Forensics Flashcards
What is the top down approach?
Profilers start with a pre-established typology and work down in order to assign offenders to one of two categories based on with was accounts and evidence from the crime scene.
Where did the top down approach originate?
The approach originated in America from the FBI’s Behavioural Science Unit which used data from in-depth interviews with 36 sexually motivated killers including Ted Bundy and Charles Manson.
Why was the top down approach developed?
It was first developed as a way of trying to solve some of the most bizarre and extreme murder cases and designed to produce a profile of the most likely offender.
What is an organised offender?
One who showed evidence of planning, targets the victim and tends to be socially and sexually competent with higher-than-average intelligence.
What is a disorganised offender?
One who shows little evidence if planning, leaves clues and tends to be socially and sexually incompetent with a lower-than-average intelligence.
The stages of conducting an FBI Profile
Stage 1: Data Assimilation
Stage 2: Crime Scene Classification
Stage 3: Crime Reconstruction
Stage 4: Profile Generation
Stage 1: Data Assimilation
The profiler reviews the evidence. This includes crime scene photography’s and sketches; background information about the victim including employment, habits, relationships; details of the crime including the weapon and pathology reports.
Stage 2: Crime Scene Classification
Based on the data collected, the crime is classified as ‘organised’ or ‘disorganised’. This distinction presumes that there is a correspondence between offenders and offences.
Stage 3: Crime Reconstruction
Hypotheses in terms of sequence of events cents, behaviour of the victim etc. are created.
Stage 4: Profile Generation
Hypotheses related to the likely offender e.g. demographic background, physical characteristics, behaviour, habits, beliefs etc. are constructed. This description is used to work out a strategy for the investigation to help catch the offender.
What is the bottom up approach?
Profilers work up from evidence collected from the crime scene to develop hypotheses about the likely characteristics, motivations and social background of the offender.
What is investigative psychology?
Investigative psychology matches details from the crime scene with statistical analysis of typical offender behaviour patterns based on psychological theory.
What does investigative psychology aim to do ?
It aims to establish patterns of behaviour that are likely to occur across crime scenes. This helps to develop a statistical database which then acts as a baseline for comparison.
What are the main features of Investigative psychology?
Interpersonal coherence - the way and offender behaves at the scene
Time and place - this may indicate where the offender is working or living
Forensic awareness - certain behaviours may reveal awareness of police techniques
What is Geographical Profiling?
Geographical profiling is based on the principle of spatial consistency - that people commit crimes within a limited geographical space. This means inferences about an offender’s operational base.
What is Canter’s circle theory?
The pattern of offending forms a circle around the offender’s ‘home’ base. The distribution of offences leads to psychologist describing the offender as either ‘The marauder’ or ‘The commuter’
What are the marauder and the commuter?
The marauder - who operates near their home base.
The commuter - who is likely to have traveled a distance away from their usual residence.
Compare the top-down and bottom-up approach for profiling
Define Atavistic form
A biological approach to offending that attributes criminal activity to the fact that offenders are generic throwbacks or a primitive subspecies ill-suited to conforming to the rules of Modern society. Such individuals are distinguishable by particular facial and cranial characteristics
What did Lombroso do in his research?
Lombroso examined the facial and cranial features of 383 dead and 3839 living criminals. He concluded that 40% of criminal acts could be accounted for by atavistic characteristics.
What are atavistic characteristics?
A narrow, sloping brow; a strong prominent jaw; high cheekbones; facial asymmetry. Physical markers include dark skin and the existence of extra toes, nipples or fingers.
Define concordance rate
A measure of similarity, usually expressed as a percentage, between two individuals or two sets of individuals on a given trait.
Define epigenetics
This refers to the material in each cell of the body that acts like a set of ‘switches’ to turn genes on or off.
What are twin studies in relation to genetic explanations of offending behaviour?
Lange investigate 13 monozygotic (MZ) and 17 dizygotic (DZ) twins where at least one of the twins in each pair had served time in prison. Lange found that 10 of the MZ twins, but only 2 of the DZ twins had a twin who was also in prison. Genetics factors then must play a predominant part in offending behaviour.
What are candidate genes in relation to the biological explanation of offending behaviour?
Tiihonen et al. (2014) conducted a genetic analysis of 800 finnish offenders. Criminals are categorised into violent or non-violent. They found abnormalities which led to ‘lower activity’ on two genes that may be associated with violent crime. The MAOA gene is important for controlling the amount of dopamine and serotonin in the brain and has been linked to aggressive behaviour.
What is the Diathesis stress model in relation to the genetic explanations of offending behaviour?
A tendency towards criminal behaviour may come through the combination of genetic predisposition and a biological or physiological trigger. For example being raised in a dysfunctional environment or having criminal role models.
Define neural explanations in relation to explaining offender behaviour
A biological theory that sees abnormally functioning brain physiology and biochemistry as forming the basis to an individual’s criminal behaviour.
What is antisocial personality disorder (APD)?
A mental health condition where a person has a repeated pattern of behaviour manipulating or violating the rights of the others. It often leads to crimes against people.
What is Eysenck’s Theory of Criminal Personality?
Eysenck has created a general theory of criminality that predicts that criminals as a group will have significantly higher scores on the personality dimensions of psychoticism(E-N), extroversion-introversion, and neuroticism-stability.
Define extraversion
According to Eysenck, this refers to outgoing people who enjoy risk and danger because their nervous systems are under aroused.
Define Neurotisism
According to Eysenck, this refers to people with a negative outlook who get upset easily. Their lack of stability is die to an over reactive response to threat.
Define psychotisism
According to Eysenck, this refers to an aggressive antisocial person who lacks empathy. This may be related to high levels of testosterone.
What three dimensions did Eysenck proposed could be used to represent behaviour?
Introversion-Extraversion
Neuroticism-Stable
Psychoticism-Sociable
According to Eysenck what is the criminal personality?
An individual who scores high on measures of extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism and cannot be easily conditioned, is cold and unfeeling and is likely to engage in offending behaviour.
What is socialisation?
This teaches children to become more able to delay gratification and become more socially oriented. In a ‘normal’ person wrongdoing is avoided because of previous punishment.
Measuring the criminal personality
It is measured using the Eysenck’s Personality Questionnaire (EPQ). Having about 100 items in a full version but only 48 in the shorter one.
What are cognitive explanations of offending behaviour?
A psychological explanation that sees that offending may have a cognitive basis i.e., mental processes such as thoughts, perceptions and attention impact on behaviour.
What are levels of moral reasoning?
Moral reasoning refers to the way a person thinks about right and wrong. It is presumed that such thinking then applies to moral behaviour. The higher the level, the more that behaviour is driven by a sense of what is right and less by avoiding punishment.
What did kohlberg propose about moral development?
He proposed that people’s decisions and judgements on issues of right and wrong can be summarised in a stage of theory of moral development. The stage theory states that as someone matured their moral reasoning becomes more sophisticated - the higher the stage, the more sophisticated the reasoning.
What are cognitive distortions?
Faulty, biased and irrational ways of thinking that mean individuals perceive themselves, other people and the world inaccurately and usually negatively.
What are the two types of cognitive distortions?
Hostile Attribution Bias
Minimilisation
What is a hostile attribution bias?
It is the tendency to judge ambiguous (open to interpretation) situations, or actions of others as aggressive and/or threatening when they may not be. Offenders will often misread non aggressive situations.
What is minimalisation?
This is a type of deception that involves downplaying the significance of an even or emotional and is a common strategy when dealing with guilt. For example, burglars may see themselves as ‘doing a job’ or ‘supporting their family’.
What is differential association theory?
As and explanation of offending it proposes that through interaction with others individuals learn the values, attitudes, techniques and motives for criminal behaviour. Offending behaviour may be acquired in the same way as any other behaviour.
According to differential association theory, what does offending arise from?
1.Learned attitudes towards offending
2.Learning of specific offending acts and techniques
What are psychodynamic explanations for offending behaviour?
A psychological theory that sees criminal behaviour as formed from early childhood experiences which impacts later behaviour.
What is the superego?
The irrational, moralistic part of personality that acts as one’s conscience.
When does the superego develop and what occurs in this stage?
It develops at the end of the phallic stage around 3-6. During this time there is a resolution of the Oedipus or Electra complex.
What is the oedipus complex?
Bogs develop incestuous feelings towards their mother and murderous hatred for their rival love (their father). Fearing castration boys repress their feelings and identify with their father taking on his gender role and moral values.
What is custodial sentencing ?
A judicial sentence determined by a court, where the offender is punished by serving time in prison or in some other closed therapeutic and/ or educational institution such as a psychiatric hospital.
What is recidivism ?
A convicted criminal who reoffends, usually repeatedly.
Aims of custodial sentencing
Deterrence, Incapacitation, Retribution, Rehabilitation
Psychological Effects of Custodial Sentencing
Stress and depression, Institutionalisation, Prisonisation
Define maternal deprivation
The emotional and intellectual consequences of separation between a child and their mother, or mother substitute.
Define Affectionless psychopathy
A behaviour disorder in which an individual has no ability to experience shame or guilt and lacks a social conscience. This means that they may find it ‘easier’ to commit crimes.
Define behaviour modification
The general aim is to replace undesirable behaviours with more desirable ones through the selective use of positive and/or negative reinforcement.
Define positive reinforcement
A stimulus that increases the probability that a behaviour will be repeated because it is pleasurable
Define negative reinforcement
A stimulus that increases the probability that a behaviour will be repeated because it leads to avoidance of an unpleasant situation and is experienced as rewarding.
Define punishment
A procedure that decreases the likelihood that a behaviour will be repeated because the overall experience is unpleasant
What is anger management?
Anger management is a therapeutic programme that identifies the signs that trigger anger as well as learning ways to calm down and deal with the situation in a positive way.
What is cognitive behaviour therapy? (CBT)
A combination of cognitive therapy,a way to change maladaptive thoughts, and behaviour therapy, a way to change behaviour in response to these thoughts and beliefs.
What are restorative justice programmes?
A system for dealing with criminal behaviour which focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with survivors. This empowers survivors by giving them a ‘voice’.
What is offender profiling
A behavioural and analytical tool that is intended to help investigators accurately predict and profile the characteristics of unknown criminals .
