forensic psychology Flashcards

Question

No evidence he didn’t compare his criminal sample with a control group

Answer 1

it is possible that had he done so the significant differences in atavistic form that lombroso also failed to account for other important variables within his research. many of the criminals he studied had suffered from a history of psychological disorders which may have confounded the findings. control groups are important as it shows it noty just a coincidence and make it scientific credible

Answer 2

we still don't know the cause of their offending whether its your environment or if its innate and you've inherited it. nature vs nurture

Answer 3

evidence suggests there may be differences in the brains of criminals and non- criminals . most have investigated those with antisocail personality disorder psychopathy. apd is associated with reduced emotional responses and a lack of empathy , common in convicted criminals

Answer 4

Raine used pet scans to comparethe brain of two groups .raine found that there was reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex.he also found an 11%reduction in the volume of grey matter in the prefrontal cortex of people with apd vs controls lowered activity in this area is associated with impulsiveness and loss of control

Answer 5

mirror neurons are a type of brain cell that activate both when we perform an action and when we observe someone else performing that same action. this mirroring mechanism is thought to play a significant role in how we understand and empathise with others. Keyser's et al 2011dound that only when asked would criminal emphasis with someone experiencing pain would their mirror neurons activate. this suggests that apd individuals do not lack empathy but can switch it on and off unlike normal people.

Answer 6

genetic explanations for crime suggest that would be offenders inherit a gene or combination of genes that predispose them to commit a crime.

Answer 7

suggest that offenders inherit a gene or combination of genes that predispose them to commit crime. Lange 1930 studied 13 identical mz and 17 non identical dz twins where on of each twin had served time in prisons 10 mz but only 2 dz had both served time in prisons Lange concluded genetics must be predominant part in the offender behaviour Christiansen 1977 studied 87 mz and 147 dz and found 33% of mz and 12% dz had also both offended this supports lange suggestion that genetics are a major factor in offending

Answer 8

Jari Tihonen et al 2014 analysed genes from 900 offenders revealed abnormalites on two genes associated with violent crime the maoa gene which controls dopamine and serotonin levels in the brain and linked to aggressive behaviour cdh13 gene linked with substance abuse and add this combination made it 13 times more likely the individual would have a history of violent behaviour

Answer 9

genetic predisposition + environmental effect = criminality it shows that we are genetically predisposed to violent behaviour and can trigger it dues to the right environment effecting leading to criminality. This known as diathesis stress model

Answer 10

people with high e scores are risk takers, seek sensation and stimulation. they also do not condition easily and not learn from mistakes biological basis - under aroused nervous system meaning they constantly seek excitement stimulator and are likley to engage i risk taking and dangerous behaviours which may explain some offending behaviour

Answer 11

people with high n scores are overanxious, nervous and react very strongly to averse negative stimuli a high n score results in a high degree of instability biological basis- more reactive sympathetic nervous system ie greater response to threat thet are unstable overreact to threats

Answer 12

people who score high are aggressive antisocial, cold and egocentric biological basis-high levels testosterene more likely to be aggressive

Answer 13

eysenck saw criminal behaviour as developmentally immature as it is selfish and concerned with immediate gratification socialisation teaches children to be able to delay gratification and be more socially oriented however people with high n and e scores are hard to condition because of their nervous system they cannot learn to respond to antisocial impulses with anxiety and therefore are more likely to act antisocially

Answer 14

this supports his theory that criminals have certain personality types

Answer 15

the researcher suggested that this was because their sample was a very different cultural group than that investigated by Eysenck. This questions the generalisability of the criminal personality theory.

Answer 16

however, this is countered by the use of lie scales such as are all of your habit good and desirable? people who choose yes to many of these questions are deemed as dishonest and answering in a socially desireable way and so their data is discarded. this suggests that personality questonaires may validly measure personality and so be useful in the measurement of the criminal personality but that results should be treated with caution as it may be possible to answer in socailly desirable and therefore dishonest ways without being detected by the lie scales.

Answer 17

kohlberg proposed that peoples decisions and judgements on issues of right and wrong can be summarised in a stage theory of moral development the higher the stage the more sophisticated the reasoning. studies such as kohlberg et al 1973 have found that criminals have a lower level of moral reasoning than non- criminals violent youths ere significantly lower in their moral development tha non-violent youths even after controlling for social back grounds. lower level of moral reasoning more likely to be a criminal

Answer 18

children accept the rules of authority figures and judge actions by their consequences. actions that result in punishments are bad those those that bring rewards are goods stage one - punishment and obedience focuses on rules enforced by punishment stage two - instrumental purpose- what counts as right is defined by one's own needs rules are obeyed for personal gain

Answer 19

individuals continue to believe that conformity to social rules is desirable but this is not out of self interest. Maintaining current social system ensures positive human relationships and social order. stage 3- good boy/ girl what is right is defined by what others expect rules are obeyed for approval stage 4- social order- reference to duties of each citizen rules are obeyed to maintain social order

Answer 20

individual moves beyond unquestioning compliance to the norms of the social system. The individual now defines morality in terms of abstract moral principles that apply to all societies and situations . stage 5- social contract : individual rights may be more important than the law. stage 6 - universal ethical principles the individual establishes his or her own rules in accordance with a personal set of ethical principles

Answer 21

found that criminals have a lower level of moral reasoning than non-criminals. violent youths were significantly lower in their moral development than non- violent youths even after controlling for social back ground lower level of moral reasoning more likely to be criminal

Answer 22

cognitive distortions are a way of irrational thinking. distortions are a way that reality has become twisted so that what is perceived no longer represents what is true

Answer 23

which assumes that other peoples actions are in some way a negative reaction to the self. e,g you walk into a room where two colleagues are talking and they stop and you think its about you

Answer 24

- research has shown that there is a relationship between hostile attribution bias and aggression (Schoenberg and Justyne 2014) - 55 violent offenders were shown emotionally ambiguous facial expressesions, when compared with a control group the violent offenders were significantly more likely to perceive the images as angry and hostile. - dodge and Frame 1982 found that children identified as being aggressive were more likely to interpret an 'ambigous' provocation as hostile.

Answer 25

- a type of cognitive distortion that downplays the effect of the crime by the offender bandura 1973 - a form of self- deception, the offender does not accept the full reality of the situations and will attempt to rationalise what they have done. e.g. a burglar who justifies stealing to provide for his family - this involves strategies where the act might be trivialised or sometimes the victim is blamed - a way of reducing the offenders feeling of guilt

Answer 26

Kennedy & grubin 1992 found the majority of sex offenders tended to blame the victim 1/4 of those interviewed thought the abuse was a positive thing for the victim barbaree 1991 found that amongst 26 convicted rapists 54% denied they had committed an offence at all and 40%minimised the harm that they had caused the victim pollock and hashmall 1991 report that 35% of a sample of child molesters said that the crime they committed was non- sexual 36% said that the victims had consented

Answer 27

There is research evidence to support kohlberg's theory of moral development. palmer and hollin 1998 compared moral reasoning between 210 female non- offenders 122 male non- offenders and 126 convicted offenders using 11 moral dilemma related questions. the delinquent group showed less mature moral reasoning than the non- delinquent group. this shows that they have a lower level of moral reasoning . that people engage in criminal activity have a lower level of moral reasoning so there acting in self interest and not what's right.

Answer 28

There is research evidence to support hostile attribution bias. Schonenberg and Justye 2014 presented 55 violent offenders with images of emotionally ambiguous expressions. when compared with matched control participants , the violent offenders were significantly more likely to perceive the images as angry and hostile. this says that people with hostile attribution bias people react negative to them self are retaining when they are actually starting therefore more likely to commit violent crimes.

Answer 29

An explanation for offending which proposes that through interaction with others individual learn values, attitudes, techniques and motive for criminal behaviour.

Answer 30

- criminal behaviour is learnt through association with different people - if criminal association outweighs non- criminal association offending behaviour will occur

Answer 31

1crime as learned behaviour 2 pro- criminal attitudes 3 learning criminal acts

Answer 32

- pro- criminal attitude= criminality - Sutherland argues if the number of pro criminal attitudes a person acquires outweighs the number of anti-criminal attitudes, then they will go on to offend. - DA suggests that we should be able to carry out a simple mathematical calculation to predict the likelihood of someone committing a crime all we need to know is : the frequency , intensity & duration of their exposure to criminal & non-criminal norm& values

Answer 33

In addition to learning about why they might want to commit a crime, criminals may also learn how to carry out crimes may also learn how to carry out crimes e.g. how to break into someone's house through a locked window how to spot the signs of an empty house the delicate touch of a pick pocket this can help explain re-offending when people are released from prison as they learn specific techniques from inmates learning can happen through observation & imitation -direct/indirect operant conditioning- being rewarded or punishedfor their behaviour - role models

Answer 34

differential association theory can account for crime within all sectors of society. some types of crime such as burglary might be clustered within inner-city working class communities other are more prevalent amongst more wealthy groups in society. Sutherland was particularly interested in white collar or corporate crime and how this may be a feature of middle class social groups who share deviant norms values. it explains different types of crimes.why we have different crimes in different sections of society and why crimes may differ across cultures.

Answer 35

Differential association theory draws attention to the fact that dysfunctional social circumstances and environments may be more to blame for criminality than dysfunctional people, as was advocated by atavistic form. the theory marked an important shift from 'blaming 'individual factors to pointing to social factors. this approach is more desirable because it offers a more realistic solution to the problem of crime because learning environments can be changed instead of genetics.

Answer 36

1 Blackburn's idea of the inadequate superego 2 bowlby's maternal deprivation theory

Answer 37

Blackburn 1993 argued that if the superego(morality) is deficient or inadequate then criminal behaviour is inevitable because the id is given free reign and not properly controlled. Three types of superegos have been proposed to explain criminality

Answer 38

the weak superego- if the same sex parent during phallic stage the child cannot internalise a fully formed superego as there is no opportunity for identification this would make immoral or criminal behaviour more likely. deviant superego - if the superego the child internalises has immoral or deviant values this would lead to offending behaviour for instance a boy that is raised by a criminal father is likely to not associate guilt with wrong doing. over-harsh superego - A healthy superego is like a kind but firm internal parent it has rules but is also forgiving of transgressions. in contrast, an excessively punitive or overly harsh superego means individual is crippled by guilt and anxiety.

Answer 39

- Bowlby 1944 argued that the inability to form meaningful relationships in adulthood was dependant upon the child forming a warm, continuous relationship with a mother figure ie they have a healthy internal working model - the maternal bond was seen by Bowlby as unique, superior to any other and vital to the child well being and development - failure to establish such a bond during the first few years of life means the child will experience a number of damaging and irreversible consequence in later life

Answer 40

- one of these is the development of a particular personality type, known as affectionless psychopathy, characterised by a lack of guilty empathy and feelings for others. - such maternally deprived individuals are likely to engage in acts of delinquency and cannot develop close relationships with others, as they lack the necessary early experience to do so.

Answer 41

- he found through interviews with the thieves and their families, that 14 of the sample he studied showed personality and behavioural characteristics that could be classified as 'affectionless psychopathy'. people with affectionless psychopathy don't have an internal working model as they are maternally deprived and don't understand what an attachment or good relationship looks like.

Answer 42

psychodynamic explanations in general suffer from a lack of falsifiability. the many unconscious concepts within Freudian theory mean that applications to crime, such as those considered here, are not open to empirical testing. in the absence of supporting evidence ,arguments such as the inadequate superego can only be judged on their face value rather than their scientific worth. for this reason, psychodynamic explanations are regarded as pseudoscientific ( fake science) and may contribute little to our understanding or how to prevent it . to be fair Bowlby did provide evidence to support his assertions - through his 44 thieves study has been criticised on methodological grounds .as it lacks scientific credibility blackburn because not testable and doesnt provide causation on why same sex parent of child absence would cause a child to commit more crimes. bowlby had a small sample and research bias as he had preconceptions which may have influenced his interviewees responses .

Answer 43

there is very little evidence that children raised without a same sex parent are less law abiding as adults( or fail to develop a conscious ) - this contradicts blackburn's weak superego arguement. similarily, if children who are raised by deviant parents go on to commit crime themselves , this could be due to the influence of genetics or socialisation , rather than the formation of a deviant superego. finally , the idea that criminal behaviour reflects an unconscious desire for punishment seems implausible ,as most offenders go to great lengths to conceal their crimes which suggest they want to avoid punishment at all costs.

forensic psychology Flashcards

(67 cards)