Forensic Flashcards

Question

Evaluation of the neural explanation (neurotransmitters)

Answer 1

.... lesson 6

Answer 2

Eysenck developed a theory of personality based on the idea that character traits tend to cluster along three dimensions.

Answer 3

Extraversion/ introversion Neuroticism/ stability Psychoticism/ stability (this was added later on)

Answer 4

- sociable (E) - active (E) - passive and unsociable (I)

Answer 5

- moody and anxious (N) - calm (S) - leadership (S)

Answer 6

- aggressive (P) - impulsive (P) - calm (S)

Answer 7

He suggested that each trait has a biological basis which is mainly innate

Answer 8

Extraversion is determined by arousal in nervous system

Answer 9

Neuroticism is determined by the level of stability in the sympathetic nervous system, how much a person responds in situations of fight or flight

Answer 10

Psychoticism is related to higher levels of testosterone.

Answer 11

Extraverts seek more arousal so are more likely to engage in dangerous activities.

Answer 12

Neurotics are unstable and therefore prone to overreact in some situations - may explain some criminal behaviour.

Answer 13

Individuals are aggressive and lack empathy, easily linked to crime.

Answer 14

Cognitive distortion is a form of irrational thinking. Distortions are ways reality has become twisted. This can be further divided into: Hostile attribution bias and minimalisation.

Answer 15

Someone who always attributes behaviours to negative things. Someone who always thinks the worst.

Answer 16

Consequences of behaviour are down-played

Answer 17

Boys and men about their reasons for moral decisions.

Answer 18

Subsequently, he constructed a stage theory of moral development.

Answer 19

Level 1: Pre-conventional morality Level 2: Conventional morality Level 3: Post-conventional morality

Answer 20

Stage 1: punishment orientation - rules are obeyed to avoid punishment Stage 2: instrumental orientation or personal gain - rules are obeyed for personal gain

Answer 21

Stage 3: ‘Good boy’ or ‘Good girl’ orientation - rules are obeyed for approval Stage 4: Maintenance of the social order - rules are obeyed to maintain social order

Answer 22

Stage 5: Morality of contract and individual rights - rules are obeyed if they are impartial; democratic rules are challenged if they infringe on the rights of others (e.g. if something is breaching human rights) Stage 6: Morality of conscience - the individual establishes his or her own rules in accordance with a personal set of ethical principles

Answer 23

Used when treating criminals CBT provisions for sex offenders to help them to “sum up”to the extent of the crime This shows the theory is used in practice Practical APPLICATION

Answer 24

Evidence supporting levels of moral reasoning Palmer and Holm used a scale of 11 moral dilemma related questions - offenders showed to be less mature Increases RELIABILITY

Answer 25

Kohlberg only interviewed men and boys This theory therefore may not apply to women We know that 90% of prisoners in the USA are male, and 95% of prisoners in the UK are male. Not generalisable to women as we haven’t tested their morality levels, and don’t know why they commit crime.

Answer 26

Cognitive explanations are descriptive, not explanatory Good at describing criminal minds, less successful when explaining it Lowers VALIDITY - doesn’t do what it is meant to do which is to explain

Answer 27

The social learning theory

Answer 28

1. Criminal behaviour is LEARNED 2. It is learnt through ASSOCIATION with others 3. The association is with intimate PERSONAL GROUPS 4. What is learned is TECHNIQUES AND ATTITUDES 5. The learning is DIRECTIONAL - could be for or against crime 6. If favourable attitudes OUTWEIGH unfavourable attitudes, that person will become an offender 7. The learning experiences VARY in frequency and intensity for each individual 8. Criminal behaviour is LEARNED THROUGH THE SAME PROCESS as any other behaviour 9. General “need “ is NOT a sufficient explanation for crime

Answer 29

If someone sees a behaviour being rewarded, they’ll be more inclined to copy the behaviour or if it has been punished, they are less likely to copy the behaviour.

Answer 30

Changed peoples views about the origins of criminal behaviour The theory marked an important shift from ‘blaming’ individual factors to pointing to social factors. The theory suggested that crime did not have to be explained in terms of personality (mad or bad) Such an approach has important real-world implications because learning environments can be changed Sutherland also shifted the emphasis away from ‘bad’ individuals by highlighting white-collar crime which is often committed by those otherwise seen as ‘respectable’ ETHICS

Answer 31

Supported by evidence Osborne and West (1982) found that, where there is a father with a criminal conviction, 40% of the sons had committed a crime by the age of 18 compared to 13% of sons of non-criminal fathers This evidence suggests that criminality appears to run in families and that therefore suggests that criminal behaviours and attitudes are the result of social learning RELIABILITY

Answer 32

Methodological issues This is because it is largely based on correlational analysis The problem with this type of data is that it is not possible to determine the cause from effect In terms of peer influences, it could be that offenders seek out other offenders and this would explain why offenders are likely to have peers who are offenders INTERNAL VALIDITY DECREASES

Answer 33

The differential association explanation struggles to account for all kinds of crime Social learning influences are probably confined to ‘smaller’ crimes rather than violent and impulsive ones such as rape and murder On the other hand, in England and Wales in 2014 there were 500 murders and 400,000 burglaries; so the theory is able to explain a large proportion of the crime A related criticism is that differential association theory also can’t explain why most offences are committed by people under 21

Answer 34

The absence of biological factors from this account is a drawback The diathesis-stress model may offer a better account by combining social factors with vulnerability factors Predisposing factors may be innate genetic ones or early experiences such as maltreatment Indeed, attachment research suggests that emotional problems in childhood make a child vulnerable to deviant peer influences later in life. As such, the social approach on its own may be an insufficient explanation

Answer 35

John Bowlby’s Theory of Maternal Deprivation | Ronald Blackburn’s idea of the inadequate superego

Answer 36

Both of these explanations abide by the Freudian principle that the roots of (criminal) behaviour are formed in childhood

Answer 37

Critical period Continuity hypothesis Intellectual development Emotional development

Answer 38

An attachment must be formed before the age of two

Answer 39

If an attachment is not formed within the critical period, there will be negative effects that will follow the child into later life, for example affectionless psychopathy

Answer 40

Bowlby believed that maternal deprivation would lead to mental retardation, an extremely low IQ

Answer 41

Bowlby believed maternal deprivation would lead to problems with emotional development. He identifies psychopaths, who do not experience guilt, empathy/ strong emotions for others and are unable to appreciate the emotions of others

Answer 42

The study looked at 44 juvenile thieves accused of stealing They were interviewed for signs of affection-less psychopathy Families were interviewed to discover any separation/ deprivation They were compared to a group of non-criminal, but emotionally disturbed young people

Answer 43

Bowlby found that 14/44 of the thieves could be classified as affectionless psychopaths, and 12 of these bad experienced a prolonged separation from their mother during the first two years In the control group, only 2 had experienced separation

Answer 44

The superego is our “moral compass”and therefore likely to be involved in criminal behaviour as it is concerned with right and wrong

Answer 45

Under or over development of the superego may lead to offending behaviour

Answer 46

- usually law abiding - exceptions - desire for sex leads to strong feelings of guilt - guilt = need to be punished - crime = punishment --> punishment = satisfy guilt

Answer 47

- lack of loving parent figure during childhood - ego balances ID and superego, when the ID outweighs the SE they feel less guilt about innate drives (pleasure) - selfish - uncaring - uncontrolled aggression - no care for self or others = no concern for consequences

Answer 48

- oedipus conflict - boy models father - if father is deviant, the son will imitate (works the same for Electra complex --> girl and mother)

Answer 49

Bowlby found that his findings had implications for prevention of delinquency Treatment of emotional problems in young delinquents is difficult so it's preferable to try prevent the problem by avoiding early separations In his early research, Bowlby and Robertson's demonstrated that the key was emotional separation, not just physical. Showed children coped reasonably well with separations from parents as long as alternative emotional care was provided APPLICATION

Answer 50

Dietz and Warren found that 76% of the 41 serial rapists that they interviewed were abused when they were young RELIABILITY

Answer 51

Females are said to have weaker superego but there are more male criminals (90% of the prison population in USA are male, and 95% of the prison population in the UK are male) Freud shows alpha bias --> suggests women are less/lower than men GENERALISABILITY

Answer 52

Socially sensitive as blames parents/ carers for bringing up criminal child ETHICS

Answer 53

Unconscious concepts cannot test superego empirically as it is pseudoscientific therefore unfalsifiable INTERNAL VALIDITY

Answer 54

Resslet et al (1988) Out of 36 murderers interviewed in the USA 42% were found to have been sexually abused as youngsters RELIABILITY

Answer 55

Important as the role of emotion is considered, unlike the cognitive approach It considers rejection, early childhood etc. VALIDITY

Answer 56

- deterence - discourages crime - retribution - to atone for wrongdoing (reflect and come to terms with actions and understand why what they did was wrong) - rehabilitate offenders - incapacitation of offenders, protects public - punishment, and to prevent recidivism (re-offending)

Answer 57

Zimbardo (1973) found that uniforms and prisons may lead to de-individuation, which is associated with increased aggression

Answer 58

Abraham (1989) found that depression was caused by helplessness and hopelessness Suicide is a possible outcome of depression. The greatest risk group is single young men, in the first 24 hours of being in prison

Answer 59

Calhoun (1962) showed that overcrowding with rats led to increased aggression, hyper-sexuality, stress and increased physical illness. Recent data suggests 25% of prisoners are in overcrowded accommodation, with two people in a cell designed for one. Aggression and sex are the two biggest ways of reducing testosterone surges --> no women, and no space to mark territory (primitive)

Answer 60

Effects of the family Children with a mother or father in prison are deeply affected financially and psychologically. Parents in prison may feel guilt and separation anxiety

Answer 61

Can't cope in society after being released e.g. new technology, changes

Answer 62

Criminal behaviour increase due to being around other criminal-minded people

Answer 63

Rehabilitation Prison offers the ability to educate the offender and/or treat them for mental health issues VALIDITY does what the aim is

Answer 64

Recidivism | Punishing behaviour decreases the likelihood of offenders repeating the behaviour in the future

Answer 65

Klein et al (1977) found that offenders sentenced to community rehabilitation were less likely to reoffend

Answer 66

The Prison Reform Trust (2014) found that 46% of adults were reconnected within one year of release. 67% of under 18 year olds were reconnected within a year. LESS VALIDITY

Answer 67

Sutherland (1939) differential association theory. Prison may increase the likelihood of crime as there is an increase in the association with people who have pro-criminal attitudes

Answer 68

Token economy programmes started in the 60's They are used to obtain desirable behaviour in closed institutions such as prisons, and they are used for juvenile and adult offenders Form of behaviour modification It involves a system of rewards being set up for desired behaviour, sometimes with punishments to discourage undesirable behaviour Rewards are usually tokens or points; these can be periodically exchanged for something the individual wants Desirable behaviour such as cooperation and compliance is reinforced with the use of these tokens

Answer 69

Negative reinforcement and punishment to reduce undesirable behaviour such as non-compliance and aggression

Answer 70

Removal of privileges such as watching TV or going to the exercise yard

Answer 71

- what is desired behaviour - what is a token - how tokens are allocated - what is a reward - how there will be gradual changing of the giving of tokens to shape the behaviour - how many tokens there are for each reward - how the reward will be removed once the behaviour is achieved

Answer 72

Gradually altering behaviour through selective reinforcement of behaviour that approximate or come close to the desired new behaviour

Answer 73

An item a person physically needs or desires

Answer 74

A reward for showing desired behaviour

Answer 75

A choice of how to implement a reinforcement strategy

Answer 76

Item given as reward | Have no intrinsic value

Answer 77

Tokens being given as rewards for target behaviour

Answer 78

Positive feelings following the removal of an aversive stimuli

Answer 79

A token economy was introduced in a school for delinquent boys to try to reduce inappropriate social behaviour 125 children were observed in four cottages over 14 months. One was a control group with no tokens Two supervisors observed each boy and recorded behaviours in six categories such as following instructions or completing chores The boys were told daily how many tokens they had earned, and exchanged them weekly for treats, or saved them for off-campus activities

Answer 80

Social behaviours increased by an average of 27% in boys who were included in the programme, with no increase in the control group

Answer 81

Easy to implement The appeal of B.M is mostly to do with how easy it is to administer. Virtually anyone in the institution can implement the T.E system It is cost-effective and easy to follow once workable methods of reinforcement have been established

Answer 82

Individually tailored programmes are most effective Clinton Field et al. (2004) examined a T.E. programme used with young people with behavioural problems. The programme was generally effective but there were a no. of young people who didn't respond. Later the youths were placed on a special programme where rewards were immediate and more frequent and results were positive. Suggests for maximum effectiveness the programme should be designed so rewards and frequency of rewards suit each individual.

Answer 83

Found any benefits were lost after staff applied the techniques inconsistently due to factors such as lack of appropriate training of staff or high turnover

Answer 84

Ethical issues Terms and conditions of behaviour modification as regarded as manipulative and dehumanising by several commentators e.g. Moya and Achtenburg (1974). In an institution with the T.E. system, participation is obligatory for all offenders. Although offenders can decide to comply with the scheme or break rules, it has been suggested that the programme, which involves withdrawal of 'privileges' such as exercise or contact with loved ones, is unethical.

Answer 85

Anger management is a type of CBT that aims to reduce an emotional response (anger) by reconceptualising the emotion Its use with prisoners has two aims: reduce anger and aggression in prisons in the short-term and reduce recidivism in the long-term. Novaco's model draws on the stress inoculation approach and has three key steps: 1. Cognitive preparation: clients learn about anger and how it can be adaptive and non-adaptive 2. Skill acquisition: clients are taught various skills to help manage their anger 3. Application training: clients apply their skills, first in controlled situations and later in real world settings

Answer 86

Contradicting research Blackburn (1993) long term effectiveness is not effective in reducing recidivism as therapy relies on artificial role - play and not real life events

Answer 87

- Some AMP are run by psychologists, others by prison staff (success depends on training of prison) DECREASES RELIABILITY - Some studies only last a few days, such as Ireland (2004) but some last years. Less consistent supportive research RELIABILITY

Answer 88

``` Jane Ireland (2004) compared the progress of two groups of offenders: one of which tool part in an anger management programme and the other as non-trreatment control. After the treatment group had completed 12 sessions, outcomes were assessed using three measures: an interview, a behaviour checklist completed by prison officers and a self-report questionnaire: 92% of the experimental group showed an improvement on the checklist and the self-report. There were no such improvements within the control group. ```

Answer 89

+ Taylor and Novoca (2006) reported 75% improvement rate based on 6 case studies + McGuire (2008) found reduction in reoffending after one year. Long term success of AMP is more likely than with behaviour modification as it looks at the cause of the crime. APPLICATION

Answer 90

Seeks to achieve justice by repairing the harm done by an offender This may be a payment letter or interaction between the victim and the offender

Answer 91

1. Focus on acceptance of responsibility and positive change for people who harm others. Decreases the chances of re-offending( 14% reduction of recidivism) 2. Not restricted to court rooms. Offenders and victims may meet outside of the courtrooms 3. Active rather than passive involvement of all parties (+85% satisfaction rate for victims) 4. Focus on positive outcomes for survivors and those involved in wrong doings (+85% satisfaction rate for victims)

Forensic Flashcards

(116 cards)