forensic psychology-psychological explanations for offending Flashcards
what are 3 psychological factors that could affect criminal personality
-extraversion
-neuroticism
-psychotic
how does extraversion lead to crimanality
-extraversion is the overall level of arousal in a persons nervous system
-extraverts have an underactive nervous systems which means they constantly seek arousal
-high extraverts are sensation seekers and thrill may draw the to offending behaviour
how does neuroticism lead to criminality
-determined by the reactivity of the sympathetic nervous system people who are neurotic are very reactive to stress, there fight or flight response is easily activated
-they experience a high level of emotion meaning they are more likely to commit a crime in an emotionally charged situation
how does psychotic lead to criminality
-higher levels of testosterone mean you are unemotional and prone to aggression
-individuals who score high on psychotic are more agressive and lack conscious-concern for other wont prevent them from commiting the crime
supporting evidence for eysenks
eysensk and eysemks found male prisoners scored higher on EPI tests on N, P and E compared to controls
-only males-beta biased
-clear cause and effect conclusions
opposing evidence for eysenks
digman said the theory is outdated and lacks temporal valdity
his 5 factor model suggests there are other factors eg-agreeableness and consciosuness that contribute to having a criminal personality
explain level of moral reasoning explanation
-kohlburg said childrens moral reasoning becomes more advanced as we mature
-base don boys who were given a series of moral dilemas which they were then asked questions about
what are the 3 stages of moral reasoning
pre-conventional
conventional
post-conventional
what does the pre-conventional stage suggest
-actions that result in punishment are bad
-actions that bring rewards are good
stage 1-punishment oreintation-rules are obeyed to avoid punishment
stage 2-instrumental orientation-right and wrong are determined by whats best for the individual.
what is the conventional stage
-conformityto social roles is desirable though this is no longer driven out of self interest. Maintaining the social system ensures positive relationships and social order
stage 3-good boy/good girl orientation-rules are obeyed through social approval
stage 4-mainatenance of social order-rules are obeyed to maintained social order
what is the post-conventional stage
-morality is now defined in terms of abstract moral principles that apply to all systems and societies
stage 5-morality of contracts and individual rights-rules are obeyed if they are imapartial and challenged if they infringe on the rights of others
stage 6-morality of conscious-rules based on a universal set of principles
where does this suggest criminals may fall in terms of moral development
-criminals show a lower level of moral reasoning that non-criminals
-criminals are likely to be classified at the pre-conventional stage
-pre-conventional stage is associated with less mature and childlike reasoning
-people at this level may commit crime if they think it will go unpunished or gain them reward
supporting evidence for kolenburgs theory
kohlburg used the moral dillema technique and found that violent youths were significantly lower in there moral development then non-violent youths.
this was the case even afte controlling for social background.
what is some more supporting evidence for kohlburgs theory
palmer and hollin compared the moral reasoning of female and male non-offender and convicted offenders using 11 moral dillemas eg-keeping promises to a friend and found that offender had less mature moral reasoning
-more ecologically valid as it used more realistic dillemas
opposing evidence for kohlburgs moral reasoning
langton suggested intelligence was a better predictor of criminality and that moral reasoning was too simplistic.
what are some debates regarding kohlburgs moral reasoning
-gender biased-androcentric
-only used a sample of boys aged 10-16
-cannot be applied to females
-however prison population is mainly male
what are cognitive distortions and what are the 2 types
-bias in the way an individuals perceives a situation so there interpretation doesn’t match reality
-minimisation
-hostile attribution bias
what is minimisation
downplaying the seriousness of an offense
they are likely to explain the consequences as less significant then they are
what is hostile attribution bias
misinterpretation of other peoples behaviour
offender are more likely to interpret ambigious or neutral behaviour as hostile
what is some supporting evidence for minimilisation
barbaree-found among 26 incarcerated rapisits
54% denied that they had commited any offense
40% minimised any harm they had caused to their victim.
-however this result is only for serious crime-may not be applicable to petty crime
what is some suppporting evidence for hostile attribution bias
Justye-showed 55 violent offenders images of emotionally ambigous facial expressions
when compared to a control group the violent offender interpreted the image as violent an hostile
practical applications of cognitive theories
-use CBT for the rehabilitation of young offender
-Heller found in a group of disadvantaged young men that those who attended CBT for 1hour a week noticed a 44% reduction in offenses
what is differential association theory and which 2 factors does it arrise from
individuals learn the attitudes, behaviour and values that lead them to commit crime as they interact with people who have a more favourable attitude towards crime
-learned attitude towards crime
-learning of specific criminal acts
what is learned attitude towards crime
when an individuals is socialised into a group they will be exposed to pro-criminal attitudes
they will learn that certain crimes are acceptable and other are not
