FORENSICS

Question 1

Who is Ted Bundy?

Answer 1

• Raped, tortured and brutally murdered over 30 women across 7 US states
• handsome, charming and highly intelligent- classic ‘organised’ killer
• He won the trust of his victims
• attended university of Washington and law school-excelled
• killings usually followed a gruesome pattern- raped victims before beating them to death
• Escaped police custody twice
• electrocuted in 1989
• many of his victims resembled his college girlfriend (devastated by break up)-attractive students with long, dark hair parted in the middle

Question 2

Where do you go for some extra criminal profiling notes (cover- video)?

Answer 2

Lesson 2- (4th Sept), Forensics

Question 3

What is offender profiling?

Answer 3

• idea that the characteristics of an offender can be deduced from the characteristics of the offence and the particulars of the crime scene
• also known as ‘criminal profiling’
• behavioural and analytic tool that is intended to help investigators accurately predict and profile the characterises of unknown criminals
• used when solving crimes
• aim is to narrow the field if enquiry and list likely suspects
• professional profilers are often called upon to work alongside the police
• main method used involved compiling of a profile. It will usually involve scrutiny of the crime scene and analysis of evidence like witness reports
• this is then used to generate a hypothesis about probable characteristics of the offender eg: age, background, occupation…

Question 4

What is the top-down approach?

Answer 4

• start with a pre-established typology and reduce down in order to assign offenders to one of the two categories based on witness accounts and evidence from the crime scene
• American approach (created in 1970s by FBI)
• This was called the FBI’s Behavioural Science Unit which drew upon data gathered from in-depth interviews with 36 sexually motivated serial killers eg: Ted Bundy and Charles Manson
• Also known as the typology approach
• offender profilers that use this method will match what is known about the crime and the offence to a pre-exiting template developed by the FBI
• murderers or rapists are classified in one of two categories (organised or disorganised based on the evidence. This informs the subsequent police investigation

Question 5

What is an organised offender?

Answer 5

• shows evidence of planning, targets the victim and tends to be socially and sexually competent with higher than average intelligence
• deliberately targeted victim
• killer or rapist usually has a ‘type’
• Have a high degree of control during the crime
• operates with almost detached surgical precision
• little clues or evidence left behind at the scene
• above- average intelligence- skilled, professional occupation
• socially and sexually competent
• usually married and may even have children
• planned crime in advance

Question 6

What is a disorganised offender?

Answer 6

• an offender who shows little evidence of planning, leaves clues and tends to be socially and sexually incompetent with lower than average intelligence
• may be spontaneous, spur of the moment act
• crime scene usually referents impulsive nature of attack
• little control by the offender
• body is usually still at the scene
• lower than average IQ- unskilled work, unemployed
• usually have history of sexual dysfunction and failed relationships
• usually live alone
• usually live close to where the offence took place

Question 7

What does an organised or disorganised killer suggest about the criminal?

Answer 7

• based on the idea that serious offenders have certain signature ‘ways of working’- referred to as their modus operandi
• generally correlate with a particular set of social and psychological characteristics related to the individual

Question 8

What are the 4 stages to constructing an FBI profile?

Answer 8

1) Data assimilation- the profiler reviews the devienne (crime scene photographs, psychology reports, etc…)
2) Crime Scene Classification- as either organised or disorganised
3) Crime reconstruction- hypothesise in terms of sequence of events, behaviour of the victim, etc
4) Profile generation- hypotheses related to the likely offender eg: of demographic background, physical characteristics, behaviour… etc

Question 9

Evaluation- disadvantage- only applies to particular crimes

Answer 9

-limited approach to identifying a criminal as more common defences such as burglary an destruction of property (or even murder or assault committed during these offences) do not lend themselves to profiling- tells us very little about the offender

Question 10

Evaluation- advantage- helps identify serious crimes:

Answer 10

• top down profiling is best suited to crime scenes that reveal important details about the suspect such as rape, arson, cult killings.
• Also crimes involving macabre practices- sadistic torture, dissection of the body, acting out fantasies

Question 11

Evaluation- disadvantages- based on outdated models of personality:

Answer 11

• the typology classification system relies on patterns of behaviour and motivations to remain consistent across situations and contexts
• Alison et al is one critic who believes the approches naïve and old fashioned. She suggests that it is negative to see behaviour as being driven by stable dispositional traits rather than external factors which may constantly change
• poor validity when identifying possible suspects or trying to predict their next move (top-down approach based on ‘static’ models of personality)

Question 12

Evaluation- disadvantages- evidence does not support the ‘disorganised offender’:

Answer 12

• David Canter et al (2004)
• used a technique called ‘smallest space analysis’
• Analysed data from 100 murders in the USA
• Examined with reference to 39 characteristics thought to be typical of organised and disorganised killers
• organised type was distinct but disorganised undermined the classification system as a whole
• still has widespread support and is still used as a model for professional profilers in the US

Question 13

Evaluation- disadvantages- classification is too simplistic:

Answer 13

• Behaviours described in each of the organised and disorganised types are not mutually exclusive- variety of combinations could occur in any given murder scene
• Grover Godwin (2002)- asks what happens if the two mix eg: how police investigators would classify a killer with high intelligence and sexual competence who commits a spontaneous murder in which the victim’s body is left at the crime scene

-HOWEVER, positive as it promoted more detailed typological models eg:

⭐️Ronal Holmes (1989) suggested there are 4 types of serial killer- visionary, mission, hedonistic power/ control
⭐️Robert Kepler and a Richard Walter (1999) focused on the different motivations killers might have rather than specific ‘types’

Question 14

Evaluation- disadvantages- original sample:

Answer 14

• Developed using interviews with 36 killers in the US- 25 of which were serial killers, the other 11 being single or double murderers
• Too small and unrepresentative a sample which could effect the police investigation
• Carter also argued that it is not sensible to rely on self-report data with convicted killers when constructing a classification system

Question 15

Where can you find summary?

Answer 15

Lesson 3, (7th Sept)- Green highlighter ‘The Top-down Approach’- folder

Question 16

What happens after classification?

Answer 16

• once profilers have matched the crime to pre-existing template they can now construct a profile
• this includes hypothesis about the offender’s background, habits, beliefs, looks etc.
• used to work out a strategy of investigation
• profilers also consider how the offender is likely to react if they are being investigated

Question 17

What grave points do the different evaluation points link to?

Answer 17

1) Subjective to profiler- weakens reliability
2) Application- only certain crimes
3) Generalisability- only serial killers and all in America, small sample
4) Rigid classification/ inflexible- weakens validity

Question 18

Who disagreed with the top-up approach? What did he do instead ?

Answer 18

• Canter
• created a new approach= Bottom-up approach (start with nothing and build case, rather than starting with a type/ classified killer)

Question 19

What was the aim and procedure of Canter’s study?

Answer 19

• Canter (2004):
• Aim= To test the reliability of the top-down typology by applying them to 100 cases
• Procedures:
• a content analysis of 100 cases of serial killers from the USA
• The cases came from published accounts of serial killers and were cross-checked with court reports and officers where possible

Question 20

What were Canter’s findings?

Answer 20

-findings:
-twice as many disorganised crimes as organised crimes were identified, suggesting that disorganised offenders are more common or easier to identify
-Two behaviours in the organised typology occurred a level significantly above chance:
⭐️In 70% of cases, the body was concealed
⭐️In 75% of cases, sexual activity had occurred
-Further analysis failed to reveal any significant differences between organised and disorganised variables

Question 21

What were Canter’s conclusions?

Answer 21

• canter concluded that instead of their being a distinction between the two types of serial murderer, all of the crimes had to have an organised element to them
• the distinction between serial killers may be a function of the different ways in which they exhibit disorganised aspects in their activities
• It would be better to look at personality differences between offenders

Question 22

What was Canter’s Bottom up approach?

Answer 22

• Canter’s bottom up approach looks for consistencies in the offender’s behaviour during the crime
• these can be inferred from the crime scene, or from surviving victims accounts
• no initial assumption is made about the offender until a statistical analysis using correlational techniques has been carried out on the denials of the cases (Similar studies found- small space analysis)
• The approach relies heavily on computer databases being accurate
• this approach can be considered more objective and reliable

Question 23

What are the possible issues with Canter’s bottom up approach?

Answer 23

☹️Harder to input some details
☹️Loss of data, cyber crime
☹️Human error- relies heavily on human input
☹️New evidence- may not fit profile, may have convicted the wrong person
☹️Anomalie eg: Rachael Nickels
☹️Eye witness testimony-inaccurate eg: anxiety
☹️Not all crimes are reported eg: rapes
☹️Leading questions
☹️Not all crimes are followed up

Question 24

What are the 2 parts to Canter’s theory?

Answer 24

1) Investigative psychology

2) Geographic profiling

Question 25

What are the three parts to investigative psychology?

Answer 25

1) Interpersonal coherence 2) Forensic awareness 3) Smallest Space analysis

Question 26

What is interpersonal coherence?

Answer 26

-belief that people’s behaviour is consistent. Therefore there will be a link (correlation) between crime behaviour and daily behaviour

Question 27

What is forensic awareness?

Answer 27

Individuals who may have a knowledge of forensic measures, help avoid exposure eg: if convicted before will have knowledge on his to conceal fingerprints

Question 28

What is ‘smallest space analysis’?

Answer 28

- main component - statistical technique - uses police databases to create profiles - it does this by inputting the known information about a NEW crime into the database - will then look for patients and consistencies in the new crime compared to previous crimes already in the data base

Question 29

What does the ‘smallest space’ diagram look like?

Answer 29

Smallest circle- highest correlation, most likely to have happened, most important - each time they broaden their search go into the bigger circles- widen search

Question 30

What are the key words in geographic profiling?

Answer 30

- ‘crime mapping’ - Jeopardy surface and surface of gravity - Circle theory - Marauders and commuters

Question 31

What is jeopardy surface and surface of gravity?

Answer 31

Where next crime is likely to be- can predict

Question 32

What is circle theory?

Answer 32

- plot points of where crimes were, the criminal activity will fit within a circle - around usual residence and gives insight into nature of attacks

Question 33

What are marauders and commuters?

Answer 33

- style of movement adopted by criminals - Commuters= travel to commit crime - Marauders= commit crime nearby to where live, work - plotting points and creating a circle of operation helps to determine type of behaviour the criminal possessed

Question 34

Summary of geographic profilers:

Answer 34

-Geographical profilers are concerned with where rather than who. It makes sense to assume that offenders are more likely to commit a crime near to where they live or travel as it involves the least effort. In geographical profiling, the locations of connected crimes are analysed to see where the crimes were committed and the relationship between crime scenes. Canter and Larkin (1993) proposed that offenders commit their crimes within an imagined circle. A marauder is an offender whose home is within the area the crimes were committed. A commuter is an offender who travels to another area to commit crime in a defined space.

Question 35

Evaluate the bottom-up approach- Rachel Nickel case:

Answer 35

- Anomalies, problem of investigative psychology: - murder was ruled out in 1992 - Investigation to not ‘fitting’ the profile (too tall) - Wasn’t until re-opened investigation in 2008 that realised Robert Knapper was killer

Question 36

Evaluate the bottom up approach- Petherick (2006):

Answer 36

- problem for geographical profiling - flaws in circle theory - assumption base is in the middle of the circle- not always the case-time-wasting in investigations - data produced in GP is too simplistic - decreases validity

Question 37

Evaluate the bottom- up approach= Canter & Heritage:

Answer 37

- supports investigative psychology - content analysis of 66 assault cases using smallest space analysis - found correlations across crimes - found several characteristics- common across crimes eg: lack of reaction to victim- will vary across cases- more understanding of offender behaviour and how can change - shows statistics is useful

Question 38

Evaluation of bottom-up approach= wider variety of cases

Answer 38

- Strength for geographical profiling - even allows for geographical profiling of serial offences which are not able to be classified based on typologies - burglary, arson, theft, murder,rape... - better application - top down only extreme crimes and relies on evidence

Question 39

Evaluation of bottom-up approach- objective

Answer 39

- strength of investigative psychology - uses statistics instead of profiler classifying - ‘scientific’ - improves validity - no profiler bias

Question 40

Evaluation of bottom-up approach- Lundrigan and Cantee (2001):

Answer 40

- collated information from 120 murder cases involving serial killers in the USA - Smallest Space Analysis revealed spatial consistency in the behaviour of the killers - Even more noticeable of marauders/ short distances - created a ‘centre of gravity’- offenders base was located at centre of pattern of murders - supports Canter that spatial information is a key factor in determining the base of an offender

Question 41

Evaluation of bottom-up approach= mixed results for profiling:

Answer 41

- has been some significant failures in bottom up approach: - studies examining the effectiveness of offender profiling have produced mixed results - EG: Copson (1995): - surveyed 48 police forces and found that the advice provided by the profiler was judged to be ‘useful’ in 83% of cases but only 3% did lead to accurate identification of the offender - Kocsis et al (2002) found that chemistry students produced a more accurate offender profile on a solved murder case than experienced senior detectives

Question 42

Evaluate bottom-up approach= The Railway Rapist:

Answer 42

- Canter helped in the capture of John Duffy (Railway Rapist) in 1980s - Carries our 24 sexual attacks + 3 murders in North London - Canter analysed geographical information from the crime scene and combined with details of similar attacks in the past supplied by police - Able to create a profile which led to his eventual arrest and conviction - good application

Question 43

What was Cesaro Lombroso’s approach? What was his ideas about criminals?

Answer 43

- HISTORICAL biological explanation of criminal behaviour - Ideas: - The criminal is a separate species a species that is between modern and primitive humans - the physical shape of the head and face determined the ‘born criminal’

Question 44

What is atavistic form?

Answer 44

- using Darwin’s theories, Lombroso thought criminals were separate species of mankind - he suggested criminals were throwbacks to an earlier species - atavistic means a tendency to revert to an ancestral type - he professed that criminals could be identified by a series of sitinguishing physical characteristics such as: - Asymmetrical face - unusually large or small ears - a low receding forehead - prominent eyebrows, jawbones or cheekbones - darker skin - dark curly hair

Question 45

Lombroso went to identify 3 types of criminals which were...

Answer 45

1) Born criminals- the atavistic type 2) Insane criminals- suffering from mental illness 3) Criminaloids - mental characteristics predisposed them to criminal behaviour under the right circumstances - these came out of criticisms that Lombroso excluded environmental contributors

Question 46

How did Lombroso conduct his research? Why is Lombroso praised for bringing science into the study of crime?

Answer 46

- Lombroso examined cranial and facial features of hundreds of Italian convicts (living and dead- via post-mortel style examination of skulls) - He studied 383 dead criminals and 3839 living convicts. Concluded that 40% of the criminal acts could be accounted for by people with atavistic characteristics

Question 47

What did Lombroso recognise later?

Answer 47

- recognised later that it was unlikely that there would be only one cause of criminality - proposed that inherited atavistic form interacted with a persons physical and social environment

Question 48

What is the body type most likely to commit crimes of violence?

Answer 48

-athletic

Question 49

What is the idea that certain individuals are born with a criminal personality which is a throwback to earlier evolutionary primates?

Answer 49

Atavistic form

Question 50

What is a characteristic historically associated with criminality?

Answer 50

- ‘Asymmetry of the face’ | - ‘excessive face of the jaw and cheekbones’

Question 51

What is the term used to describe inborn features and characteristics?

Answer 51

Innate

Question 52

What is the number of ‘types of criminals’ Lombroso identified in his 1897 book?

Answer 52

-Three

Question 53

What is one main source of Lombroso’s empirical evidence?

Answer 53

-dimensions

Question 54

In later years what other factors did Lombroso recognise would contribute to criminality?

Answer 54

-environmental factors

Question 55

What types of crimes said to be committed by ‘pyknic body type’?

Answer 55

-deception

Question 56

What is a historical approach to criminality based on body shape?

Answer 56

-somatotype

Question 57

Evaluation- strength of the atavistic form:

Answer 57

✅Contribution to criminology: - Hollin hailed him as the ‘father of modern criminology’ - shifted emphasis of crime research away from a moralistic discourse towards a more scientific and credible realm - His aim was to try and describe how particular types of people are likely to commit particular types of crime. This heralded the beginning of criminal profiling - major contribution to the science of criminology

Question 58

Evaluation- weakness of atavistic form- scientific racism:

Answer 58

❌Scientific racism: - critics like Matt Delisis (2012) - Distinct racial undertones - many of the features that Lombroso identified as criminal and atavistic eg: curly hair, dark skin... are most likely to be found among people of African descent - also, the description of atavistic being, ‘uncivilised, primitive, savage’ would lend support to many of the eugenic philosophies of the time - uncomfortable , controversial aspect of his legacy which overshadows criminology

Question 59

Evaluation- atavistic form- contradictory evidence:

Answer 59

❌Contradictory evidence: - Goring (1913) - Set out to establish whether there were any physical or mental abnormalities among the criminal classes - conducted a comparison between 3000 criminals and 3000 non-criminals- no evidence that offenders are a distinct group with unusual facial and cranial characteristics(did suggest have lower intelligence) - questions the key element of his theory that criminals are different in terms of their appearance

Question 60

Evaluation- atavistic form- Poor control in Lombroso’s research:

Answer 60

❌ unlike Goring, Lombroso didn’t compare his criminal sample with a non-criminal control group. If had possible that some of the significant differences in atavistic form that Lombroso reported may have disappeared -also, didn’t take into account other variables in research eg: many of the criminals he studied had suffered from a history of psychological disorders which may have confounded findings

Question 61

Evaluation- atavistic form- causation is an issue:

Answer 61

❌ even if have some of the atavistic elements in facial disappearance does not necessarily mean this is the CAUSE of their offending - facial and cranial differences may be influenced by other factors eg: poverty, poor diet rather than an indicator of delayed evolutionary development - Lombroso took a less extreme stance in his later work, acknowledging that criminals could be made as well as born due to a range of environmental factors

Question 62

How could Lombroso’s work be mistaken for eugenic philosophy?

Answer 62

❌ Francis Galton 1880s: - Galton’s basic argument: - Not all people in society are born equal - desirable traits like intelligence, morality and civility, are inherited and found in some social and cultural groups- genetically ‘fit’ and genetically ‘unfit’ - those with a genetic advantage should be allowed to breed for the good of society, whilst those without should be eliminated

Question 63

What are some extra evaluative points? Link to grave!

Answer 63

- ❌Validity: - Lombroso believed women were less evolved than men. He believed they were less likely to commit crimes because there were passive, low in intelligence and has a maternal instinct - this contradicts his own theory as if women are less evolved they should be even more likely to commit crime - could also say it limits consistency as his theory doesn’t add up, not consistent with own arguments ✅Claiming that some people are born to be criminals, much like genetic research would suggest - credible research-lead to later genetically research- supported by modern research findings ✅Research was based in empirical observation and detailed measurements- adds to validity, more scientific, means it is replicable and standardised

Question 64

What is a gene?

Answer 64

- a unit of heredity which is transferred from a parent to offspring and is held to determine some characteristics of the offspring

Question 65

Give 2 examples of criminals that have both genetic and environmental factors which lead to their criminality:

Answer 65

1) The Kray Twins - twins- share same genes - Grew up in the East End- known for violence and crime - Army background - Amateur boxers and gamblers - obsessed with celebrities- want to be remembered - suggestion of homosexuality with Ronnie Kray- repression - Gangs - Ronnie was seen as criminally insane- diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia 2) Jeff Landrigan: - Juvenile crime (more likely in later life) - adopted but all of biological family had a history of violent crimes eg: while on death row found found his biological father was also there on death row, biological mother also drunk heavily during her pregnancy - argued had a genetic predisposition because of his family history

Question 66

Is there a genetic basis for criminal behaviour? - what did Lange (1930) do?

Answer 66

- conducted the first study into twins and criminal behaviour - Studied 13 MZ twins and 17 DZ twins where in each pair had served time in prison - They then compared twins had their co-twin who was also in prison - monoamine oxidase A had been associated with aggression - MAOA regulates the metabolism of serotonin in the brain - Low levels of serotonin are linked with impulsive and aggressive behaviour - CHD13 linked to ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and substance abuse - Results showed that 10/13 MZ twins vs 2/17 DZ had their co-twins who was also in prison - Demonstrated early signs that criminality is inherited

Question 67

What did Tiihonen (2015) do?

Answer 67

Good example to use for A03 (use others for A01) - tested 900 offenders in Finland and found low MAOA activity and also low activity of the CDH13 gene - They estranged around 5-10% of all violent crime in Finland is due to abnormalities in one if these two genes - split into groups: 1) Violent and non-violent 2) Men split into violent and extremely violent- all had 2 genes- found 13x more likely to commit crime

Question 68

What is diathesis stress?

Answer 68

- if genetics do have some influence it would seem likely that this is at least part moderated by the environment (stressers which trigger crime) - A tendency towards criminal behaviour may come about through genetic predisposition and biological or psychological trigger ie: having criminal role models

Question 69

What did Mednick (1984) do?

Answer 69

-conducted an adoption study of 13,000 Danish adoptees. Compared likelihood of the adoptee having a criminal record considering if their biological or adoptive parents did

Question 70

What did Mednick find?

Answer 70

- no criminal record for biological or adoptive- 13.5% - Biological parents had criminal record-20% - biological and adoptive parents had criminal record (adoptive parents represent the end bio mental factor and biological parents-genetic)-24.5% ⭐️ demonstrates that it DOES have an influence

Question 71

Why use adoption studies?

Answer 71

- researchers use family, twin and adoption studies to research the genetic influence on crime - genetic explanation - runs in families, is inherited through genes?

Question 72

Summary, what did Lange, Tiihonen and a Mednick do?

Answer 72

- Lange= higher proportion of MZ twins have a co-twin also in prison compared to Dz twins - Tiihonen= low MAOA activity and low activity of CDH13 gene in offenders - Mednick-Twin study found there were higher rated of offenders in adoptees who had biological parents with a criminal record

Question 73

What is biological determinism?

Answer 73

-behaviour is governed by factors outside an individual’s control

Question 74

What is biological reductionism?

Answer 74

-complex behaviour is explained by the simplest underlying principles possible

Question 75

Evaluation- Crowe (1972):

Answer 75

-researched adopted children who had a biological parent with a criminal record and found that they had a 50% chance of also having a criminal record by the time they were 18

Question 76

Evaluation- biological reductionism:

Answer 76

- criminality is complex - offending behaviour reduced down just to a genetic or neural level may be too simplistic - crimes does run in families but so does emotional instability, mental illness, social deprivation and poverty (Katz et al) - hard to disentangle genes from other possible factors eg: usually a differences in concordance rates between Mz and Dz twins - Mz pairs do not show 100% concordance

Question 77

Evaluation- biological determinism:

Answer 77

- ‘criminal gene’-problem - legal system based on premises that criminals have personal and moral responsibility for their crime (only exceptional cases like mental illness)- suggests not acting under own free will - raises ethical questions about what society does with people suspected of carrying criminal genes and implications for sentencing

Question 78

Evaluation- problems with twin studies:

Answer 78

- eg: lange’s research - lacks validity-poorly controlled, judgements related to zygosity was based on appearance rather than DNA testing - small sample sizes - twins➡️not representative of the whole population - confounding variable➡️ reared in the same environment, concordance rates may be due to shared learning experiences rather than genetics

Question 79

Evaluation- problems with adoption studies:

Answer 79

- presumed separation of genetic and environmental influences - many children experience late adoption- much of infancy and childhood may have been with biological parents - a lot of adoptees may also maintain regular contact with their biological parents following adoption - hard to measure/ assess environmental impact of biological parents - problems with Mednick et al’s study=only applied to “petty” offences eg: burglary, not violent crime- may not generalise to more serious forms of crime

Question 80

Evaluation- supports for the diathesis stress model of crime:

Answer 80

- Mednick et al’s adoption study - shows environment does play a part in offending behaviour as was 24.5% when both adoptive and biological parents had convictions

Question 81

L6= Neural explanations | What is the limbic system in control of?

Answer 81

-emotion regulation

Question 82

What is the amygdala system in control of?

Answer 82

-fear= fight or flight response

Question 83

What is the prefrontal cortex in charge of?

Answer 83

-decision making

Question 84

What does Raine say are the 4 main predictors for becoming a violent offender?

Answer 84

1) Birth complications eg: mum drinking heavily in pregnancy 2) Low functioning of pre-frontal cortex 3) Low resting heart rate 4) Nutrition

Question 85

What has Raine discovered about people who have a reduced volume of their amygdala?

Answer 85

-4x more likely to commit violent crime in the next 3 years

Question 86

What does Raine mean by regards neuro- ethical dilemma? What other ethical dilemmas are there?

Answer 86

- neuro-ethical dilemma: - Do we lock up before committed crime if have warning signs biologically? - should we act on biological knowledge prior to an event being committed Other ethical issues: - to what extent can we hold them responsible/ punish them for brain. Different degrees of responsibility, questions free will

Question 87

What has being part of the criminology and psychology department taught Raine about criminal behaviour?

Answer 87

- criminology= to not forget about the social environment eg: child abuse, stress of urban life, bad neighbourhood - psychology= new tools and techniques- get into the criminal brain

Question 88

Raine describes a violent offender like a jigsaw puzzle-what does he mean by this?

Answer 88

- combining everything-not one cause, many factors eg: poor frontal lobe, genotype , environment .... - see how social and biological interact- can then intervene- ‘need every piece of chess board to play the game’

Question 89

How are the 2 ways neural parts which can explain explain offender behaviour?

Answer 89

1) Brain structures | 2) Neurotransmitters

Question 90

What can brain structures show?

Answer 90

-this focuses on areas of the brain and changes, deficits and damage to these areas which could be responsible for crime (particularly in violent crime)

Question 91

What can neurotransmitters show?

Answer 91

-looks at how the chemical messengers (NT’s) in the brain could be different in some individuals and how this impacts behaviour

Question 92

How is this seen in the pre-frontal cortex?

Answer 92

- in healthy individuals the pre-frontal cortex plays a role on decision making, bodily and emotion regulation and all kinds of other things - Raine (2004) 71 brain imaging studied showed that criminals have reduced functioning in the pre-frontal cortex - lowered activity in this area is associated with loss of control

Question 93

How is this seen in the limbic system?

Answer 93

- middle of brain and is made up of structures such as the thalamus and amygdala which are linked to emotion - eg: amygdala is linked to the threat and fear responses (fight or flight) - Raine (1997) found that when studying murders who were ‘not guilty by reason of insanity’ they had reduced activity in the limbic system - suggesting their ability to process and understand fear and emotions may have been inhibited

Question 94

How is this seen in mirror neurons? What are mirror neurons?

Answer 94

⭐️Mirror neurons= they are cells on the brain that fire when doing an action, as well as firing when watching an action - found in various locations in the brain and help us with empathy, interaction with others, understanding and learning in social situations - Keyser et al (2011): - studied criminals with APD - These individuals can understand empathy but not consistency like the rest of us - Keyser found that they only produced empathetic reactions (brain activated for empathy) when directed asked to empathise with a person in video - therefore it can be ‘switched on and off’

Question 95

How is this seen in neurotransmitters- serotonin system?

Answer 95

- serotonin is a neurotransmitter associated with emotional regulation - Seo et al 2008= suggests that low levels of this serotonin in the brain may predispose individuals to aggressive and criminal behaviour - serotonin normally inhibits the prefrontal cortex this stabilising mood

Question 96

How is this seen in noradrenaline? What is noradrenaline?

Answer 96

⭐️Noradrenaline= a neurotransmitter which is involved in the fight or flight response. It also helps individuals to perceive threat. - very high and very low levels have been associated with aggression and criminal behaviour 1) High levels= associated with activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the fight or flight response. Meaning people may over-respond in situations which are NOT supposed to be threatening 2) Low levels= reduce the ability for people to react to perceived threats . Therefore increasing the likelihood of risk-taking behaviour

Question 97

Evaluation- cause and effect:

Answer 97

- correlations not causation - difficult to determine cause and effect with neural explanations - question of whether brain abnormalities or abnormalities in the level of neurotransmitters are the cause of offender behaviour or the result of it or am interventions variable - research only highlights a correlation eg: head injury and criminality - relationship may not be that meaningful eg: someone who grows up in a violent home- more likely to have a head injury, offending behaviour could be as a result of a violent childhood - deceases validity

Question 98

Evaluation- real life application

Answer 98

- treatments eg: low levels of serotonin- more aggressive - in prison given diets that enhance serotonin levels- decreases aggression - eg: artificial sweetness reduce serotonin therefore they can be cut of of diet

Question 99

Evaluation- diathesis stress:

Answer 99

-current thinking is that there are many genes involved which can switched on or off depending on environmental factors -could be upbringing, abuse, drugs, alcohol -environmental influences should not be disregarded, reductionist to just say its genes Eg: Mednick et al -decreases validity-other factors

Question 100

L8= | What is Eysenck’s personality theory?

Answer 100

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

Question 101

What are these three dimensions?

Answer 101

1) Extraversion and introversion Eg: - sociable (E) - thoughtful (I) - peaceful (I) 2) Neuroticism ans stability eg: - even-tempered - leadership - anxious 3) Psychoticism and stability eg: (added later on) - aggressive - impulsive - eccentric - lack empathy - not concerned about others

Question 102

What did Eysenck suggest about these 3 dimensions?

Answer 102

-suggested that each trait has a biological basis which is mainly innate eg: 1) Etraversion- determines by arousal in nervous system (introverts-don’t need stimulation) 2) Neuroticism- determined by the level of stability in the sympathetic nervous system, how much a person responds in situations of fight or flight- overactive 3) Psychoticism= related to higher levels of testosterone

Question 103

How does Eysenck’s personality theory link to criminal behaviour?

Answer 103

Extraversion= seek more arousal so are more likely to engage in dangerous activities Neuroticism= are unstable and therefore prone to over- react in some situations may explain some criminal behaviour Psychoticism = individuals are aggressive and lack empathy easily linked to crime

Question 104

Evaluation- strength- evidence supporting Eysenck’s theory:

Answer 104

- Eysenck et al: - compared 2070 male prisoners’ scored on the EPI with 2422 male controls - subdivided into age groups- 16 to 69 years - measured Psychoticism, extraversion and neuroticism - scored higher than controls - reliable/ consistent with predictions of theory

Question 105

Evaluation- weakness- not supportive evidence:

Answer 105

- Farrington et al: - offenders scored high on p measures but not for E and N - little evidence of consistent differences in EEG measures between extroverts and introverts - casts doubt in physiological basis of Eysenck’s theory- reduced validity

Question 106

Evaluation- weakness- the idea of a single criminal type:

Answer 106

- Moffitt: - proposed several distinct types of adult male offender based on the timing of the first offence, and how long offending persists - out of step with modern personality theories - Digman: - ‘Five Factor Model’ suggests that alongside E and N there are additional dimensions eg: agreeableness - multiple combinations are available therefore E and N score does not mean offending is inevitable

Question 107

Evaluation- weakness- cultural bias:

Answer 107

- Bartol and Holanchock: - studied Hispanic and African American offenders in a maximum security prison in New York - divided into 6 groups based in criminal history and nature of offence - revealed that all 6 groups were less extravert than a non-criminal control group - Bartol et al suggested thus was because their sample was a very different cultural group than investigated by Eysenck - questions generalisability of the criminal personality

Question 108

Evaluation- weakness- biological basis:

Answer 108

- recognises (Eysenck) that personality may have some genetic basis- fits well with some biological explanations - overlap with research into APD - Suggestion offenders are cold, uncaring and incapable of empathy - suffers from same limitations as genetic and neural explanations- biological determinism and problem when explaining crime-ethical issues Also disagreements eg: - Raine explained differences in APD due to differences in brain structure and function - Eysenck attributes this to activity of nervous system

Question 109

Evaluation- weakness- mismeasurement of personality:

Answer 109

- built on premise that it is possible to measure personality through the use of psychological test - suggested personality is not reducible down to a ‘score’ - some argue no such thing as personality as a ‘stable entity’ which Eysenck talked about - mischel: - personality changes depending on who we are with and situation we are involved in - may be no fixed and unchangeable ‘true self’ directing our behaviour, criminal or otherwise - also specific problems using psychological tests to measure personality eg: social desireability bias

Question 110

What are some strengths- lesson listed:

Answer 110

- includes both biological and psychological influences on personality so is more comprehensive than other accounts - lends itself to NOMOTHETIC research because questionnaire enables easy collection of data (general law, large scale, quantitative)

Question 111

Look in booklet- lesson 8 for...

Answer 111

-summary evaluation and added key notes/terminology Eg: whole section of population not looked at- criminals which have not been caught. Maybe these criminals have a certain type of personality that puts them at an advantage, may not be extraverts

Question 112

L9= psychological explanations: cognitive theory | -what is cognitive distortion?

Answer 112

1)Cognitive distortion is a form of irrational thinking. Distortions are ways reality has become twisted

Question 113

What is hostile attribution bias?

Answer 113

-someone who always attributes behaviours to negative things. Who always thinks the worst. - usually violent crime- lash out as a protective mechanism - neural situation to threatening and hostile

Question 114

What is minimalisation?

Answer 114

-consequences of behaviour are down-played - do it more frequently as they don’t see it as bad - faulty thinking- believe it’s ok - common in rape eg: short skirt or drunk, justify as they wanted it by looking promiscuous

Question 115

What is Kohlberg’s moral dilemmas?

Answer 115

- one example is the Heinz dilemma - Kohlberg (1969) interviewed boys and men about their reasons for moral decisions - subsequently constructed stage theory of moral development

Question 116

What are the three levels?

Answer 116

1) Pre-conventional morality 2) Conventional morality 3) Post-conventional morality

Question 117

What is within level 1?

Answer 117

-stages 1 & 2 One: - ‘punishment orientation’ - rules are obeyed to avoid punishment Two: - ‘Instrumental orientation or personal gain’ - rules are obeyed for personal gain

Question 118

What is within level 2?

Answer 118

Stages 3 & 4: Three: - ‘Good boy’ or ‘Good girl’ orientation: - rules are obeyed for approval - social approval Four: - ‘maintenance of the social order’ - rules are obeyed to maintain social order - societal

Question 119

What is within level 3?

Answer 119

Stages 5 & 6: Five: - ‘morality of contract and individual rights’ - rules are obeyed if they are impartial: democratic rules are challenged if they infringe in the rights of others - challenging human rights of someone else Six: - ‘Morality of conscience’ - the individual establishes his or her own rules in accordance with a personal set of ethical principles - most intelligent form of reasoning - wider situation, personally you decide what is right/ wrong eg: if a life outweighs profit - highest moral complexity / most intelligent form of reasoning - eg: suffragettes or terrorists

Question 120

What is the most common level for criminals, what is the least?

Answer 120

- the most common/ widespread criminal level is the pre-conventional morality, when people commit crimes for self gain - the least common is post-conventional morality. Kohlberg found that only 10% of adults reach stages 5 and 6

Question 121

Where can you find some examples?

Answer 121

-example situations L9 (psychological explanations: cognitive theory)

Question 122

Evaluation- strength- level of moral reasoning evidence:

Answer 122

- Palmer + Hollin: - compared moral reasoning between 210 female non-offenders, 122 male non-offenders and 126 convicted offenders using the SRMSF (socio-moral Reflection Measure-short form) - contains 11 moral dilemma-related questions eg: keeping a promise to a friend - delinquent group showed less mature moral reasoning than the non-delinquent group which is consistent with Kohlberg’s predictions - Blackburn suggests delinquents may show poor moral development due to a lack of role playing opportunities in childhood - opportunities should therefore be provided to develop moral reasoning - ⬆️ reliability (also showed that delinquent group showed less mature moral reasoning than non-criminal)

Question 123

Evaluation- weakness- alternative theories of moral reasoning

Answer 123

-Gibbs (1979): -revised version of Kohlberg’s theory- 2 levels of reasoning: -mature and immature 1)moral decisions guided by avoidance of punishment and personal gain 2)Empathy, social justice and ones own conscience= equivalent to Kohlberg’s pre-conventional and conventional levels BUT -argued post-conventional level should be abandoned- culturally biased (western culture)= did not represent a ‘natural’ maturational stage of cognitive development

Question 124

Evaluation- strength- application of research:

Answer 124

- understanding nature of cognitive distortions has proven beneficial in the treatment of criminal behaviour - in the rehabilitation of sex offenders cognitive behaviour therapy is used which encourages offenders to ‘face up’ to what they have done and establish a less distorted view of their actions - ‘acceptance’ is thought to be a key aspect of rehabilitation as studies have shown a high correlation between, reduced incidence of denial and minimalisation with a reduced risk of reoffending - key in anger management

Question 125

Evaluation- weakness-descriptive not explanatory:

Answer 125

- less successful when explaining criminal mind - cognitive explanations are ‘after the fact’ theories - can be useful when predicting reoffending but do not give us much insight into why offenders commits the crime in the first place - biological (determinist) concerner more with cause of criminal behaviour- therefore cognitive could be seen as reductionist not considering genes and neural differences - decreases validity- superficial understanding of why commit crime- describe not explain - same with Eysenck-suggests personality causes offending behaviour

Question 126

Evaluation- weaknesses- individual differences:

Answer 126

- level of moral reasoning may depend on the type of offence - Thornton and RL Reid: - found individuals who committed crimes for financial gain eg: robbery are more likely to show pre-conventional moral reasoning than those who commit impulsive crimes eg: assault➡️ no reasoning is evident - therefore, pre-conventional morality takes place when offenders believe they have a good chance of evading punishment Langton et al (2010): - intelligence may be a better predictor of criminality than moral reasoning - explains why groups of people with low intelligence are actually less likely to commit crime (despite fact they show lower levels of moral reasoning) - explains why groups of people with low intelligence are actually less likely to commit crime (despite fact they show lower levels of moral reasoning) - challenges Kohlberg= Kohlberg suggests if have low intelligence are more likely to commit crime if they are in the pre-conventional level

Question 127

Evaluation- strength- research support for minimalisation:

Answer 127

Kennedy and Grubin (1922): - found sex offenders’ often downplayed their behaviour - Eg: offenders suggested that the victim’s behaviour contributed in some way to the crime - some simply denied the crime had been committed - Maruna and Mann (2006): - part of a fairly ‘normal’ behaviour - all people try to blame events on external sources as a way to protect the self - therefore, it is not especially deviant behaviour

Question 128

Evaluation- weakness- concerns moral thinking rather than behaviour

Answer 128

- kerbs and Denton (2005): - suggest moral principles are only one factor in moral behaviour and may be overridden by more practical factors eg: making personal financial gains - K + D found when analysing real-life moral decisions, moral principles were used to justify behaviour AFTER it had been performed

Question 129

Evaluation- weakness- gender bias:

Answer 129

- showcases Beta Bias - Carol Gilligan (1982): - androcentric- focus on male perspective - one of justice rather than caring

Question 130

Where can you get a summary of evaluation?

Answer 130

-class notes lesson 9!

Question 131

How can you make your answer better, especially in a 16 marker?

Answer 131

- bring in issues and debates (if relevant) - bring in other explanations eg: biological or personality one in lesson 9 ➡️ means that it is more of a “discussion”- comparative paragraphs?

Question 132

L10= psychological explanations: differential association theory What 9 key principles of differential association theory did Sutherland propose?

Answer 132

1) criminal behaviour is learned 2) It is learnt through association with others 3) The association is with intimate personal groups (family and friends) 4) What is learned is techniques and attitudes 5) The learning is directional- could be for or against crime 6) If favourable attitude outweigh unfavourable attitudes, that person will become and 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 (not for money, hunger...= deeper, social circles and role models)

Question 133

Evaluation- strength- explanatory power:

Answer 133

- ability to account for crime within all sectors of society - some crimes more common (Sutherland recognised) in inner city, working- class communities where as some more prevalent amongst affluent groups in society - also interested in ‘white collar’ or corporate crime, may be a feature of middle class social groups who share deviant norms and values

Question 134

Evaluation- strength- shift of focus:

Answer 134

- moving away from early biological accounts of crime eg: Lombroso’s atavistic theory - also moved away from offending being the product of individual weakness or immorality - DAT suggests environments may be more to blame for criminality than dysfunctional people - offers more realistic solution to problem of crime instead of eugenics (biological solution), punishment (morality solution)

Question 135

Evaluation- weakness-difficulty of testing:

Answer 135

- promised scientific, mathematical framework within which future offending behaviour can be predicted but differential association theory suffers from being difficult to test - hard to measure the number of pro-criminal attitudes a person has been exposed to - also built on the assumption that offending behaviour will occur when pro-criminal values outnumber anti-criminal ones - without being able to measure these, difficult to know what point the urge to offend is realised and criminal tendencies are triggered - no satisfactory solution to these issues, undermines scientific credibility

Question 136

Evaluation- weakness- individual differences:

Answer 136

- not everyone exposed to criminal influence goes on to commit crime - Sutherland emphasised that crime should be considered on an individual case by case basis and yet in his theory there is an issue with stereotyping individuals eg: impoverished, crime-ridden backgrounds- ‘unavoidably criminal’ - suggests exposure to pro-criminal values is sufficient to produce offending in those who are exposed - ignores the fact that many people may choose not to offend despite such influences - determinism (environmental)- (passively shaped through conditioning). Differential association theory is an example of this as it suggests we learn criminal behaviour through associating with other criminals and being exposed to pro-criminal attitudes- adopt values as our own - reinforcement - respect and approval from people whom we associate - vicarious reinforcement- influential role models, identify with them, powerful influence on behaviour

Question 137

Evaluation- weakness- alternative explanations

Answer 137

- Sutherland suggested response of family is crucial in determining whether the individual is likely to engage in offending - if family support criminal activity- seems legitimate and reasonable- major influence in child’s value system - supported-run in families - Farrington et al study: - intergenerational crime was a key feature of the findings - Mednick et al: - boys who had criminal adoptive parents and non-criminal biological parents were more likely to go on to offend than boys who had both non-criminal biological and adoptive parents - illustrates importance of family influence= BUT the fact that offending runs in families supports more biological and (later) psychodynamic approaches

Question 138

Evaluation- strength- supported by evidence:

Answer 138

- differential association theory is 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 -on the other hand, it could also be argued that the evidence could be explained in terms of genetic inheritance as well

Question 139

Evaluation- strength- changed people’s views:

Answer 139

- the major strength of the differential association explanation of offending is that it changed people’s views about the origins of criminal behaviour - the theory marked an important shift from ‘blaming’ individual factors to pointing to social factors. The theory suggests 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’

Question 140

Evaluation- weakness- methodological issues:

Answer 140

- this is because it is largely based on correlational analysis - this problem with this type of data is that it is not possible to determine the cause from the effect - in terms of peer influence, it could be that offenders seek out other offenders and this would explain why offenders are likely to have peers who are offenders

Question 141

Evaluation- weakness- absence of biological factors from this account is a drawback:

Answer 141

- the diathesis stress model may offer a better account by combining social factors with vulnerability factors - predisposing fairies 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

Question 142

Evaluation- weakness- struggles to account for all kinds of crime:

Answer 142

- 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 also can’t explain why most offences are committed by people under 21

Question 143

L11: | What is the psychodynamic psychological explanation for offending behaviour?

Answer 143

- innate drives - psychodynamic explanation states that early explanations could be coupled with innate drives which creates the adult personality

Question 144

What is the theory of maternal deprivation? - key details

Answer 144

- Critical period- an attachment must be formed before the age of two - continuity hypothesis- 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. - intellectual development- Bowlby believed that maternal deprivation would lead to mental retardation, an abnormally low IQ - emotional development- Bowlby believe maternal deprivation would lead to problems with emotions. He identified affectionless psychopaths who do not experience guilt, empathy for others and are unable to appreciate the emotions of others

Question 145

What was Bowlby’s 44 thieves study?

Answer 145

- study looked at 44 juvenile thieves accused of stealing. They were interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy. Families were interviewed to discover any separation/ deprivation. They were compared to a group of non-criminal but emotionally disturbed young people - Bowlby found 14/44 of the thieves could be classified as affectionless psychopaths, and 12 of these had experienced a prolonged separation from their mother during the first two years. In the control group, only 2 had experienced separation - All together 50% had childhood deprivation but most of only the psychopaths went on to commit crime - demonstrates that those who had prolonged separation in their childhood went on to commit criminal offences unlike the control group who also were emotionally deprived but did not have prolonged separation 2/44 and were non-criminals

Question 146

Name three characteristics of affectionless psychopathy:

Answer 146

1) don’t have empathy for others 2) Show very little affection, concern or care for others 3) Show little or no remorse, guilt or shame for their bad deeds

Question 147

Explain the psychodynamic explanation in terms of Id, Ego and Superego

Answer 147

- the superego is our “moral compass” and therefore likely to be involved in criminal behaviour as it is concerned with right and wrong - Blackburn (1993) under or over development of the superego may lead to offending behaviour

Question 148

What are the three types of superego?

Answer 148

1) Strong superego: - usually law abiding - guilt= feel need to be punished - crime= punishment - exceptions- desire for sex leads to strong feelings of guilt - occasional commit crime - punishment is meant to satisfy guilt - meant to relieve pressure of superego, make balance- fairer 2) Weak superego: - selfish - uncaring - uncontrolled aggression - lack of loving parent figure during childhood - no care for self or others= no concern for consequences - ID characteristics are stronger- not balanced 3) Deviant superego: - Oedipus complex- big models on father - if father is deviant, the son will imitate

Question 149

Evaluation- weakness-gender bias:

Answer 149

- girls develop a weaker superego than boys - do not experience castration anxiety, girls are under less pressure to identify with their moths (then boys with fathers) - superego-sense of morality is therefore less fully realised - Implication= females should be more prone to criminal behaviour than males - not supported with evidence (not consistent) - male- female ratio of inmates in prison - Hoffman (1975): - in a study where children were required to resist temptation - found hardly any evidence of gender differences - when was, little girls tended to be more moral than little boys - threatens universality of findings (being capable of being applied to all) - androcentrism- male centred, based on male castration anxiety (lower level of moral development) - alpha bias= real and enduring differences between men and women- superego (exaggerates difference and devalues women) - resolution of the Electra Complex is less satisfactory, partly due to the fact there is little reason why you would identify with women- low status

Question 150

Evaluation- weakness- unconscious concepts:

Answer 150

- decreases validity - lack of falsifiability - can’t disprove - not open to empirical testing- reduces application to crime - lacks supporting evidence - only be judged at face value rather than scientific worth - regarded as pseudoscientific (‘fake science’) - only time had evidence- 44 thieves= criticised on methodological grounds

Question 151

Evaluation- strength- real world application:

Answer 151

- implications for prevention of delinquency - treatment of emotional problems in young delinquents is slow and difficult so better to try and prevent problem in the first place by avoiding separations- alternative care - Bowlby, James and Joyce Robertson: - key was emotional separation rather than just physical separation - children cope well with separations from parents as long as alternative emotional care was provided eg: koluchova twins= twin boys isolated from 18 to 7 years showed deprivation damage is not inevitable if subsequent care is provided

Question 152

Evaluation-weakness-contradictory evidence:

Answer 152

- little evidence that children raised without a same-sex parent are less law-abiding as adults (fail to develop a conscience) - contradicts Blackburn’s weak superego argument - if children raised by devient parents go on to commit than the formation of a deviant superego - idea that criminal behaviour reflects an unconscious desire for punishment seems implausible (most offenders go to great lengths to conceal their crimes-suggest want to avoid punishment at all costs)

Question 153

Evaluation- weakness- methodological issues with Bowlby’s research:

Answer 153

- 44 thieves study has been heavilu criticised - accuses of researcher bias= preconceptions of what he expected to find may have influenced the responses of his interviewees - failed to draw a distinction between deprivation and privation - many of thieves he studied experienced privation= suggested to be more damaging than deprivation

Question 154

Evaluation- strength-important consideration of emotion:

Answer 154

- only explanation for offending behaviour which deals with the role of emotional factors - key criticism in psychology is that certain factors are overlooked eg: cognitive explanations miss out how emotion affects behaviour - psychodynamic approach addresses these issues and includes how anxiety/ feelings of rejection may contribute to offending behaviour - also recognises role of biological influences in early childhood experiences eg: shaping adult personality - both important in other theories

Question 155

Evaluation- weakness- complex set of factors- better to combine:

Answer 155

- Bowlby: - acknowledged that juvenile delinquency is likely to be a consequence of many complex factors eg: poverty, bad housing... = none actually figure in psychodynamic explanations but does contribute - Farrington et al (2009): - 40 year long longitudinal study in the U.K. - 1950s - 400 boys from South London - concluded most important risk factors at age 8-10 for later offending were: - family history of criminality eg: genetics/ differential association - daring/ risk-taking personality (Eysenck’s theory) - low school attainment - poverty - poor parenting (psychodynamic approach) -demonstrates that all different explanations we have considered can be combined to give a clearer picture of the originals of offending behaviour

Question 156

Evaluation- weakness- correlation not causation:

Answer 156

- Lewis (1954): - analysed data draw from interviews with 500 young people - found material deprivation was a poor predictor of future offending and ability to form close relationships in adolescence - even if children who have experienced prolonged separation from mother in later life does not mean a link between deprivation and delinquency - other links eg: genetic factors - maternal deprivation maybe one of these reasons but not only reason or most decisive - only an association between separation and emotional problems - other factors, it could even be that the affectionless character of the child causes separations in some cases eg: difficult child more likely to be placed in care - ALSO confounding/ third variable: - variables researcher failed to control and eliminate- damages internal validity of experiment - can lead to a mistake in the causal relationship between two others EG: 1) Prolonged periods of deprivation- lead to more crime 2) Prolonged period of deprivation do not lead to more crime, instead 3 variable eg: having a weak superego leads to more crime

Question 157

Evaluation- strength- research support:

Answer 157

- Ressler et al (1988): - out of 36 sex murdered interviewed in the USA 42% were found to have been sexually abused as youngsters Dietz and Warren (1995): - found that 76% of the 41 serial rapists that they interviewed were abused when young - supports Bowlby’s ideas on early life -good reliability- consistency

Question 158

What can you say as whole when talking about superegos?

Answer 158

Can just say inadequate superego (meaning too strong, weak)

Question 159

What is the opposite of minimalisation, when the consequences of behaviour are exaggerated?

Answer 159

-magnification- over exaggerated

Question 160

Why can cognitive distortions lead to offending behaviour?

Answer 160

-allow offender to deny or rationalise their behaviour

Question 161

Give an example of hostile attribution bias:

Answer 161

When someone looks at them strangely and they perceive it as threatening, resulting in violence

Question 162

What is the difference between affect and effect?

Answer 162

- affect= verb, influence, make a difference | - effect= noun, impact, result

Question 163

How does each stage in Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning change?

Answer 163

People progress through these stages as a consequence of having opportunities to develop their thinking eg: taking perpective of another person

Question 164

Where can you get a table summary of all the explanations?

Answer 164

In booklet- part of Lesson 12- answers on Showbie?

Question 165

What are the aims of custodial sentencing?

Answer 165

1) Incapacitation 2) Punishment 3) Rehabilitation 4) retribution 5) Deterrence

Question 166

What is incapacitation?

Answer 166

- protect the people | - will vary in importance eg: serial rapist compared to parking fine

Question 167

What is a custodial sentencing?

Answer 167

-when someone is required to spend a set duration of time in an institution like a prison

Question 168

What is punishment?

Answer 168

- negative consequence for actions, reduces recidivism | - operant conditioning- reduced frequency of behaviour

Question 169

What is rehabilitation?

Answer 169

-self improvement eg: therapy, mental health support, explain behaviour, programmes like drug addiction

Question 170

What is retribution?

Answer 170

-atoning for wrong-doing,apologise, accept responsibility, victims come to terms with event

Question 171

What is deterrence? What are the two types?

Answer 171

1) General deterrence= shows what will happen if do crime, deters others from committing crime- deterrence ofpublic, other people 2) Individual deterrence= by incarcerating prisoner stops committing crime in future, links to recidivism, see consequences of actions

Question 172

What are the psychological effects on a custodial sentencing?

Answer 172

1) De-individuation 2) Depression 3) Overcrowding and lack of privacy 4) Effects of the family 5) Prisonisation

Question 173

What is the psychology effect- de-individuation?

Answer 173

- links to Zimbardo’s Standford Prison Experiment - Found increased aggression in guards - means a loss of self-awareness or sense of self when part of a group

Question 174

What is the psychological effect of depression?

Answer 174

- self harm, suicide - Abramson (1989): - depression was caused by helplessness and hopelessness - suicide is a possible outcome- the greatest risk group is single young men in the first 24 hours of imprisonment - also shown by Seligman: - coined the idea of learned helplessness - did a dog study= put in a box it couldn’t get out of, electrocuted floor repeatedly and kept building up the wall higher. Found dog tried to get out at the beginning but then started to accept and even when lowered walls- didn’t try to leave

Question 175

What is overcrowding and lack of privacy?

Answer 175

- Calhoun (1962): - showed that overcrowding with rats led to increased aggression, hyper-sexuality, stress and increased physical illness (increases cortisol levels)

Question 176

What are the effects of the family?

Answer 176

-children with a mother or father in prison are deeply affected financially and psychologically, parents may feel guilt and separation anxiety (Glover, 2009)

Question 177

What is prisonisation?

Answer 177

- adoption of prison values and techniques | - may not be accepted on outside world but is encouraged in prison and may be rewarded for

Question 178

What do recent studies show about overcrowding and lack of privacy?

Answer 178

-suggests 25% of prisoners are in overcrowded accommodation, with two people in cell designed for one

Question 179

Where can you get a summary and extra detail of all the definitions?

Answer 179

-did as homework, either separate in folder or attached to lesson 13!

Question 180

Evaluation- strength- custodial sentencing- rehabilitation opportunity:

Answer 180

✅Rehabilitation opportunity: - easily accessible treatment eg: anger management - CBT- educate - Therapy= allows offender to become a respectable member of society - can be worthwhile, open to reductions in recidivism - even can get work experience- tome away to allow, not usual in everyday life

Question 181

Evaluation- weakness- Pritkin (2009):

Answer 181

- Pritkin (2009): - prison may lead to low self-esteem, reduced empathy and anger towards the system - psychological consequences of custodial sentencing is negative - not good in rehabilitating the individual particularly the psychologically vulnerable - increased reliability as supported by Bartol: - also found custodial sentencing was ‘brutal, demeaning and generally devastating” - found in last 20 years, suicide rates among offenders is 15x higher than in general population - engagement in rehabilitation may also decrease Could link to: - Sutherland (1939) - Prison Reform Trust (2014)

Question 182

Evaluation- weakness- behaviourists:

Answer 182

- behaviourists found that punishment is most effective when it occurs straight away. This is not the case with offending behaviour - could link to delayed discounting - equally, if not caught until a few weeks or months after committed the crime- delayed - only if DIRECTLY, IMMEDIATELY reinforced - not effective- have to go through trial, sentencing, punishment which is in prison- years - furthermore, in a lot of the court trials you have to wait meaning the individual is still in the community after committed the crime waiting for trial

Question 183

Evaluation- weakness-cost of prison:

Answer 183

- cost of prison means alternative such as probation, fines and community service may be preferred - over £30,00 a year per prisoner- not most economically viable - restorative justice - some suggest eg: Davies and Raymond that alternatives to custodial sentencing are more effective eg: community service means they still have family contact and employment is maintained = better at rehabilitating Links: - only small number of prisoners are dangerous - Sutherland (1939)

Question 184

Evaluation- weakness- only small number of prisoners are dangerous to society:

Answer 184

- links to incapacitation - custodial sentencing= extreme not all violent Links: - Sutherland (1939) - cost of prison

Question 185

Evaluation- weakness- murder rates:

Answer 185

- the murder rates in US states with the death penalty are similar to those in states which do not have the death penalty - has no effect on offending behaviour - severe= limited application, equally as high Could spin to be positive as say prison is just as effective as death penalty = enough to deter from prison- doesn’t need to be severe

Question 186

Evaluation- weakness- Sutherland (1939):

Answer 186

- 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 - gives young inmates in particular opportunity to learn ‘tricks of the trade’ from more experienced offenders - custodial sentencing may increase crime - universities of crime - prisonisation - undermines attempts to rehabilitate- makes reoffending more likely Links: - Pritkin (2009) - Prison Reform Trust (2014) Or - cost of prison - only a small number of the prisoners are dangerous to society (Depends on grave point making)

Question 187

Evaluation- weakness- Prison Reform Trust (2014):

Answer 187

- found that 46% of adults were reconvicted within one year of release - 67% of under 18 year olds were reconvicted within a year - negative= doesn’t reduce recidivism- weakness - especially ineffective in young offenders- rehabilitation not working- not deterrence- weaknesses of aim of custodial sentencing Links: - murder rates - Walker (1981) Or - Sutherland (1939) - Pritkin (2009)

Question 188

What are the two types of question you may get as a 16 marker on custodial sentencing?

Answer 188

1) psychological impact 2) Aims= question likely -may be more specific eg: effect on recidivism or just generally the psychological effects

Question 189

Evaluation-weakness-Walker (1981):

Answer 189

- found length of sentence made little difference to habitual offenders (repeat offenders) - doesn’t reduce recidivism= not effective - makes reoffending more likely - burglar- easier, 2x more likely to commit a crime then sex offenders/ rapists - reasons are different eg: sex offender- pleasure, burglar- money/ living-why? - no deterrence Links: - Prison Reform Trust - murder rates

Question 190

Lesson 14= Dealing with offending behaviour - Behaviour modification: What is token economy?

Answer 190

Token economy programmes are used to obtain desirable behaviour in closed institutions such as prisons, and they are used for juvenile and adult offenders - they are a form of behaviour modification - a token economy programme involves a system of rewards being set up for desirable behaviour sometimes with punishments (often revoking benefits or taking tokens away) to discourage behaviour which is undesirable

Question 191

What are the rewards? Why are they rewarded?

Answer 191

- rewards are usually tokens or points, and these can be periodically exchanged for something that the individual wants (tokens themselves are not rewarding but the secondary reward is) - desirable behaviours such as co-operation and compliance is reinforced such the use of tokens - these tokens have no intrinsic value and are called secondary reinforcers - they can however be exchanged for primary reinforcers which are things that are wanted by the person - when used in prisons, many of the programmes also use negative reinforcement and punishment in order to reduce undesirable behaviour such as non-compliance and aggression - typical negative reinforcement would be removal of privileges such as watching TV or going to the exercise yard while a typical punishment may be isolation

Question 192

It is very important that there are clear definitions of:

Answer 192

- what is a desired behaviour eg: making the bed - what is a token - how tokens are allocated (in prison which is a more volatile atmosphere, give physically (may be stolen) or point system - what is a reward- has to be meaningful eg: telephone privileges, television, book, cigarettes... - how there will be gradual changing of giving of tokens to shape (over time have to gradually change the giving of tokens , make harder= encourage to think about behaviours doing and becomes more automatic) the behaviour - how many tokens there are for each reward - how the reward will be removed once the behaviour is achieved

Question 193

Recap- what is the role of cigarettes:

Answer 193

- cigarettes, sweets and television are the primary reinforcers, the tokens are the secondary reinforcers - if the tokens are given for behaviours that progressively become more complex, shaping is taking place - if tokens are removed for undesirable behaviour such as shouting at the prison guards- called punishment

Question 194

Recap- key terms, what is shaping?

Answer 194

Gradually altering behaviour through selective reinforcement of behaviour

Question 195

Recap- key terms, what is primary reinforcer?

Answer 195

-an item that the person physically needs or desires

Question 196

Recap - key terms, what is positive reinforcement?

Answer 196

- a reward for showing a desired behaviour

Question 197

Recap-key terms, what is schedule of reinforcement?

Answer 197

- a choice of how to implement a reinforcement strategy

Question 198

Recap- key terms, what are tokens?

Answer 198

Item given as reward

Question 199

Recap- key terms, what is the secondary reinforcer?

Answer 199

Tokens given as rewards for target behaviour

Question 200

Recap- key terms, what is negative reinforcement?

Answer 200

-positive feelings following the removal of an aversive stimuli

Question 201

What is the case study for the effects of token reinforcement on the behaviour of delinquents in cottage settings?

Answer 201

Hobbs and Holt (1976)

Question 202

Summary of what they did:

Answer 202

- a token economy was designed to modify the behaviour of 125 adolescent males committed to a state correctional institution was implemented to boy’s cottages, focusing on social behaviour (peer interaction), rule following and task completion. The program was introduced to three cottages and a fourth cottage served as a comparison. Appropriate behaviour increased when the token program was introduced in each cottage. Data was collected for 14 months thus the long term effects of initial behaviour change were assessed

Question 203

What were the results?

Answer 203

-data was collected over 14 months and the token economy resulted in an increase in the mean percentage of appropriate (target) behaviours for each cottage with no noticeable improvement in the comparison cottage. In cottage A appropriate behaviour increased from a baseline mean of 66% to a treatment mean of 91.6%. In cottage B from a baseline mean of 46.7% to 80.8% and for cottage C 73.2% to 94.2%

Question 204

For more info (loads) looooook

Answer 204

IN BOOKLET!

Question 205

Outline problems with the sample used in Hobbs and Holt’s study:

Answer 205

- all males (beta bias) - uneven distribution of race/ other ethnicities and countries - differences in IQ

Question 206

Outline some problems in the way in which data was collected in Hobbs and Holt’s study:

Answer 206

- behavioural categories - what about behaviours outside this - only 20 observers- miss events - discusses with delinquents- demand characteristics

Question 207

What other variables could be affecting the boys behaviour?

Answer 207

- vicarious reinforcement- competition - IQ-extraneous variable - praise by nurses - demand characters- not modifying- may revert back-just doing for reward - biological maturity

Question 208

In what ways does the token economy scheme lack ecological validity?

Answer 208

- not all behaviours being rewarded are common on the outside and in real life wouldn’t be rewarded- need independence - don’t work in real- world, delayed discounting

Question 209

Outline one example of how the token economy program might be considered unethical?

Answer 209

- conflict of interests between needs of the staff and the interest of the boys - chose some target behaviour to maximise convenience for staff rather than it helping the boys adjustment time life outside school eg : line behaviour - also should be seen as basic rights- some parents question legality- manipulative model of society

Question 210

NOTE!

Answer 210

May have to look at evaluation summaries in booklet- may not have added all of them to flashcards- check!

Question 211

Evaluation- positive-administration:

Answer 211

-can be administered by anyone (with training) and tokens and rewards are relatively cheap, so the programme is not expensive and there are more benefits than cost eg: chocolate, cigarettes...

Question 212

Evaluation- positive- successful:

Answer 212

-has been found to be successful by many studies, even though there tends to be 10-20% of people who do not respond well to TEPs (Hobbs and Holt)

Question 213

Evaluation- negative- Blackburn:

Answer 213

- Blackburn- little rehabilitation: | - learning may not transfer to the home environment, so there may be recidivism

Question 214

Evaluation- negative-reliability:

Answer 214

- programmes have to be carefully planned and controlled, and there are many areas where problems can occur such as lack of consistency from staff - reliability= no consistency between prisons or how tokens allocated

Question 215

MORE DETAILED EVALUATION SUMMARY

Answer 215

In booklet

Question 216

L15- Dealing with offending behaviour- Anger Management: | -what does this involve? What are it’s aims?

Answer 216

- anger management is a kind of cognitive behavioural therapy that aims to reduce an emotional response by reconceptualising the emotion - its use with prisoners has 2 main aims: 1) Reduce anger and aggression in prisons in the short term 2) Reduce recidivism in the long term - Novaco’s model draws on the stress and inoculation approach has three key steps: 1) Cognitive preparation= clients learn about anger and how it can be adaptive and non-adaptive= analyse own patterns of anger- know triggers, aspects anger personally change and anger can’t 2) Skill acquisition= clients are taught various skills to help manage their anger such as relaxation and communication skills- trying to communicate point, lack of understanding - results in violence 3) Application training= clients apply their skills, first in controlled situations and later in real world settings and receive feedback- défiguré tension, in prisons and when released

Question 217

Name two successful anger management programmes:

Answer 217

- Ireland (2004) | - Trimble et al (2015)

Question 218

What did Novaco say prisons were?

Answer 218

-prisons are ‘efficient anger factories’

Question 219

What did Novaco (2011) identify as his three key aims for any anger management programme?

Answer 219

1) Greater self awareness (regulation of arousal) 2) Learning to control the physiological state- cognitive restructuring (control over cognitive dimensions) 3) Learning problem solving skills, strategic withdrawal and assertiveness (behavioural strategies)

Question 220

Most offender programmes are based off Novaco’s.... What is this?

Answer 220

Stress inoculation approach - aims to provide a kind of vaccine against future ‘infections’ - tends to ne conducted such a group of offenders inside or outside of prison eg: probation period

Question 221

What are the three key stages of the stress inoculation approach?

Answer 221

1) Cognitive preparation= in the initial phase clients learn about anger generally eg: how it can be both adaptive and non- adaptive, analyse own patterns of anger and situations which provoke anger in them 2) Skill acquisition= in the second phase clients are taught various skills to help manage their anger eg: self-regulation, cognitive flexibility and relaxation, and taught better communication skills eg: so they can resolve conflicts assertively without being angry 3) Application training= clients apply the skills initially controlled situations eg: role plays of situations that made them previously angry, receive extensive feedback and later clients try out their skills in real world settings eg: try out skills in prisons among other offenders and outside prison

Question 222

What are an anger management programmes?

Answer 222

-use a cognitive approach- therapy about ‘management’- accepts situation may be changeable but a person can change way think about it, thus change behaviour- specific to changing way a person manages their anger

Question 223

Evaluation-weakness-methodological issues:

Answer 223

- some studies only last a few days (like Ireland 2004) but some last a few years - some AMP are run by psychologists (neutral relationship) others prison staff (know well) - lack consistent metrology- 1)Time 2)People- training/ qualification varies

Question 224

Evaluation- individual differences- weakness:

Answer 224

- some offenders may drop out of voluntary AMP as they are not ‘ready for change’ eg: traumatic upbringings- subjective - not sure if effective as not enough finish therapy to see results - decreases the internal validity

Question 225

Evaluation- weakness- contradicting research:

Answer 225

- Blackburn (1993): - long term effectiveness is not effective (poor) in reducing recidivism as therapy relies on artificial role play (not real) and not real life events - decreases validity - not taught in real world- anger and civilian anger- not going to consider other person or know they struggle with anger management - where as in institution the therapist has learnt and knows how to diffuse anger, they are also unlikely to retaliate - therefore, some suggest they are not effectively prepared for the reality in the real world

Question 226

Evaluation-strength- evidence for effectiveness:

Answer 226

- Taylor and Novaco (2006): - reporter 75% improvement rates based on 6 case studies (but not control group and small sample) McGuire (2008): - found reduction in reoffending after one year. Long term success of AMP is more likely than with behavioural modification as it looks at the cause of the crime - overall better long term then things like token economies

Question 227

Evaluation- strength- Ireland (2004):

Answer 227

- 92% of patients showed an improvement in at least one measure - AIM= to investigate whether anger management programmes are successful in reducing aggression in young male offenders - natural experiment - 50 male prisoners + control group of 37 male prisoners (NO AMP)- 87 young male offenders altogether - both given: 1) Cognitive behavioural interview 2) Wing Behavioural Check-list (WBC)-prison officers- rating 29 angry behaviour scores 0,1 or 2-week before interview 3) Prisoner self report questionnaire of 53 items - treatment group= calm, control group- nothing, no change - assessed on all 3 gain (8 weeks after) Conclusion: - helped but unclear if long term - 48% improvement on both measures - 8% no improvement or worse - generalisable= doesn’t matter what who you are-adapts to the individual-flexible - effective- increased validity and reliability - overall increased effectiveness for experimental group

Question 228

EVALUATION SUMMARY

Answer 228

LOOOOOOOOK IN BOOKLET 👀!!

Question 229

L16=Dealing with offending behaviour: Restorative Justice | -what are the aims of restorative justice?

Answer 229

-flexible- used in different areas like schools - Seeks to achieve justice by repairing the harm done by an offender - this may be a payment, a letter or interaction between the victim and the offender - 85% victim satisfaction rate - 14% reduction in recidivism

Question 230

What are the 4 key features of restorative justice?

Answer 230

1) Focus on acceptance of responsibility and positive change for people who harm others 2) Not restricted to court rooms. Offenders and victims may meet outside of the court room- will have a facilitator which acts as a mediator to make sure the session is proactive 3) Active rather than passive involvement of all parties - victim- psychologically and physically fit to meet perpetrator - offender- prepared to take responsibility 4)Focus on positive outcomes for survivors and those involved in wrong doings

Question 231

What are the benefits for the offender?

Answer 231

1) Opportunity to address and heal underlying issues and opportunity to change 2) Opportunity to apologise and accept responsibility 3) Opportunity to repair the harm done as a result of the crime 4) Develop an understanding of the effect of their actions

Question 232

What are the benefits for the victim?

Answer 232

1) Enable them to put the crime behind them eg: why they were targeted, acts as closure 2) Empowerment in terms of a sense of personal power- one of only ways the victim can be involved in process 3) Develop an understanding of why the crime was committed 4) Gives victims a greater voice in the Criminal Justice System

Question 233

What are the benefits for the community and economy?

Answer 233

1) restorative justice reduces the frequency of reoffending, so community is safer 2) Opportunity to (re)build a sense of community and mutual accountability 3) shows the community that offenders are making up for their actions so gives sense of retribution 4) Saves money- £8 in savings to the Criminal Justice System for every £1 spent on restorative justice

Question 234

Evaluation- weakness-not suitable for some crimes:

Answer 234

- feminist critique= used with caution and certain times should avoid using this method - EG: domestic partner violence- power imbalance- can lead to the abuser and community blaming the victim - not generalisable to all crimes as there are ethical considerations

Question 235

Evaluation- weakness- ‘soft’ option:

Answer 235

- not highly regarded method - Davies and Raymond: - politicians who want to be seen to be ‘tough on crime’- not much support, mainly because public see it as wrong method of ‘punishing’ - reduces application over custodial sentencing - not supported by public so politicians don’t use it

Question 236

Evaluation - strength- considers victim-closure:

Answer 236

- only method which gives victim involvement and a voice - make amends - RJC in 2015 85% victim satisfaction rate - good application= use in real world, helps people

Question 237

Evaluation- effective in reducing recidivism:

Answer 237

- RJC says overall rate of reoffending is reduced by 14% - Sherman round across 20 studies face to face RJ all studies (US, UK, AUS) show reductions in reoffending - cross culturally- not that different

Question 238

Evaluation- strength- not only exclusive to criminal setting:

Answer 238

- hospitals and schools - diversity and application to society as a whole - in schools= bullying

Question 239

EVALUATION SUMMARY....

Answer 239

BOOKLET- LOOK 👀- MAYBE ADD LATER?