Psychological Explanations: Cognitive Flashcards
what is levels of moral reasoning
developed by kholberg. people decisions and judgement of right and wrong whihc can be summarised into a stage
what are cognitive distortions
errors or biases in peoples information processing systems, chaarcterised by faulty thinking
what are the 2 different cognitive distrotions
- hostile attribution bias
- minimilisation
explain hostile attribution bias
where an individual judges an unambiguous situation as violent
explain minimilisation
deny or downplay the seriousness of an offence
what are the different levels of moral reasoning
- preconvential (criminals here)
- conventional
- postconventional
where woukld offenders expectred to be on the levels of moral reasoning
preconventional
* child like reasoning
* less mature
give research to support levels of moral reasoning
palmer and hollin
* offenders show less mature reasoning than non offedners
limitation
evaluate levels of moral reasoning
- P - gender bias
- Eg - gilligan argued kholbergs theory was based onn a male sample
- Ex - this overlooks care based norality which may be more common in females
- L - the theory may not accurately explain female offending behaviour
- H - still offfers to be a useful framework for understanding moral development in many offenders
strength
evaluate levels of moral reasoning
- P - supporting research
- Eg - palmer and hollen found offenders showed less mature reasoning than non offenders
- Ex - it supports kohlbergs theory, suggesting lower levels of reasoning are more common in offenders
- L - supports the idea that lower levels of moral reasonming are linked to criminal behaviour, increasing the validity of the theory
- H - moral reasoning may not cause offending but may brefelect other factors like upbringing
A woman is in court after assaulting another woman outside a nightclub. She says, “She was looking at me funny all night… I had to defend myself,” and later adds, “It’s not like I really hurt her. She’s just being dramatic.”
* What two cognitive distortions is she displaying, and how are they shown?
- Hostile Attribution Bias: She interprets the woman’s neutral stare as a threat, assuming the other person is planning something harmful.
- Minimisation: She downplays the seriousness of her actions by claiming she didn’t really hurt the woman and that her behaviour is being exaggerated.
give research that shows hostile attribution bias as an explanation for offending
schonenberg and justye
* voilent offenders are more likely tom perceice emotionally ambiguous facialm expressions as angry and hostile than a control group
give research that shows minimalisation as an explanation for offending
barbarce
* sexual offenders are prone to minimilisation
* out of 26 rapists, 54% deinied committing an offense
how can hostile attribution bias lead to offending behaviour
- victim blaming
- justifies aggressive actions
why may an offender display minimalisation
to recuce guilt
strength
evualuate the role of cognitive distortions
- P - pratical application
- Eg - CBT can challenge irrational thinking. studies show reduces denial in therapy
- Ex - this can help reduce reoffending rates as the actual cuase is being dealt with
- L - less offenders put into prison, helping congested prisons
- H -
limitation
evaluate the role of cognitive distortions
- P - hostile attributon bias only explains reactive crimes
- Eg - some crimes are pre meditated
- Ex - suggetss it canmt account for all types of oddending
- L - reduces its usefulness in fully understanding criminal behaviour
- H - it may still apply well to violent crime or impulsive crimes
