PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS: COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS AO1 & AO3

Question 1

Cognitive Distortions

Answer 1

• Cognitive distortions are errors and biases in a person’s information processing system.
• This often leads to faulty thinking known as hostile attribution bias and minimisation.

Question 2

Hostile attribution bias

Answer 2

• has its roots in childhood, and is the tendency to misinterpret the actions of other people as being confrontational when they are not
• (For example, it can trigger violent responses).

Question 3

Minimalisation

Answer 3

• Minimisation refers to n denying or downplaying the seriousness of an offence to minimise the harm caused, therefore causing crime/reoffending.
• For example, Barbaree found amongst 26 convicted rapists, 54% denied they had committed an offence at all and 40% minimised the harm that they had caused the victim

Question 4

One strength of cognitive explanations (CE) is that there are real life applications.

Answer 4

• For example, understanding the nature of cognitive distortions has proven beneficial in the treatment of criminal behaviours, For example, CBT encourages sex offenders to face up to what they have done.
• This means we are able to provide therapy and make offenders realise the severity of their actions- preventing cognitive distortions.
• This is an advantage as it helps rehabilitate and prevent recidivism. Furthermore, understanding hostile attribution bias means we can introduce anger management courses- further reducing recidivism

Question 5

One limitation of CE is that it lacks explanatory power.

Answer 5

• For example, cognitive explanations are useful when predicting reoffending but they do not give us much insight into why the crime was committed in the first place.
• This means we are unable to explain how someone develops hostile attribution bias or why someone minimises their behaviour- although it’s useful for treatments we cannot prevent the person committing crime in the first place.
• Therefore the explanation is limited.

Question 6

Biological explanations are more appropriate.

Answer 6

• For example, genetic explanations suggest that criminals have genes which predispose to criminal behaviour- MAOA/CDH13.
• Whereas, cognitive explanations suggest that it’s errors in processing information.
• This means we are able to pinpoint a specific reason for criminals, allowing us to predict, prevent and treat such behaviours before they can commit crimes unlike cognitive explanations.
• This is a disadvantage as the biological approach is more explanatory and less descriptive.
• However, cognitive explanations are a more holistic explanation, and biological explanations have limited treatments- does not allow us to get help and so hands itself to eugenic policies.
• Cognitive explanations allow people to change the way they think, but we can’t change our biology.