forensic Psychology Flashcards
what is offender profiling?
a behavioural and analytical tool that is intended to help investigators accurately predict and profile the characteristics of unknown offenders
what are the 2 approaches involved with offender profiling?
top-down approach, bottom-up approach
what experiment was carried out to establish the top-down approach in America?
FBI carried out interviews with 36 sexually motivated serial killers
concluded that data could be catagirised into organised and disorganised crimes with certain characteristics
What are the characteristics of an organised offender?
Evidence of planning
have a type of victim they seek out
high levels of control
above average intelligence
skilled/ professional employment
socially n sexually competent
could be married, possibly with kids
leave no clues/ evidence,
What are the characteristics of disorganised offenders?
little evidence of planning
spontaneous: little control, crime scene reflects impulsive behaviour
blow average intelligence
unskilled work/unemployed
history of sexual/relationship dysfunction
live alone/close to the crime scene
what are the 4 stages of constructing an FBI profile?
- DATA ASSIMILIATION: profiler reviews evidence (crime scheme photos, pathology reports, witness reports)
- CRIME SCENE CLASSIFICATION: disorganised or organised offender
- CRIME RECONSTRUCTION: hypotheses in terms of sequence of events, behaviour of the victim
- PROFILE REGENERATION:
hypothesis related likely to the offender e.g demographic of background, physical characteristics, behaviour
eval: how is it a strength of the top-down approach that there is support for a distinct organised category of offender?
canter et al. (2004): smallest space analysis used on 100 US understand committed by a different serial killers (assessed co-occurrence of 39 aspects of serial killings e.g torture, form of murder weapon, cause of death etc)
revealed there is a subset of features of serial killings that matched FBI’s typology for organised offenders, suggesting the approach has VALIDITY
eval: what is a counterpoint to the strength that there is support for a distinct organised category of offenders?
SUGGESTS ORGANISED-DISORGANISED TYPOLOGY IS MORE OF A CONTINUUM
studies suggest organised disorganised typologyy are not mutually exclusive
Godwin (2002) argues it is difficult to classify killers as one type. (may be if high intelligence and sexual competence but commit a spontaneous murder, leaving body at crime scene)
eval: how is it another strength that it can be adapted to other kinds of crime e.g burglary?
WDIER APPLICATION: critics say technique only applied to sexually motivated murder
Meketa (2017) reports TD profiling has been applied to regularly
retains organised-disorganised distinction but adds 2 new ones: INTERPERSONAL (offender knows victim and steals smth of significance) and OPPORTUNISTIC (generally inexperienced young offender)
eval: how is it a limitation that Top-down profiling is the evidence on which it is based?
SUGGESTS TOP-DOWN PROFILING DOES NOT NOT HAVE A SOUND, SCIENTIFIC BASIS
canter et al. argued that sample was poor (FBI did not select a random or large sample)
no standard set of questions so each interview was different, therefore not comparison
what is the aim of the bottom-up approach?
to generate a picture of the offender: their likely characteristics, routine behaviour and social background though systematic analysis of evidence at the crime scene
profile = data-driven
What are the 2 types of bottom up profiling?
Investigative psych
Geographical profiling
What is investigative psychology?
An attempt to apply statistical procedures and psychological theory to the analysis a crime scene
what is the aim of investigative psychology?
To establish patterns of behaviour that are likely to occur across crime scenes
what is the aim of investigative psychology?
To establish patterns of behaviour that are likely to occur across crime scenes
What are the 3 components used in investigative psychology?
Interpersonal coherence:
correlations on ppls behaviour, the way they behave/interact w victims
Time and place:
where offender is living/type of employment
Forensic awareness
awareness of particular police techniques that would aid profiling
what is geographical profiling?
uses information about the location of linked sites crime scenes to make inferences about the likely home and operational base of the offender (crime mapping)
What is canter’s (1993) circle theory?
ppl commit crime within a limited geographical space: serial offenders will restrict their work to geographical areas they are familiar with,
provides invetsigators with a “centre of gravity” which is likely to include the offenders base
According to this theory, what are the 2 ways offenders can be described as?
marauder: operates in close proximity to home base
commuter: likely to have travelled a distance away from usual residence
eval: how is it a strength that there is supporting evidence for investigative psychology?
SUPPORTS ITS USE, THAT PEOPLE ARE CONSISTENT IN THEIR BEHAVIOUR
Canter and Heritage (1990) conducted an analysis of 66 sexual assault cases using smallest space analysis:
several behaviours identified as common (use of impersonal language and lack of reaction to victim)
each individual displayed a characteristic pattern of such behaviours and can help establish if 2 or more offences were committed by the same person (case linkage)
eval: what is the counterpoint to the supporting evidence?
case linkage depends on data base and will only consist of historical crimes that have been solved (solved means it was straightforward to link these in the first place)
suggests investigative psychology may tell us about crimes that have few links between them and therefore remain unsolved
eval: how is ti a strength that there is evidence support for geographical profiling?
Lundrigan and Cater (2001) collated info from 120 murder cases involving serial killers in the US:
smallest space analysis revealed spatial consistency in behaviour of killers, location of body disposal site created centre of gravity and offenders homebase was in the middle
supports view geographical info can be used to identify a killer
eval: how is it a limitation that geographical profiling may not be sufficient on its own?
the success of geographical profiling may be reliant on the quality of data that police can provide, recording of crime is not always accurate (varies between police forces, 75% of crimes go unreported)
Ainsworth 2001 and other critics claim that other factors are just as important for creating a profiling such as timing of offence and age + experience of offender
biological explanations: what was Lombroso’s beliefs about offenders?
- wrote a book suggesting criminals were a primitive species that were biologically different from non-criminals
- their untamed nature meant they would find it impossible to adjust to society and would just turn to crime
- offending behaviour is a natural tendency, rooted in the genes
what is the atavistic form?
Lombroso’s argument that the offender subtype could be identified by having biologically determined atavistic characteristics that make offenders phsycially different from us
what are some atavistic characteristics?
narrow sloping brow
strong prominent jaw
high cheekbones
facial asymmetry
dark skin
extra toes nipples or fingers
insensitivity to pain, use of slang, tattoos and unemployment
how did lombroso categorise types of offender by just characteristics?
murderers: blood shot eyes, curly hair, long ears
sexual deviants: glinting eyes, swollen fleshy lips, projecting ears
fraudsters: thin reedy lips
how did lombroso research this?
examined facial n cranial features of hundreds of italian convicts both living and dead:
examined 383 dead convicts and 3893 living ones and concluded 40% criminal acts are committed w people w atavistic characteristics
eval: how is it a strength that his work changed the face of the study of crime?
lombroso + father of modern criminology
credited as gifting the emphasis in crime research away from a moralistic discourse (in which offenders were being judged as wicked and weak minded) towards a more scientific and credible position (that of evolutionary influences and genetics where individuals are not to blame)
made a major contribution to the science of criminology
eval: what is a counterpoint to this strength?
critics e.g Delisi (2012) have questioned whether his legacy is entirely positive:
attention has been drawn to the racist undertones w his work
many of the atavistic features (curly hair n dark skin) are likely to be found in people African descent
(fitted 19th century eugenic attitudes)
suggested his theory might be more subjective than objective and influenced by racial prejudices
eval: how is it a limitation that evidence contradicts the link between atavism and crime?
Goring (2013) explored if there were any physical or mental abnormalities among offenders
compared 3000 offenders and 3000 non-oddness and concluded there was no evidence that offenders are a distinct group w unusual facial and cranial characteristics
challenges the idea that offenders can be physically distinguished from the rest of the population and unlikely to be a subspecies
eval: how is it a limitation that lombroso’s methods of investigation were poorly controlled?
L failed to control important variables within his research:
did not compare offender sample with a non-offender control group which could have controlled or an assortment of confounding variables that might have equally explained higher crime rates in groups of people
e.g research explains links between crime n social conditions (poverty and poor educational outcomes result in crime)
suggests L’s research does not meet modern scientific standards
eval: how is it a limitation that lombroso’s methods of investigation were poorly controlled?
L failed to control important variables within his research:
did not compare offender sample with a non-offender control group which could have controlled or an assortment of confounding variables that might have equally explained higher crime rates in groups of people
e.g research explains links between crime n social conditions (poverty and poor educational outcomes result in crime)
suggests L’s research does not meet modern scientific standards
what do genetic explanations for crime suggest?
suggests that would be offenders inherit a gene, or combination of genes that predispose them to commit crime
What experiment was conducted by by christiansen (1977) to show the importance of genes illustrated by twin studies?
studied over 3500 twin pairs in denmark and found concordance rates for offender behaviour of 35% for identical twin males and 13% for non-identical twin males (slightly lower rate for females)
offender behaviour was checked against danish police records and data indicates that it us not just the behaviour that might be inherited but the underlying predisposing traits
what experiment was conducted by crowe (1972) to show the importance of genes illustrated by adoption studies?
found that adopted children whose biological mother had a criminal record had a 50% risk of having a criminal record by the age of 18
adopted children whose mother didn’t have a criminal record only had a 5% risk
tiihonen et al. (2015) experiment showed 2 genes may be associated with violent crime: which genes are these and what are their roles?
MAOA gene: regulates serotonin in the brain and has been linked to aggressive behaviour
CDH13: has been linked to substance abuse and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
analysis found about 5-10% of all severe violent crime in Finland is attributable to the MAOA and CDH13 genotypes
tiihonen et al. (2015) experiment showed 2 genes may be associated with violent crime: which genes are these and what are their roles?
MAOA gene: regulates serotonin in the brain and has been linked to aggressive behaviour
CDH13: has been linked to substance abuse and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
analysis found about 5-10% of all severe violent crime in Finland is attributable to the MAOA and CDH13 genotypes
tiihonen et al. (2015) experiment showed 2 genes may be associated with violent crime: which genes are these and what are their roles?
MAOA gene: regulates serotonin in the brain and has been linked to aggressive behaviour
CDH13: has been linked to substance abuse and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
analysis found about 5-10% of all severe violent crime in Finland is attributable to the MAOA and CDH13 genotypes
how is the distress-stress model linked to offending?
if genetics do have some influence on offending, it seems likely that thus is at least partly moderated by the effects of the environments
a tendency towards offending behaviour may come about through the combination of genetic predisposition and biological or psychological trigger
e.g being raised in a dysfunctional environment or having criminal role models
neural explanations: what did raine et al. (2000) say about the brains of individuals with antisocial personality disorder?
he reported that there are many brain imaging studies demonstrating that individuals with APD have reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex (part of the brain that regulates emotional behaviour)
also found an 11% reduction in the volume of grey matter in the prefrontal cortex of people with APD compared to controls
neural explanations: what experiment was conducted by keysers (2011) to show how offenders with APD can experience empathy but more sporadically than the rest of us?
only when offenders were asked to empathise w a person depicted on film experiencing pain did their empathy reaction (controlled by mirror neurons in the brain) activate.
this suggests that APD individuals are not totally without empathy, but may have a neural switch that can be turned on and off unlike the normal brain that has the empathy switched permanently on
eval: how is it a limitation that there is issues with twin studies due to the assumption of equal environments?
Assumed by researched studying twins that environmental factors are held constant because twins are brought up together and therefore must experience similar environments
this shared environments assumption apply more to MZ twins than DZ as MZ twins look identical and people tend to treat them more similarly in turn affects their behaviour
Therefore higher concordance rates for MZs in twin studies may simply be because they are treated much more similarly than DZ twins
How is it a strength that there is support for the distress-stress model of offending?
mednick et al. (1984) conducted a study of 13000 danish adoptees
when neither biological nor adoptive parents had convictions, the % of adoptees that did was 13.5% and rose to 20% when either of the biological parents had convictions and 24.5% when both biological and adoptive parents had convictions
shows genetic inheritance plays an important role in offending but environmental influence is also important, supporting the model
eval: how is it a strength that there is support between crime and the frontal lobe?
Kandel and freed (1989) reviewed evidence of the frontal lobe damage and antisocial behaviour
people w damage tended to show impulsive behaviour, emotional instability and inability to learn from their mistakes
frontal lobe = associated w planning behaviour
supports the idea that brain damage may be a casual factor in offending behaviour
eval: how is it a limitation that the link between neural differences and APD may be complex?
farringdon et al. (2006) studied a group of adult males who scored high on psychopathy and these individuals had experiences various risk factors during childhood (being raised by a convicted parent/being physcially neglected)
could have caused APD and reduced activity in the frontal lobe due to trauma
suggests the relationship between neural differences and APD and offending is complex and there may be other intervening variables that have an impact
What was eyesenks theory of personality (1947)?
proposed that behaviour could be represented along 2 dimensions: introversion-extraversion and neuroticism-stability
the 2 dimensions combine to form a variety of personality to form a variety of personality characteristics or traits
he later added a third dimension: psychoticism-sociability
what did eyesenk say about our personality traits?
they are biological in origin thus all personality types have an innate biological basis
what are the characteristics of extraverts?
underactive nervous system (mean they constantly seek excitement, stimulation and are likely to engage in risk-taking behaviours)
also tend not to condition easily and therefore do not learn from their mistakes
what are the characteristics of neurotics?
high level of reactivity in the sympathetic nervous system -> respond quickly to situations of threat (fight/flight)
means they tend to be nervous, jumpy, overanxious and their general instability means their behaviour is often difficult to predict
what are the characteristics of psychotics?
suggested to have higher levels of testosterone and are unemotional and prone to aggression
what is the criminal personality type?
neurotic-extravert-psychotic
neurotics are unstable and therefore prone to overreact to situations of threat
extraverts seek more arousal and thus engage in dangerous activities
psychotics are aggressive and lack empathy
in eysencks theory, personality is linked to offending via what processes?
socialisation processes
what is socialisation?
where children are taught to become more able to delay gratification and more socially oriented
what did eyesenck believe about people with high E and N scores?
they are difficult to condiiton meaning they are less likely to learn anxiety responses to antisocial impulses
they will become more likely to act antisocially in situations where the opportunity presented itself
what is the eyesenck personality questionnaire (EPQ) ?
what is its purpose?
a form of psychological test which locates respondents along the E N P dimensions to determine their personality type
enabled him to conduct research relating personality variables to other behaviours e.g criminality
eval: how is it a strength that there is evidence to support the criminal personality?
eyesenck and eyesenck (1977) compared 2070 prisoners’ scores on the EPQ with 2422 controls
on measures of E N P across all age groups sampled: prisoners recorded higher average than all controls
agrees with predictions the theory of how offenders rate higher than average across three dimensions eyesenck identified
eval: what is a counterpoint to this strength?
farringdon et al. (1982) conducted meta-analysis of relevant studies: reported offenders tended to score high on measures of P but not for E or N
kussner (2017) also inconsistence in evidence of differences on EEG measures (used to measure cortical arousal) between extraverts and introverts -> casts doubt on physiological basis of theory
means some central assumptions of theory have been challenged
eval: how is it a limitation that it is too simplistic?
idea that all offending behaviour can be explained by personailty traits alone:
moffitt (1993) drew distinction that offending behaviour that only occurs in adolescence and that which continues into adulthood: argued personality traits alone were a poor predictor of how long offending behaviour would go on for
considered persistence in offednign to be the result of reciprocal process between personality traits and environmental reactions to traits of another
presents a more complex picture than eyesenck suggested
eval: how is it a limitation that cultural factors are not taken into account?
bartol and holanchock (1979) studied hispanic and african american offenders in a maximum security prison in NYC:
divided into 6 groups based on offedning history and nature of offences: found all groups were less extravert than a non-offender control group whereas eyesenck would expect them to be extravert (sample of eyesenck was a v different cultural group)
questions how far criminal personality can be generalised and suggests it may be a culturally relative concept
what are the 2 cognitive explanations for offending?
level of moral reasoning
cognitive distortions
what did kohlberg (1968) propose about the concept of moral reasoning in application to offending behaviour?
proposed peoples decisions and judgements on the issues of right and wrong can be summarised in a stage theory of moral reasoning: the higher the stage the more sophisticated the rasoning
what was kohlberg’s theory based on and what did he discover?
people’s responses to a series of moral dilemmas
found offenders tend to show a lower level of moral reasoning than non-offenders: a group of violent youths were at a significantly lower level of moral development than non violent youths
in kohlbergs theory: what is meant by pre-conventional morality (lowest level)?
rules are obeyed to avoid punishment or for personal gain
in kohlbergs theory: what is meant by conventional morality?
rules are obeyed for approval or to mainatin social order
in kohlbergs theory: what is meant by post-conventional morality (highest level)?
rules are challenged if they infringe on teh rights of others: individuals have a personal set of ethical principles
how are offenders more likely to be classified at the pre-conventional level of kohlberg’s theory?
characterised by a need to avoid punishment/to gain rewards and associated w less mature child-like reasoning: people who reason at this level may commit crime if they believe they can get away w it or gain rewards (money/increased respect)
what is this assumption supported by?
studies that suggest offenders are often more egocentric and display poorer social perspective-taking skills
