Unit 6: Criminal Psychology Flashcards
What are the causes of criminal behaviour?
nature (genetics)
nurture (upbringing)
What is social learning theory?
adaptation of behaviour to match your social circle (observation and imitation)
What is operant conditioning?
learning from the consequences of your actions
How can criminal behaviour be learned?
from being rewarded or from imitations
What did Skinner (1948) do?
he developed the operant conditioning theory. he believes there are 2 types of reinforcement (positive + negative). he used animals to show how they can learn behaviours with reward.
What does reinforcement do?
encourages us to repeat behaviours we have displayed
What is positive reinforcement?
receiving something pleasant for a behaviour so we repeat it again
What is negative reinforcement?
the avoidance of something unpleasant so we repeat it again
What is punishment?
consequence of bad behaviour aimed to teach them not to repeat it
What is positive punishment?
receiving something unpleasant for a behaviour so we don’t repeat it again.
it is adding a stimulus to decrease bad actions.
What is negative punishment?
removing something pleasant so we don’t repeat the behaviour again
What are primary reinforcers?
a reinforcer that satisfies a biological need.
committing crime for basic needs like food/water
What are secondary reinforcers?
a reinforcer of no survival value, but we have learned to associate it with a primary reinforcer
such as grades and stickers (have no survival value but learned to value itself)
What are reinforcers?
in positive reinforcement you gain something pleasurable to influence you not to repeat said behaviour again. the pleasurable things you get are reinforcers. Such as snacks, stickers and grades.
What are the strengths of the operant conditioning theory?
the theory can be used to explain a wide range of crimes
punishment can remove undesirable actions
What are the weaknesses of the operant conditioning theory?
it cannot explain all crimes, neglects personality type and genetics
some behaviours are produced without reinforcement/punishment, neglects other motivations to commit crimes
What is social learning theory?
behaviour is learned through the observation and imitation of role models
What is modelling?
learning through paying attention to a role model, retaining and reproducing it
What is the identification and modelling process?
ARRMI
attention, retention, reproduction, motivation, identification
What is vicarious reinforcement?
watching a role model getting rewarded for something and after observing them you are motivated to do it too.
What is a role model?
a person whom we admire and share similar characteristics to.
What are the strengths of the social learning theory?
lots of evidence to support theory (bandura)
observational learning main explanation of children behaviour
theory explains how those exposed to criminality become criminals
What are the weaknesses of the social learning theory?
such studies only measure short term effects on children
some behaviour can’t be explained through observational learning
What is the background to the Bandura study?
he was interested in sex-appropriate behaviour, children tend to be rewarded for sex-appropriate behaviour and punished for the opposite which are reinforced through childhood.
What are the aims of Bandura’s bobo doll study?
will children imitate aggression of a role model, will sex of role model affect children imitation, will sex of child influence likelihood of aggressive behaviour
What were the participants and sampling in Bandura’s bobo doll study?
72 children, 36 girls and boys each
all between 37-69 months and recruited from stanford university nursery
they were all randomly allocated to conditions
What type of experiment was Bandura’s bobo doll study?
laboratory experiment, independent measures design procedure
What is the procedure for Bandura’s bobo doll study?
What are the results for Bandura’s bobo doll study?
children exposed to aggro role model displayed more aggression than the non-aggro role model
boys more likely to imitate aggression from same sex-aggressive model, girls more likely to copy verbal aggression from same sex role model
girls spent more time playing with dolls and tea sets while boys played with guns (aggressive)
What is the conclusion of Bandura’s bobo doll study?
children learn through observation in the absence of reinforcement
provides evidence for social learning theory
children learn aggression from role models specifically of the same sex
What are the strengths of Bandura’s bobo doll study?
controlled environment and standardised procedure means replicable and reliable data
children matched in groups according to their normal aggression levels so data cannot be affected by specific children who are naturally more aggressive
What are the weaknesses of Bandura’s study?
unfamiliar environment and children might guess aims of experiment and give demand characteristics
researches exposed small children to aggression ignoring long term effects (breaks ethical rules by not protecting participants)
What is the background of Charlton’s study?
the island st helena was a small british colony which didn’t have access to TV (mainland television channels). charlton wanted to see the effect of TV on behaviour
What were the aims of Charlton’s study?
to investigate the effects of television on children’s behaviour, particularly aggression.
What was the procedure of Charlton’s study?
- researched went to the island in 1994
- recorded behaviour of children 4 months before satellite TV was introduce
- video cameras were to observe children (3-8 years) over a 2 week period
- researchers recorded 256 minutes of children freeplay and their playground behaviour
How did Charlton childrens playground behaviour?
PBOS to code prosocial and antisocial acts
What type of experiment was Charlton’s study?
naturalistic experiment (did not directly manipulate the independant)
What was the dependant variable of Charlton’s study?
childrens behaviour after TV was introduced
measured in terms of prosocial and antisocial behaviour in playgrounds
What were the results of Charlton’s study?
no effect on childrens behaviour (proving Bandura wrong)
What is the conclusion of Charlton’s study?
TV had little to do with behaviour influence, there may be environmental differences on the island that can explain why children didn’t display aggressive behaviour due to their close knit community and high levels of adult surveilance
What are the strengths of Charlton’s study?
same primary schools used for before and after so same environments minimised differences
a natural experiment in real school playgrounds and unaware which gives reliable and ecologically valid data
What are the weaknesses of Charlton’s study?
findings may be limited to St Helena community (Williams got positive results for same experiment in Canada)
TV programmes were different to mainland TV which may have less violence
What percentage of twins are both criminals?
35% male MZ twins were both criminals
13% male DZ twins were both criminals
21% female MZ twins were both criminals
8% female DZ twins were both criminals
Why might MZ twins have a higher percentage of both being criminals?
because they have a shared upbringing and have more similar experiences as to growing up
What are the adoption studies (criminal psych)?
rules out influence of upbringing, have nature of biological parent and nurture of foster parent
What were the percentages for the adoption studies (criminal psych)?
21% adopted children went on to be criminals when their biological father was a criminal
10% adopted children went on to be criminals when their adoptive father was a criminal
What do the adoption studies prove?
that biological factors (nature) have a bigger influence on criminal behaviour and can be inherited.
however it isn’t the main cause, it can increase risk only
What is personality?
a set of characteristics that determine what we are like
What is personality theory?
our personality is a temperament and can explain how some personalities are associated with criminality
What is temperament?
the nature someone is born with, which affects someone’s behaviour
What is EPQ?
Eyneseck’s Personality Questionnaire (1964)
Eynseck studied personality traits and suggested some are more prone to criminality
He created a test that gives you a PEN score which tells you what type of personality you have
What are the specific traits prone to criminal behaviour?
extraversion/introversion
neuroticism
psychoticism
What is extraversion?
outgoing, sensation seeking, sociable behaviour
What is introversion?
reserved, calm, quiet behaviour
What is unstable neuroticism?
personality trait associated with being overactive in stressful situations, over-emotional and anxious
What is stable neuroticism?
personality trait associated with being unreactive in stressful situations and emotionally unaffected
What is psychoticism?
personality that is cold, lacks empathy, antisocial and aggressive
What does a high PEN score mean?
high PEN score = higher risk of criminal behaviour
(extraversion) High E score = nervous system has low arousal levels so they seek external stimulation
(unstable neuroticism) High N score = nervous system responds quickly when stressed so overact
(psychoticism) High P score = person is cold, lacks compassion and antisocial
How do our PEN scores affect our behaviour?
they interact with how we are raised (socialisation)
we are punished for antisocial behaviour but those with high PEN score may be less responsive to punishment and be more difficult to socialise
What are the strengths of Eynseck’s personality theory?
supported by empirical evidence (David Farrington 1982) and considered to be holistic
What are the weaknesses of Eynseck’s personality theory?
no relationship with extraversion to criminal behaviour
assumes personality is fixed and cant change
evidence based on self reported data which may suscept to demand characteristics
What is recidivism?
when an offender is punished for their crime but commits another crime once they get released
the rate of reoffending
What is rehabilitative?
a program designed to help offenders rather than punish them
What is detention/custody?
a prison sentence
What is prison?
negative reinforcement
offender is denied civils liberties, freedom and privileges. more serious crime = longer sentence.
What is a token economy program?
a programme designed to reward prisoners for prosocial behaviour; prisoners collect tokens that can be exchanged for privileges
What is token economy designed for?
to reduce antisocial behaviour in prisons
What type of reinforcer are the tokens in token economy programmes?
secondary reinforcer
What is the token economy programme based on?
operant conditioning theory
What are the strengths of token economy?
gives a short-term increase in prosocial behaviour
can be easily administered by prison staff (inexpensive + simple)
What are the weaknesses of token economy?
designed to control prison behaviour and doesn’t reduce recidivism (limited rehabilitative value)
requires consistency by prison guards, if prison guards aren’t onboard can increase antisocial behaviour and spark arguments
What are anger management programmes?
cognitive behavioural treatment for violent offenders to help them control their anger
What are the steps for CBT? (criminal psych)
- cognitive preparation
- skills acquisition
3 application process
What happens in cognitive preparation?
offender must reflect and figure out their triggers and learn that anger in counterproductive
What happens in skills acquisition?
offender learns new skills to help control anger
What happens in application practice?
role playing and practicing skills in triggering scenarios
What are the strengths of anger management programs?
offenders carefully selected for anger motivated crimes (might have sampling bias tho)
it works and reduces recidivism rates
What are the weaknesses of anger management programs?
programme can be abused and offenders learn how to manipulate people
psychopaths are more likely to reoffend
no improvement in understand anger by the offender
What are the strengths of prison?
removes criminals from the public which keeps everyone safe and reinforces view that crimes will be punished (based on operant conditioning theory)
What are the weaknesses of prison?
the recidivism rates are still very high so doesn’t stop reoffending. 25% of those who leave after a year reoffend again.
criminals are also exposed to more worse criminal role models which can leave them worse than when they came in
once released cannot find a job due to criminal record so may have to steal to feed themselves
What is humanitarian?
concern with the welfare of humans
What is community sentencing?
when an offender serves a sentence in the community rather than prison; they have to pay back the community by doing jobs such as removing graffiti
What is a curfew?
having to be home at certain times, such as between 7am and 7pm
What are the strengths of community sentencing?
offenders given record chance instead of sending them to prison right away
more suitable punishment for certain circumstances
What are the weaknesses of community sentencing?
soft option, not highly effects, recidivism rates 30%
10% of offenders fail to complete service, break curfews, and do further offenses
What is restorative justice?
when a victim and it’s offender meet; it is a process to help a victim recover and make an offender realise the impact of their crime.
What are the strengths of restorative justice?
high victim satisfaction rate of 85% allowing victim to feel power and move on with their life but doesn’t reduce recidivism
14% reduction in recidivism, but the offender chooses to do restorative justice so they were probably already feeling guilty
What are the weaknesses of restorative justice?
can cause distress to offender and victim as involves personal contact
mediation is time consuming and costly
What is mediation?
someone making sure offender doesn’t reoffend the victim and keeps in safe
