history and culture

Question 1

R v Hadfield (1800)

Answer 1

• James Hadfield – head injury in battle
• Attempted to murder King George III
• Tried for high treason
• Was acquitted on grounds of insanity
• Suffering delusions for a long period of time- at times he thought he was King George
• Intentional attempt to bring about the second coming of Christ
• Serious head injury in the war
  He was released back to his family- pose huge risks for everyone (did not go to prison as it was inappropriate but there was nowhere else)

Question 2

R v McNuaghten (1843)

Answer 2

• Lead to the McNaughten Rule (legal test of responsibility)– not criminally responsible if:
  
  • At the time of committing the act, the party accused was labouring under such a defect of reason from a disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing; or if he did know it, he did not know he was doing wrong.
• “The Tories in my native city have compelled me to do this. They followed me to France, into Scotland and all over to England. In fact, they follow me wherever I go… They have accused me of crimes of which I am not guilty; they do everything in their power to harass and persecute me. In fact they wish to murder me.” McNaughton, as cited in Asoken (2007)
• Set out to assonate the prime minister sir Robert peel
• Actually shot the private secretary
• Even queen Victoria thought this person should be hanged
• Person who was very unwell- experienced elusions of persecution but more pronounced, felt that there was a conspiracy against him and people were out to get him
• He believed this was an act of self defence due to the ‘harassment’
• He argued he was not guilty due to insanity- public out cry because people thought it was pre meditated
  in modern times insanity is now judged based on the McNaughten Rule

Question 3

biological positivism

Answer 3

• Lombroso (1876) – Biological Positivism
• Criminality is inherited, someone ‘born criminal’ can be anatomically identified by such items as a sloping forehead, ears of unusual size, asymmetry of the face, prognathism, excessive length of arms, asymmetry of the cranium and other ‘physical stigmata’
• Science was somewhat limited in terms of research techniques at this time- theories were dominated by things that you could physically see and measure (logical positivism)
• Was also applied to clinical psychology as well as criminality
  Argued that criminals were not homosapiens but instead a biological throwback

Question 4

Galton

Answer 4

Galton (1879) claimed to discover the ‘face of crime’ through composite photos – combined multiple exposures of different individuals of a ‘type’ (e.g. criminals) to produce the ideal, or prototypical.b

Question 5

biological theories

Answer 5

• Underlying theoretical supposition that criminality is innate and that it is expressed in (or related to) physical characteristics.
• Painstaking measurements
• “The appearance of a single great is more than equivalent to the birth of a hundred mediocrities” (Lombroso) - Social Darwinism, application of ideas to support stereotypes, e.g. racial biases, eugenics movements
• Theories lack credibility, though should be remembered for developments in research methods
  Predominant view in both early clinical and criminal psychology through phrenology studies, work of Caesare Lombroso and Francis Galton

Question 6

the constitutional approach

Answer 6

• Sheldon (1942) - These were associated with three types of personality characteristics:
  
  • Endomorph - Viscerotonia (pleasure loving, dependent)
  • Mesomorph - Somatotonia (exercise loving, aggressive)
  • Ectomorph - Cerebrotonia (withdrawing, unsociable)
• It is argued that mesomorph would be most likely to have traits related to delinquency; such as aggression, impulsivity and risk taking

Question 7

criticisms

Answer 7

• Social factors e.g. exercise, manual work, poverty and deprivation
• Ethical factors- should you judge people by the way they look?
  Methods used- no females examined, not very scientific

Question 8

constitutional approach continued and critiques

Answer 8

• Sheldon (1956)
  
  • 500 persistent delinquents and 500 non-delinquents matched for age, intelligence, place of residence and ethnic background
  • 60% of delinquents (but only 30% of non-delinquents) were classified as mesomorph
  • The other types did not show this preponderance of mesomorphs
• Follow up studies supported the finding (Glueck & Glueck, 1956; Cortes & Gatti, 1972), though another failed to replicate this finding (McCandless et al., 1972)
• So, seems to lend some support for the theory?
• BUT the relationship between mesomorphy and crime may not be related to biology in the constitutional way as Sheldon proposed
  
  • Certain types of body build may be instrumental in attracting police attention and thus over-selected
    The muscular individual might be more likely to be successful in crime (Feldman, 1977)

Question 9

chromosomal theory- the XYY syndrome

Answer 9

• About one in 1,000 males carries 47 chromosomes, the extra chromosome is a Y chromosome, so such individuals are categorised as XYY
  
  • In Carstairs maximum security hospital 7 out of 197 men convicted of violent offences were XYY
  • (i.e., 36 times greater than the norm for non-offenders - Lerner and Libby, 1976)
• Support for this theory has been mixed
  
  • Rutter and Giller (1983) argue that ‘An extra Y chromosome …probably carries a slightly increased risk of behavioural problems’
  • However, they note that some XYY men are well adjusted, and the vast majority of criminals have no chromosomal abnormality
• Also, we do not actually know the relationship between XYY and other variables that might influence delinquency, such as intelligence and social class
  There seems to some weak evidence for some predisposing biological factors in criminal behaviour, but a more comprehensive theory would need to include psychological factors

Question 10

criminal personality (Eysenck, 1977)

Answer 10

• Says heredity and the environment interact to cause criminal conduct
  
  • Twin studies indicate that identical twins (same genes) are more concordant in terms of criminal behaviour than fraternal twins, even if they grow up in the same environment
  • Nine studies indicate an average concordance rate of 55% for identicals and 13% for fraternals
• However, identical twins are treated more similarly than fraternals
  
  • We need studies in which identical twins are reared apart and then compared
• Eysenck also reports data from adoption studies
  
  • children whose biological parents were criminals are more likely to be criminals even though their adoptive parents are not (e.g., crimes included speeding convictions and murder
• Other research indicates that criminality is highest when both fathers (adoptive and biological) are criminals, indicating an extra environmental component (Mednick et al., 1983) may be important
  The main problem with these studies is that most children were adopted at birth - According to Bowlby, for example, separation from the mother in the first 5 years can lead to criminality; so could be due to parental separation

Question 11

forensic psychology across the globe- Czech republic

Answer 11

• Polisenska, 2007
• Centre of Europe
• Slightly smaller than the UK, around a sixth of the population
• Landlocked
• 2004, member state of Europe Union
• 2005, 3,44060 criminal acts (police) (2005, England and Wales = 5,63511)
• Property crimes around 66.6% of all crimes; violent crimes around 6.3%
• Since 1990s, increase in:
  
  • Research and academic literature
  • Roles for FPs in government and Czech police
  • Courses forensic psychology at universities
  • Psychologists being judiciary experts
    Tool for police officers (recruitment and dealing with trauma) or studies on crime prevention (societal level).

Question 12

india

Answer 12

• Karandikar, 2017
• In the top ten countries with the highest crime rate; 7th largest in the world, 2nd most populated
• Need more FPs involved in criminal investigations and the criminal justice system
• Some help in high profile cases but discredited by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
• Researchers are collecting data about offenders and types of criminals but not a joined up approach with government institutions which would help
  
  • CBI & police would benefit from analysis of crime data
• Prisons – ‘fall behind’ other countries in terms of using psychologists (forensic and clinical) in rehabilitation and assessment
  
  • Need as overcrowding
  • Stress, bullying, mental health issues, therapy
• Not many FP courses
  Need to make FP more attractive as a profession

Question 13

what do we mean by culture and diversity

Answer 13

• Culture is a social pattern that is heritage within a society. It determines what is important and unimportant, right and wrong, acceptable and unacceptable. Culture encompasses explicit and tacit values, norms, attitudes, beliefs, behaviours and assumptions.
  Cultural diversity (also known as multiculturalism) is a group of diverse individuals from different cultures or societies. Usually, cultural diversity takes into account language, religion, race, sexual orientation, gender, age and ethnicity.

Question 14

cultural bias in psychology

Answer 14

• Cultural bias occurs when people of one culture make assumptions about the behaviour of people from another culture based on their own cultural norms and practices.
  Unconscious Bias – For race and ethnicity we need to understand that we (rightly or wrongly) are representing structures where we are aware that there is a vulnerability to bias

Question 15

forensic specialist role

Answer 15

The Forensic Specialist (FS) recognises and values individual and group differences, diversity, and culture and appreciates their impact in the psycho-legal context. The FS recognises the effect his/her own cultural worldview and biases may have on professional work. The FS is sensitive to and skillful in working with individuals, groups and communities representative of all aspects of individual and cultural diversity (e.g., ethnicity, race, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability status, and special populations).

Question 16

2020

Answer 16

• The adverse impact of COVID-19 on black, minority and ethnic groups and the events triggered by the murder of George Floyd have put into sharp focus the inequalities that exist for individuals from some BME/BAME groups.
  Increase in immigration trends are also rapidly changing the ethnic and cultural landscape

Question 17

should forensic risk assessments consider cultural diversity?

Answer 17

• A Canadian Federal court challenged the administering of 5 risk assessment instruments with Canadian Aboriginal prisoners.
• Fujii et al (2005) found some risk measures showing good cross cultural validity but it is important to recognise the unique ethnic differences in prediction of violence risk.
• Effectively, forensic clinicians and researchers can no longer overlook the role of culture in risk assessment (Shepherd et al, 2016)
  Multicultural groups are diverse not only in their beliefs and expectations, but also in their assumptions about what the clinician can do for them (Katz & Algeria, 2009)

Question 18

cultural factors

Answer 18

• This should also include establishing culturally relevant issues as treatment targets in forensic practice.
• For example, issues of identity, pride and group allegiance may be useful avenues to pursue in working with offenders to address their criminogenic needs.
  Crucially with respect to offence-specific treatment, offenders should be encouraged to develop an understanding of the ways in which their needs for identity have informed their behaviour and, moreover, to develop skills by which they may make other, more prosocial choices in offence situations, particularly those that challenge identity.

Question 19

be responsive to differences

Answer 19

• Ethnic and racial minority families from the US may also differ in their explanations about mental illness and treatment (Novins et al., 1997).
• For example, African American and Native American families may have alternative explanations of mental illness such as supernatural or spiritual forces (Cheung & Snowden, 1990)
  In order for clinicians to work in culturally sensitive ways with offenders within the forensic treatment process, this may even include working collaboratively with cultural representatives in order to develop a more responsive treatment process (Andrews & Bonta, 2007). Consider own cultural competence (Weiss & Rosenfeld, 2012)

Question 20

working with difference

Answer 20

• To better explore, understand and address the difference in access to and engagement in services for service users with protected characteristics a working group in HMPPS has been set up to focus on the issues of race and equality.
• Also we have a BPS Presidential Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion – good news on the increased focus on this matter
  At present people from certain backgrounds face significantly greater barriers at every stage in their psychology career; as an undergraduate, securing a place on a training programme and flourishing as a trainee, finding a job and developing in their career as a psychologist. It’s true that the BPS can’t influence all of these barriers directly, but the first thing we have to do is to make the Society a welcoming place to people from all minoritised and marginalised backgrounds and ensure they are represented at every level.’ David Murphy Society President, March 2020

Question 21

risk assessment example

Answer 21

• Request to complete risk assessment for honour based violence (HBV)
• Need to use interpreter (consider working with intepreters, guidelines for psychologists, November 2017, BPS)
• Identify limitations to assessments
• Refer to the literature to guide formulation and understand culture of client
• Example
  “Given that issues concerning culture and religion form an important part of black, and minority ethnic women’s identities, those who are religiously observant can experience feelings of further distress, anxiety and shame if public agencies do not meet their need. This can lead some to feel that they are being treated with a lack of dignity and respect as well as feelings of lessened value and a sense of “double victimization” (Gill, 2004). Services must therefore be culturally sensitive and this would be relevant for Ms X”

Question 22

intervention/therapy example

Answer 22

• Nigerian Prisoner undertakes the Prison Core Sex Offender Treatment Programme
• Western values did not apply to his – saw sex differently
• Issues related to cultural constraints in talking about sex and also how an individual’s identity and personal change are construed. The ways in which non-western cultures approach issues of gender and how sex is (or not) discussed may affect how willing a person may be to participate in groups where there is an expectation that the detail of sex offences is shared and discussed.
• Whilst the BME sex offender may successfully learn the language of Western cognitive-behavioural therapy, the question of how relevant this will be to his survival in a non-western community is yet to be asked.
  For example when we look at ethnicity of people screened into the OPD pathway (2018) can see proportionality fewer BAME men are referred to a service.

Question 23

research example

Answer 23

• Research samples should reflect the diversity of the population
• Consider language or literacy barriers and other practicalities such as avoiding running groups at prayer time and being sensitive to global events that may impact on individuals
  Research and those pursuing it should respect the diversity of human culture and conditions and take full account of ethnicity, gender, disability, age, and sexual orientation in its design, undertaking, and reporting. Researchers should take account of the multicultural nature of society. It is particularly important that the body of research evidence available to policy makers reflects the diversity of the population.( Research Governance Framework for Health and Social Care, 2001)