Paper 3 - Forensic Psychology

Front 1

Problems in defining crime

Back 1

- crime is time relative e.g. homosexuality used to be illegal

- crime is culturally relative - attitudes are not always the same in all cultures so what is considered legal in one culture is not in another

- Crime is age relative something is only considered crime when it is done deliberately and with intention e.g. children under 10 in the UK can't be arrested or charged.

Front 2

Ways of measuring crime

Back 2

- official statistics

- offender surveys

- victim surveys

Front 3

Offender profiling American approach

Back 3

- top-down

- FBI classified convicted serial killers and sex murderers into organised or disorganised

- organised were intelligent, socially competent, lived with someone and planned their attacks

- disorganised were less intelligent, socially incompetent, loners and more likely to behave impulsively

- it's used to compare info from New crime scenes but is based on self-report and limited sample size

Front 4

Offender profiling British approach

Back 4

- bottom-up

- geographical profiling saw the crime scene as a source of info

- the behaviour at the scene would reveal info about their everyday life and characteristics

- focus is on unique circumstances

Front 5

FBI stages in building a profile

Back 5

1) assimilating data

2) classifying the crime

3) reconstructing the crime

4) creating a profile

Front 6

Geographical profiling characteristics included in a profile

Back 6

1) personal characteristics

2) criminal history

3) residential location - if a circle is formed around an offenders crime scenes they are often found to live in the middle ( circle theory )

4) domestic and social characteristics

5) occupational and educational history

Front 7

Problems in offender profiling

Back 7

- can only be used for a limited range of crimes, aren't useful for crimes motivated by material gain

- suggested that the aim has been misrepresented, it isn't to find a specific person but a type of person

- research shows it's effectiveness is limited

- study showed that only 14% of senior police felt profiling helped them solve a case

Front 8

Rachel Nickell murder cases study

Back 8

- a murder in 1992 were a woman was killed in front of her toddler

- profile was made and broadcast and 4 people rang and identified the same person

- undercover female officer formed a relationship with him but he never confessed

- arrested anyway and judge aquittedd him and critised the poilices tactics

- someone confessed in 2008

Front 9

John Duffy case study

Back 9

- serial rapist and murderer

- the profile was very similar to his characteristics

Front 10

Positivist criminology

Back 10

Criminal behaviour results from physical or psychological features, no free will

Front 11

Lombroso

Back 11

- only focused on physical features

- criminals were more likely to have ( atavistic ) primitive features - strong jaw and heavy brow

- other features are high cheekbones, flat nose, sloping shoulders etc..

- he thoughts criminal behaviour came from primitive instincts which survived the evolutionary process

- he went in to suggest certain characteristics could describe different types of criminals

Front 12

Lombrosos atavistic features evaluation

Back 12

+ highlighted the role of biology in criminology

- didn't use a non-criminal control group

- lots of people in his sample could have had psychological disorders

- racist, e.g. he thought murderers had curly hair

Front 13

Genetic adoption studies

Back 13

- some studies show there is a high concordance rate of criminal activity with their biological parents rather than adoptive

- mendick ( photo )

Front 14

Genetic influences on agression

Back 14

- believed that aggression can lead to offending behaviour

- link between genes and aggression, particularly in twin studies

Front 15

An extra Y chromosome

Back 15

- study showed that a higher percentage of people in a prison population had the atypical sex chromosome pattern XYY compared to a normal population

- they believed it led to increases testosterone and increased violence

- they are also more likely to be impulsive, hyperactive and have a lower IQ

Front 16

Neural explanations of offending behaviour

Back 16

- Raine suggested a biological dysfunction in the brain could cause an individual to commit violence

- Photo

Front 17

Biological explanation evaluation

Back 17

+ studies support that there is some contribution from biological factors

- can be tested scientifically, e.g. Raines study

- no study has shown a 100% concordance rate between MZ twins

- some people think biological explanations are too reductionist and deterministic

Front 18

Eysenck two personality dimensions

Back 18

1) Neuroticism-stability - individuals towards the neurotic end show anxiousness and restlessness

- individuals at the other end show reliability and calmness

2) extraversion-introversion - extravert end tends to be social, impulsive and assertive and vice versa

Front 19

Eysenck later added a third personality dimension

Back 19

3) psychoticism - shows how disposed an individual is to psychotic breakdown, those who score highly tend to be aggressive, hostile and uncaring

Front 20

Criminal thinking patterns study

Back 20

Photo

Front 21

Criminals may show cognitive distortions

Back 21

- being self-centered

- minimisation - minimising the seriousness of theinroffending behaviour

- blaming problems on others

- hostile attribution bias - believing others are out to get them

Front 22

Study on cognitive distortions

Back 22

- found they were higher in a group of 52 male delinquents than in a control group

- however studies like this don't show that these cause criminal behaviour it could be behaviour causes them

Front 23

Criminals can have different levels of moral reasoning

Back 23

- Kohlberg thought it progressed in stages

- he argued it increases as you get older

- he investigated it by using moral dilemma stories

- an example is the Heinz dilemma, in the story he chose to break into a shop to steal expensive drugs to cure his dying wife

- participants had to decide whether they were justified

- there are 6 stages under three levels

Front 24

Kolbergs moral reasoning level 1

Back 24

- Preconventional

1) an action is morally wrong if the person who commits is punished as a result ( most common in children )

2) the right behaviour is in your own best interest

Front 25

Moral reasoning level 2

Back 25

- conventional

3) the right behaviour is the one that makes others think positivley about you

4) it's important to obey laws and follow social conventions because they help society to function properly

- most people fall into this stage

Front 26

Moral reasoning level 3

Back 26

- preconventional reasoning

5) the right course of action is the one that promotes the greatest good for the greatest number of people

6) actions are driven by abstract, universal principles of right and wrong, which don't depend on the situation

- criminals are supposed to have a lower level of reasoning

Front 27

Kolbergs theory evaluation

Back 27

- gender bias, most of the research was on US males, so his findings can't be generalised to other groups

- the study was claimed to be androcentric by another researcher and focused too much on male ideas about justice

Front 28

Psychodynamic approach for criminals

Back 28

- Freud claimed the only way to understand how people behave is to look at their past and that offending behaviour was therefore linked to early childhood experiences

Front 29

An inadequate superego

Back 29

- criminality may be due to abnormal development of the id, the ego, and the superego

- Blackburn proposed there are three different types of superego which lead to offending behaviour

- a weak superego - found in those with no same sex parents as they can't internalize that parents moral code

- a deviant superego - found in those whose same sex parent is immoral

- a strong superego - if a person thinks about acting on the ids desires they'll end up feeling guilty if they have a strong superego, so they'll commit the crimes in order to get caught because they feel as though they should be punished

Front 30

Defence mechanisms

Back 30

- Freud outlined 3 defence mechanisms, displacement, repression, and denial

- researcher described how displaced aggression in offenders might explain their anti-social behaviour

- most people can repress and deny their urges however the psychodynamic approach suggests a triggering incident may release these feelings resulting in offending behaviour

Front 31

Psychodynamic approach to crime problems

Back 31

- difficult to scientifically test the theories because it considers unconscious causes

- lots of data is from case studies and qualitative so it's hard to use it to state laws that can be generalised

Front 32

Sutherlands differential association theory

Back 32

Front 33

Differential association evaluation

Back 33

+ accounts for all types of people

+ supported by a study on 176 school children, he measured deliquent behaviour and association with delinquents and found a correlation between them

- not everyone is influenced by people around them, doesn't consider individual differences

- problems in defining crime which make the theory hard to test as it's hard to objectively measure attitudes towards the law and crime

Front 34

Aims of imprisonment

Back 34

- retribution ( punishment )

- rehabilitation

- incapacitation ( protecting the public )

- denunciation ( showing the public the offenders actions were wrong )

- deterrence

Front 35

Imprisonment effects on criminals

Back 35

- mental health problems ( photo )

- institutionalisation - strips offenders of autonomy, prisoners may be quick to conform to given roles ( zimbardo )

- reinforces criminal behaviour- inmates teaching each other about crime could reinforce criminal behaviour

- labelling- stigma once released, hard to get a job or friends

Front 36

Evaluation of imprisonment

Back 36

+ can fufill its aims and give the opportunity to reform

+ some people think it doesn't work, if it was truly deterrent there wouldn't be any criminals

- putting resources into prevention may be more efficient

- there are other types of sentences such as community service that may be better for smaller crimes, it would enable offenders to keep their jobs and social contacts

Front 37

Recidivism

Back 37

- repeating behaviours after being punished

- there are factors that influence this

1) length of time in prison

2) supervision after release

3) disciplinary reports

4) education level

5) seriousness of crime committed

6) prisoner ethnicity

7) individual experiences in prison

Front 38

Recidivism support

Back 38

- in the UK in 2012 nearly 27% reoffended, which was increased to over 50% in people that served less than 12 months

- studies also show a link between employment and reoffending, those who found work within 6 months of being released had fewer convictions

Front 39

Token economy in custody

Back 39

- operant conditioning

- behaviour that is desired must be clearly desired

- variety of rewards must be given

- reasons for token must be clear

- what a token is worthy must be clearly established

- the rate of warning tokens must also be established

Front 40

Token economy evaluation

Back 40

+ study showing it improved behaviours in a prison

- study showing the rates of criminality reduced during the token programme but returned to the same rate as a control group after

Front 41

Anger management

Back 41

- therapy used with violent criminals

- assumes violent behaviour comes from anger

- based on cognitive behavioural techniques

- aims to improve self awareness and control

- usually involves a two hour session each week for 8 weeks, participants are encouraged to monitor their one behaviour patterns and emotions

Front 42

Anger management isn't effective for everyone

Back 42

Front 43

Restorative justice

Back 43

- focuses on criminals directly making amends to the people they've harmed

- can be used on various offences from vandalism to assault

- may involve the victim and offender meeting face to face or talking by letters

- can involve offenders working to undo the damage they've done e.g. by removing graffiti

Front 44

Restorative justice evaluation

Back 44

+ reduced post traumatic stress in victims and they were less likely to want violent revenge

+ both criminals and victims were more satisfied with the approach than traditional justice solutions

+ decreased the costs involved

- people are reluctant to use it