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Psychology > Forensics > Flashcards

Forensics Flashcards

1
Q

Offender profiling splits offenders into two groups

What are they

A

Organised and disorganised

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2
Q

Characteristics of an organised criminal

A
  • Above average IQ
  • Sexually and socially competent
  • Evidence of planning for crime
  • Steps taken to cover tracks
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3
Q

Characteristics of disorganised criminal

A
  • Sexually and socially incompetent
  • Crime scene shows no planning
  • Lives alone and close to crime scene
  • No covering of evidence
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4
Q

4 stages to offender profiling

What are they

A 
1= Data assimilation (police reports)
2= Crime scene classification (organised or disorganised)
3= Crime reconstruction (victim behaviour)
4= Profile generation (demography)
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5
Q

What are demographics

A

The statistics of employment, births, deaths etc. Specific to an area

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6
Q

What type of approach is offender profiling

A

Top-down approach

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7
Q

What’s a top-down approach

A

When you split it into 2 categories. It’s not as detailed as bottom-up approach

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8
Q

Canter(2004) study on offender profiling

Method

A
  • To test reliability of organised/disorganised typologies
  • Content analysis of 100 cases of serial killers from USA.
  • 3rd Crime each serial killer committed was analysed
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9
Q

Results of Canters study (3)

A
  • Twice as many disorganised than organised crimes
  • Few differences between organised and disorganised crimes- hard to designate which type each is
  • Canters profile didn’t always match FBI’s
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10
Q

Conclusion of canters study

A
  • Not reliable as there are 3 different results

- Not valid

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11
Q

Canters Evaluation of typology

A
  • Not reliable, 3 different results
  • Should be a mixed offender category
  • Assumes human behaviour is consistent
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12
Q

Evaluation of Typology (offender profiling)

A
  • Emphasis is on intuition, it’s not scientific.
    Limitation, low in validity
  • Assumes behaviour is consistent. Limitation, if perpetrators carry out organised and disorganised crimes, police will look for 2 criminals
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13
Q

What type of approach is the investigative approach

A

Bottom up approach

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14
Q

What’s bottom up approach

A

More detailed approach

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15
Q

What does investigative approach consist of

A
  • Consists of databases

- The 5 principles

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16
Q

What do databases do

A

They contain information. This information can be filtered to narrow pool of suspects

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17
Q

Certain principles assist profiling

What are the 5 principles

A

1) Interpersonal coherence
2) Significance of time and place
3) Criminal characteristics
4) Criminal career
5) Forensic awareness

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18
Q

What’s interpersonal coherence

A

Offenders style of interaction when dealing with people

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19
Q

What’s significance of time and place

A

Offender needs to feel in control so will choose a specific location in which they are comfortable

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20
Q

What’s criminal characteristics

A

Based on interviews with ex offenders, gives an idea of what type of crime they’re dealing with

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21
Q

What’s criminal career

A

Looking at careers of past offenders can assist in identifying likely offences for which an unknown perpetrator may have history

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22
Q

What’s forensic awareness

A

Offenders who have been in contact with police, will cover tracks in order to mislead investigators

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23
Q

Copson study for investigative profiling

Method, results, conclusion

A
  • Method= Performed survey on detectives working with offender profiling
  • Results= 82% of detectives thought profiling helped
  • Conclusion= Profiling is helpful and not just for speed
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24
Q

Evaluation of investigative profiling

A
  • Relies too heavily on statistics, however statistics are only likelihood’s not certainties
  • Profiling is scientific method, typology is subjective (use intuition)
  • Limitation, as perpetrator is already in database, therefore profiling isn’t really adding anything
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25
Q

Geographical profiling

Two types of criminals

A

Marauders

Commuters

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26
Q

What’s a marauder

A

Commit crimes within a confined area, usually near their home

27
Q

What’s a commuter

A

Travels away from their home and commits crimes over large areas

28
Q

Criminal geographic targeting

What did psychologists develop

A
  • Psychologists developed CGT a criminal profiling computer package
29
Q

What does a CGT produce

A

Produces a jeopardy surface

30
Q

What’s a jeopardy surface

A

Prioritises surrounding area in order to determine most likely region for perpetrators home or base

31
Q

Evidence for geographical profiling,Snook

Method, results, conclusion

A

Method= Questionnaire of police officers on beliefs about profilings validity and usefulness

Results= - Profiling helps solve cases
- Advances investigators understanding of a case

Conclusion= Profiling is useful and valid

32
Q

Evaluation of geographical profiling

A
  • Assumes that perpetrator is a marauder therefore cannot catch commuters
  • Relies on likelihood’s and computer statistics. Therefore, not certainties, could lead police in wrong direction
  • Doesn’t require interaction between victim and perpetrator. Strength, can be used on a wide variety of crimes
  • Profiling won’t catch criminals by itself. Limitation, needs other police methods aswell, lacks validity
33
Q

Psychological theory of criminal personality

Whos theory is it

A

Eysenck

34
Q

What is Eysencks theory say about personality traits and what are the 3 of them

A
  • Personality traits are biological in origin

1) Extroversion
2) Neuroticism
3) Psychoticism

35
Q

What does Neurotic mean

A

Emotions control your behaviour

36
Q

What does stable mean

A

Behaviour controls your emotion

37
Q

What does psychotic mean

A

Don’t care about anyone else (selfish)

38
Q

What does socialised mean

A

Do care about others

39
Q

What are the 3 scales

A

Introvert- extrovert

Stable- neurotic

Socialised- psychotic

40
Q

Eysenck’s reasons in terms of extroversion, neuroticism and psychoticism

A
  • Extroversion= Low arousal, therefore seek arousal from the environment
  • Neuroticism= Unstable CNS, strong reactions to aversive stimuli. Hard to learn socially appropriate behaviours
  • Psychoticism= Levels of testosterone are higher in psychotics, therefore more aggressive
41
Q

What is aversive stimuli

A

Something that is not liked

42
Q

Farrington study for Eysencks theory

Method, results, conclusion

A
  • Method= Gave Eysencks personality test to members of prison population
  • Results= Found no difference in extroversion and neuroticism when compared to general population
  • Conclusion= Challenges Eysencks theory
43
Q

Evaluation of Eysencks theory

A
  • Moffitt suggested improvement to Eysencks theory, stating their 4 distinct types of offenders, not just one
  • Zuckermans theory is situational (nurture), criminal behaviour is due to boredom (environment)
  • Eysencks theory is dispositional which is your personality is nature (genetics). Criminal behaviour is nature
44
Q

4 cognitive explanations of offending behaviour

A

1) Level of moral reasoning
2) Hostile attribution bias
3) Minimalisation
4) Differential association theory

45
Q

AO1 for level of moral reasoning

A
  • There are different levels of sophistication of moral reasoning
  • Theory states criminals reason at a lower level than other adults

According to Kohlbergs level of moral reasoning

46
Q

Evidence for level of moral reasoning

(Palmer and Hollin(1988))

Method, results, conclusion

A

Method= - Reasoning task given to both offenders and non-offenders
- Answers rated using Kohlbergs stages

Results= - Offenders showed less sophisticated levels of reasoning than non-offenders

Conclusion= Supports Kohlbergs theory that criminals have less of a moral reasoning

47
Q

Evaluation of level of moral reasoning

2 points

A
  • If a criminal commits on level 1 and other commits on level 2, you can tell why certain criminals commit certain crimes due to difference of moral justice
  • Restorative justice increases moral reasoning therefore supports Kohlbergs theory
48
Q

AO1 for hostile attribution bias

Definition of hostile attribution bias included

A
  • Tendency to perceive the behaviour of others as aggressive
  • And respond disproportionately
49
Q

Evidence for hostile attribution bias

Schonenberg and Justye(2014)

Method, results, conclusion

A

Method=- Participants were offenders and a control group of non-offenders.
- Each presented with emotionally ambiguous faces, they rate faces for their degree of hostility

Results= Violent offenders much more likely to rate neutral faces as hostile

Conclusion= Supports theory of hostile attribution bias

50
Q

Evaluation of hostile attribution bias

A
  • Can use anger management to treat Hostile attribution bias, as it supports it
  • Recidivism rate of 70% challenges HAB,
  • Thinking is irrational due to facial expressions in their environment
51
Q

AO1 points for minimalisation

A
  • Blaming the victim

- Trivialising (downplaying) the crime

52
Q

Evidence for minimalisation

Alvaro and Gibbs(1996)

A
  • Method= -Done by self-report (questionnaire) of ASBO offenders
  • Results= -Strong positive correlation between level of minimalisation and level of anti-social behaviour
  • Conclusion= Supports minimalisation theory as it’s a positive correlation.
    However, correlation doesn’t show cause and effect
53
Q

Evaluation of minimalisation

A
  • If offender feels no guilt, it’s likely they’ll re-offend, supporting recidivism rate
  • Restorative justice could be a way to decrease minimalisation as it increases level of guilt
54
Q

AO1 points for differential association theory

A
  • Individuals learn motives and techniques for criminal behaviour through association and interaction with different people
  • Number of pro-criminal attitudes encountered outweighs number of counter criminal attitudes, the individual will go on to offend
55
Q

The Cambridge study in delinquent development (Farrington et al)

A

Method= -Longitudinal study of crime and delinquency in 411 males
-Most of the boys were 8-9 years old

Results= -40% of participants had at least one criminal conviction between ages 8-50.
-Participants who were convicted, 43% of their brothers also had convictions

Conclusion= Supports differential association theory

56
Q

Criticism by Matseuda(1988) for differential association theory

2 evaluation points of differential association theory

A
  • Theory’s too vague to provide predictive validity about future offenders. Therefore, cannot predict recidivism and offending in children
  • Cannot explain all crimes like one off crimes or embezzlement which is usually individualistic. Theory challenged as people who work in in finance associate with non-criminals, therefore steal for other reasons
57
Q

2 psychodynamic explanations for criminal behaviour

A

1) Inadequate superego

2) Maternal deprivation

58
Q

AO1 for inadequate superego

A

3 types of inadequate superego:
1) Weak= Same sex parent is absent during phallic stage, identification cannot take place

2) Deviant= Same sex parent is a criminal, will learn deviant values, therefore superego is deviant
3) Over-harsh= Superego leads individual to believe nothing they do is good enough and they deserve punishment. Therefore, commit crime to be punished

59
Q

AO3 for superego theories

A
  • Freud states women have weaker superego than men, therefore there should be more females in prison. Women account for less than 5% of prison population, therefore challenges
  • Tripartite personality cannot be tested scientifically, therefore very weak evidence
  • No evidence to show same-sex parents have an affect on criminality, therefore low in validity
60
Q

AO1 for maternal deprivation

A
  • Adult relationships dependent on forming a good relationship with mother during infancy (internal working model)
  • Failure to develop maternal bond lead to “affectionless psychopathy”
61
Q

What’s affectionless psychopathy

Characteristics of it

A

Lack of guilt, no empathy, cold towards others

62
Q

Evidence for maternal deprivation (Bowlby 1944)

Method, results, conclusion

A
  • Method= interviews with 44 juvenile thieves and their families, 14 showed personalities that could be termed affectionless psychopaths
  • Results= 12/14 experienced prolonged maternal deprivation
  • Conclusion= Supports theory, as majority of affectionless psychopaths experienced maternal deprivation
63
Q

AO3 for maternal deprivation

A
  • Rutter Study (Romanian orphans) showed individuals who experienced early maternal deprivation but didn’t become criminals. Challenges theory.
  • Bowlby found a correlation, but doesn’t necessarily infer a causal relationship between maternal deprivation and offending

Psychology (16 decks)

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