Forensics- Psychological Explanations: Cognitive Explanations

Question 1

Level of moral reasoning -

Answer 1

Moral reasoning refers to the process by which an individual draws upon their own value system to determine whether an action is right or wrong.
Kohlberg attempted to objectify this process by identifying different levels of reasoning based on people’s answers to moral dilemmas.

Question 2

Cognitive distortions -

Answer 2

Faulty, biased and irrational ways of thinking that mean we perceive ourselves, other people and the world inaccurately and usually negatively.

Question 3

Hostile attribution bias -

Answer 3

The tendency to judge ambiguous situations, or the actions of others, as aggressive and/or threatening when in reality they may not be.

Question 4

Minimalisation (or minimisation) -

Answer 4

A type of deception that involves downplaying the significance of an event or emotion.
A common strategy when dealing with feelings of guilt.

Question 5

Cognitive Explanations of Criminal Behavior

What is moral reasoning, and how does it relate to criminal behavior?

Answer 5

•Lawrence Kohlberg (1973): Applied moral reasoning to criminality through his stage theory of moral development.
•Moral reasoning is the process of making decisions about right and wrong. Kohlberg’s theory identifies stages of moral development based on responses to moral dilemmas, such as the Heinz dilemma.

Question 6

What does research say about criminals’ levels of moral reasoning?

Answer 6

•Criminals are more likely to be at the pre-conventional level of moral reasoning (Stages 1 and 2), which focuses on:
•Avoiding punishment.
•Gaining rewards.
•Key findings:
•Kohlberg et al. (1973): Found that violent youths scored significantly lower in moral development than non-violent youths, even after controlling for social background.
•Pre-conventional reasoning is linked to self-centered thinking and immediate gratification. Offenders may commit crimes if they believe they will avoid punishment or gain rewards.

Question 7

What are the characteristics of criminals with lower moral reasoning?

Answer 7

•Egocentrism: Offenders are often more self-centered.
•Poor social perspective-taking: They struggle to empathize with others or consider how their actions affect others.
•In contrast, individuals with higher moral reasoning are more likely to exhibit honesty, generosity, and non-violence.

Question 8

What are cognitive distortions, and how do they influence criminal behavior?

Answer 8

•Definition: Cognitive distortions are errors in thinking, where individuals process information incorrectly or in a biased way.
•Criminals frequently use cognitive distortions to misinterpret others’ actions and justify their behavior.

Question 9

Specific Types of Cognitive Distortions

What is hostile attribution bias?

Answer 9

•A tendency to misinterpret others’ behavior as hostile, even when it is neutral.
•This bias can lead to violent or aggressive responses.

Question 10

HAB Research Evidence:

•Schönenberg and Justye (2014)

•Dodge and Frame (1982)

Answer 10

•Schönenberg and Justye (2014):
•Presented 55 violent offenders with emotionally ambiguous facial expressions.
•Compared to a control group, offenders were significantly more likely to interpret the images as angry or hostile.

•Dodge and Frame (1982):
•Showed children a video clip of an ambiguous provocation.
•Aggressive, rejected children interpreted the situation as more hostile than non-aggressive, accepted peers.

Question 11

What is minimalization?

Answer 11

•Definition: A cognitive distortion where offenders downplay the seriousness of their actions. This is sometimes called applying a “euphemistic label.”

Question 12

Examples of Minimalization in Crime:

Answer 12

•Burglars: Refer to their crimes as “doing a job” or “supporting my family.”
•Sexual offenders:
-Barbaree (1991): Among 26 incarcerated rapists:
-54% denied committing any offense.
-40% minimized the harm caused to victims.
•Pollock and Hashmall (1991): Found that:
•35% of child molesters claimed their crime was non-sexual.
•36% stated the victim had consented.

Question 13

Evaluation of Cognitive Explanations

What evidence supports Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning?

Answer 13

•Palmer and Hollin (1998): Compared moral reasoning across 210 female non-offenders, 122 male non-offenders, and 126 convicted offenders using the Socio-Moral Reflection Measure.
•Convicted offenders showed significantly less mature moral reasoning, aligning with Kohlberg’s predictions.

Question 14

What are alternative theories of moral reasoning?

Answer 14

•John Gibbs (1979): Revised Kohlberg’s theory into two levels:
•Immature reasoning: Guided by punishment avoidance and personal gain.
•Mature reasoning: Guided by empathy, social justice, and conscience.
•Gibbs argued Kohlberg’s post-conventional level was culturally biased and did not represent a natural stage of development.
•His views are supported by Jean Piaget, who suggested reasoning evolves from egocentrism to empathy as children grow.

Question 15

How has cognitive research been applied to criminal rehabilitation?

Answer 15

•Understanding cognitive distortions has helped in offender rehabilitation, particularly in treating sex offenders.

Question 16

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT):

Answer 16

•Encourages offenders to confront their actions and reduce distortions like denial and minimalization.
•Studies suggest reducing denial and mineralization lowers the risk of reoffending.

Question 17

What individual differences affect moral reasoning in offenders?

Answer 17

• Type of crime:
• Thorniton and Reid (1982): Found pre-conventional moral reasoning is more common in crimes for financial gain (e.g., robbery) than in impulsive crimes (e.g., assault), where reasoning is often absent.
• Intelligence:
• Langdon et al. (2010): Suggested intelligence might predict criminality better than moral reasoning.

Question 18

What are the limitations of cognitive explanations?

Answer 18

1.Descriptive, not explanatory:
•Cognitive theories describe criminal thought processes but don’t explain why crimes occur initially.

2.Cultural Bias in Kohlberg’s Model:
•His post-conventional stage reflects Western ideals and may not apply universally.