forensics EQ Flashcards
In an experiment into the effectiveness of the top-down approach to offender profiling,
20 participants were asked to build a profile of an offender using information from real life
cases. Half of the participants were given information about a murder case and asked to
produce a profile. The other half were given information about a robbery and asked to
produce a profile. After the profiling session, each profile was classified as High
Accuracy or Low Accuracy.
The researcher decided to use a Chi-Squared test to analyse the data from this study.
One reason for choosing this test was that each participant only took part in one condition
of the experiment.
3 1 Referring to information about the study, explain two other reasons why it was
appropriate to use a Chi-Squared test in this case.
[4 marks]
- each profiler’s performance is classified into one of two categories (high or low accuracy)
- the data is therefore nominal/categorical
- the researcher is investigating a difference in profiling accuracy level
- between the murder case group and the robbery group
In an experiment into the effectiveness of the top-down approach to offender profiling,
20 participants were asked to build a profile of an offender using information from real life
cases. Half of the participants were given information about a murder case and asked to
produce a profile. The other half were given information about a robbery and asked to
produce a profile. After the profiling session, each profile was classified as High
Accuracy or Low Accuracy.
Using your knowledge of the top-down approach to offender profiling, explain the likely
outcome of the study. [4 marks]
- the likely outcome is that more of the participants who profile the murder case will be categorised in
the high accuracy category than the low accuracy category and more of the participants who profile
the robbery case will be categorised in the low accuracy category than the high accuracy category - the top-down approach would explain this because it has been found to be more useful for serious
cases, such as murder, where the crime scene reveals specific personal details about the person
committing the crime than for more common property-based crimes such as robbery.
In an experiment into the effectiveness of the top-down approach to offender profiling,
20 participants were asked to build a profile of an offender using information from real life
cases. Half of the participants were given information about a murder case and asked to
produce a profile. The other half were given information about a robbery and asked to
produce a profile. After the profiling session, each profile was classified as High
Accuracy or Low Accuracy.
Explain one way in which the experiment could be changed to control for the problem of
using different participants in each condition.
[4 marks]
- use a repeated measures design where each profiler completes both profiles so there are no
participant variables/individual differences because each person is compared with him/herself; (the
order in which the two conditions are completed would have to be counterbalanced to control for order
effects) so no effects of boredom or getting better bc of practice of a task
Describe how cognitive distortions might be involved in offending behaviour.
[6 marks]
cog distortions are Faulty biased and irrational ways of thinking that mean we perceive ourselves other people and or the world in a way that does not match reality and is usually negative
Therefore a persons perception of events suffering from cog distorttions is often misinterpetd. they allow for an offender to deny (red neg emotions) or rationalise (justify) their criminal beh. one example of a cog distortion is hostile attribution bias - Tendency to misread/misinterperet other peoples actions words or expressions as aggressive, proactive or threatening when in reality they are not
Offenders may misread non aggressive cues as beinf looked at funny which can trigger disproportionate and often violent response/assault
Allowing offenders to rationalise their offending behaviour by blaming other factors for it eg blaming the victims “they shouldn’t have looked at me like that” another is minimalisation The attempt to downplay the seriousness or trivialising the importance of ones own offence to explain the consequences as less damaging than they really are
This helps the individual to accept the consequences of their own offences and reduce their neg emotions such as guilt associated with crime
Eg a burglar thinking stealing some things from a wealthy family won’t really affect their lives
Evaluate the role of cognitive distortions in offending.
[6 marks]
- Limitation - doesn’t give insight as to why offending happens in the first place
P; The cognitive explanations are more descriptions of the criminal mind.
E: They are essentially ‘after the fact’ theories, and although they may be useful when predicting reoffending, they tend not to give us much insight into why the offender committed the crime in the first place.
EL: This suggests that the theories may not be entirely internally valid as cause and effect cannot be established.
strength - irl app in treatment
P; Understanding the nature of cognitive distortions is beneficial in the treatment of offending behaviour.
E; The dominant approach in rehabilitating sex offenders is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) which encourages offenders to ‘face up’ to what they have done and establish a less distorted view of their actions. Studies suggest that reduced incidence of denial and minimalisation in therapy is highly correlated with a reduced risk of reoffending, and this is a key feature of anger management.
El: This supports that cognitive explanations have important real-world applications and therefore external validity. If by changing offenders’ thoughts it can help to reduce reoffending risk, it implies that cognitive distortions may have played a role in their offending initially.
Briefly explain the top-down approach to offender profiling.
[2 marks]
- conceptual categories/templates of organised and disorganised offender are pre-existing in
the mind of the profiler - evidence from the crime scene and other details of the crime/victim/context are then used
to fit into either of the pre-existing categories and determine the offender as one type or the
other
A psychologist is investigating causes of offending. She interviews offenders who
are in prison for violent crime. She asks them to describe their family and early
childhood, recording everything that they say. She also looks at information in the
offenders’ court and prison reports.
3 9 Referring to this investigation, explain the difference between primary and
secondary data.
[4 marks]
primary data is gathered directly/first-hand from the participants, and is specific to the aim
of the study whereas secondary data has previously been collected by a third party
(another researcher or an official body), not specifically for the aim of the study, and then
used by the researcher
* in this study, the interview recordings are primary data – gathered specifically for the
purpose of investigating causes of offending whereas the court/prison records are
secondary data – pre-existing and not gathered for the purpose of investigating causes of
offending behaviour.
A psychologist is investigating causes of offending. She interviews offenders who
are in prison for violent crime. She asks them to describe their family and early
childhood, recording everything that they say. She also looks at information in the
offenders’ court and prison reports
Explain how the psychologist could continue her investigation by carrying out
thematic analysis of the interview recordings.
[2 marks]
- use the recordings to make a transcription of the interview
- use coding to initially analyse the transcripts
- review the transcriptions/codes looking for emergent themes/ideas that might be linked to
violent crime eg family violence, parental argument, alcohol misuse.
Describe and evaluate cognitive explanations for offending.
[16 marks]
ao1
Faulty biased and irrational ways of thinking that mean we perceive ourselves other people and or the world in a way that does not match reality and is usually negative
Therefore a persons perception of events suffering from cog distorttions is often misinterpetd
Allow an offender to deny (reduce neg emotions) or rationalise (justify) their criminal beh
hostile att bias
Tendency to misread/misinterperet other peoples actions words or expressions as aggressive, proactive or threatening when in reality they are not
Offenders may misread non aggressive cues as beinf looked at funny which can trigger disproportionate and often violent response/assault
Allowing offenders to rationalise their offending behaviour by blaming other factors for it eg blaming the victims “they shouldn’t have looked at me like th
minimalisation
The attempt to downplay the seriousness or trivialising the importance of ones own offence to explain the consequences as less damaging than they really are
This helps the individual to accept the consequences of their own offences and reduce their neg emotions such as guilt associated with crime
Eg a burglar thinking stealing some things from a wealthy family won’t really affect their lives
Describe and evaluate cognitive explanations for offending.
[16 marks]
ao3
low internal valdity
sample bias
irl app
Limitation low internal validity
P; The cognitive explanations are more descriptions of the criminal mind.
E; They are essentially ‘after the fact’ theories, and although they may be useful when predicting reoffending, they tend not to give us much insight into why the offender committed the crime in the first place.
EL; This suggests that the theories may not be entirely internally valid as cause and effect cannot be established.
Limitation - sample bias
P; Kohlberg’s theory was only based on samples of men and boys and yet assumed to apply to all people (beta bias)
E; When Kohlberg studied women, he found that they were less morally developed than men. His beta bias meant that he ended up exaggerating the differences between men and women (alpha bias).
EL; Gilligan’s (1982) research found that men favoured a justice orientation whilst women favoured a caring orientation. Neither is ‘better’, they are just different. As such, Kohlberg’s theory cannot be considered an externally valid theory of offending behaviour as it may not apply to women in the same way as men.
Strength- treatment irl app
P; Understanding the nature of cognitive distortions is beneficial in the treatment of offending behaviour.
E; The dominant approach in rehabilitating sex offenders is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) which encourages offenders to ‘face up’ to what they have done and establish a less distorted view of their actions. Studies suggest that reduced incidence of denial and minimalisation in therapy is highly correlated with a reduced risk of reoffending, and this is a key feature of anger management.
El: This supports that cognitive explanations have important real-world applications and therefore external validity. If by changing offenders’ thoughts it can help to reduce reoffending risk, it implies that cognitive distortions may have played a role in their offending initially.
Which two of the following statements about Eysenck’s theory of the criminal personality
are TRUE? Write the two correct letters in your answer book.
[2 marks]
A The criminal personality avoids sensation-seeking situations
B The criminal personality cannot be conditioned easily
C The criminal personality has a high level of introversion
D The criminal personality has an over-aroused nervous system
E The criminal personality scores highly on neuroticism
B AND E
Evaluate the atavistic form explanation for offending.
[6 marks]
P: one strength of lombrossos research is its contribution to criminal psychology
E: lombrosso has been hailed father of modern criminology by hollin 1989 hes credited for moving research away from molaralsitc (weak minded) to more scientific looking at evolution and genetics
E: also in trying to describe why particular types of people commit certain crimes paving the way for criminal profiling
L: in this way he made significant contribution to thr science of criminology
P; racist undertones of lombrossos work
E: many of the features lombroosso identifies as atavastic eg dark skin curly hair are characteristcs of those with african descent
E: this has clear racial bias and limits its application to real world crime due to racial discrimination
L; this is an uncomfortable legacy which overhsadows his work
A group of probation and prison officers attended a training session on how to deal with
offenders. They each offered suggestions and the group leader wrote some of the
suggestions on a flip chart. Table 6 below shows some of the suggestions.
Table 6
Get him to talk about what makes him angry
Make him do something to help the victim
Give him points for TV time when he behaves well
Teach him how to calm himself down
Teach him the link between behaviour and consequences
3 9 Discuss one or more ways of dealing with offending behaviour. Refer to some of the
suggestions in Table 6 in your answer.
[16 marks]
ao1 ao2
ao1 + ao2
custodial sentecning - involves serving time in an institution - aims for deterrence (general and individual), retribution justice to society and victims where harshness of sentence relflects the crime committed, rehabilition (re educate offenders so they leave better people anger managment, drug or literacy programmes), incapacitation - offender kept away from society usually serial muders and rapists
anger management involves cognitive awareness/understanding - talking about what makes him angry (identifying triggers and reflect on past experience)
anger management invacquisition of skills/strategies to control own anger – teach him how
to calm himself down eg positive self talk or phisiological relaxation techniques
behaviour modification involves use of reinforcement for good behaviour – points for TV time as
tokens/secondary reinforcement (could be applied in custodial setting); seeing the link between
behaviour and consequences - based on oc giving rewards (tokens) for desriable beh and remoing them (-ve reinforcemnt) when deviating rewards eg an extra phone call are primary reinforcers tokens on their own have no value
restorative justice involves making reparation – something to help the victim, seeing the
consequences for the victim. encourage and acceptance, non courtroom en and only hapoens if both parties want to active not passive
A group of probation and prison officers attended a training session on how to deal with
offenders. They each offered suggestions and the group leader wrote some of the
suggestions on a flip chart. Table 6 below shows some of the suggestions.
Table 6
Get him to talk about what makes him angry
Make him do something to help the victim
Give him points for TV time when he behaves well
Teach him how to calm himself down
Teach him the link between behaviour and consequences
3 9 Discuss one or more ways of dealing with offending behaviour. Refer to some of the
suggestions in Table 6 in your answer.
[16 marks]
ao3
psych effects of custodial sentencing
universities for crime
ethical issues in token economy
diveristy of restorative justice
psych effects of custodial sentecing
P:one limitation is the psychological effects of cus sen
E: Bartol said effects of prisons can be brutal, demeaning and devestaing. suicide rates are 15% higher in prison vs general pop, young men are the most at risk in the first 24h of confinment
E: prison reform trust found 24% if women and 15% of men reported symptoms of psychosis
L: suggests that custodial sentecing is not effective at rehabilitation and could cause deterimnetal harm to the prisoner
universities for crime
P; prisons can become universities for crime
E: they may aqquire genuine skills but also may be able to perfect their crafts in terms of comitng crime when surronded by other crimials
E: differential association theory suggets younger inmates spending time with older ones allows them to learn tricks of the trade
L: this undermines attempts to rehabiliatate prisoners.
ethical issues in beh mod
P: ehtical issues in beh md
E: beh mod is not voluntary, prisoners are forced to engage - manipulative - and also limts the actual effectivness in rehab
E:tokens that are removed could lead to loss of basic privelges eg phone calls or recreational time - raises ethical issues
L: morality and fairness of token economy are brougt into questio here
flexibility of rj
P; rj is flexibe unlile cus sen E: and can have many possible applications eg i schools and prisons
E: so schemes can be adapted and tailored to the specific person
L: howeber the question of ong term effectivness is still not answered here,
