Flashcards
Forensic Psychology
Cards in this deck (62)
- 1CrimeBehaviours carried out deliberately and with intention that break the formal laws defined by a given society
- 2Evaluation of defining crimeCrime is time relative - some things that were illegal historically aren't any longer and vice versa (e.g. homosexuality)
Crime is culturally relative - some things are illegal in the UK but not in other cultures (e.g. minimum age for marriage)
Crime is age relative - in the UK, children under 10 are not considered responsible for their actions - 3Measuring crimeOfficial statistics
Offender surveys
Victim surveys - 4Official statisticsFigures created by official bodies, such as the police
- 5Offender surveyse.g. 'Offending, Crime and Justice Survey'
Ask people to report what crimes they've committed - 6Victim surveyse.g. 'The Crime Survey for England and Wales'
Ask people to report the crimes committed against them - 7Evaluation of measuring crimeOfficial statistics only involve crimes reported (and recorded) so the number will be inaccurate
Offender surveys may not be able to be trusted - they might get affected by social desirability bias
Offender surveys can account for victimless crimes
Victim surveys can be faulty because they rely on the individuals memory - 8The top-down approachDouglas et al. (1986)
The FBI began by interviewing 36 convicted serial killers and sex murderers to gain an insight into their thinking or behaviour
Criminals are classified as either organised or disorganised - 9Organised offenderConsidered to be intelligent and socially and sexually competent
They'd usually live with someone
Often would plan their attacks
e.g. Ted Bundy - 10Disorganised offenderLess intelligent and social and sexually competent
Loners
Likely to behave impulsively and not plan their attacks - 11Douglas et al. (1986)Stated that the top-down approach used four main stages:
1) Assimilating data - collecting all the information available about the victim and the crime scene
2) Classifying the crime (the type of crime)
3) Reconstructing the crime, including the behaviour of both the offender and the victim
4) Creating a profile - making judgements about possible physical and lifestyle characteristics of the offender - 12The bottom-up approachCanter (1994)
Uses investigative psychology (applying psychological research and theories to criminal investigations)
Considers the crime scene as a source of information to apply to geographical profiling - 13Canter's (1994) Five Factor ModelA criminal profile should include:
1) Personal characteristics
2) Criminal history (types of offences they may have committed in the past)
3) Residential location - 'circle theory'
4) Domestic and social characteristics, e.g. if the person is likely to live alone or have a family
5) Occupational and educational history (likely type of employment and level of qualifications) - 14Circle theoryIf a circle is drawn around an offender's crime scenes on a map, the offender is often found to live in the middle
- 15Evaluation of offender profilingHas had successful applications (e.g. John Duffy)
Only suitable for a limited range of crimes, excluding those motivated by material gain
Holmes (1989) - in 192 cases where offender profiling was used, only 88 arrests were made and the profile only contributed to 17% of them
Copson (1995) - only 14% of senior police officers felt that profiling had been useful for them
Has had reported misuses (e.g. Rachel Nickell) - 16The Rachel Nickell murder caseRachel Nickell was a young woman murdered in front of her 2-year-old during a walk in the park
An offender profiler developed a profile that was broadcast on national television and four callers identified the same person
The man was arrested and charged even though there was no forensic evidence and he had denied involvement during undercover investigations - 17The case of John DuffyA profile was developed for a man who committed 24 sexual assaults and 3 murders and it was found to be strikingly similar to the profile of John Duffy, who was the offender
It included things like 'interested in martial arts', 'lives in Kilburn' and 'has a criminal record that included violence' - 18Lombroso's (1876) atavistic formClaims that criminals are more likely to have primitive features than non-criminals, including a strong jaw, heavy brow, drooping eyelids, large ears, lobeless ears, high defined cheekbones, a flat nose, long arms relative to the body and sloping shoulders
Later went to claim that certain combinations could describe different types of criminals, e.g. murderers have bloodshot eyes and curly hair - 19Positivist criminologySays that criminal behaviour results from physical or psychological features
- 20Evaluation of Lombroso's (1876) atavistic formHelpful in highlighting the role of biology in criminology
Considered the interaction of biological, psychological and social factors
Didn't use a control group
Lots of his sample may have had psychological disorders or chromosomal abnormalities - 21Mednick et al. (1984)In a concordance analysis of 14,427 Danish adoptees, 13.5% of adoptees with any parents with no criminal conviction has a criminal conviction themselves compared to 14.7% of adoptees with at least one criminally convicted adoptive parent, 20% with at least one criminally convicted biological parent and 24.5% with at least one criminally convicted adoptive parent and one criminally convicted biological parent
- 22Evaluation of Mednick et al.'s (1984) studyIndicated there must be a genetic link for criminality
Good sample size
The concordance rates are low so there is likely to be other factors
Only used Danish adoptees so perhaps not generalisable - 23Jacobs et al. (1965)Found that a higher percentage of people from a prison population had the atypical sex pattern XYY compared to a normal population
- 24Raine et al. (1997)Used PET scans to create 3D images of the functional processes happening in 41 murderers pleading not guilty by reason of insanity and 41 controls
Found that the murderers had dysfunctional brain processes, including reduced glucose metabolism in the prefrontal cortex, superior parietal gyrus and the corpus callosum, as well as asymmetrical activity in the two hemispheres - 25Evaluation of Raine et al.'s (1997) studyUsed a control group who were matched on variables such as age and sex
Difficult to establish causal relationships - 26Evaluation of biological explanations for offending behaviourSupported by multiple studies
Indication that there must be some contribution from environment
Reductionist
Determinist - 27Eysenck's (1967, 1978) theory of criminal personalityIdentified personality dimensions: 'neuroticism-stability', 'extraversion-introversion', 'psychoticism-normality'
High neuroticism indicates you're more likely to commit crime because you tend to over-react in situations of threat
High extraversion indicates you're more likely to commit crime because you seek arousal so will partake in dangerous situations
High psychoticism indicates you're more likely to commit crime because you're more aggressive and lack empathy - 28Neuroticism-stability dimensionIndividuals towards the neurotic end of the dimension show traits such as anxiousness and restlessness whereas stability traits include reliability and calmness
- 29Extraversion-introversion dimensionIndividuals towards the extraversion end of the dimension tend to be sociable, impulsive and assertive whereas introversion traits include being quiet, passive and reserved
- 30Psychoticism-normality dimensionShows how disposed an individual is to psychotic breakdown
Those who score highly tend to be aggressive, hostile and uncaring - 31Evaluation of Eysenck's (1967, 1978) theory of criminal personalityConsiders that people may be genetically predisposed to a certain personality type but acknowledges environmental factors
Developed from self-report studies - 32Yochelson and Samenow (1976)A longitudinal study (over 14 years) of 255 male offenders, either from a normal prison population or in a hospital for 'secure treatment' after being found not guilty by means of mental illness
Only 30 participants finished the study but 52 thinking patterns were found to be common, including criminal thinking patterns (fear and need for power), automatic thinking errors (e.g. lack of trust and empathy) and crime-related thinking errors (fantasising about criminal behaviours) - 33MAOA geneCauses a deficiency in the MAOA enzyme which breaks down noradrenaline, dopamine and serotonin neurotransmitters
Causes individuals to be more aroused and aggressive - 34Evaluation of Yochelson and Samenow's (1976) studyEcologically valid
No control group
Gender biased (only male sample)
Difficult to replicate - 35Cognitive distortionsIrrational thought patterns which give people a distorted view of reality and therefore affect how they behave
- 36Gibbs et al. (1995)Found that some cognitive distortions, including being self-centred, blaming problems on others, minimisation (minimising the seriousness of the offending behaviour) and hostile attribution bias are linked to offending behaviours
- 37Hostile attribution biasBelieving that others are 'out to get them' making them have hostile intentions
- 38Levels of moral reasoningLevel 1: Preconventional reasoning
Level 2: Conventional reasoning
Level 3: Postconventional reasoning - 39Stages in preconventional reasoning1) An action is morally wrong if the person who commits it is punished as a result
2) The right behaviour is the one that is in your best interest - 40Stages in conventional reasoning1) The right behaviour is the one that makes other people think positively about you
2) It is important to obey laws and follow social conventions because they help society to function properly - 41Stages in postconventional learning1) The right course of action is the one that promotes the greatest good for the greatest number of people
2) Actions are driven by abstract, universal principles of right and wrong, which don't depend on the situation - 42Kohlberg's (1932) theory of moral understandingCriminals tend to have a lower level of moral reasoning, usually falling under level 1, which is the most common in children, compared to most of society that fall into level 2
- 43Evaluation of Kohlberg's (1932) theory of moral understandingHas study support
Gender biased towards men - 44Blackburn (1993)A weak superego can make an individual have fewer inhibitions towards conducting antisocial behaviour - it is often found in those with no same sex parent because they can't internalise that parent's moral code
A deviant superego is when an individual's superego is less responsive to crime because their same sex parent is immoral
A strong superego will cause someone to commit criminal behaviours in order to get caught because their superego makes them feel guilty for considering acting on the id's desires - 45Englander (2007)If an individual can't control their aggression it may 'spill out' of their unconscious, resulting in them displacing it violently with offending behaviour
- 46Defence mechanisms applied to criminalityEnglander (2007)
A triggering incident might release an individual's negative feelings that they usually repress and deny - 47Evaluation of psychodynamic explanations for offending behaviourUnscientific
Lots of data is from qualitative case studies - 48Sutherland's (1939) differential association theoryCriminal behaviour, including the motives and attitudes behind the crimes as well as the techniques and methods, can be learned in interactions with other deviant individuals, usually when in a small group
The criminal will know what is right or wrong from the law but they will decide whether its favourable or unfavourable
The frequency, duration, priority and intensity of interactions between an individual and a criminal will affect their learning - 49Evaluation of Sutherland's (1939) differential association theoryAccounts for learning in all types of people regardless of age, sex and background
Short (1955) found a positive correlation between self-report delinquent behaviour and association with criminals
Doesn't consider individual differences
Hard to test and measure attitudes towards the law and crime - 50Purposes of custodial sentencingRetribution (the offender deserves to be punished)
Rehabilitation (offering offenders a chance to get their lives back on track)
Incapacitation (protecting the public by removing the offender)
Denunciation (showing the public that the offender's actions were wrong)
Specific/general deterrence (stopping future crimes by the individual themselves or by the public in general) - 51Dooley (1990)By studying case notes of 295 out of 300 suicides that occurred in prison between 1972 and 1987, it was found that people serving life sentences and those convicted of violent and sexual offences are most at risk; there is an association between suicide and guilt over the offence; there was a history of psychiatric problems in a third of cases and self-harm was common
- 52Evaluation of custodial sentencingCan help some prisoners become better people
Doesn't have to be imprisonment
Could be more cost-effective to fund prevention - 53Effects of imprisonmentPeople in prison may be more susceptible to mental health problems
Can strip individuals of their autonomy
Reinforces criminal behaviour (differential association theory)
Prisoners will be stigmatised on release which could prevent them living 'normally' - 54RecidivismRecommitting an offending behaviour
Will be influenced by the length of time spent in prison, the presence/level of supervision after release, disciplinary reports, education level, seriousness of crime committed and individual experiences in prison - 55Evaluation of Dooley's (1990) studyPoor sampling technique
Can't establish cause and effect - 56Token economies for offending behaviourBy displaying desired behaviour, that is clearly defined, inmates can gain tokens which can be exchanged for a variety of rewards
The reasons for token allocation must be made clear as well as what a token is worth
The tokens must be distributed fairly - 57Evaluation of token economies for offending behaviourHas evidence that it improves inmates behaviour compared to regular methods of behaviour monitoring and encouragement
Proven to not continue once the imprisoned is released
Could be unethical as it may involve basic rights (e.g. food and drink) being restricted - 58Anger management for offending behaviourBased on cognitive behavioural techniques
The aim to reduce inmates' aggression in order to reduce violence in the prison and improve an individuals' self-awareness and control
Usually involves a two-hour session each week for 8 weeks - 59Ireland (2000)92% of 50 inmates in a young offenders' institution saw improvements in aggressive behaviour after an anger management treatment programme was completed whereas 8% of inmates got worse
- 60Evaluation of Ireland's (2000) studyDifficult to control extraneous variables
Only used a sample of young offenders so ungeneralisable results - 61Restorative justiceFocuses on criminals making amends directly to the people they've harmed
Communication can be face-to-face or by letter, for example
Can include the offender working to undo the damage they caused (e.g. removing graffiti) - 62Evaluation of restorative justiceCan be used for a range of offences from antisocial behaviour (e.g. graffiti) to serious offences like assault
Reduces post-traumatic stress in victims and they were less likely to want violent revenge
Criminals and victims tended to be more satisfied with this than traditional justice solutions
Requires the victim to volunteer to take part and the offender to admit responsibility
Can't work for victimless crimes (e.g. fraud)
Information
- Description
- A level Psychology Flashcards on Forensic Psychology, created by Emma KEMP on 09/03/2020.
- Created by
- Emma KEMP
- Views
- 1
- Rating