Forensics Flashcards
genetic explanation
inherit a gene or combination which predispose them to commit a crime
twin studies- crowe- found that adopted children whose biological mother had a criminal record had a 50% chance of having one by 18
- mothers who hadnt had 5% risk
candidate genes- tihonen- genetic analysis of 800 Finnish offenders found 2 genes associated with violent crimes (MAOA and CDH13)
Brunner- studied large dutch family found abnormal violent behaviour, impulsive aggression, all had mutations in MAOA gene
diathesis sm- combination of genetic predisposition and psychological triggers
Mednick- 13000 danish adoptees
bio and adop parent no conviction= 13.5% child convicted
bio and/or ado parent conviction= 24.5%/20%
genetics and env play a part
genetic evaluation
not all children are adopted at birth, some will spend years in dysfunctional family environment
reductionist as basing whole personality on genes
twin studies ignore effect of environment but adoption studies don’t
arguements surrounding if an offender is guilty if they have a gene that predisposes certain behaviour
neural explanation
involves dysfunctions of brain/ nervous system, involves individuals with APD- lack of empathy
Raine- studies of APD brain, found reduced activity in prefrontal cortex, regulates emotional behaviour
11% reduction in grey matter compared to a control group
Blair- looked at PET scans of psychopaths and found impairments of pathways between amygdala and frontal lobe which make it difficult to moderate emotional reactions, cant develop emotional connections; act impulsively
neural evaluation
may be intervening variables between crime + frontal lobe
Farrington studied a group of men who scored highly on psychopathy (APD )and found they had experienced risk factors in childhood eg convicted parent, reduced neural activity that goes with APD may be due to this
biological determinism- should offenders be held responsible for a crime which is found to be determined by brain or genes 🧬
historic explanation
lombroso wrote a book which proposed that criminals are a primitive species, biologically different to us
lack evolutionary development
studied 383 dead and 4000 living criminals
identified markers- asymmetrical face, large ears, prominent eyebrows, jawbone + cheekbones
40% of criminal acts committed by people with atavistic characteristics
historic evaluation
changed face of study of crime- more scientific
DeLisi- racist undertones- features identified as atavistic seen in africans
study didnt use a control group so no control of confounding variables
Goring compared 3000 offenders to 3000 non offenders and found no evidence of distinct differences
differential association
sutherland- criminal behaviour is learned in interaction with other people
occurs in intimate personal groups
learning includes techniques of committing crimes
may be learned in prison and explains why many people reoffend
learn attitudes and if pro crime attitudes> anti crime attitude= offending
frequency, intensity and duration
-not just lower class but can be across all classes depending on who you associate with eg white collar crimes
dif asso evaluation
farrington- focused on 411 boys aged 8-9 in deprived areas of south london
looked at sample 40 years later and 40% had cmmited a crime
7% had- convicted parent, delinquent sibling, large family
criminal behaviours were learned
hard environmental determinism as children dont always end up as criminals
difficult to measure theory
doesn’t count for all crimes
may turn to crime/ gangs for sense of belonging, especially if they have had a disturbing upbringing (Farmington)
practical applications as social workers can intervene to prevent later offending for people growing up in the ‘chronic’ conditions
nature vs nurture- idea that offending behaviour runs in families etc may be explaining the genetic exp
siegel and mccormick– argued that people who hold deviant values at a young age are more likely to associate with peers of the same nature- they are more fun and thus the reinforcement of this deviant behaviour is a two-way process rather than the SLT in itself.
cog explanations
cognitive distortions- faulty/biased ways of thinking that mean we perceive ourselves or others negatively
HAB- distorted thinking when offender percieves another person as angry- misinterpretation of actions/ expressions as aggressive
Schonenburg- 55 offenders presented with emotionally ambiguous pictures- more likely to say they were hostile compared to a control group
Eyes task
Mini- reducing the effect of a crime, downplaying seriousness
barbaree- amongst 26 rapists 54% denied committing an offence and 40% minimised the effect it had on the victim
LOMR- how people think about right and wrong
Kohlberg- criminals have lower level of moral reasoning - linked with punishment and reward
used moral dilemmas (Heinz, drug, wife)+ found that violent youths were at sig. lower levels of moral reasoning than others
at pre conventional stage concerned with avoiding punishment and gaining rewards so commit crimes as they think they’ll get away with it
cog evaluation
hab- may have had it before they came to prison or developed it in prison, small sample
mini- difficult to generalise to other crimes eg murder, small sample
LOMR- kohlberg used males- beta bias as minimising differences between men and women
Thornton- pre conventional stage associated with crimes like robbery where offender is more likely to get away with it- not relevant to all crimes
Gilligan- kohlberg’s scenarios prioritise justice so women score lower than men due to their duty of care but there are less women in prison
cog approach is descriptive but doesn’t explain why
difficult to obtain empirical evidence
support for LOMR in offenders- Palmer and Hollin compared 332 non offenders to 126 offenders on moral dilemmas and found that offender group were less mature moral reasoning
psychodynamic explanation
superego works on the morality principle
formed at end of the phallic stage- oedipus or electra
Blackburn
weak superego- lack of same sex parent during phallic stage so child cant internalise a superego
= selfish, uncaring for self and others
deviant superego- if child internalises immoral or deviant values eg boy has convicted father- imitates behaviour
overharsh superego- develops when a child identifies with a strict parent which leads to feelings of guilt, indulge in criminal acts to satisfy need to be punished
Bowlby- 44 thieves- maternal deprivation
44 thieves compared to control group
14 showed affection less psychopathy (selfish, uncaring, lack of guilt) and 12 of these had experienced prolonged separation
psychodynamic evaluation
Goreta- conducted analysis on 10 offenders and found disturbances in superego of all of them, unconscious feelings of guilt
not empirical evidence, falsifiability
not all children who grow up without same sex parent are selfish- may become criminals as they look for sense of belonging eg gangs
Lewis- replicated 44 thieves with a sample of 500 children and found that MD was a poor predictor for future offending behaviour
-not cause and effect
-issues with bolwby’s methodology
gilligan moral reasoning
sex differences in moral reasoning
kohlberg’s theory was based on male thinking process
proposed justice based and care based morality
justice based- found in men
care based- found in women
top down profiling
qualitative approach which looks at the whole picture then uses typologies
top includes motives and characteristics of offender + crime scene
down decided the typology that the offender fits into
-was developed by FBI behavioural science unit through in-depth interviews of 36 sexually motivated killers and the crime scenes
Organised- average to high intelligence, control, plan crime, socially competent
Disorganised- low intelligence, unskilled, no evidence of planning, live alone
Stages to construct a profile-
1- Data assimilation
2- Crime scene classification
3- Crime reconstruction
4- Profile generation
top down ao3 s
was developed using sexually motivated serial killers but the same approach can be used for different crimes so there are wider applications of the theory
Meteka found that top down profiling has been applied to burglaries and led to an 85% rise in solved case, also adding two new categories; interpersonal and opportunistic
canter analysed data from 100 murder cases using smallest space analysis
found that there is a distinct subset of features that match the organised typology
has validity/ research support
however doesn’t support disorganised type
