Forensic psychology Flashcards
Defining crime-problems
- Cultural- crime may not be considered crime in diff cultures
- Historical-definition of crime change over time (ex. homosexuality)
bottom up approach
- Investigative psychology: using statistics to establish patterns of crime behaviour (‘database’)
Interpersonal coherence: the way the offender interacts with the victim reflects their everyday life (ex. rapists relate to women more)
Forensic awareness: those who were at police interrogation before - Geographical profiling: using location of linked crime scenes to make inferences about the home/base of offender (crime mapping), can tell how they deal with modus operandi
Canter’s circle theory: Marauder (operates close to home base) and commuter (far from their home)
pattern of offending forms a circle around their home
Top down approach
- offender profiling: Behavioural tool intended to help predict the characteristics of unknown criminals (characteristics of criminal can be shown from their crimes)
- FBI carried out interviews with 36 serial killers to classify them as organised/disorganised
FBI profile:
1. Data assimilation (review crime scene evidence)
2. Crime scene classification (organised/disorganised)
3. Crime reconstruction (hypothesis on behaviour of victim)
4. Profile generation-hypothesis on the offender
measuring crimes
Official statistics-government record of reported crimes on specific regions
-underestimate crime extent, 25% is reported
Victim surveys-50000 randomly selected to report their experience of crimes
-detailed, show true extent of crime
-memory distorted by trauma
Offender surveys-Individuals volunteering to speak about details of crime they committed
-Give insight of how many are responsible
-Unreliable as extreme crimes may be unspoken
***Crimes can be used to critique the government if crime rates increased
Top down approach-evaluation
Weaknesses:
-Only apply to specific crimes like rape
-Based on outdated models of personality (lacks validity)
-Carter et al’s study on 100 murders, only evidence for organised not for disorganised
-Not mutually exclusive, doesn’t include variety of combinations that could occur in a crime scene (smart killer that commits spontaneous murder)
-Sample too small (36)
Atavistic form
- Lombroso’s book that criminals are primitive sub species and biologically different, lacking development
Analysed skulls of 383 dead criminals and 3839 living ones, 40% were accounted for by those with atavistic characteristics - Atavistic characteristics
Cranial characteristics: narrow bow, strong prominent jaw, high cheekbones, facial asymmetry, dark skin, extra toes/nipples/fingers
Facial characteristics: bloodshot eyes, curly hair, long ears, glinting eyes, swollen and fleshy lips
Other: insensitivity to pain, slang, tattoos
Bottom up approach-evaluation
Strengths:
-smallest space analysis (analysis of correlations) showed that characteristics such as impersonal language was common on offenders
Lundrigan and Canter found that from 120 murder cases there were spatial consistency as location of body disposal was different, centred around home base
-More objective and scientific than top down approach
-Wider application on different types of crimes
Weaknesses:
-Contradictory evidence from studies such as Copson’s survey on 48 police (only 3% said it was accurate)
Atavistic form-evaluation
Strengths:
-Contribution to criminology and provided a scientific base and credible realm rather than moralistic discourse
Weaknesses:
-Can be seen as scientific racism as the features resemble African descents, and the ‘primitive’ bit could support eugenics of the time
-Goring’s study found that when comparing 3000 criminals and non criminals there weren’t a specific characteristic
-Lack of control in Lombroso’s version as he didn’t compare with control group
-Correlation doesn’t mean causation
Neural explanations
APD associated with reduced emotional response, lack of empathy
-Reduced activity on the prefrontal cortex (associated with emotions), 11% reduction on grey matter
-criminals with APD can experience empathy, less frequent-their empathy was controlled by mirror neurone (has a neural switch)
Genetic explanations
Genetic explanation: offenders inherit a gene that make them commit crime
-Twin studies: Lange’s study showed that off 13 MZ and 17 DZ, 10 MZ and 2 DZ had a co twin in prison
-Adoption studies: Crowe found that adopted children with criminal biological parents has 50% risk of having a criminal record.
-Candidate genes: Tiihonen’s analysis of 900 offenders found that MAOA gene (control serotonin and dopamine) and CDH13 (substance abuse and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) are associated with crime
-Diathesis stress model: genetics+trigger (dysfunctional environment)
Biological explanations-evaluation
Strengths:
-Study on 13000 Danish adoptees found that when neither biological nor adoptive parents had convictions, percentage of children having court conviction was 13.5%, when either of biological parents had convictions, it was 20% then when both biological and adopted had convictions it was 24.5%-support diathesis stress
Weaknesses:
-Twin studies had poor control as MZ/DZ was based on looks not DNA, and had small sample, and raised in the same environment
-Adoption studies lack validity as they experience late adoption and spend childhood with biological parents+maintain regular contact with them
-Biological reductionism as criminality is complex but it reduces it to genetics and neural only
-Legal system is based on the idea that criminals have personal and moral responsibility, so ethical issues are raised about whether it’s right to punish those who just have criminal genes
Eysenck’s theory
General personality theory-introversion/extroversion and neuroticism/stability, then psychoticism
Biological basis-criminal personalities have biological basis, such as extraverts having underachieve nervous system and consistently seek excitement and risky behaviour. Neurotics are nervous and anxious, unpredictable
-criminal personality type is neurotic-extravert, and high levels of psychoticism
Socialisation-children learn to delay gratification and more socially oriented. people with high E and N act more antisocially
Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI)-psychological test that locates people along E and N dimensions to test for their personality type
Eysenck’s theory-evaluation
Strengths:
-comparison on 2070 prisoners and 2422 control on EPI-higher scores for prisoners (but diff study found that only P measure was higher)
Weaknesses:
-Explaining all offender behaviour with a single personality theory is unreliable, and the theory is outdated as Digman suggested the five factor model
-Can’t be generalised as Hispanic and African American offenders were less extravert
-‘personality’ may not be a thing and it could be stable entity, as we form different personalities with who we are with
-Biological basis means it has same weaknesses as genetic+neural explanations
Kohlberg’s cognitive explanation
-People’s moral perceptions are summarised in a stage theory and higher the stage, the more sophisticated the reasoning. Criminals have lower stage (pre conventional level, stages 1 and 2)
-immature, childish reasoning on a need to avoid punishment and get rewards
-A study showed that offenders are more egocentric
Cognitive distortions: errors in people’s info processing system, characterised by faulty thinking
Hostile attribution bias: tendency to judge ambiguous situations as aggressive or threatening
-offenders perceive danger and it triggers a violent response
Schhonennerg and Justye showed 55 offenders with emotionally ambiguous expressions, offenders more likely to perceive it as dangerous
-originates in childhood-children study
minimalisation: attempt to deny the seriousness of an offence
ex. burglars say they are supporting their family
barbaree found that among 26 rapists, 54% minimised the harm they caused, and Pollock and Hashmall found that 35% of child molesters said their crime was non sexual and 36% said they gained consent
Kohlberg’s theory-evaluation
Strengths:
-palmer and Collin compared moral reasoning between offenders and control using SRMSF containing 11 moral dilemma questions, and offenders showed less mature moral reasoning
-Understanding cognitive distortions can apply to CBT in rehabilitation usefully
Weaknesses:
-Gibbs proposed a revised version and argued that the post conventional stage is culturally biased, which is also supported by Piaget’s
-level of moral reasoning depends on the type of offence, offence for financial gain showed more moral reasoning than impulsive crimes
