UNIT #11 & 15: Psychopaths & Homicidal Offenders Flashcards

Question

Reactive (affective) aggression

Answer 1

Aggression that is impulsive, unplanned, immediate, driven by negative emotions, and occurring in response to some perceived provocation

Answer 2

The killing of a minimum of 3 people over time. The time interval between the murders varies and has been called a cooling off period. Subsequent murders occur at different times, have no apparent connection to the initial murder, and are usually committed in different locations.

Answer 3

A murderer who is motivated by the excitement associated with the act of killing

Answer 4

Kills in response to voices or visions telling him to kill

Answer 5

(1) Related but distinct: (2) Although psychopathy and APD share some features, APD places more emphasis on antisocial behaviours than does the PCL-R. (3) Nearly all psychopathic offenders meet the diagnostic criteria for APD, but most offenders diagnosed with APD are not psychopaths (4) APD symptoms are most strongly related to the behavioural feature of psychopathy and not to the interpersonal or affective features (5) Antisocial personality disorder: A personality disorder characterized by a history of behaviour in which the rights of others are violated. (6) Reckless disregard for safety of self or others ■Consistent irresponsibility ■Lack of remorse (7) Irritability or aggressiveness (8) Impulsivity or failure to plan ahead (9) Deceitfulness (10) Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors.

Answer 6

(1) One study found that when nonpsychopaths commit violence, they are likely to target people they know and their violent behaviour is likely to occur in the context of strong emotional arousal (2) psychopaths are more likely to target strangers and be motivated by revenge or material gain. (3) Characteristics that ordinarily help to inhibit aggression and violence, such as empathy, close emotional bonds, and internal inhibitions, are lacking or relatively ineffective in psychopaths. (4) Compared to nonpsychopathic offenders, they start their criminal career at a younger age and persist longer, engage in more violent offences, commit a greater variety of violent offences, engage in more violence within institutions. (5) researchers concluded that psychopaths engage in “cold-blooded” homicides muchmore often than nonpsychopaths. (6) more likely to be violent after release: (7) Psychopathic violence is more likely to be predatory in nature, motivated by readily identifiable goals, and carried out in a callous, calculated manner without the emotional context that usually characterizes the violence of other offenders. (8) Several studies have found that offenders who engage in instrumental violence (premeditated violence to obtain some goal) score significantly higher on measures of psychopathy than do offenders engaging in reactive violence (impulsive, unplanned violence that occurs in response to provocation.

Answer 7

(1) Unlike most other offenders, they suffer little personal distress, see little wrong with their attitudes and behavior, and seek treatment only when it is in their best interests to do so (such as when seeking probation or parole). (2) Treatment was associated with a reduction in violent recidivism among nonpsychopaths but an increase in violent recidivism among psychopaths. (3) Although psychopaths may be challenging to treat, there is evidence that, especially in youth, they are amenable to treatment. (4) These researchers found that although psychopathic sex offenders who dropped out of treatment were more likely to violently reoffend, those psychopathic sex offenders who stayed in treatment showed positive treatment gains and were less likely to violently reoffend.

Answer 8

(1) results indicated that there was a moderate degree of stability in psychopathic traits from age 13 to age 24. (2) assumption is that psychopathy does not suddenly appear in adulthood but instead gradually develops from various environmental and biological antecedents (3) measures have been developed to identify psychopathic traits early in development. (4) Two assessment instruments have been adapted from the PCL-R: one for use with children and the other for adolescents. 1. Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version: Scale designed to measure psychopathic traits in adolescents 2. Antisocial process screening device. - child is assigned a rating on various questions by parents or teachers - designed for assessing the precursors of psychopathic traits in children (5) boys who score high on the callous/unemotional dimension of the APSD have more police contacts, have more conduct problems, and are more likely to have a parent with APD than are children who score low on this dimension. - youth with psychopathic traits may be more responsive to interventions. (6) Research using the PCL:YV has found that adolescents with many psychopathic traits become involved in criminal behaviours at an earlier age, engage in more violence in institutions and in the community, and are at a higher risk of reoffending once released as compared with other adolescents.

Answer 9

(1) Two of the most prominent theories of psychopathy place emphasis on either cognitive or affective processes (2) Response Modulation Deficit Theory: - Used to explain why psychopaths fail to learn to avoid punishment - Suggests that psychopaths fail to use contextual cues that are peripheral to a dominant response set to modulate their behaviour - If psychopaths are engaging in specific rewarded behavior, they will not pay attention to other information that might inhibit their behaviour (3) Other theory proposes that psychopaths have a deficit in the experience of certain critical emotions that guide prosocial behaviour and inhibit deviance (4) Hervey Cleckley (1976) Theorized Psychopaths have a deep-rooted emotional deficit that involves the disconnection between cognitive-linguistic processing and emotional experience (5) Amygdala dysfunction Theory: - Amygdala Is part of the limbic center, which regulates the expression of emotion and emotional memory - Linked to many other brain regions responsible for memory, control of the autonomic nervous system, aggression, decision-making, approach and avoidance behavior, and defence reactions - Other researchers have proposed that other Brain areas are implicated and suggested a Paralimbic model to explain emotional deficits seen in psychopaths - Recently researchers argued that the emotional deficits Seen in psychopaths can be explained by an attention deficit and are not due to amygdala-Mediated deficit

Answer 10

(1) Nature versus nurture: - Focusses on the relative importance of a person’s innate characteristics (nature) as compared with his personal experiences (nurture) - Growing evidence suggests a strong genetic contribution to psychopathy (2) Family: - Experiments assessing Callous/unemotional traits in Youths or psychopathy in adults and asking them about their child experiences Have found that psychopathic individuals report lower levels of parental care (For example, warmth, attachment) - Measuring family background variables between ages 8 and 10, the best predictors Of adult psychopathy were having a criminal father and mother, being a son whose father was uninvolved with him, having little family income, coming from a disrupted family, and experiencing physical neglect

Answer 11

(1) Kingsbury, Lambert, and Hendrickse (1997) proposed a bimodal classification scheme for the study of homicide in humans, in which homicides are classified as reactive (affective) aggression or instrumental (predatory) aggression. (2) Reactive homicide occurs more often among relatives, and instrumental homicide among strangers (3) Eighty percent were classified as reactive, and 20% as instrumental. In this study, the victim-offender relationship was divided into three categories: strangers, acquaintances, and family members/intimates. (4) Most of the homicides involved acquaintances (55%), with most of these being classified as reactive (80%). Family members and intimate partners accounted for 28% of the cases, with nearly all these homicides being classified as reactive (93%). Finally, in 17% of the cases, the victim was a stranger, with 52% being classified as reactive.

Answer 12

Aggression that is impulsive, unplanned, immediate, driven by negative emotions, and occurring in response to some perceived provocation

Answer 13

(1) homicide is actually a relatively rare offence in Canada, representing less than 1% of all crimes. (2) Canada’s homicide rate peaked in the 1970s and gradually declined from 1975 to 2003, when it reached a 30-year low. (3) The homicide rate increased in 2004 and 2005 to reach its highest point in nearly a decade, but then stabilized for a number of years before a significant increase was again seen in 2010 and 2011. (4) Canada experienced a steady rise in gang-related homicides from the early 1990s to 2008, before declining in 2009 and 2010 and levelling off very recently. (5) Ninety-five gang-related homicides were reported in both 2010 and 2011. (6) Most gang-related homicides occur in the western regions of Canada, including Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. (7) homicides are more likely to occur in western provinces than in eastern provinces. In 2011, Manitoba reported the highest homicide rate out of any province (8) the territories report much higher homicide rates than any province, with Nunavut reporting the highest homicide rate in Canada. (9) In 2011, we saw the lowest rate of firearms- related homicides in almost 50 years. (10) In 2011, a knife or other cutting instrument was the weapon of choice. (11) Cutting instruments were used in 35% of 2011 homicides, compared to 27% of homicides involving guns.

Answer 14

Three types of mental illness have been identified during the postpartum period: 1. Postpartum depression 2. Postpartum Blues 3. Postpartum psychosis

Answer 15

(1) experienced by 7% to 19% of women) occurs within the first few weeks or months after birth and usually lasts for several months (2) include depressed mood, loss of appetite, concentration and sleep problems, and suicidal thoughts.

Answer 16

(1) most common type of mental illness that can occur in the postpartum period (2) experienced by up to 85% of women), which includes crying, irritability, and anxiety, beginning within a few days of childbirth and lasting from a few hours to days but rarely continuing past day 12

Answer 17

(1) most severe and rare type of mental illness that has been associated with childbirth . (2) usually involves delusions, hallucinations, and suicidal or homicidal thoughts within the first three months after childbirth. (3) received a lot of attention (from both researchers and the media) because of its potential role in maternal infanticides. (4) afflicts about 1 in 1000 mothers within six months of birth (5) Symptoms include hearing voices, seeing things, and feeling an irrational guilt that they have somehow done something wrong. (6) Without treatment, women may try to harm themselves or their infants.

Answer 18

(1) The killing of children by their biological parents or stepparents; includes neonaticide (killing a baby within 24 hours of birth) and infanticide (killing a baby within the first year of life). (2) Generally uncommon (3) majority of these family-related homicides were committed by a parent, with the mother or father being responsible for about 84% of all homicides against children or youth under the age of 18 (4) Compared to older children and youths, infants are at higher risk of being murdered by their parents. In fact, parents were responsible for 98% of deaths in all infant homicides committed in Canada between the years of 2000 and 2009.

Answer 19

(1) Battered mothers (2) Mental illness (3) Neonaticides

Answer 20

(1) Battering mothers have killed their children impulsively in response to the behaviour of the child. These mothers have the highest rates of social and family stress, including marital stress and financial problems.

Answer 21

group with mental disorders tends to be older and married. They are likely to have killed older children, to have multiple victims, and to be diagnosed with a psychosis or depression. They are also the group that is most likely to attempt suicide after the murder.

Answer 22

those who kill their children within 24 hours of birth, are typically young, unmarried women with no prior history of mental illness, who are not suicidal, and who have concealed their pregnancies, fearing rejection or disapproval from their families.

Answer 23

(1) Crawford and Gartner (1992) found that the most common motive for uxoricide (in 43% of cases they examined) was the perpetrators’ anger over either estrangement from their partners or sexual jealousy about perceived infidelity (2) found that the two primary motivations underlying intimate-partner homicides that were committed between 2000 and 2010 in Canada were escalations of arguments/quarrels and jealousy. (3) comparing police records from Canada, Australia, and the United States, Wilson and Daly (1993) found that recent or imminent departure by the eventual victim was associated with a husband killing his wife. (4) the following factors increased the risk for homicide: the offender having access to a gun, previous threats having been made with a weapon, estrangement, and the victim having left for another partner.

Answer 24

(1)almost always committed by a man. The homicide is often accompanied by a history of spousal and child abuse prior to the offence. (2) hostile accusatory killer (3) despondent non-hostile killer

Answer 25

(1) expresses hostility toward his wife, often related to alleged infidelities or her intentions to terminate the relationship. (2) A past history of violent acts is common for this type of killer.

Answer 26

(1) is depressed and worried about an impending disaster for himself or his family. (2) kills his family and then commits suicide. (3) Past acts of violence toward children and spouse are not characteristic of this type of killer

Answer 27

(1) when youth commit homicides, they often have at least one accomplice (2) youth who kill are often acquainted with their victims, either intimately (e.g., the victims are their parents) or as criminal associates. (3) Youth charged with parricide (killing parents) were more likely to have been physically abused, to have witnessed spousal abuse, and to report amnesia for the murders, compared with the other youth who committed murder. (4) Abused youth were younger, more often Caucasian, and more likely to have attempted suicide prior to the homicide than nonabused youth.

Answer 28

(1) crime: (youth who killed during the commission of another crime, such as robbery or sexual assault). (2) conflict: (youth who were engaged in an argument or conflict with the victim when the killing occurred) (3) psychotic (youth who had symptoms of severe mental illness at the time of the murder).

Answer 29

(1) classification systems have been developed to classify serial murderers. (2) Holmes and Holmes proposed another typology. They used 110 case files of serial murderers to develop a classification system based on victim characteristics and on the method and location of the murder. (3) 1. Visionary 2. mission-oriented 3. Hedonistic 4. Power/control

Answer 30

kills in response to voices or visions telling him or her to kill. This type of serial murderer would most likely be diagnosed as delusional or psychotic

Answer 31

believes there is a group of undesirable people who | should be eliminated, such as homeless people, sex-trade workers, or a specific minority group

Answer 32

(1) motivated by self-gratification (2) divided into three subtypes based on the motivation for killing: 1. Lust: is motivated by sexual gratification and becomes stimulated and excited by the process of killing. 2. Thrill: derives excitement from seeing his or her victims experience terror or pain. 3. Comfort: The comfort serial murderer is motivated by material or financial gain

Answer 33

is not motivated by sexual gratification but by wanting to have absolute dominance over the victim

Answer 34

(1) often depressed, angry, frustrated individuals who believe they have not succeeded in life (2) often described as socially isolated and lacking in interpersonal skills (3) triggered by what they perceive as a serious loss or a social injustice (4) offenders select targets who represent whom they hate or blame for their problems (5) often feel rejected by others and come to regard homicide as a justified act of revenge

Answer 35

(1) relate to the number of victims killed (2) whether a “cooling-off” period is present between the crime events (3) number of events during which the killings took place (4) number of locations involved in the crime series

Answer 36

(1) Spree murderers (2) Serial Killer (3) Mass murderers

Answer 37

the offender must usually have killed two or more victims in on continuous “event” at two or more locations, with no cooling-off period between the murders.

Answer 38

(1) Most are male: review of 399 serial murderers in the United States between 1825 and 1995, Hickey (2006) reported that 83% were male and 17% were female (2) operate on their own (3) Most serial murderers in the United States are Caucasian: In a review, reported that 73% of serial murderers were Caucasian and 22% African-American. (4) Victims of serial murderers are usually young females who are not related to the murderer

Answer 39

(1) Internalizing factors | (2) Externalizing factors

Answer 40

(1) Behavioural difficulties such as delinquency, fighting, bullying, lying, and destructive behaviour (2) Considered more difficult to treat and more likely to have long-term persistence (3) Known to be quite stable, though symptoms often peak and teenage years and decrease in the late 20s (4) Males are more likely to have than females, with a ratio of about 10 to 1

Answer 41

(1) Emotional difficulties such as anxiety, depression, and obsessions

Answer 42

(1) Total # of Crimes committed Has been decreasing for past Few years (2) Pattern can also Be seen for violent Offences (3) Probation most common sentence provided to youth in youth court in 2010/2011 (4) Over 50% of youth found guilty in court were given probation, either as a stand-alone sentence or in combination with another sentence (5) Proportion of guilty youth court cases being sentenced to Custody fell from 29% in 2000/2001 to 16% in 2010/2011 (6) Use of deferred custody and supervision orders has increased slightly since being introduced into 2003

Answer 43

(1) Conduct disorder (2) ADHD: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (3) ODD: Oppositional defiant disorder

Answer 44

(1) A disorder characterized by persistent pattern of behaviour in which a youth violates the rights of others or age-appropriate societal norms or rules (2) Approximately 50% of children meeting criteria go on to receive diagnoses of antisocial personality disorder in adulthood

Answer 45

(1) Disorder in youth characterized by persistent pattern of inattention and hyperactivity or impulsivity (2) When making diagnosis it is important to consider age of a child (3) In young children, many of the symptoms are part of normal development and behaviour and may not lead to criminal activity later on (4) Maybe some hyper active-impulsive or inattentive symptoms before age 7 that cause impairment

Answer 46

(1) A disorder in youth characterized by persistent pattern of negativistic,hostile and defiant behaviours (2) Pattern of angry/irritable mood, argumentative/defiant behavior, or vindictiveness lasting at least six months as evidenced by at least four symptoms from any of the list of categories, and exhibited during interaction with at least one individual who is not a sibling

Answer 47

(1) Less serious and less violent offences should be kept out of the formal court process (2) The number of extrajudicial measures is increased (3) There is a greater focus on prevention and re-integration into the community (4) Transfers to adult court are removed; instead, youth court judges can impose adult sentences (5) The interests and needs of victims are recognized

Answer 48

(1) Youth offenders may be categorized as those who started with social transgressions and behavioural problems in very early childhood or those whose problem behaviours emerged in the teen years (2) Age of onset is a critical factor in the trajectory to adult offending (3) Adolescent onset (4) Childhood onset

Answer 49

(1) Number of researchers have found that early onset of antisocial behaviour is related to more serious and persistent antisocial behaviour later in life (2) May have a number of other difficulties,such as AD/HD, learning disabilities,and academic difficulties (3) Less frequent occurrence than adolescent onset (3 - 5 % of the general population)

Answer 50

(1) Occurs in about 70% of the general population (2) More common to desist their antisocial behaviour in their early adult childhood than for those with a childhood onset (3) Some continue to engage in antisocial acts in adulthood

Answer 51

(1) Social Theories (2) Biological Theories (3) Cognitive Theories

Answer 52

(1) Children learn their behaviour from observing others (2) As children are developing, numerous models are available to imitate, including parents, siblings, peers, and media figures (3) In this pattern of intergenerational aggression, one aggressive generation produces the next aggressive generation (4) More likely to imitate behaviour that receives positive reinforcement than behaviour that receives negative reinforcement or punishment (5) Watching extremely violent television and movies in which actors are rewarded for their aggression also increases children’s likelihood of acting aggressively

Answer 53

(1) Relationship between frontal lobe functioning and anti-social behaviour have been examined (2) Frontal lobe responsible for planning and inhibiting of behaviour (3) Conduct-disordered youth have less frontal lobe inhibition of behaviour (4) Likelihood these youth will act impulsively is increased making it more likely they will make poor behavioural choices (5) physiologically, conduct-disordered youth have been found to have slower heart rates Than youth who do not engage an antisocial behavior (6) Genetic studies found relation between paternal antisocial behaviour and child offspring antisocial behaviour (7) Children who have an antisocial biological father more likely to engage in antisocial behaviour

Answer 54

(1) Model Of conduct-disordered behaviour that focusses on the thought processes that occur in social interactions (2) Thought processes start when individuals pay attention to and interpret social and emotional cues in their environment (3) Model considers alternative responses to the cues (4) A response is chosen and performed (5) Conduct-disordered youth demonstrate cognitive deficits and distortions (6) Attend to fewer cues and misattribute hostile intent to ambiguous situations (7) Demonstrate limited problem-solving skills, producing few solutions to problems, and solutions are usually aggressive in nature (8) Cognitive deficits are likely to be present in early childhood and may contribute to child-onset conduct disorder

Answer 55

(1) Reactive aggression | (2) Proactive aggression

Answer 56

(1) Aggression Directed at achieving a goal or receiving positive reinforcers (2) Likely to have deficiencies in generating Alternative responses and often choose an aggressive response

Answer 57

(1) Emotionally aggressive response to a perceived threat or frustration (2) Youth are likely to demonstrate deficiencies early in the cognitive process, such as focussing on only a few social cues and misattributing hostile intent to ambiguous situations

Answer 58

(1) It is not just one risk factor but rather multiple risk factors that can lead to negative child outcomes (2) Familial risk factors - Child Abuse - Neglectful Parents - Parenting style - Low socioeconomic status (3) Social and school risk factors (4) Individual risk factors

Answer 59

(1) Child abuse: Boys, in particular, may respond to abuse by acting aggressively and later engaging In spousal abuse - Physical abuse experience during adolescence increases risk for developing lifetime mental health difficulties and behavioural problems (2) Children who do not attach securely to their parents (3) Parent who drink heavily are less likely to respond appropriately to the children’s behaviour (4) Parenting style: Inconsistent and overly strict parents who apply harsh discipline pose a risk to the child - Not properly supervising the child present a risk factor to the child for later behavioural problems (4) Low socioeconomic status: - large family size - Parental mental health problems

Answer 60

(1) Having trouble reading and having a lower intelligence risk factors for antisocial behaviour (2) School environment provides an opportunity for peer influences on behaviour (3) Young children who play with aggressive peers at an early age are at risk for externalizing behaviour (4) Social disapproval and being rejected are likely to occur with aggressive children and adolescents

Answer 61

(1) Parents own history of ADP/HD or behavioural difficulties are known risk factors for their offspring, especially for sons. (2) Risk factors for violence at age 14 increased by: - Diagnosis of ADD/HD - Lack of engagement in school - Low grades - Peer delinquency (3) Child’s temperament: For example, Children who are difficult to Soothe or you have a negative disposition can be at risk for later behavioural difficulties (4) Impulsive children at risk for behavioural problems (5) A pregnant woman’s use of drugs and alcohol can place the fetus at risk for later behavioural problems (6) Diet and exposure to high levels of lead are risk factors for externalizing disorders

Answer 62

(1) number of areas in which protectiveness can be present: genetic variables, personality dispositions, supportive family environments, and community supports. - protective factors help to improve or sustain some part of an individual’s life (2) Resilient (3) Individual Protective Factors (4) Familial Protective Factors (5) Social/External Protective Factors

Answer 63

(1) child who has multiple risk factors but who can overcome them and prevail (2) ability to overcome stress and adversity.

Answer 64

(1) known as resilient temperaments, include exceptional social skills, child competencies, confident perceptions, values, attitudes, and beliefs within the child (2) social support may have a heritable component that is influenced by personality (3) For example, likeable children may respond to good role models in a positive manner, thus promoting a positive and continuing relationship. (4) motivation to change” was a protective factor for general and violent reoffending adolescents (5) protective factors from reoffending included being older when first arrested, offending less overall, and having fewer psychopathological problems

Answer 65

(1) positive aspects of the child’s parents/guardians and home environment (2) For example, a child who has a positive and supportive relationship with an adult may display less negative behaviour

Answer 66

(1) Peer groups can have a strong effect on child outcomes (2) Associating with deviant peers is a risk factor for antisocial behaviour. (3) associating with prosocial children is a protective factor against antisocial behaviour