Test 1: Chapter 1 Flashcards
(66 cards)
Forensic psychology
Field of psychology that deals with all aspects of human behaviour as it relates to the law or legal system
What is the problem with forensic psychology in the media?
Mis-portayed
Ie. TV show cops: selective cutting and reorganization which biases viewers towards legal system and away from suspects
Beginning of forensic psychology
19th century
Did not consider themselves forensic psychologists
Foundational research
James Cattell
Psychology of eyewitness testimony
Measurements of the Accuracy of Recollection
Found answers to often be inaccurate, and imperfect relationship between confidence and accuracy
Alfred Binet
Susceptibility of suggestive questioning techniques in children
Experiment: write what they saw, answer mildly suggestive questions, answer very suggestive questions
Children were most accurate when they were told to describe what they saw
William Stern
Reality experiment
Participants exposed to stage events when someone pulled a revolver
Memory was inaccurate and worse for exciting parts of event
Albert von Schrench-Notzing
Europe
Provided testimony in court about affect of pretrial publicity on memory
Retroactive memory falsification
Retroactive memory falsification
Confuse actual memories with those in the media
Julian Varendonck
Europe
Expert witness
Showed unreliability of children witnesses and proneness to susceptive questioning in case of Cecile murder
Hugo Munsterberg
Expert witness
Testified in two cases, both times were ignored
1. Richard Ivens: was mentally incompetent and coerced into confessing, later executed
2. Harry Orchard: found he was telling truth about murdering someone, but was acquited
Press objected to his involvement, said psychology was a fad for cheating justice
Wrote On the Witness Stand
On the Witness Stand
Written by Hugo Munsterberg
How psychology could help the legal system
Much criticism, based on how it was written
Criticized by John Henry Wigmore
Bartol & Bartol: contributions of psychologists in early 20th century (3)
- Clinics for juvenile delinquents
- Laboratories for pretrial assessments
- Psychological testing for law enforcement selection purposes
Biological theories of crime (3)
- Sheldon’s constitutional theory
- Jacobs, Brunton, Melville, Brittain and McClemont’s chromosomal theory
- Nevin’s theory of lead exposure
Sheldon’s constitutional theory
Crime is a produce of body type (somatotype) which was thought to be linked to individuals temperament
Endomorphs (obese) are jolly
Ectomorphs (thin) are introverted
Mesomorphs (muscular) are bold
Mesomorphs are more likely to be involved in crime due to their aggressive nature
Jacobs, Brunton, Melville, Brittain and McClemont’s chromosomal theory
Chromosome irregularity is linked to criminal behaviour
Men with XYY are more more masculine, and therefore more aggressive
Nevin’s theory of lead exposure
Childhood lead exposure (paint, gasoline) and criminal behaviour are related
Lead exposure can impact brain development in regions responsible fo emotional regulation, impulse control, leading to an increased change in antisocial behaviour
Sociological theories of crime (3)
- Merton’s strain theory
- Sutherland’s differential association theory
- Becker’s labelling theory
Merton’s strain theory
Product of strain felt by certain members of society
Typically lower class who have restricted access to legitimate means of achieving valued goals of success
Some are happy when lesser goals are achieved, others turn to crime in attempt to achieve those goals
Sutherland’s differential association theory
Criminal behaviour is learned through social interaction in which people are exposed to values that are favourable or unfavourable violations of the law
More likely to be involved in crime when they learned more favourable violations of the law
Becker’s labelling theory
Deviance is not inherent to an act, but a label attached to an act by society
Criminal results primary from a process of society labelling them as a criminal - promotes deviant behaviour, self-fulfilling prophecy
Psychological theories of crime (3)
- Eysenck’s biosocial theory of crime
- Aker’s social learning theory
- Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime
Eysenck’s biosocial theory of crime
Some individuals are born with nervous systems that influence their ability to learn from consequences of behaviour - especially negative consequences from childhood, socialization and conscience-building processes
Extraverts and neurotics will develop strong antisocial inclinations due to reduced conditionability
Aker’s social learning theory
Crime is a learned behaviour
Likelihood of becoming a criminal increases when one interacts with individuals who favour antisocial attitudes
Role models who exhibit antisocial behaviour, define antisocial behaviour as sometimes justifiable, or rewards for antisocial behaviour
Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime
Low self-control internalized early in life in the presence of criminal opportunity explains propensity to commit crimes