Forensic Psychology

Question 1

Explain what offender profiling is.

Answer 1

A behavioural and analytical tool that’s intended to help investigators accurately predict and profile the characteristics of an unknown offender.

Question 2

Which country uses top-down profiling?

Answer 2

the USA

Question 3

What types of crimes is the top-down approach useful for?

Answer 3

Murders, rapes, kidnapping etc

Question 4

Explain the way top-down profiling works - what does it start with?

Answer 4

Starts with analysis of the crime scene.

Question 5

How did top down profiling start?

Answer 5

FBI interviewed 36 serial killers and created two categories: organised and disorganised

Question 6

What are the 4 main stages of the top down process?

Answer 6

1. Data assimilation
2. crime scene classification
3. Crime reconstruction
4. Profile generation

Question 7

Who is the main advocate of the bottom up approach?

Answer 7

David Canter

Question 7

Give 3 characteristics of an organised offender

Answer 7

High IQ, socially and sexually competent and victim targeted

Question 8

Which country uses the bottom up approach?

Answer 8

UK

Question 9

Explain the way that bottom up profiling works, what does it start with?

Answer 9

Starts with data analysis and patterns

Question 10

What is geographical profiling used for?

Answer 10

Used to identify the offenders base or home based off where they commit their crimes.

Question 11

What are the two types of offender according to circle theory?

Answer 11

• commuter
• marauder

Question 12

What is investigative psychology used for?

Answer 12

Establish patterns of behaviour that are likely to occur and characteristics of the offender.

Question 13

What are the 4 main features of investigative psychology?

Answer 13

1. Interpersonal coherence
2. significance of time and place
3. smallest space awareness
4. forensic awareness

Question 14

Which approach is atavistic form a part of?

Answer 14

Biological

Question 15

Whose theory is atavistic form?

Answer 15

Lombroso

Question 16

What is the atavistic form theory?

Answer 16

People that have certain characteristics - that criminals have- are called ‘atavistic characteristics’. This means Lombroso thinks you can identify criminals through physical feature.

Question 17

Give 3 examples of atavistic features

Answer 17

• curly hair
• big ears
• excessive cheekbones and jaw

Question 18

How did Lombroso conduct his research?

Answer 18

post mortem examinations and counted how many offenders have atavistic features - e.g measured their skulls

Question 19

What is meant by eugenics?

Answer 19

Rearranging human characteristics by controlling reproduction to remove certain characteristics.

Question 20

How does the atavistic form theory link to eugenics?

Answer 20

Get rid of offenders by controlling reproduction of people with atavistic traits.

Question 21

What did Raine’s twin study find?

Answer 21

Concordance rates:
MZ: 52%
DZ: 21%

Question 22

What is a candidate gene?

Answer 22

A gene that is responsible for a certain behaviour.

Question 23

Give an example of a candidate gene

Answer 23

MAOA

Question 24

What is the diathesis- stress model?

Answer 24

Where biological predisposition and an environmental trigger cause a certain behaviour.

Question 25

What is meant by epigenetics?

Answer 25

Environment affecting biological makeup e.g smoking

Question 26

What does the neural explanation of offending study?

Answer 26

The brain

Question 27

Which area of the brain has been linked to offending behaviour? Is this increased or decreased activity?

Answer 27

Decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex

Question 28

What are mirror neurons?

Answer 28

Neurons that fire when you observe someone else performing a behaviour

Question 29

How are mirror neurons linked to offending?

Answer 29

When observing violent behaviour leads to offending.

Question 30

Which neurotransmitters are linked to offending behaviour?

Answer 30

Serotonin and noradrenaline

Question 31

Which personality traits did Eysenck link to a criminal personality?

Answer 31

- extraversion - psychoticism - neuroticism

Question 32

What evidence did Eysenck use to propose his theory?

Answer 32

Questionnaires given to 2070 criminals

Question 33

What is the definition of a criminal personality?

Answer 33

An individual who scores highly in measures of extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism

Question 34

What is meant by socialisation?

Answer 34

The extent to which people fit into society's norm.

Question 35

How is socialisation linked to offending?

Answer 35

People with a criminal personality are harder to control - they're more likely to break society's rules.

Question 36

What is meant by cognitive distortion?

Answer 36

Faulty, irrational thoughts that leave an individual to perceive negative views of themselves and the world.

Question 37

What is Hostile Attribution Bias? How does this link to offending?

Answer 37

When we observe someone's actions and draw an inference about what their actions mean. They can perceive them negatively and then offenders will rebel normal actions of others causing them to offend.

Question 38

What is meant by minimalisation? How does this link to offending?

Answer 38

An attempt to downplay or deny the seriousness of an offence. Explains how criminals can happily commit their crimes as they downplay the seriousness of the offence and justify their behaviour.

Question 39

What is meant by moral reasoning?

Answer 39

The process of assessing whether something is right or wrong based on your own value system.

Question 40

Whose theory was levels of moral reasoning?

Answer 40

Kohlberg

Question 41

How did they investigate moral reasoning?

Answer 41

Using moral dilemmas e.g the heinz one to see which option people pick

Question 42

What were the 3 stages of moral reasoning?

Answer 42

1. pre-conventional 2. conventional 3. post-conventional

Question 43

How does moral reasoning link to offending? Which stages are they stuck in?

Answer 43

The offender would focus on what they could gain from the crime for themselves - pre-conventional

Question 44

Which approach would differential association theory fit under?

Answer 44

Behaviourist

Question 45

What is differential association theory?

Answer 45

An explanation of offending behaviour that suggests that criminal behaviour is learned through interactions with others, particularly within close-knit groups such as families and peers.

Question 46

What are the 2 parts to the differential association theory? What two things are learnt?

Answer 46

- how to carry out crime - attitudes about the crime

Question 47

What are the main assumptions of the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 47

- thoughts are in the subconscious - behaviour determined by childhood experiences - 3 parts to the personality: id, ego, superego

Question 48

What was Bowlby's maternal deprivation hypothesis?

Answer 48

Prolonged mother infant separations can grow up and have affectionless psychopathy.

Question 49

How did Bowlby investigate his maternal deprivation hypothesis?

Answer 49

44 thieves study

Question 50

What were the 3 types of inadequate superego linked to offending?

Answer 50

- weak (doesn't stand up to id) - harsh (low thoughts of yourself) - deviant

Question 51

What does custodial sentencing involve?

Answer 51

Sentencing offenders to time spent in incarceration

Question 52

What are the 4 aims of custodial sentencing?

Answer 52

- deterrent - rehabilitation - incapacitation - retribution

Question 53

What are the psychological effects of custodial sentencing?

Answer 53

- effects on mental state - identity - behaviour - family

Question 54

What is recidivism?

Answer 54

The rate in which people reoffend.

Question 55

Which behaviourist approach process does behaviour modification depend on?

Answer 55

Operant conditioning

Question 56

What is a token economy?

Answer 56

Example of behaviour modification - used in prisons where prisoners get given tokens as a reward for something.

Question 57

What is a primary reinforcer?

Answer 57

The actual reward for a prisoner e.g cigarettes

Question 58

What is a secondary reinforcer?

Answer 58

What the prisoners 'cash in' for the reward. e.g token

Question 59

What is a conjugal visit?

Answer 59

When a prison inmate is permitted to spend private time with a visitor - they may engage in sexual intercourse

Question 60

What did the Hobbs and Holt key study find?

Answer 60

Observed the use of token economy at a delinquent junior school ages 12-15. Before study, percentages of social behaviour were 66%, 47% and 73%. After, increased to 91%, 81% and 94%.

Question 61

What is anger management?

Answer 61

Identifies the trigger of anger and identifies techniques to calm people down/reduce aggression.

Question 62

What is the short term aim of anger management?

Answer 62

To reduce anger and aggression in prisons.

Question 63

What is the long term aim of anger management?

Answer 63

Rehabilitation and reduction recidivism.

Question 64

What are the 3 steps of CALM?

Answer 64

- cognitive preparation - skill acquisition - application training

Question 65

What is restorative justice?

Answer 65

A method of reducing and atoning for offending behaviour through reconciliation between offender and victim.

Question 66

What are the 3 key aims of restorative justice?

Answer 66

- rehabilitation of offenders - atonement of wrongdoing - victims perspective