criminal psychology

Question 1

what is the link between brain injury and offending (study)

Answer 1

Williams
data from 196 inmates from a uk prison
60% of the sample recalled history of brain injury during childhood
they were also younger upon first offence, higher reoffending rates and had been in prison longer than the rest of the sample

Question 2

what is an abi

Answer 2

acquired brain injury - e.g. falls or sporting accidents

Question 3

why might an abi affect brain development

Answer 3

the brain is not fully mature until a person is in their mid twenties
abilities such as impulse control and forward planning are among the last to develop
an ABI can potentially affect these abilities
the person may fail to move past the risk taking and reckless behaviour of childhood
injured brains may also destabilise mood, concentration and decision making making offence more likely

Question 4

what is the amygdala

Answer 4

a small region located in the temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex
responsible for detecting fear and preparing for emergency
associated with fight or flight

Question 5

how does raines research help us to understand how the amygdala is involved in aggression

Answer 5

reduced metabolic activity was observed in several brain areas of murderers including the left amygdala (raine 1997)

also investigated the fear response in 1,795 three year olds
a loud tone was played followed by silence
whether the child showed a fear response was measured using skin conductance
20 years later those who went on to commit a crime were more likely to be the kids who didnt show a fear response to the first tone
demonstrates lack of amygdala functionality due to lack of fear at age 3

Question 6

how does pardini’s research help us to understand how the amygdala is involved in aggression

Answer 6

conducted brain scans on 26 year old men
divided them into groups on the basis of amygdala volume
they returned 3 years later the group with smaller volume were 3 times more likely to be aggressive than the others

Question 7

what is xyy syndrome

Answer 7

when a male is born with an additional y chromosome

Question 8

how many males are born with xyy syndrome

Answer 8

l in 1000

Question 9

what are the physical and behavioural characteristics of xyy syndrome

Answer 9

generally taller than average, lower intelligence, can be impulsive and experience behavioural difficulties

Question 10

what is the link between xyy syndrome and aggression

Answer 10

Jacobs found that men with xyy chromosomes are over represented in a prison in scotland (9 in 315) compared to whats expected in the normal population

Question 11

what is fazels research and why is it a strength to support brain injuries as an explanation

Answer 11

analysed data from swedish pop register
examined the association between TBI and convictions of violent crime including murder
of the people who had experienced an ABI 8.8% had committed a violent crime compared to 3% in matched control
suggests physical trauma to brain might be a precursor for violent crime

Question 12

why might fazels research not be a strength for the brain injury explanation

Answer 12

the relationship between brain injury and offending might not be causal
other factors
people who have sustained a head injury are more likely to have mental illnesses, abuse drugs and alcohol
these may increase offending rather than the brain injury itself

Question 13

what is a weakness of research into the amygdala and crime

Answer 13

-other brain areas are implicated
- suggests the amygdala does not operate alone but is influenced by OFC
- OFC is thought to regulate self control and its reduced functioning is associated with increased aggression and violent outbursts

Question 14

what is a weakness of the xyy syndrome explanation

Answer 14

-lack of evidence
meta analysis by re and birkhoff of 50 years of evidence and concluded there is no link between xyy and offending
where there is prevalence of xyy in prison populations might be better explained by social factors such as the fact that xyy characteristics make it harder for such men to integrate into society and find work

Question 15

what is an application of biological research

Answer 15

• may lead to new ways to assess criminal culpability
  williams argue for increased awareness of brain injuries throughout the criminal justice system including screening young people when they first offend
  argue that brain injuries should be treated like mental issues and taken into consideration in sentencing

Question 16

define personality

Answer 16

the combination of qualities or traits that are thought to form the distinctive character of a person

Question 17

what does eysencks theory propose

Answer 17

he proposed that it is possible that everyones character is made up of a collection of stable features that direct behaviour in different situations , their personality

Question 18

what are the two dimensions withing eysencks theory

Answer 18

extraversion-introversion

neuroticism- stability

Question 19

what are the characteritics of an extrovert

Answer 19

extraverts crave excitement and stimulation
so they are prone to engage in dangerous risk taking behaviour
they also tend to not condition easily - not learn from their mistakes
so an extravert would be less affected by punishment than an introvert

Question 20

what are the characteristics of a neurotic individual

Answer 20

very nervy and anxious
general instability is difficult to predict

Question 21

what is the typical criminal personality according to eysenck

Answer 21

extravert-neurotic

Question 22

how does eysencks theory have biological basis

Answer 22

the personality types we develop are explained by the type of nervous system we inherit
the intense levels of stimulus required by an extrovert is due to and under active nervous system that needs high levels of arousal
neurotics will react more volatile and strongly to situations someone else would find less stressful or neutral

Question 23

what is eysencks third dimension

Answer 23

psychoticism-
seen in individuals who are self centred cold and lack empathy
so the criminal type is a person who scores highly on all three dimensions

Question 24

what did eysenck make to determine the personality of an individual

Answer 24

the eyesenck personality questionnaire

Question 25

why are extrovert neurotics more likely to be anti social

Answer 25

extraverts are natural reward seekers which makes them less receptive to operant conditioning and less affected by punishment for wrongdoing

neuroticism can interfere with efficient learning which may relate to a difficulty taking on social rules

Question 26

what is a weakness of eysencks theory

Answer 26

mischel pointed out that peoples behaviour is not consistent across different contexts but is instead situation specific
people react to the environmental cues around at the time rather than being guided by an inner self which is consistent across different places at different times

Question 27

what is a strength of eysencks theory in relation to its empirical basis

Answer 27

Boduszek investigated prevalence of eysencks personality traits among recidivists - 133 violent and 179 non violent offenders studied

Boduszek suggested that criminal thinking style is correlated with high levels of psychoticism, extraversion and neuroticism - suggests eysenkcs theory has external validity

Question 28

what is a competing argument to the empirical basis in eysencks theory

Answer 28

evidence for criminal personality is not conclusive - farrington found very little evidence that eysencks questionnaire was adequate for predicting offending - suggests eysencks original ideas about criminal personality lack validity

Question 29

what is another weakness of eysencks theory , relating to criminal type

Answer 29

the idea that there is only one type of criminal personality
more resent models have challenged eysencks e.g. the five factor model in which openness, conscientciousness and agreeableness are added
low levels of agreeableness and conscientiousness are related to offending
other researchers also suggested impulsivity
suggests criminal personality may be more complicated than eysenck thought

Question 30

what is a strength for eysencks theory, relating to a biological basis

Answer 30

that criminal personality may be related to nervous system activity
raine took physiological measures from ppts ages 15 and those with a criminal record 24 yrs later had recorded more signs of underarousal in nervous system at 15 (such as lower resting hr) than non criminals - link between biological factors and offending

Question 31

what is an application of eysencks theory to early crime prevention

Answer 31

theory argues that criminal tendencies can be identified in childhood, e,g, lack of response to conditioning and inability to learn from mistakes

Question 32

why is eysencks theory a holistic approach (issues and debates)

Answer 32

it integrates different ways of explaining behaviour
it acknowledges genetic and physiological factors as well as individual differences in personality and the influence of early socialisation
its a more integrated and interactionist approach to crime and recognises that crime is a complex social activity

Question 33

what is a cognitive interview

Answer 33

method of interviewing that helps witnesses to produce a more accurate recall of a crime scene using psychological techniques

Question 34

what is an ethical interview

Answer 34

method of interviewing that acknowledges that suspects are human beings and are more likely to cooperate if treated with respect

Question 35

what are the 4 main techniques in a cognitive interview (CI)

Answer 35

-report everything
-reinstate the context
-reverse the order
-change perspective

Question 36

what does report everything entail in a CI

Answer 36

witness encouraged to report every single detail of the event even if it seems unimportant

Question 37

what does reinstate the context entail in a CI

Answer 37

witness asked to imagine all aspects of the crime scene e.g. what the weather was like , the time of day and how they felt - hoped that these context cues will trigger new information

Question 38

what does reverse the order entail in a Ci

Answer 38

witness describes what they saw in a different chronological order
evdience suggests witnesses are then likely to give a truer account rather than relying on expectations on what they thought had occurred

Question 39

what is labelling

Answer 39

theory of how we classify ourselves and others using labels which then defines that person
in context of crime- a person may be labelled as deviant if they do not conform to rules powerful groups create

Question 40

what did howard becker suggest about labelling

Answer 40

that poweful groups create deviance by making up rules and applying them to people they see as outsiders
what counts as criminal behaviour only becomes so when labelled by others
crime is a social construct

Question 41

what is self fulfilling prophecy

Answer 41

a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true , by the very existence of the prophecy itself , due to positive feedback between belief and behaviour
example - labelled as deviant by society , they then come to see themselves in that way because of the stereotyped response from others to their label , making deviant behaviour more likely
they may then seek support from other deviant people or subcultures further making deviance more likely

Question 42

how can social learning theory be applied to criminal behaviour

Answer 42

observational learning- criminal behaviour learnt indirectly by observation and imitation
behaviour is attended to , recalled , has motivation and is capable
vicarious reinforcement - criminal behaviour seen to be rewarded e.g. aquisition of money, status
role models - young offenders may look up to role models e.g. parents , friends who are older in gangs etc as they the high level of respect and lifestyle they have

Question 43

what evidence is there to support self fulfilling prophecy

Answer 43

jahoda
studied ashanti tribe of ghana
boys named after day they were born - monday boys (Kwadwo) more even tempered compared to wednesday ( kwadku) who were more volatile and aggressive
jahoda saw that kwadku boys were 3 times more likely to be involved in crime over a 5 year period

Question 44

what did zebrowitz find that counters jahodas research

Answer 44

found that boys with a “baby face” were more likely than their mature faced peers to be involved in crime
baby faced boys said to be overcompensating for the perception they may look weak or childlike rather than living up to the label

Question 45

why is labellling theory only a partial explanation for offending

Answer 45

implies that without labelling crime wouldnt exist
seems to suggest that someone who has commited an offence but has not been labelled is not a criminal - problematic
most people would argue that serious offences such as murder are more than social contstructs and are bad whether labelled or not

Question 46

why is lack of evidence a weakness for labelling theory

Answer 46

although there have been many studies of labelling most have been confined to educational settings (e.g. rosenthal and jacobsen)
maybe that student teacher relationship is a very particular one and this is very difficuly to repliacte at a societal level in the context of crime

Question 47

what is an application of labelling (reintegrative shaming )

Answer 47

braithwaite
found societies have lower crime rates and reoffending rates when they communicate shame about crime effectivel
disintegrative shaming demonises person and they ate likely to reject new way of life and return to old ways
reintegrative shaming gives offender support and is helped back into society with guidanve

Question 48

why is rosenthal and jacobsens research a strength for labelling theory

Answer 48

in the study primary school teachers were told a group of kids were gifted spurters and about to bloom (kids acc chosen at random )
at the end of the school year the “gifted” kids had improved their iq significantly more than standard kids