4.3.9 - Forensic Psychology Flashcards
(117 cards)
1
Q
What is offender profiling?
A
A behavioural and analytic tool that is intended to help investigators accurately predict and profile the characteristics of unknown criminals.
2
Q
What is the top-down approach?
A
Profilers start with pre-established typology and work down to lower levels in order to assign offenders to one of two categories based on witness accounts and evidence from the crime scene.
3
Q
Who created the top-down approach?
A
It originated in the US as a result of work carried out by the FBI in the 1970s.
4
Q
How did the FBI Behavioural Science Unit use the top-down approach originally?
A
- They drew data gathered from in-depth interviews with 36 sexually-motivated murderers including Ted Bundy and Charles Manson.
- Concluded that the data could be categorised into organised or disorganised crimes/murders.
-Each category had certain characteristics which meant in a future situation, if the data from a crime scene matched some of the characteristics of one category, we could then predict other characteristics of the criminal.
5
Q
Features of organised offenders
A
-Show evidence of having planned the crime in advance
-Victim is deliberately targeted and suggests that the offender has a specific type of victim they will seek out
-The offender maintains a high degree of control during the crime and may operate with almost detached surgical precision.
-Little or no evidence left behind at the scene
-Tend to be above-average intelligence
-Usually married or have children
6
Q
Features of disorganised offenders
A
-Little evidence of planning
-Offences may be spontaneous
-Crime scene tends to reflect the impulsive nature of the attack
-Body still usually at the scene and appears to have been very little control
-Lower than average IQ
-Unskilled and unemployed
-History of sexual dysfunction and failed relationships
-Tend to live alone and often relatively close to where the offence took place
7
Q
What are the four main stages in the construction of an FBI profile?
A
- Data assimilation - the profiler reviews the evidence
- Crime scene classification - as either organised or disorganised
- Crime reconstruction - hypotheses is terms of sequence of events, behaviour of the victim
- Profile generation - hypotheses related to the likely offender
8
Q
Features of the top-down approach?
A
- qualitative approach (interviews, analysis of crime scene and details)
- uses typologies (types of offender)
- based on police experience and case studies rather than psychological theory
9
Q
When is the top-down approach suitable?
A
For more extreme/unusual crimes e.g. murder, rape, ritualistic crimes.
10
Q
What is the bottom-up approach?
A
- generates picture of offender
- systematic analysis of evidence at crime scene
- ‘data driven’ (does not have fixed typologies)
- based on scientific/psychological theory and research
11
Q
Who are the main bottom-up researchers?
A
David Canter
Kim Rossmo
12
Q
Two types of bottom-up profiling?
A
- Investigative Psychology
- Geographical Profiling
13
Q
What is investigative psychology?
A
Involves applying statistical procedures with psychological theory to analyse evidence.
→patterns that occur and co-exist across crime scenes are used to generate offender data.
→based on psychological theory of matching behavioural patterns to generate data.
→create statistical ‘database’ to compare offences with (may determine if offences are linked).
→can show whether crimes are carried out by the same person.
14
Q
Principles of investigative psychology?
A
- Interpersonal coherence - there is a consistency between the way offenders interact with their victims and with others in their everyday lives.
- Significance of time and place - could reveal where the offender is living.
- Forensic awareness - those who have been interrogated by the police before and may want to cover their tracks.
15
Q
What is geographical profiling?
A
Uses info about location of linked crime scenes to make inferences about the likely home or base of the offender (also known as 𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗚).
- can use with psychological theory (e.g. alongside Investigative Psychology)
- creates hypothesis about how offender is thinking and their motives
- assumes serial offenders stay in areas they are familiar with
- ‘Centre of gravity’ provided by understanding spatial pattern of behaviour → likely to include offender’s base
- can make guesses about where they will commit a crime next → the ‘Jeopardy surface’
16
Q
What did Rossmo (1997) say about geographical profiling?
A
Stated that an offender’s operational base of possible future offences are revealed by the geographical location of their previous crimes.
Refers to offender behaviour as having ‘hunting patterns’.
17
Q
What is Canter’s Circle theory?
A
- based on geo profiling
- pattern of offending likely to form a circle around usual residence
- can give insight into nature of offence and other factors about the offender
- proposed two models of offender behaviour: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗿 which offer insight into the nature of the offence e.g. planned or opportunistic.
18
Q
According to Canter, what is the Marauder?
A
The offender operates in close proximity to their home base.
19
Q
According to Canter, what is the Commuter?
A
The offender is likely to have travelled a distance away from their usual residence.
20
Q
Who was John Duffy?
A
The “Railway Rapist” who committed 24 sexual attacks in the 1980s and 3 murders in railway stations across North London.
David Canter used geographical information to draw up a surprisingly accurate profile of Duffy using bottom-up profiling techniques.
21
Q
Biological explanations of crime?
A
- Assume crime is an innate tendency.
- May be genetically determined or the result of neural abnormalities.
2 explanations:
1. Atavistic Form (a historical approach)
2. Genetic and Neural explanations
22
Q
What is the Atavistic form?
A
Theory by Cesare Lombroso in the 1800s
Atavus = ancestor
- Means the tendency to revert to an ancestral type (thought criminals were “genetic throwbacks”)
- Not evolved enough to conform to rules of society
- Offending is rooted in the genes of criminals and is biologically determined and innate (not a choice)
Criminals can be identified by how they look; Lombroso identified physiological markers linked to particular crimes.
23
Q
Atavistic features of criminals?
A
- strong, prominent jaw
- high cheekbones
- dark skin
- extra toes, nipples or fingers
- insensitivity to pain
- facial asymmetry
24
Q
Atavistic features of murderers?
A
- bloodshot eyes
- curly hair
- long ears
25
Atavistic features of sexual deviants?
- swollen, fleshy lips
- glistening/sparkling eyes
26
Atavistic features of fraudsters?
Thin and reedy lips
27
Non-physical atavistic form traits?
- unemployment
- tattoos
- use of criminal slang
28
What did Lombroso investigate?
The facial and cranial features of Italian convicts both living and dead.
After examining over 383 dead criminals and 3829 living criminals, I concluded that 40% of criminal acts could be accounted for by atavistic characteristics.
29
What does androcentric mean?
Describes a predominantly male perspective that often minimises or completely excludes the female experience and perspective.
30
What androcentric ideas did Lombroso have about women?
→He did not study women in original research but it does suffer from gender bias.
He believed women are:
- naturally jealous
- insensitive to pain
- passive
- low in intelligence
→He said that women have a maternal instinct which neutralises negative traits making them less likely to be criminals.
→Women who became criminals had masculine characteristics which are fine in a man but creates a monster in a woman.
31
What did Francis Galton believe? (Eugenics Movement)
→Was influenced in 1880s by Darwin's concept of 'survival of the fittest'.
→His argument was that not all people in society are born equal.
→Those who are genetically fit should be allowed to to pass on their genes for the good of the human race.
→Those who were genetically unfit should not be allowed to; they should be eliminated from the gene pool.
32
Evaluation of atavistic form as a biological explanation?
:) - Lombroso brought science to study of crime - Based ideas on empirical observation and detailed measurements.
:) - Revealed that crime may not simply be as a result of free will BUT criticised for being deterministic :(.
:( - Poor control in research - Lombroso did not give same attention to non-prisoners as he did prisoners when studying their 'atavistic form' (no control group). Ex. variables not controlled for.
:( - Issues with cause and effect - Atavistic characteristics does not mean this is the cause of their offending e.g. could be environmental factors.
:( - Scientific racism - a lot of Atavistic features = African descent.
:( - Contradictory research - Goring (1913) “There is no such thing as an anthropological criminal type”
33
Genetic explanation of crime?
- Offenders inherit a gene or combination of genes that predispose them to commit crime.
- The evidence for the genetic explanation comes from twin studies, which help to separate gene from the environment.
34
Research support for genetic explanation?
𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 (𝟏𝟗𝟑𝟎)
- 13 MZ twins and 17 DZ twins where one of the twins in each pair has spent time in prison.
- 10 of MZ + 2 of the DZ twins had a co-twin that had also spent time in prison, showing there is a correlation between genes and crime.
𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐧 (𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟕)
- 87 MZ twins and 147 DZ twins
- Found a concordance rate of 33% for MZs and 12% for DZs.
- Supports view that offending may have genetic component.
35
Advantages of twin studies?
- controlled/objective
- real life application
36
Disadvantages of twin studies?
- small sample
- cannot really be generalised (lacks external validity)
- twins may not necessarily be brought up in same environment
- early twin studies often unreliable since whether twins were MZ or DZ were based on appearance
37
What 2 candidate genes are responsible for criminal behaviour?
MAOA (Monoamine oxidase A) → Controls Dopamine and Serotonin in the brain and has been linked to aggressive behaviour [known as warrior gene].
CDH13 (Cadherin 13) → Has been linked to substance abuse and Attention Deficit Disorder.
38
Outline Jari Tiihonen et al (2015) - (research for genetic explanation)
A Finnish study.
- Abnormalities in candidate genes were found to be responsible for violent crime in 900 offenders.
- Found low MAOA and CDH13 activity and determined that 5-10% of all violent crimes are due to abnormalities in one of the 2 candidate genes.
- Individuals with this combination were 13 times more likely to have a history of violent behaviour.
39
Evaluation of Jari Tiihonen et al (2015)
:) - Male and female ppts. = representative sample
:) - 900 = large sample
:( - Not yet been replicated - may mean results are a one off/unreliable
:( - Ethnocentric
40
How may the diathesis-stress model relate to criminal behaviour?
- If genetics have some influence on offending it seems likely that this is at least partly moderated by the effects of the environment.
- A tendency towards offending may come about through the combination of genetic predisposition and biological or psychological trigger e.g. Being raised in a dysfunctional environment or having criminal role models.
41
What is the Mobley defence?
→𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐲 (𝟏𝟗𝟔𝟔-𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟓): Was a convicted murderer executed by the State of Georgia for the 1991 killing of John C. Collins, a 25-year-old college student working nights as a Domino's pizza store manager.
→On appeal, Mobley's attorney's advanced a novel argument that Mobley was genetically predisposed to seeking violent solutions to conflict.
→The case was described as 'the most widely cited case in which defence lawyers used genetic factors in the defence of their client'.
42
Neural explanations of crime?
- Evidence suggests there may be neural differences in the brains of criminals and non-criminals.
- Most of this evidence has investigated individuals diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder (formerly referred to as psychopathy).
- APD is associated with reduced emotional responses, a lack of empathy for the feelings of others, and is a condition that characteristics many convicted criminals.
43
What are the 2 neural explanations?
Prefrontal cortex
Mirror neurons
44
Prefrontal cortex neural explanation?
Individuals who experience antisocial personality disorder show reduced anxiety in the PFC, the part of the brain that regulates emotional behaviour.
Raine (2000) found an 11% reduction in the volume of grey matter in the PFC of people with APD compared to control groups.
45
Mirror neurons neural explanation?
Keysers (2011) found that only when criminals were asked to empathise with others did their empathy reactions activate.
Mirror neurons control this and fire in response to the actions of others.
They may have a neural 'switch' which can be turned on and off unlike the 'normal' brain where the empathy 'switch' is always on.
46
Issues with biological explanations?
- Biological reductionism - environment should be considered.
- Biological determinism creates problems for legal system - negates free will
47
Evaluation of genetic explanations?
:( - Issues with twin evidence
:) - Support for diathesis-stress - Danish study showed genetic inheritance plays an important role in offending but environmental influence is clearly also important.
48
Evaluation of neural explanations?
:) - Brain evidence - support for link between crime and frontal lobe. Elizabeth Kandel and David Freed 1989 reviewed evidence of frontal lobe damage and antisocial behaviour - people with such damage showed impulsive behaviour, emotional instability and inability to learn from mistakes which shows brain damage may be a causal factor in offending behaviour.
:( - Intervening variables - link between neural differences and ADP may be complex - may be childhood experiences e.g. neglect.
49
What are the 4 psychological explanations of crime and what do they assume?
1. Eysenck's Theory of the Criminal Personality
2. Cognitive Explanations (Kohlberg + cognitive distortions)
3. Differential Association Theory
4. Psychodynamic Explanations
Assume crime is result of social and psychological influences.
Includes influence of dysfunctional learning environments and influence of the family, cognitive factors and personality.
50
What is Eysenck's theory?
He proposed that personality could be represented along 2 dimensions:
- Introversion/Extroversion (E)
- Neuroticism/Stability (N)
He later added a third dimension - Psychoticism (P)
He believed our personality types are biological in origin and this depends on what kind of nervous system we inherit. Personality is innate! (and so is the criminal personality).
51
What is extraversion?
→People with High E scores are risk takers, seek sensation and stimulation.
→E is determined by the overall level of arousal in the person's CNS and ANS.
→High E-scorers have a naturally low level of arousal and therefore need more stimulation from their environment.
→They do not condition easily and don't learn from mistakes.
52
What is neuroticism?
→People with high N scores are over anxious, nervous and react very strongly to aversive (negative) stimuli.
→N is determined by the overall level of stability in a person's CNS
→Where N is low, the person has a stable, relatively unreactive nervous system WHEREAS high N score results in high degree of instability.
53
What is psychoticism?
→People who score high on P are aggressive, antisocial, cold and egocentric.
→Eysenck was less clear on how P related to the functioning of the nervous system.
54
What is the criminal personality?
The neurotic-extrovert type.
People who have very changeable emotions; prone to anxiety and depression.
55
How did Eysenck measure personality?
The Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI).
56
What is Eysenck's view of criminal behaviour (+socialisation)?
Eysenck viewed criminal behaviour as developmentally immature, in that it is selfish and concerned with immediate gratification.
Through socialisation, children are taught to manage their need for gratification through conditioning (e.g. punished when naughty).
He believed people with high E scores had nervous systems that were difficult to condition and unstable meaning they would not learn to respond to antisocial impulses with anxiety.
This encourages them to react on their impulses more often.
57
Positives of Eysenck's theory?
:) - Research support - Eysenck and Eysenck 1977 compared 2070 male prisoners with 2422 male controls and found prisoners scored higher on scores E,N +P than controls.
:) - Biological basis - fits well with other biological explanations and has some overlap with APD research.
58
Limitations of Eysenck' theory?
:( - Conflicting evidence - Farrington et al. 1982 reviewed studies/reports and found offenders scored higher on P measures, but not E and N.
Also little evidence of differences in EEG measures between extroverts and introverts.
:( - Mismeasurement of personality - cannot be measured by simple test as personality changes based on situation - no 'true self'.
:( - Cultural bias - studied western values.
:( - May be incomplete - there are different types of criminals!
59
What are Kohlberg's stages of moral development?
1. Pre-conventional morality
2. Conventional morality
3. Post-conventional morality
60
Explanation behind Kohlberg's stages of moral development?
→Decisions of judgements of right/wrong summarised in these stages.
→The higher the stage, the more sophisticated the reasoning is.
→The theory is based on participants' responses to a series of moral dilemmas such as the Heinz Dilemma.
61
What are the 2 stages of Pre-conventional morality and what is the age range and description?
1. Obedience/Punishment → Infancy - No difference between doing the right thing and avoiding punishment.
2. Self-Interest → Pre-school - Interest shifts between doing the right thing and avoiding punishment. Effort is made to secure greatest benefit for oneself.
62
What are the 2 stages of Conventional morality and what is the age range and description?
1. Conformity and Interpersonal Accord → School age - The 'good boy/girl' level. Effort is made to secure approval and maintain friendly relations with others.
2. Authority and Social Order → School age - Orientation towards fixed rules. The purpose of morality is maintaining the social order. Interpersonal accord is expanded to include the entire society.
63
What are the 2 stages of Post-conventional morality and what is the age range and description?
1. Social Contract → Teens - Mutual benefit, reciprocity. Morally right and legally right are not always the same. Utilitarian rules that make life better for everyone.
2. Universal Principles → Adulthood - Morality is based on principles that transcend mutual benefit.
64
What does utilitarian mean?
An ethical theory that determines right from wrong by focusing on outcomes.
Utilitarianism holds that the most ethical choice is the one that will produce the greatest good for the greatest number.
65
What was Kohlberg's 1973 study?
- Used moral dilemma technique with a group of violent youths.
- Found they were significantly lower in their moral development than non-violent youths.
66
What did Kohlberg conclude from his 1973 study?
- That criminals have a lower level of moral reasoning than others.
- Criminals do not progress from the pre-conventional level of moral reasoning.
- they seek to avoid punishment and gain rewards.
- They have child-like reasoning.
- Non-criminals tend to reason at higher levels and sympathise with the rights of others, exhibiting honesty, generosity and non-violence (post-conventional moral reasoning).
67
What are cognitive distortions as a cognitive explanation of criminality?
Errors or biases in individual's information processing system characterised by faulty thinking.
Research has linked this to the way in which criminals interpret other people's behaviour and justify their own actions.
Two examples:
1. Hostile attribution bias
2. Minimalisation
68
What is hostile attribution bias?
Misinterpreting the actions of other people - assuming others are being confrontational when they are not.
e.g. misreading non-aggressive cues (being looked at) and this triggers a disproportionate, often violent response
69
Research support for hostile attribution bias?
Schonenberg and Justye (2014) → 55 violent offenders were presented with images of emotionally ambiguous facial expressions. When compared with a control group, offenders were more likely than non-violent ppts to perceive the situation as hostile.
Dodge and Frame (1982) → Children were showed an 'ambiguous provocation' where the intention was neither clearly hostile or accidental. Prior to the study, children who had been judged as aggressive were more likely to perceive the situation as hostile.
70
What is minimalisation?
An attempt to downplay or deny the seriousness of an offence.
71
Research support for minimalisation?
Barbaree (1991) → Amongst 26 convicted rapists, 54% denied they had committed an offence at all and 40% minimised the harm they had caused the victim.
Pollock and Hashmall (1991)→ 35% of a sample of child molesters said that the crime they committed was non-sexual and 36% said that the victims had consented.
72
Evaluation of cognitive theories? (Kohlberg and Cognitive distortions)
:) - Research support for Kohlberg - Palmer and Hollin 1998 →offenders showed less mature moral reasoning than the non-delinquent groups.
:( - Individual differences - Thornton and Reid 1982 →the level of moral reasoning may depend on the kind of offence committed (impulsive crimes do not pertain any type of reasoning).
:) - Research support for cognitive distortions
:) - Real-life application - treating criminal behaviour with CBT → encourages offenders to 'fess up' to what they have done + establish a less distorted view of their actions.
:( - Type of offence - Level of CG depends on type of offence→non-contact sexual offenders (images on internet) used more cognitive distortions than contact sex offenders (physical abuse).
73
What is differential association theory? (Edwin Sutherland,1939)
- A scientific approach looking at influence of others on individuals.
- A theory designed to discriminate between individuals who become criminals and those who do not.
-Proposed that being an offender is 'learnt' via the accepted learning processes (conditioning and what is now called SLT) - just like any other learning.
-It proposes that through an interaction with other people individuals learn the values, attitudes, techniques and motives for criminal behaviour.
74
What 2 factors does differential association theory believe criminality arises from?
1. Learned attitudes towards crime
2. The learning of specific offending acts/techniques
75
Impact of pro-criminal attitudes on behaviour?
- If the number of pro-criminal attitudes the individual acquires from a group outweighs the number of anti-criminal attitudes, they will go on to offend.
- Learning process is the same whether learning criminality or conformity to the law (or anything else).
It should be possible to mathematically predict how likely it is that someone will commit a crime if we have knowledge of the frequency, intensity and duration of which they have been exposed to deviant and non-deviant norms and values.
76
What may an individual learn from pro-criminal attitudes?
Would-be offender may learn techniques for committing a crime
e.g. may learn breaking into someone's house is the best way to carry out a mugging through observational learning and imitation.
This offers an account of how crime might 'breed' in certain social groups/communities .
Also accounts for why so many convicts released from prison go on to reoffend and why prison is known as the 'university of crime'.
77
Strengths of differential association theory?
:) - Contribution towards changing peoples views on the origin of criminal behaviour → shifts the blaming of crime away from biological factors/factors relating to lack of morality or weakness of an individual to social factors and experiences.
:) - More realistic than Eugenics (Bio) or Punishment (Morality solution).
:) - Can explain a wider range of crime than other approaches → has good explanatory power and is more inclusive to any person e.g. not just working class.
:) - Research support - Orcutt (1987) found that marijuana smoking was related to the number of marijuana-smoking friends a person had.
78
Limitations of differential association theory?
:( - Limited scientific credibility - hard to see how pro-criminal influences and pro-social influences could be quantified/operationalised and in what ratio these would need to occur in order to 'tip' an individual over into criminality → lack of predictive power.
:( - Alternative explanations - Sutherland believed that the response of the family is crucial in determining whether the individual will engage in offending → if they support criminal activity this becomes a major influence on the child's value system (supported by Farrington 2006).
:( - Does not consider individual differences and free will - Assumes people have no free will in choosing to offend or not and doesn't take into account that not everyone who is exposed to comparable criminal influences goes on to commit crime.
79
What is recidivism?
The tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend (reoffending rates).
80
Ways of dealing with offending behaviour?
- Custodial sentencing
- Behaviour Modification in Custody
- Anger Management
- Restorative justice
81
What is custodial sentencing?
When a convicted offender spends time in prison.
(or another closed institution e.g. Young offenders' institute, Psychiatric hospital)
82
What are the 4 aims of custodial sentencing?
1. Deterrence
2. Incapacitation
3. Retribution
4. Rehabilitation
83
What is deterrence?
The threat of an unpleasant experience serves to prevent the behaviour in the future.
Individual deterrence - preventing the offender from committing the same crime in the future.
General deterrence - to deter the rest of the population from committing the same crime.
84
What is incapacitation?
The offender is out of action thus preventing reoffending.
This should protect other people in society from becoming victims.
85
What is retribution?
Society is enacting revenge for the crime by punishing the offender.
A crime has been committed and should receive a suitable punishment.
86
What is rehabilitation (reform)?
The experience of punishment leads to the offender becoming a 'changed' individual such that they will not reoffend.
Effective programmes are required in prisons.
87
Psychological effects of custodial sentencing?
𝟏. 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 - Suicide rates and self-harm rates higher in prison than in general population. Stress of prison experience also increases risk of psychological disturbance following release.
𝟐. 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 - Offenders adapt to the norms and routines of prison life to the extent where they cannot function on the outside.
𝟑. 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 - Prisoners are socialised into adopting an "inmate code". Behaviour that may be considered unacceptable in the outside world may be encouraged or rewarded inside prison.
88
Wandsworth prison facts?
- In London
- Largest and most feared prison in UK
- 2011 - A report said the treatment of inmates at Wandsworth was 'demeaning, unsafe and fell below what should be classed as decent'
- One of the most overcrowded prisons in England and Wales
- Violence, rape and psychological pressure common
89
Evaluation of custodial sentencing?
:) - Evidence to support psychological effects
- Bartol (1997) → suicide rates about 15 times higher than those in general pop.
- Prison Reform Trust (2014) → 25% women and 15% men in prison reported symptoms of psychosis.
HOWEVER this means it is proved to have a negative effect on priso
:) - Opportunities for training and treatment → rehabilitation, education and training available, treatment programmes BUT may lack resources for this.
:( - Individual differences - not all prisoners will react in the same way → may depend on: length of sentence, reason, previous convictions, prior psychological issues.
:( - Universities for crime - incarceration with more experienced criminals may give offenders a chance to learn criminal skills/attitudes.
:( - Alternatives to custodial sentencing - community service and restorative justice have been proposed →means family contacts and perhaps employment may be maintained.
90
What is behaviour modification in custody?
Undesirable behaviours are replaced with desirable behaviours through the use of positive and negative reinforcement.
(Token Economy)
91
What are token economies?
→ Tokens are secondary reinforcers - derive their value from association with a reward.
→ Rewards vary with institutions e.g. exchanging tokens for a phone call/time in the gym/cigarettes/food.
→ These behaviours and tokens made clear to prisoner before programme begins.
→ It is emphasised that non-compliance or disobedience may result in tokens and associated privileges being withheld or removed (Punishment).
92
How are token economies designed and used?
→ Operationalise target behaviour: A target behaviour is operationalised by breaking it down into a component part. E.g. improved interaction with other prison inmates → broken down into “speaking politely to others”, “not grabbing an inmate when passing them”. Should be objective and measurable and agreed with inmates and staff in advance.
→ Scoring systems: Staff and inmates must be aware of how much each behaviour is “worth”. Behaviours are hierarchical (some more demanding so receive greater rewards). Some may be awarded tokens directly, others may be awarded points which are converted into tokens. Recommended reinforcements should outnumber punishments by 4:1 ratio.
→ Train staff: Prison staff need full training in order to implement the token economy system successfully which could take several hours/weeks. The aim is to reach standardised procedures meaning staff must record when they have awarded tokens so the progress of the individual prisoners can be assessed.
93
How can prison staff change behaviour through token economies?
→ Desirable behaviour is identified, broken down into small increments and a baseline measure is established.
→ Behaviours to be reinforced are decided upon.
→ All staff who come into contact with the prisoner must follow the same regime of selective reinforcement.
Prison officials oversee effectiveness on individual prisoners and programme for the prison as a whole.
94
Key study for token economies in prison?
Hobbs and Holt (1976)
- Across 3 behavioural units, a token economy system was introduced.
- A 4th institution for young offenders acted as a control condition.
- The token economy groups showed a significant difference in the amount of positive behaviour compared with control.
The same was also found in adult institutions (Allyon 1979)
95
What is a conjugal visit?
A scheduled visit in which an inmate of a prison is permitted to spend several hours or days in private with a visitor, usually their legal spouse. The parties may engage in sexual activity. (Legal in 6 states in America)
96
Evaluation of the token economy?
:) - Research support → Cohen and Filipczak - T.E. Group showed more desirable behaviour than control. After 2 years, recidivism rates low but increased after 3 years.
→ Hobbs and Holt
:) - Increases desirable behaviours.
;( - Staff need training → Basset and Blanchard - benefits of system were lost when staff applied the rules inconsistently due to lack of training or high staff turnover.
;( - Prisoners not given choice → Were not given the option over whether they wanted to participate in the T.E..
;( - May be unethical → Withdrawal of privileges such as exercise or phone calls to loved ones may be ethically questionable.
;( - “Little rehabilitative value” → Any positive changes may be quickly lost when offenders are released.
;( - Rewards and frequency of these rewards must be tailored to the individual offender.
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What is anger management?
A therapeutic programme offered in prison to identify triggers and allow offenders to deal with the situation in a positive and calm manner.
It is a form of CBT → offenders recognise triggers and implement cognitive techniques that deal peacefully with the situation whilst avoiding anger.
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3 stages of anger management?
1.Cognitive Preparation
2.Skill Acqusition
3.Application practice
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What is cognitive preparation as a stage of anger management?
- The offender reflects on their past experience of anger and triggers.
- The therapist will aim to identify if the response is irrational and aim to break an irrational automatic response in the future.
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What is skill acquisition as a stage of anger management?
Offenders are introduced to a range of techniques and skills to help them deal with triggers more effectively.
E.g.
Cognitive skills: positive self-talk
Behavioural: assertiveness training to help them communicate more effectively
Physiological: methods of relaxation and/or medication
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What is application practice as a stage of anger management?
- Offenders are given the opportunity to practice their skills within a monitored environment using role-play.
- The successful response would be met with positive reinforcement from the therapist.
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What did Keen (2000) find out about anger management?
→ The National Anger Management Package was trailed in England and Wales with offenders aged 17-21.
→ Although there were initial issues of offenders not taking the course seriously and forgetting their routines, the programme overall was considered a success.
→ Offenders reported high levels of self-control and increased awareness of the course.
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Evaluation of anger management?
:) - Eclectic/multidisciplinary approach - covers cognitive, behavioural and social areas
:) - Better than T.E. as tackles the cause of the offending rather than superficial behaviour → gives offenders insight into the cause of their criminality + ways of managing their behaviour outside of prison, more likely to lead to permanent behaviour change and lower recidivism rates
:( - Expensive and required commitment - require services of highly trained professionals (costly) → many prisons cannot fund this/don’t have the resources, prisoners may be uncooperative and apathetic
:( - Research agains A.M. - little evidence to suggest anger management reduces recidivism in the long term → role play in application stage does not cover all the possible situations in which anger can arise in real life. E.g. busy pub environment
:( - May only benefit offenders who suit a certain profile
:( - Many crimes do not involve anger e.g. tax fraud
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What is restorative justice?
A system of dealing with criminal behaviour which focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation within victims.
Offenders see the impact of their crimes and the process empowers victims by giving them a “voice”.
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How does restorative justice change the emphasis from punishment to coming to terms with the crime?
Historically a person who had committed a criminal offence would have been regarded as committing a crime against the state.
RJ programmes switch the emphasis from the needs of the state (need for punishment) to needs of the individual victim (to come to terms with the crime and move on).
Victims are encouraged to take an active role in the process and offenders are required to take responsibility and face up to what they have done.
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Key features of restorative justice?
→ Focus on acceptance and positive change - less emphasis on punishment.
→ Not restricted to courtrooms - survivors and those responsible for harm may voluntarily choose to meet face-to-face in non-courtroom setting.
→ Active rather than passive involvement for everyone wherever possible.
→ Focus on positive outcomes for survivors and those who have engaged in wrongdoing.
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Variations of restorative justice?
- Offender may have to make a financial restitution (pay for damage) to the victim which may reflect the psychological damage done - or physical damage done.
- May involve offender repairing damage themselves.
- Flexible and can be alternative to prison (especially if offender is young).
- Can be used as an ‘add-on’ to community service or an incentive which may lead to reduction of existing sentence.
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Who organises restorative justice and what do they do?
The Restorative Justice Council (RJC)
They are an independent body.
→ Their role is to establish clear standards for use of restorative justice.
→ Supports victims and specialist professionals in the field.
→ Advocates (suggests) use of RJC in managing conflict in many areas - schools, children’s services, workplaces, hospitals and communities (as well as prison).
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What is the Muslim Sharia law based on?
It is based on the Koran and is dispensed by elders who decided on the amount of compensation a victim or victim’s family is entitled to.
They suggest that this system works better than the UK system.
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Evaluation of restorative justice?
:) - Allows offender to apologise and explain their wrongdoing.
:) - Flexible.
:( - Offender may not take it seriously.
:( - Depends on offender showing remorse → if they have affectionless psychopathy, they may not be willing to change/communicate with victims and have remorse.
:( - Considered a soft option.
:( - Expensive.
:( - May not be suitable for all crimes → females have said they believe it should be banned for domestic violence cases as there are issues with a power imbalance in relationship between victim and abuser + wider community.
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What are the 2 psychodynamic explanations?
1. The inadequate superego
2. Maternal deprivation
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What did Blackburn (1993) believe about the superego?
If the superego formed in the phallic psychosexual stage does not function as it should (deficient or inadequate) the Id is not controlled well and this can lead to offending behaviour.
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What are the 3 types of inadequate superego?
1. Weak superego - The same sex parent is absent which means there is no opportunity for identification
2. The deviant superego - The child internalises immoral or deviant values (parent that is criminal)
3. The over-harsh superego - The superego is overly punitive and needs satisfying, instilling a constant sense of guilt and anxiety
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What is Bowlby's maternal deprivation theory?
→He thought that a person who had not had a continuous, loving relationship with a mother-figure in childhood will suffer serious effects as an adult.
→One of these effects includes affectionless psychopathy leading to lack of guilt, empathy, feelings for others and the inability to form a lasting relationship in adulthood (no internal working model)
→ Supported by 44 thieves study
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Bowlby's 44 thieves study?
- interviewed 44 juvenile thieves
- 14 showed characteristic of affectionless psychopathy
- of this 14, 12 had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers during infancy
- in non-criminal group, only 2 had experienced similar early separation
He concluded that the early effects of Maternal Deprivation had caused affectionless psychopathy and delinquent behaviour.
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Evaluation of 44 thieves study?
:) Interviews are cheaper/less time consuming
:( Ethical issues/socially sensitive
:( Issues with interviews
:( Small sample size
:( Lacks temporal validity
:( Deprivation and privation confused
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Evaluation of psychodynamic explanation?
:) - Research support - Goreta 1991 BUT ignores biological factors, small sample and has conflicting evidence
:) - Contribution - psychodynamic explanations were some of the first to link early experience in childhood to moral behaviour and offending
:( - Gender bias - according to Freud, girls develop a weaker superego than boys (statistics show higher ratio of males:females in prison)
:( - Contradictory evidence - may be genetic/neural factors or DAF
:( - Lack of falsifiability
:( - Methodological issues - researcher bias and failed to distinguish between deprivation and privation
