Forensics psychology Flashcards
what is the top down approach? which country?
categories offenders into 2 categories (organised and disorganised) American
characteristics of an organised criminal
high intelligence, lots of planning, little evidence at crime scene
characteristics of disorganised criminal
low intelligence, unemployed, spontaneous, lots of evidence
what are the 2 negatives of top down approach?
only based on serial killers - not generalisable
many serial killers can display both organised and disorganised characteristics
what did Canter find and what does this support?
found 100 US serial killers fitted into the categories, top-down approach is correct
what did Meketa find and what does this support?
burglars fitted into categories so top-down is generalisable
what is the bottom up approach?
looks at minor details of crime scene, develops hypothesis about the characteristics of criminal
what is the first step of investigative psychology? explain
interpersonal coherence - the way they behave at crime scene is how they act in everyday life
what is the 2nd step of investigative psychology? explain
significance of time and place - indicate where they are living
what is the third step of investigative psychology? explain
forensic awareness - how aware they are at covering evidence
who found the ‘circle theory’ and what does it come under? what is it?
Canter - geographical profiling
people commit crimes within a certain geographical space
what are marauders and what are commuters?
marauders - close to home
commuters - travel to ‘work’
what did Canter and Heritage find? what does this support?
correlation between behaviour at crime scene and everyday life - bottom up approach (interpersonal coherence)
what did Canter and Lundrigan find and what does this support?
almost all serial killers had a base at the centre of circle created - Canters circle theory
what did Ainsworth find and what does this go against?
factors such as age and time more important than location - goes against geographical profiling
what did Kocsis find and what does this go against?
chemistry students produced more accurate profiles than trained detectives - going against top-down and bottom up
who found the biological explanation for Forensics and what are some of the characteristics?
Lombroso - criminals are under-evolved
facial asymmetry
dark skin
prominent jaw
what are atavistic characteristics and what study was founded into them? what is wrong with this study?
ones inherited from ancestors
Lombroso - 40% of crimes are committed by people with atavist characteristics
only 40%, not that high
what are the strengths of Lombroso’s biological explanations?
first scientific research, agrees with modern day explanations that criminality can be caused by genetics
what did Goring find? what does this go against?
found no evidence that offenders had unusual facial features
what are some other negatives to Lombroso’s biological explanation?
reflects racism
determinism - removes responsibility
what did Christianson find and what does this suggest but what?
found concordance rates of 35% MZ twins and 13% for DZ twins. supports the genetic explanation for offender behaviour however cant be solely the explanation
what did Crowe find and what does this suggest?
50% risk of having criminal record if mother was a criminal
suggests a biological component
what are candidate genes and what gene is said to be related to offender behaviour?
genes that are being suggested as a cause for a particular illness
MAOA - regulates serotonin
what did Tihonen find and what does this support?
low functioning varient of MAOA was far more common in offenders
supports genetic explanation
what did Raine find and what does this support?
people diagnosed with APD had 11% less grey matter in their prefrontal cortex
support neural explanation
what are the 4 aims of custodial sentencing?
deterrence
retribution
incapacitation
rehabilitiation
what are psychological effects of custodial sentencing?
stress
depression
who found the psychological theory of criminal personality? and what does it suggest?
Eysenck - every person has an innate personality type
what are the 3 factors which determine a criminal personality? and what are they rated on?
extroversion, neuroticism, psychoticism
EPQ (Eysenck personality questionnaire)
what did Eysenck find and what does support?
significance difference between EPQ scores with prisoners and controls - supports his criminal personality is correct
what is an explanation for high extroversion?
what is an explanation for high neuroticism?
underactive nervous system
sympathetic nervous system easily aroused
what did Farrington find and what does this go against?
only significance difference with P and not E & N
only psychoticism causes criminality - supports biological of testosterone rather than Eysenck’s theory
What are the positives to Eysenck’s theory?
Many violent offenders like Ted Bundy do fit into Eysenck’s criminal personality
What is minimialisation?
Reducing something to the least possible amount of degree
Who founded the theory of moral development?
Kohlberg
What is level one of moral development?
Conforms to get rewards, obey rules to avoid punishment
What is level 2 of moral development?
Conforms to avoid dislike of others
What is level 3 of moral development?
Conforms to maintain communities
What level are offenders stuck in? why?
Pre-conventional, childish behaviour. More likely to commit crime if they can get away with it and gain rewards like money/increased respect
What did schonenberg find and what does this show?
55 offenders with neutral faces were more likely to interpret them as hostile - shows hostile attribution theory does cause criminality
What did Barbaree find and what does this show?
54% of rapists denied they committed a crime. Suggests minimalisation does cause criminality
What did Kohlberg find and what does this suggest?
Lower levels of moral reasoning in a group of offenders. Supports Kohlberg’s theory of moral development
Who founded the differential association theory?
Sutherland
What was Sutherland main hypothesis?
Criminality occurs when criminal association outweighs non-criminal association
What are the strengths of the differential association theory?
Enabled the move away from lobroso atavistic theory
Can explain all types of crimes
What did Farrington find and what does this support?
‘Family criminality to be a key factors. Supports differential association theory
What are the limitations of differential association theory?
Can’t fully observed how long people are associating with other
Runs risk of prejudice towards poorer, high crime communities
what are the 4 effects of custodial sentencing?
Stress
Depression
Institutionalisation
Prisonisation
What did the Ministry of Justice find and what does this go against?
124 inmates in 2016 committed suicide. Goes against custodial sentencing
What did Shirley find and what does this support?
43% of inmates who engaged in education were 43% more likely to re-offend - supports rehab
What are other strengths to custodial sentencing?
Protects public, opportunity for behaviour modification via token economy and anger management
What are primary reinforcers?
Rewarded with a privilege, directly
What is a secondary reinforcer?
Given a token which can be exchanged for a prize
What are the strengths of token economy?
Makes prisons calmer and safer
Easy and cost-effective
What did Hobbs and Holt find and what does this support?
Young offenders portrayed positive behaviour. Supports token economies are effective
What did Blackburn find and what does this go against?
Behavioural benefits tend to disappear upon release. Suggests token economy has little lasting effect
What is used to treat anger management?
CBT
What did Howels find and what does this support?
AM has impact on higher anger individuals
Anger management is effective for some
What did Howels find and what does this go against?
Very little overall impact of anger management compared to control
What is restorative justice?
Aim is to heal and rehabilitate offender
What did strang find and what does this support?
Found a reduction of recidivism compared to controls
Supports RJ
What did Shapland find and what does this support?
85% of survivors reported satisfaction with restorative justice
Suggests RJ is effective
What type of psychological explanation is Kholbergs theory of moral development?
Cognitive
What is hostile attribution bias?
Interpreting peoples behaviour as confrontational.
What are the 3 superego definitions for criminality in Psychodynamic approach?
Deviant, Over-harsh, Weak
What causes a weak super-ego?
What happens with a weak super-ego?
Absence of strong parental figures. So, ID takes over and they get their desires
What causes a deviant super-ego?
What does this mean?
Shaped by parental figures who were criminals themselves. This means that they have learnt behaviours that are different from normal society
What causes an over-harsh super-ego?
What does this mean?
Very harsh disciplinarian parents.
Causes them to unconsciously seek punishment by breaking the law
What did Goreta find and what does this support?
All 10 offenders displayed the need for self punishment. This supports over-harsh super-ego
What did Bowlby find and what does a this support?
14 out of 44 thieves were affectionless psychopaths and 12 of the 14 had experienced maternal deprivation. Lack of parents figures causes weak super-ego
What is moral reasoning?
The way in which a person thinks about right and wrong, the higher the level, the more our behaviour is driven by what is right and not to avoid punishment
