Week 11 - The Psychology of Justice Flashcards
(43 cards)
What are the 4 theories of punishment?
- incapacitation
- Deterrence
- Rehabilitation
- Retributive justice vs. restorative justice
What is the key idea of incapacitation?
limiting the opportunity to re offend.
What is is collective incapacitation?
longer sentences for ALL
What is selective incapacitation
Incarcerate individuals predicted to re offend. Most effective for high risk offenders.
What are some assessment techniques we rely on to assess re offending rate:
- actuarial/mathematical
- clinical/human
- static factors (gender, age, SES)
- dynamic factors (behaviours, treatment, current), (these are changeable)
What are some criticisms of incapacitation as to why we inaccurate offenders?
- expensive
- collective incapacitation is inefficient
- assessment techniques can be inflexible
What is a criticism of static factors?
This doesn’t address all aspects.
What is the key idea of detterence?
Punishment discourages future offending.
What is specific deterrence?
punishment to defer future offending by a particular person
What is general deterrence?
threat of punishment deters other potential offenders
What are some criticisms of deterrence?
It doesn’t seem to work. According to a meta analysis, there is a slight increase in reoffending. “because of my work, every now and again I will have to spend SOME time in jail”.
Criticisms of deterrence doesn’t only depend on severity of penalty, but also:
perceived likelihood of getting caught (offenders underestimate odds of apprehension).
How many countries have the death penalty?
58 countries
There are death penalty arguments in favour of the death penalty, including:
- effective deterrent
- reduces homicides/saves lives
Homicide rate negatively related to execution rate. Every execution read to:
5 fewer homicides.
What were some arguments against the execution study which stated that as executions went up, homicides went down?
most US states had 0 executions, few had more than 1. Dodgy stats.
What else may explain the results in the homicide rates?
Abortion laws introduced, a reduction in homicides.
The death penalty models violence. It legitimises ___ as an ___
killing, acceptable reaction
What is one of the strongest argument against the death penalty?
How certain do we have to be before we charge someone as guilty (case of Try Davis, wrongfully killed).
What is the key idea of rehabilitation?
prepare offender for re integration.
What does the evidence point to for rehabilitation?
That “nothin works” (mixed evidence).
More recent research shows that rehabilitation:
with CBT is effective, solve on problems solving and communication skills, incorporate family where possible.
Violent offender programs offen had difficulty:
getting prison officers to stick to programs.
What is the key idea for retributive justice?
“and eye for an eye” (pervasive idea in moral philosophy and psychology).
