PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS : COGNITIVE

Question 1

What are the 2 congitive explanations

Answer 1

levels of moral reasoning
cognitive distortions

Question 2

kohlberg proposed people’s…

Answer 2

descisiona nd judegemnt on issues of righ tnad wrong can be summarised in a stage theory of moral reasoning

Question 3

moral reasonign

Answer 3

process whihc indi draws upon own value system to determine whether actions are righ tor wrong

Question 4

in terms of moral reasoning the higher the stage

Answer 4

the more sophisticaed the reasoning

Question 5

kohlberg based his theory on

Answer 5

peoples responses to a series of moral dielmas such as heinz dilemma

Question 6

many studies ssuggested offenders tend to show

Answer 6

lower level of moral reasoning than non offenders

Question 7

what did kohlberg et al find using his moral dilemmas

Answer 7

a group of violent youths were at a significanlt y lower level of moral development than non violent youths - even after controlling for social background

Question 8

LINK WITH CRIMINALITY - Where are offenders more likely to be classified

Answer 8

preconnvential level of K model (stages 1&2)

Question 9

LINK WITH CRIMINALITY - whereas non offenders genrally progressed to

Answer 9

conventional level and beyond

Question 10

LINK WITH CRIMINALITY - preconvential level characterised by

Answer 10

need to avoid punishment and gain rewards

Question 11

LINK WITH CRIMINALITY - preconventional level associated with

Answer 11

less mature , childlike reasoning

Question 12

LINK WITH CRIMINALITY - knowing what preconvential level is charactersied by and associated with adults’adolesc who reason at this level may commit crime if

Answer 12

can get away with it or gain rewards in form of e.g money /increased respecgy

Question 13

LINK WITH CRIMINALITY - the assumption about adults and adolescents at preconventional level is supported by studies suggesting

Answer 13

offenders are often more egocentric (Self centered) and display poorer social perspective - taking skills than non offender peers

Question 14

LINK WITH CRIMINALITY - indidviduals who reason at higher levels tend to sympathise more …

and exhibit more

Answer 14

sympathise more with the rights of others

exhibit more conventional behaviours e.g honesty generosity non violence

Question 15

what are cognitive distortions

Answer 15

errors or biases in peoples info processing system charctersied by faulty thinking

Question 16

we all occ show evi of faulty thinkin when explaining our won behaviour

especially if

Answer 16

behaviour unexpected or out of character

Question 17

how have researchers linekd cognitive distortions to offenders

Answer 17

way which O interpreret other peoples behaviour and justify their own actions

Question 18

two jey examples of congitive distortion

Answer 18

hostile attribution bias
minimalisation

Question 19

HOSTILE ATTRIBUTION BIAS -

Answer 19

propensity for violence is often associated with tendency to misinterpret actions of other people

Question 20

HOSTILE ATTRIBUTION BIAS - basic

Answer 20

assume others are being confrontational when tehyre not

Question 21

HOSTILE ATTRIBUTION BIAS - offenders amy misread non agressive cues such as

Answer 21

being looked at

Question 22

HOSTILE ATTRIBUTION BIAS - offenders misreading non sggressive cues may trigger

Answer 22

disproportionate often violent repsonse

Question 23

outlien study for HOSTILE ATTRIBUTION BIAS -

Answer 23

55 vio O presented w images of emo ambigious facial xprssion

when comp with non aggresive matched control group

vio O sig more likely to percieve images as angry and hostile

Question 24

HOSTILE ATTRIBUTION BIAS - roots of this behaviour may be apparent in

Answer 24

childhood

Question 25

HOSTILE ATTRIBUTION BIAS - roots of behaviiour may be apparent in childhood outline a studgt

Answer 25

kids showed vid of ambiguos provoc - intention nearly clearly hostile/accidental

kids id’d as aggressive and rejected prior to study interpreted situation as more hostile

than those classed non aggressive and accepted

Question 26

MINIMALISATION -

Answer 26

attempt to downplay seriousness of an offence

Question 27

MINIMALISATION - eg.g

Answer 27

burglars describing themselves as ‘supporitng my famo’ as a way of minimising seriousness of their O

Question 28

MINIMALISATION - studies suggest indi who commit sexual offences are ptclry prone to

Answer 28

minimalsiation

Question 29

what is the first level of moral reasoning?

Answer 29

pre-conventional morality

Question 30

what stages are in the first level of moral reasoning?

Answer 30

1 and 2

Question 31

what does the first stage suggest in the levels of moral reasoning?

Answer 31

rule obeyed to avoid punishemnts

Question 32

what does the second stage suggest in the levels of moral reasoning?

Answer 32

rules obeyed for personal gain

Question 33

what is the second level of moral reasoning?

Answer 33

conventional morality

Question 34

hat stages are in the second level of moral reasoning?

Answer 34

3&4

Question 35

what does the third stage suggest in the levels of moral reasoning?

Answer 35

rules are obeyed for approval

Question 36

what does the fourth stage suggest in the levels of moral reasoning?

Answer 36

what does the fourth stage suggest in the levels of moral reasoning?

Question 37

what is the third level of moral reasoning?

Answer 37

post-conventional morality

Question 38

what stages are in the third level of moral reasoning?

Answer 38

stage 5 and 6

Question 39

what does the fifth stage suggest in the levels of moral reasoning?

Answer 39

rules are challenged if they infringe the right on others

Question 40

what does the sixth stage suggest in the levels of moral reasoning?

Answer 40

individuals have a personal set of ethical principles

Question 41

MINIMALISATION - outline study and finding for sexual offences

Answer 41

among 26 incarcerated rapists
54% denied committed an offence at all

40% minimised harm they ha dcaused victim

Question 42

limitation - dont apply to all crimes

KOHLBERG THEORY

Answer 42

Research found that those who committed crimes for financial gains, such as robbery, were more likely to show pre-conventional moral reasoning than those convicted of impulsive crimes such as assault, where reasoning of any kind tended not to be evident

• limitation of explanation as it suggests it is not valid for all types of crime
• instead suggesting this will only explain crime where there is a cognitive element, where the offending is having to draw on their own moral system and not crimes that are committed in the heat of the moment

Question 43

strength kohlberg - research support

Answer 43

one strength is evidence for link between level of moral reasoning and crime

Palmer and Hollin compared moral reasoning in 332 non-offenders and 126 convicted offenders using the Socio Moral Reflection Measure Short Form (SRM-SF) which contains 11 moral dilemma-related questions such as not taking others’ belongings

the offender group showed less mature moral reasoning than the non-offender group

this is consistent with Kohlberg’s position and make it a more reliable source

Question 44

strength - COGNITIVE explanations are Less DETERMINISTIC

Answer 44

AS it involves reasoning/ processing of information before a criminal act is committed.

therefore shows people have a choice in what they do and therfore free will

• this is a strength as it means the criminal is more responsible for their actions and therefore aligns with the current criminals system, where a criminal can be punished for their actions

furthermore the fact that criminals are more responsible for their actions meas they can try and aim to change and improve their cognitive distortions - ask

Question 45

lmitation -Cognitive distortions depend on type of offence

Answer 45

one limitation is the level of cognitive distortions depends on the type of offence

PSYCHOLOGISTS gathered questionnaire responses from sexual offenders

opposite to what the researchers predicted, they found that non-contact sex offenders used more cognitive distortions than contact sex offenders

those who had previous history of offending were also more likely to use distortions as a justification

suggests that distortions aren’t used in the same way by all offenders , ITS ALSO REDUCTIONIST CAUSE DOESNT CONSIDER VARIANCE