forensics studies Flashcards
what evidence is the top down approach based on?
based on in-depth interviews with 36 serial killers lead to the classification of organized and disorganized offenders
what evidence is there for the usefulness of the top down approach?
Douglas 1981
review of 192 profiles, they ID’d 15 suspects but did focus 77% of cases.
what do the findings of canters studies show about the top down approach?
Analyses of 100 murderers and there was 39 characteristics thought to typical of organized but little evidence for disorganized.
describe canter and heritage’s study to evaluate investigative psychology
supports usefulness of investigative psychology as it shows how statistical techniques can be applied
across 66 sexual assault cases and identified correlations across patterns of behavior
helped identify how behavior evolves over a series of offences and if multiple offences have been committed by the same person
use Lundrigan and Carter’s study to evaluate geographical profiling
120 murder cases involving serial killers in the us
revealed consistency in behavior of killers, location of each body plotted and ‘base’ was found to be in the centre
what case casted doubt on the success of offender profiling?
Rachel Nickell, wrongful arrest of an innocent person
what do Copson’s results suggest about the success of offender profiling?
advice by a profiler was useful in 83% but in only 3% did it lead to accurate offender identification
evidence suggests which approach approach to offender profiling is more accurate?
bottom up more grounded in evidence and psychological theory and is less driven by speculation and hunches an evidence by canter and heritage showed corrolations in patterns of offending.
what research did Lombroso conduct that led to the development of his theory
examined the facial and cranial features of hundreds of Italian convicts, approximately 4000 living and 400 dead
concluded that 40% criminal acts accounted for by people with atavistic characteristics
what research contradicts Lombroso’s theory
Goring 1913 compared 3000 criminals and 3000 non criminals concluded no evidence that offenders have distinct features.
2 twin studies that show a genetic basis of offending
Lange 13 MZ and 17 DZ twins 10 MZ twins had a co-twin also in prison 2 of DZ twins had a co-twin also in prison
what did the results of Mednick’s study suggest find about the genetic basis of offending?
increased risk of an adoptive sons having convictions if biological parents had convictions too
if adoptive parents also had convictions then the risk of son having one increased even further.
both b + a : 24.5%
neither b + a : 13.5%
only adopted : 14.7%
only biological : 20%
nature matters more than nurture - support for diathesis- stress
describe a study that provides evidence for the neural explanation of offending
anti-social personality disorder is associate with lack of empathy - lower activity in prefrontal cortex the less emotional regulation
Raine found 11% less volume of grey matter in prefrontal cortex of people with APD than controls
what evidence did Eysneck use to support his theory?
compared EPI scores of 2070 male prisoners and 2422 non criminal males
prisoners scored higher on neuroticism, psychoticism and introversion/extraversion
What evidence is there that disproves Eysneck’s theory?
Farrington review of studies found offenders scored high on psychoticism but not on neuroticism or introversion/extroversion
little difference in EEGs between extroverts and introverts - casts doubt on the psychological basis of the theory
what evidence did Bartol and Holanchock find that disproves Eysneck’s theory?
Hispanic and African-American offenders in high security new York prison were less extrovert than non criminal group- cultural differences lack of generalisabilty of ‘criminal personality’
what evidence is there for lower levels of moral reasoning being associated with offending?
Kohlberg found that criminals tend to be at the pre conventional level
Chandler found offenders are often egocentric and have poorer social perceptive talking skills characteristic of lower levels
Palmer and Holin used a scale of 11 moral dilemma questions and found offenders showed less mature moral reasoning than non offenders
what evidence is there for hostile attribution bias?
violent offenders were more likely than non offenders to perceive ambiguous facial expressions as angry and hostile
offenders also misread non aggressive cues
what evidence is there for minimalisation?
barbaree- 54% of rapists in prison denied committing the crime and 40% minimized the crime
Pollock & Hashmall - 35% of child molesters argued crime was non sexual and 36% stated that the victim had consented
Describe Farrington’s 2006 study into differential association theory
longitudinal study in south London
411 males criminal career tracked up to age 50
41% convicted between 10 and 50
7% chronic offenders - contributed 5% of total offences in study
most important childhood risk factors:
criminality in the family, low school attendance, poor parenting
(can also be used as evidence for genetic explanation)
what evidence did Bowlby provide for the psychodynamic explanation?
44 thieves compared with 44 non criminals
determined maternal deprivation caused affectionate psychopathy and thieving (12/14 thieves with AP had prolonged separation)
what evidence is there for the effectiveness of custodial sentencing for reducing recidivism rates
57% of offenders will re offend within a year of release - not fulfilling needs not serving as a deterrent of rehabilitation
3 key pieces of evidence for the psychological effects of custodial sentencing
bartol- suicide rates 15x higher than the general population
prison reform trust- 25% of women and 15% of men report symptoms of psychosis
Zimbardo-prisoners quickly conformed to roles and some suffered psychological disturbance
how does evidence from Malot and Fromader provide evidence for institutionalization
102 Australian male prisoners reported feeling unsupported on the outside and greater access to resources, treatment and support services could help reduce recidivism.
what evidence is there for the positive effects of custodial sentencing on psychological help
access to rehabilitation programmers such as anger management schemes
how does Hobbs and Holt support the effectiveness of behavior modification programmes
in 3 juvenile delinquent units were token economy systems were introduced there was a significant increase in desired behavior compared to control where token economy system wasn’t implicated
how does Cohen and Filiczak cast doubt on long term effectiveness of behavior modification programmes
token economy group showed desirable behavior in prison than control, were less likely to reoffend for first 2 years after release but after 3 years recidivism rates reflected national statistics
2 pieces of evidence which support short term effectiveness of anger management programmes
keen- young offenders (17-21) took part in national anger management programme - outcomes positive offenders reported increased awareness of anger management difficulties and ability to self control it
Ireland- treatment v control, 92% of treatment group showed improvement on at least 1 measurement used 48% showed improvement on checklist and self report
not same improvements in control
evidence for lack of effectiveness of AM in long term
might not have effect in long term - may be because role-play not represent triggers in real life
2 pieces of supporting evidence for effectiveness of restorative justice
Shapland- 85% of victims satisfied with process reduced recidivism by 14% - every £1 spent saves £8 through reduced reoffending
Sherman and Strang- review of 36 studies- reduced recidivism for violent and property crimes, victims reported increased satisfaction over handling of their case and incidents of reduces PTSD
