Forensics Test

Question 1

8 marker on Cognitive explanations

Answer 1

A01:
Hostile attribution bias
Minimalisation

Study:
Pollock & Hashmall (1991) assessed 86 child molesters and found that over a third had reframed their crime as ‘consensual’

AO3:

Strength
- Practical applications: Understanding the cognitive distortions that cause criminality could reduce criminal behaviour and prevent recidivism. For example, cognitive behavioural therapy could reduce minimalisation by helping offenders understand how serious their actions are, or reduce hostile attribution bias by challenging the thought processes that lead offenders to misinterpret innocent actions as hostile.

Weakness
- Limited applications: There are many types of crime that cognitive distortions don’t explain well. For example, it’s easy to see how hostile attribution bias could lead to impulsive violence (e.g. the offender misinterprets an innocent look from someone and assaults them) but it’s hard to see how this bias could explain planned violence (e.g. a pre-meditated murder). This suggests that cognitive biases may only explain some types of crime and not others.

Question 2

8 marker on atavistic, genetic or neural explanations

Answer 2

A01:
Atavistic = Lombroso, 383 dead, 3839 alive, post mortem = criminals biologically different to normal humans

A03:
Strength:
Large sample size

Weakness:
Ethical concerns: Lombroso’s atatvistic form explanation is socially sensitive because it could lead to stereotyping and discrimination based on the way a person looks.

A01:
Genetic = genes twins, Candidate genes (MAOA, CDH13)

A03:
Weakness
Deterministic: Genetic explanations are deterministic because they say that a person’s genes are what cause criminal behaviour, not free will. However, this raises legal and moral issues: It is hard to hold someone morally responsible for criminal actions if they didn’t choose them, and so it may seem unfair to punish them.

A01:
Neural = mirror neurones, pre frontal cortex

A03
Weakness
Deterministic: Neural explanations are biologically deterministic because they say that neural factors are what cause criminal behaviour, not free will. However, this raises legal and moral issues: If someone doesn’t choose their criminal actions, it may seem unfair to hold them morally or legally responsible for them.

Question 3

6 mark psychodynamic A01

Answer 3

Blackburn : Superegos

Weak = phallic stage, parent absent
Deviant = inheret parents deviant ego
Over-harsh = commit crimes to subconsciously please superego = wants guilt

Bowlby maternal deprivation theory
44 thieves study

Question 4

4 mark Restorative justice

Answer 4

Restorative justice programs are about getting the offender to recognise the consequences of their actions and make amends to their victim(s).