THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANATION: COGNITIVE EXPLANATIONS Flashcards
Define level of moral reasoning
Moral reasoning refers to the process by which an individual draws upon their own value system to determine whether an action is right or wrong.
Who and how tried to objectify moral reasoning
Kohlberg attempted to objectify this process by identifying different levels of reasoning based on people’s answers to moral dilemmas.
- Define cognitive distortion
Faulty, biased and irrational ways of
thinking that mean we perceive ourselves, other people and the world inaccurately and usually negatively.
Define hostile attribution bias ( C theory)
tendency to judge ambiguous situations, or the actions of others, as aggressive and/or threatening when in reality they may not be
- Define minimisation (C theory)
type of deception that involves downplaying the significance of an event or emotion. A common strategy when dealing with feelings of guilt.
Explain what kolberg suggested (2)
people’s decisions and judgements on issues of right and Wrong can be summarised in a stage theory of moral development
the higher the stage, the more sophisticated the reasoning.
What was kolbergs theory based on (C theory)
based his theory on people’s responses to a
series of moral dilemmas, such as the Heinz dilemma
What do many studies show in moral reasoning
Many studies have suggested that criminals tend to show a lower level of moral reasoning than non-criminals.
What did kohlberg find when using moral dilemma technique on group of youths
found that a group of violent youths were
sianificantly lower in their moral development than non-violent youths - even after controlling for social background
What stage are criminal offenders likely to be classified as in kohlbergs model and why
- Criminal offenders: more likely to be classified at the pre-conventional level
of Kohlberg’s model (stages 1 and 2)- The pre-conventional level is
characterised by a need to avoid punishment and gain rewards, and is associated with less mature, childlike reasoning. Thus, adults and adolescents who reason at this level may commit crime if they can get away with it or gain rewards in form or money, Increased respect, etc.
- The pre-conventional level is
Where do non criminals classify in kohlbergs model
non-criminals: have generally
progressed to the conventional level and beyond.
What was found in a research study supporting kohlbergs theory of criminal in this model (2)
suggest that offenders are often more egocentric (self-centred) and display poorer social perspective-taking skills than non-offender peers (e.g. Chandler).
Individuals who reason at higher levels tend to sympathise more with the rights or others and exhibit more conventional behaviours such as honesty, generosity and non-violence
Explain moral reasoning (3)
- Developmental theories of moral development often state that moral reasoning is a stage process, whereby as someone matures their moral reasoning becomes more sophisticated.
- Piaget adhered to this view and also felt that an individuals moral development was completed by the age of nine or ten. This fits with the (age of criminal responsibility in the UK)
- Kohlberg suggested a stage theory of moral development where some individuals did not progress past certain levels. This thus makes them more likely to commit a crime. He said that there are three levels of moral development and two stages within each one of those
levels
What are the 3 levels of moral reasoning
- Pre conventional moreality (consideration of the self)
- conventional morality ( consideration of society)
- post conventional morality (own mind)
Explain Ashak et als study and what did he find with juvenile offenders (3) (C theory)
- compared the moral reasoning level of juvenile sex and non-sex offenders to see whether there were differences in the maturity of reasoning.
- When asked about their reasoning in contexts similar to their
crimes, both groups had a pre-conventional level of moral reasoning. - showed higher (conventional) levels when it Was a context that was unrelated to their crimes.
2) offenders have a lower level of moral reasoning which is specific to their offending type. - When asked about their reasoning in contexts similar to their
Evaluate Gender bias within moral reasoning + gilligan’s theory (-ve) (2)
theory was also based on data from boys only and is therefore gender biased. (Beta bias + androcentric)
Gilligan: developed a theory that proposed gender differences following her work looking at the moral development of women. She argued that women focus on how an action affects other people and that men consider fairness and justice. (Can be seen as alpha bias) Given the varying rates of crime between men and women it may be that moral development in genders is different Kohlberg does not take this into account.
Explain hostile attribution bias (2) (c theory)
-
Evidence suggests that a propensity for violence is often associated with a tendency to misinterpret the actions of other people ⇒ assume others are being confrontational when they are not. Offenders may misread non-aggressive cues (such as being looked at') and this may trigger a disproportionate, often violent, response.
What did schonenberg et Al find in relation to hostile attribution bias
presented 55 violent offenders with images of emotionally ambiguous facial expressions.
When compared with a non-aggressive matched control group, the violent offenders were significantly more likely to perceive the images as angry and hostile.
Explain minimalisation (2)(what was bandura’s example)
- attempt to deny or downplay the seriousness of an offence
- referred to as the application of a ‘euphemistic label’ for behaviour
- (Bandura 1973). For instance, burglars may describe themselves às “doing a job’ or ‘supporting my family’ as a way of minimising the seriousness
of their offences.
What are two examples of cognitive distortion
- Hostile attribution bias
- minimisation
What type of people are most prone to minimalisation + study by barbaree supporting it
Studies suggest that individuals who commit sexual offences are particularly prone to minimalisation.
Barbaree: found among 26 incarcerated rapists, 54% denied they had committed an offence at all and a further 40% minimised the harm they had caused to the victim.
What did hutchinson et Al find with hostile attribution bias in relation to domestic abuse
They showed men vignettes of
difficult marital situations and asked them to rate the woman’s behaviour in
each case.
Men who had been violent towards their wives were more likely to think that the woman was being negative towards the husband and that her intentions were hostile. This seems to demonstrate a cognitive style that might underpin their violent and aggressive acts.
Evaluate application of research of cognitive distortion (+ve) (2)
proven beneficial in the treatment of criminal behaviour. The dominant approach in the rehabilitation of sex offenders is cognitive behavior therapy which
encourages offenders to ‘face up’ to what they have done and establish a less distorted view of their actions.
Studies suggest that reduced incidence of denial and minimalisation in therapy is highly correlated with a reduced risk of reoffending (as "acceptance' of one's crimes is thought to be an important aspect of rehabilitation) and this is a key feature of anger management
Evaluate individual differences in moral reasoning(3) (-ve)
- level of moral reasoning may depend on the type of offence.
- Found that individuals who committed crimes for financial gain, such as robbery, were more likely to show pre conventional moral reasoning than those convicted of impulsive crimes such as assault where reasoning of any kind tended not to be associated with crimes in which ‘offenders believe They have a good chance of evading punishment
- Langdon et al have suggested that intelligence be a better predictor of criminality than moral reasoning
