Mental Disorders Part A Flashcards
what are the theories of mental disorders based on
- assumption of offender deficit -> something is psychologically wrong with the offender
- assumption of discriminating traits -> offenders differ from non-offenders
what are the criticisms of psychoanalystic theory?
- not all criminal suffer from guilt or anxiety
- gender bias
- theory cannot be scientifically validated because everything is unconscious
- theory is tautological (say the same thing twice but in different words)
what is an example of tautology?
aggression acts seen as a result of impulses, evidence for impulses is aggressive acts
what is the point of evolutionary psychology?
to understand adaptive functions
- survival and reproduction
what are successful adaptations sourced in?
genes
what are the two findings from forensic evolutionary psych?
- men more aggressive/antisocial due to competition with other men to increase mating and survival chances
- women are less aggressive and risk-takers due to taking care of kids and survival
what are the three criticisms of evolutionary theory?
- theory normalizes, legitimizes and excuses criminal behavior
- suggests that criminal behavior is predetermined and so there is nothing we can do to correct it (in reality we can correct and prevent it)
- theory is hypothetical and difficult to test since it’s based on behavior of early humans
what are the 3 categories of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development?
- preconventional
- conventional
- post-conventional
what is encompassed in the preconventional stage?
- avoid punishment - do not want o be caught)
- obtain rewards
- children development arrested here
- between ages 3-7
what is encompassed in the conventional stage?
- belong and be accepted
- obey rules and regulations
- between ages 8-13
what is encompassed in the post-conventional stage?
- make and keep promises
- love to moral imperatives
- adulthood
what are the criticisms of Kohlberg’s theory?
- does not clarify whether lower level of moral reasoning predisposes all individuals to offend
- does not address reasons for delayed moral development (peer pressure/family)
- does not address findings relative to gender differences (women are care-oriented while male more justice-oriented)
what is the cognitive-info processing theory?
behavior result of complex thought process
what is the three step process of cognitive info-processing theory?
- encode/interpret situation
- search for best response
- act on decision
example of the three step process of cog info-processing theory
- you are in a bar and someone is drink and stumbles and bumps into you, he apologizes and now it is up to you to decide whether it is all good and let it go or to start shit up (based on your interpretation)
what leads to aggressive behavior according to the cognitive info-processing theory?
- using info incorrectly when making decisions
- misperceive the threat
- do not recognize harm they do to others (personality trait vs mental disorders)
what is a script?
predetermined, stereotyped sequence of actions that define a well-known situation
what is the criminal script?
- goal/aim
- criminally-motivated perception
- self-serving cognitions to justify actions
what is an example of a script (normal vs criminal behavior)?
- woman in grocery store leaves her purse opened in the cart and most people walk away but for criminals they find justification by saying she left her purse open
who coined the psychoanalytic theory
sigmund freud
match the description to the name
compulsive, unconscious, pleasure seeking
id
match the description to the name
internalized societal restraints
superego
match the description to the name
balances the Id and superego in cognitive, conscious thought
ego
what are the stages of psychosexual development and their associated ages
oral -> 0 to 1
anal -> 1 to 3
phallic -> 3 to 6
latent -> 6 to 12
genital -> 12+
true or false - the ego is conscious
true
what is the difference between the phallic and genital stages
phallic is when you learn about our own bodies and masturbation
genital is when you find pleasure in manipulating other people’s genitals
define the oedipus complex
between the ages of 6 to 12, we through a stage to kill his father to have sexual relationships with their mother
define the electra complex
girl wants to kill their mom so they can have sexual relationships with their dad
what does deviant behavior come from, on the basis of the psychoanalytic theory
- id domination
- underdeveloped superego
- internal conflict and tensions
what does female deviance arise from based off the psychoanalytic theory
women suffer from penis envy -> they believe they lost their penis as a form of punishment -> castration and not the same status of men
what is psychoanalytic treatment for female deviance
working with women to accept their appropriate sex role as a wife and mother
