Psychology and Crime

Question 1

Mental Health Continuum

Answer 1

severity of illness can change over time, pass through various stages of mental illness. not one state of illness all the time. every individual has diff degree of severity

Question 2

Ashley Smith Case

Answer 2

• pre-teen sent to youth detention centre
• minor deviance, appeared in court 14 times. found no evidence of mental illness
• then diagnosed with ADHD, narcissistic personality traits.
• sentenced to 4 years, went thru many provinces + transfers.
• she choked herself to death in her cell, while being monitored

Question 3

prevalence of mental health in canada

• have disorder
• know someone with disorder

Answer 3

• 20% have
• 80% know someone with a disorder
• 50% of ppl experience mental disorder by 40 yoa, 65-70% experience by 90 yoa.

Question 4

world wide prevalence of mental health

Answer 4

450 million affected

- 1/3 of all disabilities

Question 5

Old view of crime + mental illness

Answer 5

crime was a symptom of mental illness

Question 6

prevalence of mental disorder in correctional facilities

Answer 6

• greater than general population.
• most inmates have substantial mental health needs
• many have co-occurring disorders; subs abuse is a huge one - v hazardous
• deinstitutionalization movement may be related
• mental disorder may be lower in prisons than in jails

Question 7

studies on inmates + mental illness

Answer 7

bc: 30% of inmates with mental illness, 12% with psychotic disorder

other:
40% of incoming males had symptoms of mental illness - double since 1990.
- under-reported bc stigma
- inmates face victimization bc of it

Question 8

mental health care system + criminal justice system - relationship

Answer 8

hydraulic. as one increases, the other decreases

Question 9

mentally disordered inmates are more likely to? (4)

Answer 9

1. be disruptive
2. commit suicide or self harm
3. be victimized
4. be institutionally maladjusted

Question 10

mental disorder + CJS

• police contact
• predictor of violence?
• combatting mental disorder + criminality?

Answer 10

• 40% of police contact with individuals with mental health issues was for non-criminal behaviour
• NOT a good predictor of violence, good predictor of violent victimization
• combat mental disorder is similar to desist from criminality (housing, employment, social support)

Question 11

Vincent Li

Answer 11

Greyhound bus beheading
- NCRMD
– onus to prove on accused. risky because agreeing to guilt.
- only 9% of the 1% of NCRMD were violent
-

Question 12

recidivism of NCRMD

Answer 12

17% of recidivism for ncrmd after 3 years of release. recidivism of violent crime ~0.
- 35% recidivism rate in general population.

Question 13

what is the deinstitutionalization movement?

Answer 13

closing of mental institutions to treat in community.
pushed for treatment within communities rather than institutions
- no community services were increased = few options to deal with mentally ill, so they go to jail/prison
- mentally ill more likely to be arrested than non-mentally ill, NOT for more serious crime tho.

Question 14

best approach for mentally ill

Answer 14

medication + support

• need community care.
• many have fallen through the cracks

Question 15

nimby:

Answer 15

not in my backyard.

• place services in disadvantaged because don’t want nearby.
• greater political strength, money + unity to keep services out of richer neighbourhoods.

Question 16

psychological vs sociological theories of crime

Answer 16

socio: explain society, large group. miss individualistic perspectivve
psych: explains individual behaviour but not social interactions.

complement

Question 17

psych focus of criminality?

Answer 17

personality or learning that affect behaviour

Question 18

2 assumptions that most psych theories have?

Answer 18

1. assumption of offender deficit

2. assumption of discriminating traits

Question 19

effective deinstitutionalization needs 4 things?

Answer 19

1. supportive family network
2. an accepting community
3. adequate community resources
4. a place to live

Question 20

when effective deinstitutionalization is inefficient can lead to? (2)

Answer 20

1. homelessness: 25-50% of homeless have mental disorders

2. criminality: 700 mental health beds in cjs + 1500 who require care

Question 21

Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality (3)

Answer 21

id: biological drives. act on pleasure principle.
ego: direct impulse of id; reality tester. act on reality principle.
superego: conscience; moral compass, values

Question 22

psychoanalytic theory and crime

Answer 22

crime results when ego + superego are unable to control the id.

• caused by failure to pass thru early stages of development
• superego is inadequately developed/deficient = antisocial behaviour

Question 23

theories of moral development

Answer 23

Piaget

• criminal behavior understood by focusing on how we develop a sense of morality + responsibility
• learned in stages, parallels cognitive abilities

Question 24

3 stages of kohlberg’s theory of moral development

Answer 24

1. preconventional: egocentric
2. conventional: social expectations (adult/teen years)
3. Postconventional: universality - hard to attain; what’s best for all, not just me.

Question 25

according to kohlberg's theory of moral development at what stage does crime occur?

Answer 25

stuck at egocentric, preconventional level. | - stuck thinking about one's own desires.

Question 26

social learning theory: central concept?

Answer 26

based on cognitive functioning and learning through modelling. - look at how enviro influences; learn from others' mistakes.

Question 27

what is cognitive functioning?

Answer 27

the ability to think + make choices

Question 28

what is modelling?

Answer 28

vicarious learning by watching others

Question 29

according to Bandura, aggression is learned from 3 sources

Answer 29

1. family 2. subcultural influences * most influential* 3. symbolic modelling

Question 30

what is the Bobo doll study?

Answer 30

observing aggressive behaviour influences children to act aggressively, even in novel ways.

Question 31

Operant Conditioning Theory

Answer 31

B.F. Skinner - rewards + punishments increase the probability of a given response. reward: reinforce; punishment:weaken

Question 32

Eysenck's Personality Theory

Answer 32

how personality characteristics are related to criminal behaviour

Question 33

3 dimensions of personality: re: Eysenck's personality theory

Answer 33

extraversion(introversion) neuroticism (stability) psychoticism

Question 34

re: Eysenck's personality theory, what type of person is more likely to be delinquent/criminal?

Answer 34

extraverted, neurotic, psychotic. | - lack empathy, aggressive.

Question 35

delinquents/criminals + conditioned response?

Answer 35

DO NOT develop conditioned response to punishment

Question 36

two major omissions in assumptions of psych theories?

Answer 36

1. little emphasis on strengths of offenders. | 2. ignore importance of situational and environmental factors for individual behaviour

Question 37

criticism of classification of criminals vs non-criminals

Answer 37

criminal behaviour is pervasive, therefore unreliable to classify.

Question 38

motivation to commit delinquent acts?

Answer 38

desire for material goods or need for excitement.

Question 39

community psychology

Answer 39

perspective that analyzes social problems, including crime, as largely a product of organizational and institutional characteristics of society. - closely related to sociology

Question 40

four levels of analysis

Answer 40

1. individual level (deficit) 2. small-group level (problem in group fxn) 3. organizational level (not accomplished what it's designed to) 4. institutional/ community level (social problems created by institutions rather than by persons, groups, organizations)

Question 41

5 extra interpretations of criminal behaviour that can be derived from psychoanalytic theory

Answer 41

1. form of neurosis 2. sufffers from need for punishment in order to alleviate guilt feelings + anxiety from unconscious 3. means of obtaining substitude gratification of needs + desires not met inside the family 4. due to traumatic events whose memory has been repressed 5. expression of displaced hostility.

Question 42

criticism of Kohlberg's theory of moral devleopment

Answer 42

in favour of males - females: care-oriented; males:justice-oriented ~ postconventional level. not as many women get there. "goodness of women" as deemed by society = decifient in moral development

Question 43

evaluation of moral development + criminality

Answer 43

moral reasoning does play a role. more research needs to be done but, we know situation + other factors are v important too

Question 44

evaluation of Eysenck's personality theory + criminality

Answer 44

criminals =/= high extravert, neuroticism. but criminals tend to be score high on psychoticism. - circular reasoning

Question 45

two forms of deterrence

Answer 45

direct ( discourage current transgressor) | vicarious ( general deterrent to others)

Question 46

three major sources of deterrence against criminal activity

Answer 46

``` legal sanction (legal consequences) social sanctions (negative social consequences that criminal stigmatization can have) self-sanctions ( self-imposed moral standards) ```

Question 47

what is a group home?

Answer 47

reinforcing environment designed to change existing behavioural interactions in the direction of functional and pro-social skills. - emphasis on learning social and family life skills. - token economy: rewards + punishments for behaviour

Question 48

what is antisocial personality disorder

Answer 48

pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood.

Question 49

theory about antisocial personality disorder

Answer 49

do not learn from negative experiences because do not get anxious from circumstances that should elicit anxiety.

Question 50

what is schizophrenia?

Answer 50

treatable brain disorder than can affect a person's perception, behaviour, thought patterns, and ability to manage emotions.

Question 51

impact if schizophrenia is untreated?

Answer 51

self-care, family + social relationships, education, employment + housing.

Question 52

symptoms of schizophrenia

Answer 52

negative/passive = something taken away, lack of motivation, emotional withdrawal, apathy etc. positive/active = something added. hallucinations, delusions, excitability

Question 53

treatment of schizophrenia

Answer 53

drug treatment, medial attention.

Question 54

what is psychosis

Answer 54

loss of contact with external reality.

Question 55

onset of schizophrenia

Answer 55

late teen/early 20's. - sometimes early adolescence - unknown cause, may have to do with marijuana, family history.

Question 56

misconceptions/myths re: schizophrenia

Answer 56

not multiple personality not violent -- huge stigma against -- meds may take time to get right; lots of side effects

Question 57

what is anosognosia?

Answer 57

self-awareness deficit. lack of insight

Question 58

what is schizo-affective disorder?

Answer 58

schizophrenia with major mood disorder ( depression or bipolar)

Question 59

how to interact with someone with psychosis

Answer 59

- decrease distraction - one person speaks at a time - talk slow, simple + repeat exactly - dont: argue with experience, challenge, raise voice.

Question 60

recovery of schizophrenia/psychosis

Answer 60

- medication - therapy: CBT - support + educational programs - love, friendship + acceptance

Question 61

conclusions from existing brain imaging research on psychopathy

Answer 61

- little done bc think its complex - basic research required - questions about specific brain impairments + far from being answered. - not all psychopaths are violent or impulsive tho.

Question 62

anatomical impairments re: psychopathy

Answer 62

1. PFC (low arousal, fearless, impulsive, disinhibited) 2. hippocampus (dysregulation in affect + fear) 3. amygdala (reduction in individual's responsiveness to sadness + fear of potential victims)

Question 63

self-reported psychopathy study

Answer 63

demographic: mostly college educated, 2/3 had one arrest, conviction was low altho charges were felonies. - highly extraverted + neurotic (consistent with Eysenck) - MMPI: matched psychopathy + manic profiles. - must avoid using incarcerated population for psychopathy/antisocial studies bc there can be success stories.

Question 64

psychopaths in the work place | - should be obvious that they're psychopaths = dont hire, but that's not the case. why? (4)

Answer 64

1. psychopaths = social manipulators. 2. traits may appear as leadership + management 3. corporations hire those who "stir things up" + create quick change. 4. decreased constraints + accountability in fast-paced business = inviting to psychopaths

Question 65

psychopathy + criminality

Answer 65

psychopathy identifies those who committed past offences + predicts future criminality.

Question 66

treatment for psychopathy

Answer 66

no effective treatments exist | -

Question 67

recidivism of mentally-ill offenders?

Answer 67

lower than other offenders. - antisocial personality disorder is most likely to reoffend out of the mental disorders - previous custody may predict violent recidivism.