forensic psychology Flashcards

Question

who proposed the cognitive theory of offending behaviour

Answer 1

kohlbergs theory of moral reasoning

Answer 2

he suggested that our abilities of right and wrong can be summarized in a series of stages. the higher the stage the more sophisticated the reasoning he based his theory on the Heinz dilemma in which Ps had to decide whether the husband should steal medicine for his dying wife

Answer 3

``` level 1 (pre-convential morality where rules arent internalized) -depends on punishment -depends on gain level 2( conventional morality where rules are internalised) -obey to gain social approval -obey to maintain social approval level 3 (post conventional morality where rules are internalised and reflected upon) -obeyed if not morally correct and chanllegened if affeccting rights of others -established own rules, based on personal ethical principles ``` offenders are classified as pre-conventional and is characterised by the need to aviod punishment and gain reward

Answer 4

hostile attribution bias- judge situations as aggressive or threatening minimisation - downplay the seriousness of an event, this is common strategy for dealing with guilt. sex offenders are prone to this

Answer 5

S 54% of rapists denied they had committed and offence and 40% minimalised the harm they caused. 35% argued the crime was non-sexual and 36% said their victim was concented S SCHONENBERG and JUSTIN showed 55 offenders emotionally ambiguous expressions, they were more likely to percieve them as violent than controls

Answer 6

S PALMER and HOLLIN compared moral reasoning with offenders and non offenders. the offenders showed less mature moral reasoning W THORNON and REID crimes for financial gain showed pre-conventional moral reasoning but assault showed even less then pre-conventional W intelligence may be a better predictor of criminality as lower IQ are less likely to commit even though theyre pre-conventional

Answer 7

rehabilitation- offenders should leave prison better adjusted with access to develop skills and treament incapacitation- protecting the public by removing them from society deterrence- convince other people not to commit. general deterrence "crime wont be tolerated" individual deterrence "stop recidivism" retribution - society enacting revenge

Answer 8

stress and depression- common at the start as they adjust and at end when they worry about life on the outside. may commit suicide institutionalisation - accustom to routine and find it difficult to adjust prisonisation- normal prisoners behaviour may not be considered acceptable outside of prison

Answer 9

re offending rates

Answer 10

in prison you are labelled as criminal which affects how theyre viewed by others. once out theyll find it difficult getting a job therefore more likely to reoffend

Answer 11

S prison suicide rates 15x higher than general population. particularly high in young men 24 hours into prison. S the prison reform trust found that 25% women and 15% men showed psychotic symptoms W individual differences will influence peoples time in prison W different factors will effect psychological effects; prison, length of sentence, pre-existing health issues and previous prison experience

Answer 12

W statistics in normway and UK show that recidivism is higher in the UK, suggesting were falling to rehabilitate W WALKER found that among habitual offenders, length of sentence didnt influence recidivism rates, 55% went on to re-commit S GLASER found that recidivism rates are lower when new offenders were supervised. this was significantly true with people in stable relationships and good job prospects

Answer 13

"using operant conditioning to alter behaviour" this involves token economy- when an inmate produces appropriate behaviour they are given a token which can be exchanged for a reward. theyre a form of secondary reinforcement as theyre not rewarding in themselves but through their association with a reward. to be effective staff should be consistant and made clear that failure to comply to good behaviour will result in removal of the token (punishment)

Answer 14

S easy to implement and no need for expertise. S cost effective W BASSETT and BLANCHARO found that benefits were lost if staff was inconsistant W BLACKBURN suggests that any behaviour learnt in prison will be lost on the outside W ethical issues, behaviour modification is manipulative and dehumanising. token economy isnt optional and punishment involving withdrawal from loved ones is very unethical

Answer 15

the SUPEREGO works on the morality principle, punishing with guilt for wrong doing. if the SUPEREGO develops inadequately then criminal behaviour may occur WEAK SUPEREGO developed as a result of abnormal relationships within the family. they would act in ways that gratify the ID, regardless of the social restraints on doing so DEVIANT SUPEREGO develops the superego in a normal way. a child raised with a criminal same sex parent might develop a SUPEREGO that doesnt punish criminal acts that the parent would engage in STRONG SUPEREGO a person commits crimes in order to get caught and punished to reduce the guilt imposed by their SUPEREGO

Answer 16

W if children raised by offending behaviour go onto commit crimes this may be due to genes and socilisation rather than a deviant superego W gender biased- freud would predict girls to be more inclined to offend due to the electra complex because they have a weak superego. this isnt supported in reality with only 5% of people in prison being women

Answer 17

SUTHERFORD proposed that individuals learn the values, attitudes and techniques and motives for criminal behaviour through association and interaction with different people. learning pro-criminal acts- socialising with a particular group means youre exposed to the values of the group. if the number of pro-criminal acts outweigh the number of anti-criminal attitudes youll go onto offend learning criminal acts-learning techniques for committing crime

Answer 18

FARRINGOTN completed a longitudinal study of 411 male offenders. they lived in deprived inner cities. when followed up at 50, conviction records were analysed and 41% had been convicted. a risk factor was family criminality, low academic achievement and poor parenting. W not everyone who is exposed to crime becomes an offender, there is danger in this theory of sterotyping people who come from poverty backgrounds as 'unavoidable criminal'

Answer 19

anger management is based on the theory that anger can cause crime 3 stages cognitive preparation- the offender discusses the situation which made them angry, which may be irrational. the therapist points out irrational thinking, hoping to alter thinking skills acquisition- introduced to cognitive and behavioral techniques to help them manage anger. C talking to keep calm B express views in a non-aggressive way. also relaxation techniques application of practice- practise new skills in controlled environment. they act out situations which caused anger in the past. a welldone as postivie reinforment

Answer 20

S IRELAND compared 2 groups of offenders. controlled and anger management were interviewed and did questionairres. 92% of anger management showed improvement W can be expensive and requires highly trained specialists BLACKBURN suggests that it does little to reduce recidivism because it relies on roleplay that doesnt properly reflect real life situation

Answer 21

bringing about reconciliation between victim and offender. the victim expresses their feelings and the offender should come to realise the impact of their crime. they meet with a mediator and hope for a positive effect for both parties

Answer 22

it is difficult to accurately assess the effectiveness because restoring justice is flexible and all measure different things. it is also difficult to measure recidivism rates because we only know if someone reoffenders if they get caught the motives of the offender and victim may be negative. the offender may agree to avoid punishment or reduce sentences without feeling remorse. the victim may see this as revenge high drop out rate doesn't receive public support because it is seen as a sort option