Forensic psychology Flashcards

Question

What are 2 limitations of top down offender profiling

Answer 1

Resslers research only used 36 serial killers in self report - hard to generalise. May also have lied for notoriety or reduced sentence. Conflicting evidence Canter 2004 reviewed 100 serial killers and analysed 39 aspects of their offence Found disorganised features were rare and didnt form a distinct type

Answer 2

Using statistical analysis of data collected at the scene which is compared against a large database

Answer 3

Interpersonal coherence - suggests a persons interaction with victim is the same as with other people in their lives, e.g aggressive Time/place significance - offenders likely to feel more comfortable/controlled in a place they know better Criminal characteristics - how the crime has been committed suggests aspects of the offenders characteristics Criminal career - how following crimes by the same offender change due to the criminal gaining experience Forensic awareness - the criminal showing knowledge of criminal justice systems/ investigative processes

Answer 4

A branch of bottom up profiling focusing on where an offender is likely to be based

Answer 5

The number of crimes will decrease the further away from the offenders base. However, there will be a "buffer zone" around their home base to decrease the chances of being recognised

Answer 6

Suggests offenders operate according to a limited spatial mindset, so crimes radiate out from their home base creating a circle

Answer 7

Marauder - base is within their circle of crimes Commuter - circle of crimes is further away from their house; e.g a man in Chippenham committing crimes in Corsham

Answer 8

Canter and Larkin (1993) Showed 87% of a sample of 45 British serial sexual assaulters were marauders. This supports the circle theory and the idea that choice of place is significant factor. Based on careful statistical analysis, so is seen as more scientific than top down

Answer 9

Difficult to know if a criminal is a marauder of commuter before they are apprehended. Relies on all crime committed by them being recorded, or the 'circle' could be skewed.

Answer 10

Effectiveness is difficult to assess, as is never used in isolation. Other forensic techniques are used so it is difficult to see how much a profile contributes Alison (2003) states many profiles are too ambiguous. Gave two groups of detectives the same profile, with details of extremely different offenders. In each group 75% rated the profile as somewhat accurate.

Answer 11

Snook (2007) Found Canadian major crime officers agreed criminal profiling helps solve cases (94%) and is a valuable investigative tool (88.2%)

Answer 12

Extravert/introvert Neurotic/stable Psychoticism

Answer 13

Highly extroverted, neurotic, and psychotic. E - More likely to take risks, act on impulse and seek thrills N - Feels negative emotion more strongly, increasing likelihood of heat of moment crimes P - Not put off by feelings of guilt or empathy. Psychoticism associated with aggression.

Answer 14

McGurk and McDougall Gave Eysenck personality test to 100 inmates and 100 bricklayers. 17-20yrs old. Results showed inmates scored higher on extrovert, neurotic and psychotic

Answer 15

Relative importance of factors Some factors, such as psychoticism, were found to have a much higher correlation with crime. Reductionist Many people who score highly on extroversion, neuroticism and psychoticism do not commit crimes, meaning there has to be other factors at play

Answer 16

Suggests there are internal mental processes about the world and moral decisions that lead to offending

Answer 17

Kohlberg (1969)

Answer 18

Pre-conventional Conventional Post conventional

Answer 19

Pre conventional stage

Answer 20

Morality is considered only in terms of how their actions will affect them. Split into two stages

Answer 21

Stage 1 - Punishment orientation Correct behaviour is whatever helps avoid punishment, so crime will happen if they feel they can get away with it Stage 2 - Reward orientation Correct behaviour is whatever will be most rewarding so criminal behaviour will happen if reward outweighs the risk

Answer 22

Criminal behaviour less likely to occur as they consider what is best for personal relationships and society

Answer 23

Criminal behaviour least likely as people consider general moral principles and fundamental rights and wrongs

Answer 24

When the mind fails to accurately perceive the true reality of the world around us. This misunderstanding leads to behavioural responses that

Answer 25

When our inferences about other peoples internal mental states are biased to assume they have negative intentions. For example, accidentally bumping into someone is interpreted as an attack

Answer 26

When interpreting our own behaviour is seen as less serious than it really is, such as by denying harm to the victim or placing blame on them. This is to try justify behaviour and reduce feelings of guilt.

Answer 27

Hollin and Palmer (1998) Compared level of moral reasoning between offenders and non deliquents between 13 and 22. Male offenders had poorer moral reasoning on 10 of the 11 questions, suggesting offenders have developmental moral deficits

Answer 28

Gender bias Kohlberg assumed his theory would apply to women as well (beta bias) But when women were tested they were found to be less morally developed than men, even though men are more likely to be offenders. Social desirability factors Based theory around hypothetical dilemma People may have changed their response to avoid judgement, or would not have known how they would act

Answer 29

A belief that criminality is the result of association with criminals. Believes criminal behaviour is learnt

Answer 30

Everybody having a unique set of people around them

Answer 31

Deviant norms Pro-criminal attitudes.

Answer 32

Reinforced - expectations of the criminals who will approve of crime Offending techniques - passed down through peer groups, e.g how to pick a lock

Answer 33

Explains both violent and non-violent crime Sutherland looked at things like fraud or bad business practice as well as bank robbery. RWA Stops people putting first time offenders in confinement with experienced criminals who may reinforce pro criminal attitudes or pass on techniques Rejected racist view In Sutherlands time, the 'born criminal' was a popular thoery, this provided an alternative

Answer 34

Doesn't explain statistics Younger males more likely to commit crimes than older males, who would haave been further exposed to criminal attitudes. Correlational Could be that those who are biologically predisposed to crime seek out others.

Answer 35

Freudian theory Bowlbys attachment

Answer 36

Underdeveloped super ego A lack of identification with same sex parent results in an underdeveloped super ego, which is not able to control the id by providing guild or reward. Over-developed super ego Overly strict parenting and over identification produces excessively dominant superego. The need to justify this extreme guilt leads to more crime being committed. Deviant superego Same sex parent is identified with normally, but is a criminal/ The behaviours and values imitated are criminal and so morality rules are different.

Answer 37

Denial - criminal rejects serious nature of crimes; "I didn't really hurt him, he's playing it up" Displacement - criminal feels anger towards a target they cannot express anger to, so release that anger on weaker targets. e.g, man is angry with his boss, so attacks his wife Rationalisation - criminal justifies their crime; "he doesn't care if I break in and take stuff, the door was unlocked"

Answer 38

Freudian theory Bowlbys attachment

Answer 39

Freudian theory Bowlbys attachment

Answer 40

A poor infant-caregiver attachment causes crime

Answer 41

Affectionless psychopathy (44 thieves)

Answer 42

Not directly observable or falsifiable. A different superego cannot be empirically tested and compared to delinquency so is not scientific enough. Alpha bias As females don't resolve Oedipus complex, they should have weaker superegos, an example of alpha bias. But, women commit less crime than men, decreasing validity

Answer 43

RWA Parenting classes can be adjusted to ensure a child does not over or under develop their superego.

Answer 44

Correlational Range of alternative explanations also mean cause and effect cant be established

Answer 45

Holding convicted criminals in a secure facility like a prison or young offenders institution

Answer 46

Deterrence - put criminals off reoffending and crime Incapacitation - protect society from criminal Retribution - provide the victim and society a sense criminals have paid for their crime Rehabilitation - opportunity to learn new skills and behaviour

Answer 47

Depression - prisoners often feel helpless in frightening environment, and so highly stressed. Institutionalisation - prisoners adapt to prison environment and struggle to adapt to outside life Deindividuation - prisons can strip people oftheir sense of socialised individual identity, leading to high aggression

Answer 48

When an offender reoffends after being released from jail.

Answer 49

77% of ex inmates go on to reoffend

Answer 50

Prisons may not rehabilitate or deter offenders, as 77% went on to reoffend. Differential association Putting prisoners together can result in pro-criminal attitudes and sharing of criminal skills Expensive Cost per prisoner per year in the UK is 42,000 pounds.

Answer 51

Many members of society believe giving offenders long sentences is an appropriate punishment, and sentences lacking in retribution, like probation, are labelled 'soft'

Answer 52

Based on behaviourist approach Uses operant condition through token economy

Answer 53

Offenders rewarded with tokens for predefined desired target behaviours such as helping in canteen. Tokens are secondary reinforcers, which can be exchanged for primary reinforcers such as chocolate.

Answer 54

Hobbs and Holt Used token economy for young offenders Found significant increase in appropriate behaviour, compared to no behavioural change in control group

Answer 55

Has no long term effects in reducing recidivism

Answer 56

Aggression is a cognitive process that can be controlled with a form of CBT

Answer 57

Cognitive preparation Skills acquisition Application practice

Answer 58

Offenders learn to assess their own thoughts for triggers of irrational aggressive emotion. Examples from their lives are used and reinterpreted.

Answer 59

Ways to control anger are developed from calming/ relaxation exercises to improving communication skills to avoid conflict

Answer 60

Therapist and offender play out role play scenarios that would have caused an aggressive response.

Answer 61

Ireland (2004) Self report questionnaires were completed by offenders before and after treatment. 48% of the group showed improvement.

Answer 62

Self report techniques Effectiveness is gauged through self report, which is flawed as often there is an incentive for completing anger management like a reduced sentence, so prisoners likely to lie

Answer 63

An attempt to rehabilitate the offender by getting them to cognitively understand the effect their crime has had on the victim and wider soceity

Answer 64

An attempt to rehabilitate the offender by getting them to cognitively understand the effect their crime has had on the victim and wider society

Answer 65

Meeting - victim and offender take part in a meeting supervised by trained mediator. Victim encouraged to explain the harm caused to them. Reparation - Offender accepts responsibility by way of repayment, be it cash of community service

Answer 66

Ministry of Justice assessment Found 14% reduction in recidivism, 62% of victims felt better, and for every £1 spent on RJ, it saved £8 from recidivism.

Answer 67

Depends on the victim cooperating, may not be the case if the victim feels the offender will be playing along to avoid a harsher sentence.

Forensic psychology Flashcards

(93 cards)