psychological explanations of offending : cognition theory 2

Question 1

cognitive distortions

Answer 1

errors or biases in the way an individual thinks
which can be used to explain how criminals justify their behaviour

Question 2

hostile attribution bias

Answer 2

misinterpret the actions of others, seeing them as hostile and confrontational when they aren’t
- trigger for possible aggressive behaviour

Question 3

minimalisation

Answer 3

denying or downplaying the seriousness of an offence
- e.g. job rather than robbery
- 40% of sexual offenders minimise the harm committed

Question 4

strength

Answer 4

proven useful in treating criminal behaviour
-CBT = offenders encouraged to confront seriousness of their actions
-Harkins (2010) = overcoming denial is correlated with lower rates of re-offending

Question 5

weakness

Answer 5

explaining cognitive distortions depends on the offence
-non-contact sex offenders (only pictures) used more cognitive distortions than contact

Question 6

weakness

Answer 6

highly reductionist
-only consider cognitive
-doesn’t consider environmental factors such as childhood in criminal behaviour