Lesson 6: Cognitive Explanations

Question 1

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 (1973) proposed that the quality of people’s judgements of right and wrong can be summarised by a stage theory of moral development. Kohlberg (1973) based his stages on people’s responses to moral dilemmas.

Question 2

Pre-conventional level

Answer 2

Offenders are more likely to have their moral reasoning classified at the pre-conventional level. This means that a person is punishment orientated (reasoning based on whether or not the act will lead to punishment) and reward orientated (reasoning based on what can be gained). This is immature reasoning which typically lasts from ages 3-7. Teenagers and adults who still reason in this way may commit crime if they can get away with it or gain rewards.

Question 3

Conventional level

Answer 3

Individual does what is expected of them by others

Question 4

Post-conventional

Answer 4

Individual developed more autonomous decision making based on principles of right and justice

Question 5

Evaluation of Moral reasoning

Answer 5

+ Palmer and Hollin (1998) compared moral reasoning between 210 female non-offenders, 122 male non-offenders and 126 convicted offenders using 11 moral dilemmas, such as not taking things that belong to others. The offenders showed less mature moral reasoning than the non-offenders.

• The level of moral reasoning may depend on the type of offence. Thornton and Reid (1982) found that individuals who committed crimes for financial gain, such as robbery, were more likely to show pre-conventional reasoning that those convicted of impulsive crimes (such as assault), where no reasoning was evident.

Question 6

Cognitive distortions

Answer 6

Cognitive distortions are faulty and irrational ways of thinking that make people perceive themselves, other people and the world inaccurately, and often negatively.

Question 7

Hostile attribution bias

Answer 7

Tendency to judge ambiguous situations, or the actions of others, as aggressive and threatening when in reality they are not. Offenders may misread non-aggressive cues and this may trigger a disproportionate, often violent response. Hostile attribution bias can lead to the offender blaming the victim for having ‘started it’.

Question 8

Minimalisation

Answer 8

When a criminal believes that their crime was trivial and downplays the impact of their crime on their victims. This is a common strategy that people use when attempting to avoid feeling guilt. Offenders often use euphemisms for their offences e.g. a burglar may say they have been ‘doing a job’. Sex offenders are prone to minimalisation.

Question 9

Strength of cognitive distortions

Answer 9

+ Understanding the nature of cognitive distortions has proven beneficial in the treatment of criminal behaviour. The dominant approach in the rehabilitation of sex offenders is cognitive behavioural therapy. This encourages offenders to ‘face up’ to what they have done and establish a less distorted view of their actions. A reduced incidence of cognitive distortions in therapy is highly correlated with a reduced risk of offending.

Question 10

Weaknesses of cognitive distortions

Answer 10

• One key failing with the cognitive approach is that, whilst it explains thinking, it cannot account for the source of these thoughts (is it nature or nurture).
• Cognitive distortions cannot be observed or measured. This means the cognitive explanation of criminal behaviour is not scientific.