psychological explanations of offending : cognition theory 1

Question 1

kohlberg

Answer 1

-individuals have different levels of moral reasoning

Question 2

basic level of moral reasoning

Answer 2

rules are obeyed as they involve punishment if broken

Question 3

sophisticated level of moral reasoning

Answer 3

considerations of factors such as human rights as they hold a personal set of ethical principles

Question 4

offenders moral reasoning

Answer 4

-lower level of moral reasoning
-1973 study were violent youths were found to have lower moral development than controls

Question 5

pre-conventional level

Answer 5

stage 1 - acting to avoid punishment
stage 2 - acting to further one’s own self-interest
-childlike and egocentric

Question 6

conventional level

Answer 6

stage 3 - meeting the expectations of others
stage 4 - upholding laws to meet societal expectations

Question 7

post-conventional level

Answer 7

stage 5 - personal values used to achieve social consciousness
stage 6 - self-selection of universal moral principles

Question 8

strength

Answer 8

palmer and hollin (1998)
-convicted offenders showed less mature moral reasoning than controls
-consistent with kolhbergs suggestion that lower levels of moral reasoning is a factor in criminal behaviour

Question 9

weakness

Answer 9

explaining offending through moral reasoning depends on the offence
-pre-conventional = robbery (think they can get way with it)

Question 10

weakness

Answer 10

langdon (2010)
- intelligence may be a better predictor
- people with low intelligence and low moral reasoning are less likely to commit crime