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Psychology A2 > Forensics - Social/Psychological Explanations of Offending Behaviour > Flashcards

Forensics - Social/Psychological Explanations of Offending Behaviour Flashcards

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1
Q

what is eyesenck’s criminal personality theory?

A

the criminal personality type is innate and comes about via the type of nervous system we inherit.

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2
Q

what are the original 2 scales eyesenck used to determine personality type?

A

introversion/extraversion

neuroticism

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3
Q

which scale was added later to determine personality type?

A

psychoticism/normality

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4
Q

what type of personality did eyesenck say criminals have?

A

neurotic, psychotic extroverts

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5
Q

what is neuroticism?

A

tendency to experience negative emotions eg anger, anxiety, depression

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6
Q

what is extroversion?

A

outgoing with positive emotions however may get bored easily

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7
Q

what is psychoticism?

A

egocentricity, impulsivity and lacking of empathy

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8
Q

how is personality type measured?

A

using the eyesenck personality inventory (EPI)

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9
Q

what is the biological basis for extroversion?

A

chronically under-aroused nervous system

constantly seek excitement, stimulation and are likely to engage in risk-taking and dangerous behaviours

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10
Q

what is the biological basis for neuroticism?

A

more reactive sympathetic nervous systems

unstable and so react and get upset easil

may therefore overreact to situations of threat

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11
Q

how can psychoticism be linked to offending behaviour?

A

they are aggressive and lack empathy

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12
Q

what is the process of socialisation?

A

children taught to delay gratification and become socially oriented via conditioning

punished for anti-social behaviours and so even thinking about them creates anxiety

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13
Q

how did eyesenck view offending behaviour?

A

developmentally immature

it is selfish and concerned with immediate gratification.

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14
Q

what did eyesenck would happen to extroverted and neurotic people during socialisation?

A

their nervous systems make them difficult to condition

do not easily learn to respond to antisocial impulses with anxiety

more likely to act antisocial and criminal

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15
Q

what are the advantages of eyesenck’s theories?

A

research support - eysenck compared male prisoners’ scores on EPI with male controls - found to be more psychotic, extraverted and neurotic than controls

used a lie scale on questionnaire to account for social desirability bias

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16
Q

what are the disadvantages of eyesenck’s theories?

A

used a questionnaire as the EPI - social desirability bias

personality not consistent - unreliable as people would score different on different days

determinist - assumes all criminals are extroverted and neurotic, shown that some are introverted and stable

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17
Q

what are cognitive distortions?

A

faulty, biased and irrational ways of thinking

we perceive ourselves, other people and/or the world in a way that does not match reality + is usually negative

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18
Q

what are 2 cognitive distortions that can explain crime?

A

hostile attribution bias

minimalisation

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19
Q

what is hostile attribution bias?

A

tendency to misinterpret other people as aggressive, provocative and/or threatening

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20
Q

how does hostile attribution bias contribute to offending behaviour?

A

rationalises offending behaviour by blaming other factors for it e.g. the victim

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21
Q

what is minimalisation bias?

A

downplaying seriousness of actions to explain the consequences as less significant

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22
Q

how does minimalisation contribute to offending behaviour?

A

offender accepts consequences of their own offences and reduces the negative emotions associated with crimes as they genuinely think what they’re doing is ok

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23
Q

what is kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning?

A

decisions and judgements on issues of right or wrong can be summarised in a stage theory of moral development

higher stage = better moral reasoning

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24
Q

what are the 3 levels in kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning?

A

preconventional morality

conventional morality

post-conventional morality

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25
what are the two stages in the pre-conventional stage of kohlberg's theory?
punishment orientation reward orientation
26
what is punishment orientation?
Reasoning based on whether or not the act will lead to punishment
27
what is reward orientation?
reasoning based on whether an action will lead to a reward
28
what are the 2 stages in the conventional stage of kohlberg's theory?
'good boy'/'good girl' orientation social order orientation
29
what is 'good boy/girl' orientation?
Reasoning based on what others expect
30
what is social order orientation?
reasoning based on doing duties as a citizen
31
what are the 2 stages in the post-conventional level of kohlberg's theory?
Social contract and individual rights orientation Conscience orientation
32
what is social contract and individual rights orientation?
Reasoning based on what is impartially right eg democratic rules can be challenged if they infringe on the rights of others
33
what is conscious orientation?
Reasoning based on one’s own ethical principles
34
how do kohlberg's levels of moral reasoning link to offending behaviour?
he said criminals more likely to have pre-conventional thinking non-criminals progressed to conventional or beyond
35
why might criminals commit crime if they have pre-conventional morality?
they believe that breaking the law is justified if the rewards outweigh the costs or if punishment can be avoided.
36
what are the advantages of using cognitive distortions as an explanation for offending behaviour?
research support for hostile attribution bias - offenders found to be more likely to have an aggressive reaction than a control group research support for minimalisation - found that sex offenders often downplay their crimes applications - found to be effective using the theory to treat offenders
37
what are the disadvantages of using cognitive distortions to explain offending behaviour?
research support tends to be correlationary only describes what offenders are doing but doesn't explain
38
what are the advantages of using kohlberg's theory of moral reasoning to explain offending behaviour?
research support - found that offending group had less mature reasoning than a control
39
what are the disadvantages of using kohlberg's theory to explain offending behaviour?
gender bias - theory based on studies on men only gender bias - he then studied women but showed alpha bias saying they were less morally developed then men reductionist - looks at thinking not behaviour - environmental factors eg poverty may override moral reasoning
40
what is differential association theory?
suggests individuals learn values, attitudes, techniques + motives for criminal behaviour through association and interaction with others
41
what does differential association theory say offending behaviour is dependent on?
the criminal norms/values of the offender’s social group
42
what are the 2 ways offending is learnt in differential association theory?
Learning attitudes towards crime The learning of specific criminal acts
43
what are the most powerful sources of learning in differential association?
Personally relevant (esp. from role models) Long-lasting Salient/extreme During critical period (IWM)
44
what are the advantages of differential association theory?
externally valid + holistic - explains lots of types of crime accounts for environmental factors research support - found that where there is a criminal father more sons had committed a crime by the age of 18 than control group
45
what are the disadvantages of differential association theory?
environmentally reductionist - ignores biological factors and diathesis-stress research support correlational socially sensitive/potentially unethical - stereotyping areas as criminal - determinist - self fufilling prophecy
46
what are the key ideas in psychodynamic theories about offending behaviour?
unconscious conflicts rooted in early childhood and determined by interactions with parents drive offending behaviour
47
what are the 2 psychodynamic explanations of crime?
inadequate superego maternal deprivation
48
what is the role of the superego?
punishes the ego through guilt for wrongdoing, rewards it with pride for moral behaviour
49
what happens if the superego isn't working properly?
offending behaviour is inevitable because the id is given ‘free rein’ and isn’t properly controlled
50
what are the 3 types of inadequate superego?
weak/underdeveloped superego deviant superego over-harsh/overdeveloped superego
51
how is the weak/underdeveloped superego formed?
same-sex parent is absent during phallic stage child cannot internalise a fully-formed superego as there is no opportunity for identification
52
how does a weak/underdeveloped superego lead to offending behaviour?
little control over anti-social behaviour and likely to act in ways that gratify their instinctual id impulses
53
how is the deviant superego formed?
superego that the child internalises has immoral or deviant values (e.g. a child with a criminal parent)
54
how does a deviant superego lead to offending behaviour?
child may not associate wrongdoing with guilt
55
how is the over-harsh/overdeveloped superego formed?
A child internalises the superego of a very strict same-sex parent Therefore, they develop an excessively harsh superego.
56
how does a over-harsh/overdeveloped superego lead to offending behaviour?
individual is guilty and anxious because any time they act on their id impulses - superego active This unconsciously drives them to offend with a wish to be caught satisfies superego’s need for punishment and reduce guilt.
57
what is the maternal deprivation theory?
If maternal deprivation occurs during the critical period, then the child will experience long-term consequences these individuals are likely to offend and cannot develop close relationships with others as they lack necessary early experience to do so
58
what is maternal deprivation?
long-term separation or loss of emotional care from the mother or mother-substitute
59
what is the main consequence named by bowlby that will occur if a child has suffered maternal deprivation during the critical period?
affectionless psychopathy
60
what is affectionless psychopathy?
a lack of guilt, empathy or strong emotion for others and responsibility
61
what are the advantages of psychodynamic explanations to explain offending behaviour?
research support for maternal deprivation - 44 thieves study applications - providing alternate emotional care for children separated from parents to prevent one of the only explanations that accounts for emotional causes and recognises biological factors - holistic
62
what are the disadvantages of psychodynamic explanations to explain offending behaviour?
undermining evidence for inadequate superego - found no correlation between missing same-sex parent and offending behaviour based on Freud's work - showed a lot of beta bias and androcentrism Bowlby's 44 thieves was correlational undermining evidence - found most important factors are poverty, personality (eyesenck), family history of offending (genetics), low school attainment
63

Psychology A2 (13 decks)

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