moves beyond unquestioning compliance to the norms of the social system
  • social contract/ universal ethical principles
109
Q

what is the link between Kolhberg’s levels of moral reasoning and offending (psychological explanation)?

A
  • in a longitudinal study, he found about 10% of adults reached the post conventional level, so most common was the conventional level of moral reasoning
  • Hollin et al suggested most criminals are at the pre conventional level believing that breaking the law is justified as the rewards outweigh the costs or the punishments can be avoided
110
Q

what research support is there for cognitive distortions in terms of hostile attribution bias (psychological explanation)?

A
  • researchers showed emotionally ambiguous faces to 55 violent offenders in prison and compared their responses to control participants
  • the faces showed angry, happy or fearful emotions in varying levels of intensity
  • offenders were most likely to interpret a picture of anger as an expression of aggression
  • researchers concluded misinterpretation of non verbal cues could partly explain aggressive impulsive behaviour in susceptible individuals
111
Q

what research support is there for cognitive distortions in terms of minimalisation (psychological explanation)?

A
  • Kennedy and Grubin found sex offenders’ accounts of their crimes often downplayed their behaviour
  • ie. offenders suggested victims behaviour contributed in some way to the crime
  • some also simply denied a crime had been committed
  • Maruna and Mann suggested that this is part of a fairly ‘normal’ behaviour where all people try to blame events on external sources as a way to protect the self
  • in this way it is not especially deviant behaviour
112
Q

what real world application is there for levels of moral reasoning (psychological explanation)?

A
  • Kohlberg observed that children raised on Israel kibbutzim were morally more advanced than those not raised on kibbutzim
  • led him to suggest that belonging to a democratic group and being involved in making moral judgements facilitated moral development
  • with Carol Gilligan, he set up a number of Cluster schools in a number of schools and a prison
  • members had the power to define and resolve disputes within the group, encouraging moral development
113
Q

what are limitation of Kolhberg’s theory when evaluating levels of moral reasoning (psychological explanation)?

A
  • concerns moral thinking rather than behaviour
  • Krebs and Denton suggest that moral principles are only one factor in moral behaviour and may be overridden by more practical factors, ie. making financial gains
  • they found when analysing real life moral decisions, that moral principles were used to justify behaviour after it had been performed
  • a second issue concerns the fact that Kohlberg’s research was based only on male samples, a gender bias
  • furthermore, Gilligan suggested that the theory is focused on a male perspective (one of justice rather than caring)
114
Q

who proposed the Differential Association Theory (psychological explanation)?

A
  • Donald Sutherland, 1939
115
Q

what does Differential Association Theory propose about offending behaviour (psychological explanation)?

A
  • it is learned
116
Q

what type of approach is the Differential Association Theory and what is it’s basis (psychological explanation)?

A
  • social approach
  • scientific basis
117
Q

why is the Differential Association Theory stated as having a scientific basis (psychological explanation)?

A
  • possible to predict the likelihood of offending mathematically
  • depends on frequency of interactions with others who view crime as favourable vs non favourable
118
Q

how does the Differential Association Theory explain offending (psychological explanation)?

A
  • in terms of social learning
  • individuals can be socialised into the life of crime
119
Q

when does the Differential Association Theory suggest a person is likely to go on and offend (psychological explanation)?

A
  • number of pro crime attitudes outweighs anti crime attitudes
120
Q

what does a potential offender learn from others according to the Differential Association Theory (psychological explanation)?

A
  • the pro criminal attitudes from others
  • types of ‘acceptable’ or ‘desirable’ crime
  • methods for carrying out crime (“learned techniques”)
121
Q

who does a potential offender learn from according to the Differential Association Theory (psychological explanation)?

A
  • family and friends
  • community
122
Q

how is offending learned according to the Differential Association Theory (psychological explanation)?

A

NOT STATED BY SUTHERLAND
- direct and indirect operant conditioning (reinforcement)
- praise for carrying it out
- observing role models

123
Q

who carried out research into the Differential Association Theory (psychological explanation)?

A
  • Farrington et al (2006)
124
Q

what was Farrington’s study into the Differentiation Association Theory called (psychological explanation)?

A
  • Cambridge study in delinquent development
125
Q

what was the procedure of Farrington’s study into Differentiation Association Theory (psychological explanation)?

A
  • 411 eight year old boys living in a deprived area of London
  • longitudinal study
126
Q

what were the findings of Farrington’s study into Differentiation Association Theory (psychological explanation)?

A
  • 41% went on to be convicted at least once between the ages of 10 and 50
  • average convictions was 5
  • 7% defined as chronic offenders
127
Q

what did Farrington conclude were the most important risk factors for later offending in his study into the Differentiation Association Theory (psychological explanation)?

A
  • measures of family criminality
  • risk taking
  • low school attainment
  • poverty
  • poor parenting
128
Q

what are four out of nine of Sutherland’s key principles of his Differentiation Association Theory (psychological explanation)?

A
  • criminal behaviour is learned, not inherited
  • individual’s learning will vary in frequency and intensity
  • learning is directional (FOR and AGAINST crimes)
  • techniques, motivations and attitudes are learned
129
Q

how can the Differentiation Association Theory be supported in terms of shifting focus (psychological explanation)?

A
  • at the time it was published, it changed the focus of offending explanations
  • moved emphasis away from early biological accounts of offending such as Atavistic form theory, as well as away from theories explaining offending as being the product of individual weakness or immorality
  • draws attention to the fact that deviant social circumstances/ environments may be more to blame for offending than deviant people
  • more desirable as it offers a more realistic solution to problem of offending instead of eugenics (biological) or punishment (morality)
130
Q

how can the evaluation point of the Differentiation Association Theory be countered (psychological explanation)?

A
  • runs risk of stereotyping individuals who come from impoverished backgrounds
  • categorises them as ‘unavoidably offenders’
  • suggests exposure to pro crime values is sufficient to produce offending in those who are exposed to it
  • ignores the fact that people may choose not to offend despite having these influences
131
Q

what is a limitation of the Differentiation Association Theory in relation to difficulties in it’s testing (psychological explanation)?

A
  • aimed to provide a scientific, mathematical framework within which future offending could be predicted and therefore testable
  • however many concepts aren’t testable as they cannot be operationalised
  • ie. hard to see how many pro crime attitudes a person is exposed to
  • built on assumption that offending behaviour will occur when pro crime values outnumber anti crime ones
  • as we can’t measure these, we cannot know what point the urge to offend is realised and offending career triggered
  • does not have scientific credibility
132
Q

what are the two main aspects of the psychodynamic approach to explaining offending behaviour (psychological explanation)?

A
  • maternal deprivation
  • superego
133
Q

what is the psychodynamic approach (psychological explanation)?

A
  • any theory that emphasises change and development in the individual
  • particularly those theories where ‘drive’ is a central concept in development
134
Q

what is the superego according to the psychodynamic approach (psychological explanation)?

A
  • morality principle
  • amoral/ selfless
  • gives feeling of guilt
135
Q

what are the three types of superego that Blackburn linked to offending in the psychodynamic approach (psychological explanation)?

A
  • weak/ underdeveloped superego
  • harsh/ overdeveloped superego
  • deviant superego
136
Q

what is the weak/ underdeveloped superego in the psychodynamic approach (psychological explanation)?

A
  • lack of resolution of Phallic stage of development
  • children go through Oedipus complex
  • lack of morality
  • behaviour driven by id
137
Q

what is the harsh/ overdeveloped superego in the psychodynamic approach (psychological explanation)?

A
  • strong identification with same sex parent leads to excessive guilt and anxiety
  • commits crime to get caught and punished
138
Q

what is the deviant superego in the psychodynamic approach (psychological explanation)?

A
  • identification with criminal parent means child takes deviant attitude or parent
139
Q

how does the maternal deprivation theory link to offending according to the psychodynamic approach (psychological explanation)?

A
  • Bowlby proposed prolonged separations between mother and child before the age of 2 and a half years (up to 5) would lead to long term emotional consequences
  • affectionless psychopathy, lack of normal affection, shame or sense of responsibility (maladjustment)
  • 44 thieves study
140
Q

how can the psychodynamic approach be supported in terms of its consideration of emotion (psychological explanation)?

A
  • addresses emotional factors and includes how anxiety and/ or feelings of rejection may contribute to offending behaviour
  • also recognises role of biological influences and importance of early childhood in moulding adult personality
141
Q

how does the psychodynamic approach have real world application (psychological explanation)?

A
  • has implications for the prevention of delinquency
  • treatment of emotional problems in young delinquents is slow and difficult, so Bowlby suggested it is preferable to prevent the problem in the first place by avoiding early separations
  • found that children coped reasonably well with separations from parents as long as alternative emotional care was provided
142
Q

how can the psychodynamic approach be criticised do to it not having causal findings (psychological explanation)?

A
  • separation was not manipulated
  • only an association between early separation and emotional problems
  • emotional problems could be caused by other variables
  • affectionless character may have caused the separations in some cases (ie. a more difficult child might be more likely to be placed in care)
143
Q

what are the four ways in which offending behaviour can be dealt with?

A
  • custodial sentencing (recidivism)
  • behaviour modification in custody (token economies)
  • anger management
  • restorative justice
144
Q

what is custodial sentencing?

A
  • when a convicted offender is sent to prison, or another closed institution like a young offenders institute, or a secure psychiatric unit
145
Q

what are the four aims of custodial sentencing?

A
  • protect the public: incapacitation
  • deterrence of population from committing crimes
  • atone for wrongdoing: retribution
  • rehabilitate offenders
146
Q

what are the four psychological effects of custodial sentencing?

A
  • deindividuation
  • depression, self harm or suicide
  • institutionalisation
  • prisonisation
147
Q

why could custodial sentencing lead to deindividuation (psychological effect)?

A
  • loss of individual identity associated with increased aggression and harmful treatment of others
148
Q

why could custodial sentencing lead to depression, self harm or suicide (psychological effect)?

A
  • higher in prison than general population
  • high risk of developing mental disorders
149
Q

why could custodial sentencing lead to institutionalisation (psychological effect)?

A
  • unable to cope out in the world on release from prison
150
Q

why could custodial sentencing lead to prisonisation (psychological effect)?

A
  • the ‘inmate code’ involves behaviours that people become socialised into
  • unacceptable in the real world
151
Q

what is recidivism and how does it link to custodial sentencing?

A
  • rate of reoffending by ex prisoners
  • tells us how effective prison is as a deterrent
152
Q

how can custodial sentencing and recidivism be criticised in terms of effectiveness?

A
  • high rates of recidivism suggest punishment doesn’t work
  • according to behaviourism, punishment is most effective when it occurs immediately which doesn’t happen in the case of custodial sentencing
  • seen as a punishment for being caught rather than actually offending (so learn to not get caught)
  • also severity of punishment is meant to be a deterrent, yet in death penalty US states, murder rates are still high
153
Q

what are potential benefits of custodial sentencing?

A
  • incapacitation (only relevant to a small range of dangerous prisoners and not relevant to reducing recidivism)
  • retribution (can also occur out of prison like in restorative justice)
  • rehabilitation (though cannot be forced to take part in these programmes and could be superficial involvement in aim to reduce their sentence)
154
Q

what is behaviour modification in custody based on?

A
  • operant conditioning
  • through token economies
155
Q

what is a token economy (behaviour modification in custody)?

A
  • system of exchange of goods based on tokens
  • involves reinforcement
156
Q

how can token economies be operationalised (behaviour modification in custody)?

A
  • target behaviours must be clearly specified
  • rewards must be clearly defined at the outset
157
Q

how do token economies work (behaviour modification in custody)?

A
  • prisoners are given tokens when they perform desirable behaviours (ie. making their bed/ obeying an order)
  • tokens can be used to obtain desirable goods like tobacco, food or watching TV
  • act as reinforcers, increasing likelihood that a behaviour will be repeated
  • may be a hierarchy where some behaviours are worth more tokens than others
158
Q

how can token economies also punish offenders (behaviour modification in custody)?

A
  • remove tokens due to undesirable behaviour
159
Q

what is shaping in relation to behaviour modification?

A
  • long term objectives or complex behaviours consisting of smaller components are taught
  • token economy
160
Q

how does shaping alter behaviour in token economies (behaviour modification in custody)?

A
  • tokens are given for behaviours that progressively become more complex
  • ie. initially tokens may be given for prisoners making their bed daily and then later it may be for being polite to prison guards
161
Q

who was the key study by into token economies to modify behaviour in custody?

A
  • Hobbs and Holt
162
Q

what was the aim of Hobbs and Holt’s study into token economies (behaviour modification in custody)?

A
  • reduce inappropriate social behaviour and after dinner when lining up
163
Q

what was the procedure of Hobbs and Holt’s study into token economies (behaviour modification in custody)?

A
  • staff at the centre given extensive training to identify and define target behaviours
  • weekly sessions to assess the operation of the programme
  • 125 delinquent males observed in four cottages (one was a control without a token economy)
  • boys were told the target criteria and how many they could claim in each category
  • each day, were told how many they had earned
  • taken to a store weekly where they could buy drinks, toys, cigarettes, etc
164
Q

what were the findings of Hobbs and Holt’s study into token economies (behaviour modification in custody)?

A
  • baseline mean percentages increased on average by 27%
  • control group showed no increase in the same time period
165
Q

what research support is there for token economies (behaviour modification in custody)?

A
  • Hobbs set up a token economy in three young offender units and use another one as a control
  • found significant improvements in the three, compared to control
  • Clinton found some improvement in children with behaviour problems, although not all responded to the programme
  • results improved when they made the rewards more frequent and more immediate
  • suggests programmes are effective but other research has found consistency between staff is crucial, as is quality staff training
166
Q

what ethical problems are there with token economies and behaviour modification programmes?

A
  • may dehumanise inmates
  • questions whether it is implemented for the benefit of the inmates or the staff
  • inmates don’t have a choice but to participate
  • should inmates be deprived of basic rights around food/ exercise if they don’t comply (should these rights be rewards)
167
Q

how can token economies be supported as being easy to set up (behaviour modification in custody)?

A
  • no need for specialists, like those needed for anger management couples
  • relatively inexpensive
  • means programmes can be set up in any prisones
168
Q

what is anger management?

A
  • form of CBT specific to changing the way a person manages their anger and aggression
  • focus is on the cognitive factors influencing offending behaviour
169
Q

how does anger management differ from other ways of dealing with offending behaviour?

A
  • accepts that situations may not be changeable but the individual can change the way they think about it and therefore change their behaviour
170
Q

what are the three key aims Novaco identified for anger management programmes?

A
  • cognitive restructuring
  • regulation of arousal
  • behavioural strategies
171
Q

what is cognitive restructuring when referring to aims of anger management programmes?

A
  • greater self awareness and control over cognitive dimensions of anger
172
Q

what is regulation of arousal when referring to aims of anger management programmes?

A
  • learning to control physiological state
173
Q

what are behavioural strategies when referring to aims of anger management programmes?

A
  • ie. problem solving skills, strategic withdrawal and assertiveness
174
Q

what is the overall short term aim of anger management programmes?

A
  • reduce anger and aggression where it is a serious issue
175
Q

what is the overall long term aim of anger management programmes?

A
  • rehabilitation and reduction of recidivism
176
Q

what is the stress inoculation model in anger management programmes?

A
  • aims to provide a kind of vaccination against future ‘infections’
  • tends to be conducted with a group of offenders either inside prison or outside (ie. during probation period)
  • three key stages
177
Q

what are the three key stages of the stress inoculation model in anger management programmes?

A
  1. cognitive preparation
  2. skill acquisition
  3. application training
178
Q

what is cognitive preparation in anger management programmes (stress inoculation model)?

A
  • learn about anger generally (how it can be adaptive and non adaptive)
  • analyse their own patterns of anger and identify situations provoking this
179
Q

what is skill acquisition in anger management programmes (stress inoculation model)?

A
  • clients are taught various skills to help manage their anger
  • ie. self regulation, cognitive flexibility and relaxation
  • also taught better communication skills so they cam resolve conflicts without anger
180
Q

what is application training in anger management programmes (stress inoculation model)?

A
  • clients apply skills initially in controlled and non threatening situations (role play)
  • receive extensive feedback from the therapist
  • later, clients try out skills in real world settings
181
Q

who carried out an example of an anger management programme for offenders?

A
  • Jane Ireland
182
Q

how did Jane Ireland assess the effectiveness of anger management programmes?

A
  • 87 young male offenders
  • baseline measure was made assessing pre intervention anger
  • experimental group of 50 took part in treatment programme. other 37 placed on a waiting list
  • treatment consisted of 12 one hour sessions over 3 days
  • 8 weeks later, participants were reassessed
  • study found significant improvements in experimental group and no changes in the control group
183
Q

how can anger management programmes be evaluated in terms of research success?

A
  • Taylor and Novaco reported 75% improvement rates
  • researchers analysed 58 studies using CBT with offenders, 20 of which used anger control as part of the therapy
  • found that having this element was significantly related to amount of improvement
  • not all studies have been so positive (Howells et al cite 5 meta-analytic studies which showed which showed only moderate benefits of AMP)
  • Law reported a study were only one person improved
184
Q

what are the limitations of anger management programmes?

A
  • some offenders don’t like having to reflect on their thinking styles and find it difficult to make the effort involved in changing attitudes and behaviours
  • such individuals may drop out of voluntary AMP
  • one alternative is drama based courses which are less reliant on verbal ability and more engaging
  • one way to cope with dropout is to assess ‘readiness to change’ before the start rather than waste time with individuals who won’t benefit
  • AMPs are best as part of a wider therapeutic programme
185
Q

what methodological issues are there with research into anger management programmes?

A
  • AMP have high variability
  • some are quite brief (Jane Ireland’s study of 3 days) whereas others span years
  • some causes are run by psychologists, others are run by less experienced prison staff
  • makes comparability difficult
  • another issue is the way anger is assessed (self report methods)
  • subject to bias (‘hello-goodbye effect’)
  • patients may portray themselves in a more positive light after treatment as they may want to be helpful in showing therapy works
186
Q

what are restorative justice programmes?

A
  • focus on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims in order to both help the victim be heard/ recognised and also for the offender to see the impact of their crime
187
Q

how do restorative justice programmes differ from other ways of dealing with offending behaviour?

A
  • victim becomes focus rather than the needs of the state (reinforcing the law)
  • treatment is seen as a ‘healing process’
188
Q

what is the overall focus of restorative justice programmes?

A
  • reparation (repairing the harm)
189
Q

what are the two aims of restorative justice programmes?

A
  • recovery of the victim
  • rehabilitation of offender
190
Q

how do restorative justice programmes lead to recovery of the victim (aim)?

A
  • reduce sense of victimisation
  • no longer powerless
  • have a voice
  • may develop understanding of the offender
191
Q

how do restorative justice programmes lead to rehabilitation of the offender (aim)?

A
  • victim explains impact of the crime
  • offender is able to understand the effects
  • reduces possibility of re-offending (recidivism)
  • take responsibility for the crime
  • requires active participation
192
Q

what are a few examples of the key features of restorative justice programmes?

A
  • meetings involving trained mediators
  • face to face or remote
  • positive outcomes for both are the focus
  • other relevant community members may also play a part (ie. family/ friends/ neighbours)
193
Q

how can restorative justice programmes be evaluated in terms of success from the victim’s perspective?

A
  • UK restorative justice council report 85% satisfaction from victims in face to face meetings with the offender (includes different crime types from theft to violent crime)
  • one police force reported 92.5% victim satisfaction with restorative justice when they had been the victim of a violent crime
  • victims also claim a greater sense of satisfaction when cases go through mainstream courts
194
Q

how can restorative justice programmes be criticised in terms of selecting which offenders and which victims it can apply to?

A
  • the offender has to have admitted to the crime, though Zehr claims that restorative justice can take place without an offenders presence
  • some crimes may not be suitable
  • some victims decline the offer
  • suggests restorative justice cannot be a global solution to dealing with offending behaviour
195
Q

how can restorative justice programmes be criticised in terms of ethical issues?

A
  • from victims perspective, major ethical concern is that it is possible the victim may feel worse afterwards
  • from offenders perspective, making people face up to their wrongdoing can lead to abuses of power
  • ie. victims can gang up on an offender especially where the offender is a child, try to shame them (not the intention of the process)
  • restorative justice programmes need to be carefully balanced and ensure benefits to both the victim and the offender

Psychology (11 decks)

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