OCR A Level Criminal Psychology Questions

Explain how the research by Raine et al (1997) could be used to understand physiological explanations of criminal behaviour [10]

Aim - investigate differences in brain activity of murderers in areas associated with aggressive behaviour, Design - Quasi experiment, Matched pairs, Sample - 41 murderers, 2 weeks no meds, Procedure - FDG injected and scanned after 32 min, cortical peel technique while continuous performance task, Results - lower activity in prefrontal cortex (self control and emotion), parietal cortex, corpus callosum (rationality), amygdale and hippocampus (lack of inhibition, fearlessness, failure to learn from negative). Temporal cortex no difference, Conclusion - Reduced activity in brain areas linked to violence - may predispose to criminality. Not causal - identifies link with biology as quasi experiment, not all with brain abnormality criminal and vice versa, reductionist - environment plays role, unreliable - individual differences, gender bias + all in prison, small sample

Discuss a biological strategy which may be used to prevent criminal in relation to the scenario (10)

Diet and Lifestyle - Olds et al. 1998 prenatal diet reduced offspring criminal and antisocial behaviour, Raine et al. 2003 nutrition, exercise, stimulation reduced antisocial behaviour, Raine 2014 Omega 3 reduction in aggression, delinquency and attention problems. Surgery - Lewinson 1965 450 inmates recidivism dropped from 75 to 42%, Stoomer at al 1998 increases positive self image not attractiveness, Hormone Therapy - Willie & Beier 1998 castration 43% lower recidivism, Susman & Ponirakis 1997 testosterone and aggression link Evaluation - nurture on nature, individualised, freewill, although reductionist, ethics, unreliable - not causal

Using the research by Raine et al. outline the physiological explanation of criminal behaviour (10)

Aim - investigate differences in brain activity of murderers in areas associated with aggressive behaviour, Design - Quasi experiment, Matched pairs, Sample - 41 murderers, 2 weeks no meds, Procedure - FDG injected and scanned after 32 min, cortical peel technique while continuous performance task, compared to database Results - lower activity in prefrontal cortex (self control and emotion), parietal cortex, corpus callosum (rationality), amygdale and hippocampus (lack of inhibition, fearlessness, failure to learn from negative). Temporal cortex no difference, Conclusion - Reduced activity in brain areas linked to violence - may predispose to criminality. Physiological - brain activity linked to aggression or predisposes to aggression causing criminality, reduced activity in areas linked to no fear of consequences, lack of self control and emotion, irrationality

Assess the validity of research into explanations of criminal behaviour [15]

Valid - demand characteristics (Wille & Beier, 1998) none for (Raine) Lab experiments - standardised, controls (Raine) although some quasi, not causal (Sheldon,1942) (Lombroso, 1876) but identifies link for further research, ethnocentrism (Brunner, 1993) but biology mostly the same, scientific equipment - objective

Assess the reliability of research into explanations of criminal behaviour [15]

Reliable - Lab experiments standardised and controlled - although quasi, individual differences although Raine used matched pairs, subjective interpretation - not causal but identifies link, Raine's participants were in prison - confounding bias

Discuss the methodological issues of research into explanations of criminal behaviour [15]

validity - demand characteristics, lab experiments, causation, ethnocentrism, location, individual differences, bias - unwilling or screw you effect,

Assess the ethical issues of research into explanations of criminal behaviour [15]

harm/distress - MRI, right to withdraw - prisoners under authority (Raine), informed consent - demand characteristics, confidentiality - quantitative data produced, socially sensitive - biology determines criminality. Useful so ethical issues justifiable

Assess the debate about whether psychology is a science with regard to research into physiological explanations of criminal behaviour [15]

standardised controlled lab experiments - reliable, scientific equipment (Raine), validity - not causal and may not test hypothesis - individual differences, quantitative data, not quantifiable (subjective) mostly scientific

Assess the usefulness of research into physiological explanations of criminal behaviour [15]

understand causes - Genetics, brain hormones, effect a cure - ECT stimulate brain, hormone therapy (nurture), prevention - Diet & Lifestyle (Olds et al, Raine) Genetics. Useful for reducing crime

Assess the nature/nurture debate with regard to explanations of criminal behaviour [15]

nature - brain, genetics, hormones - reductionist and not causal, nurture - self esteem (Tzesniewski) SLT (Eron et al.) (Williams) nurture treatment can influence deterministic biology explanations, interaction (Mednick et al Biological 20% Adopted 14.7% both 24.5%)

Assess the reductionism/ holism debate with regard to explanations of criminal behaviour [15]

reductionist - brain, genetics, hormones, holistic - self esteem (Tzesniewski) SLT (Eron et al.) (Williams) interaction (Mednick et al Biological 20% Adopted 14.7% both 24.5%) Reductionist but allow for other explanations

Assess the individual/situational debate with regard to explanations of criminal behaviour [15]

Individual - genes, brain, hormones, situation - environment, peers, social influence, false dichotomy - too simplistic

Assess the freewill/determinism debate with regard to explanations of criminal behaviour [15]

determined by biology, freewill to change using nurture on nature - Susman and Ponirakis, Wille and Beier, Lewinson,

Scarlett is worried about her son Josh and his friends. They are often involved in fights at school and she thinks Josh might have started stealing. Josh's dad was always aggressive and is in prison for theft. Scarlett is wondering what might be causing Josh's behaviour. Discuss how a criminal psychologists might apply their knowledge of two different explanations of criminal behaviour to help Scarlett to understand possible causes of Josh's behaviour [10]

Hormones - testosterone. Susman & Ponirakis - hormone therapy to reduce aggression, father's influence - keep away from prison - Sutherland, TV aggression - Eron et al. Williams - reduce violent tv programmes

Using the research by Hall and Player (2008) explain how motivating factors and bias could affect the collection and processing of forensic evidence [10]

Aim - to see if trained fingerprint experts affected by emotional context, Design - Field experiment, independent measures, Sample - 70 fingerprint experts from Metropolitan Police Fingerprint Bureau, 3mths to 30yrs experience, Procedure - No time limit, treat as ordinary day, scanned fingermark onto £50 notes, ambiguous match, magnifying glass and Russell comparator, asked if was match, was not, or inconclusive Results - 57/70 read crime scene examination report before analysis, 52% of high emotion context felt affected, 6% low emotion. No difference in final decision/confidence Conclusion - no effect on decision, further research needed, emotion may lead to contextual bias - context should be withheld to prevent bias - more likely to find a match however no difference found in this study

Explain how the research by Hall and Player (2008) could be used to improve the way forensic evidence is collected and processed [10]

Aim - to see if trained fingerprint experts affected by emotional context, Design - Field experiment, independent measures, Sample - 70 fingerprint experts from Metropolitan Police Fingerprint Bureau, 3mths to 30yrs experience, Procedure - No time limit, treat as ordinary day, scanned fingermark onto £50 notes, ambiguous match, magnifying glass and Russell comparator, asked if was match, was not, or inconclusive Results - 57/70 read crime scene examination report before analysis, 52% of high emotion context felt affected, 6% low emotion. No difference in final decision/confidence Conclusion - no effect on decision, further research needed. De-bias by withholding context - ensure that contextual bias does not influence decision by fingerprint expert. More objective results that ensure accuracy

Assess the ethical issues involved when researching the ways in which motivating factors and bias could affect the collection and processing of forensic evidence [15]

Confidentiality - anonymous, socially sensitive - want to get task right and prove worth determined emotions so not objective, harm/distress - pressure of being observed in work environment, deception - participants not know that fingermark is false (Dror, Kassin, Hall & Player, Miller)

Discuss the methodological issues involved when researching the ways in which motivating factors and bias could affect the collection and processing of forensic evidence [15]

Demand characteristics - act differently or use deception - ethical issues. Standardised, reliable procedure - individual differences may affect, high eco validity although not controlled, some use self report for assessing emotion - bias and subjective

Assess the reliability of research into how motivating factors and bias could affect the collection and processing of forensic evidence [15]

Reliable - standardised procedures - some field which realistic but not controlled, unreliable - subjective self report bias, individual differences - motivation, experience, age, gender,

Assess the validity of research into how motivating factors and bias could affect the collection and processing of forensic evidence [15]

ecological validity of field experiments - not controlled so confounding variables or individual differences - not causal, repeated measures - would act as own baseline but demand characteristics, sample - 70 so quite large but ethnocentric, demand characteristics - biased results

Assess the usefulness of research into how motivating factors and bias could affect the collection and processing of forensic evidence [15]

prevent false identification - fair justice - emotional context (Hall and Player), reduce bias- improve techniques such as blinding (Miller) increase accuracy - keep public safe (Dror et al) - fillers when suspect likely perpetrator

Assess the freewill/ determinism debate with regard to motivating factors and bias in collection and processing of forensic evidence [15]

affected by emotion, contextual bias - more likely to find a match, expectation bias - incorrectly identify perpetrator Job satisfaction, motivation, fear of failure, cast importance (Charlton et al.) May not let emotions influence response (Hall&Player)

Assess the debate about whether psychology is a science with regard to research into the collection and processing of forensic evidence [15]

Subjective interpretation, quantitative results (Hall&Player), unreliable self report, hypothesis testing, randomly assigned groups - individual differences, cannot ensure demand characteristics not involved

A series of high profile armed crimes have been committed in a town called Lymdon recently. Forensic experts have been processing the evidence. There are several possible suspects, including one with a previous conviction for possession of weapons. Discuss how motivating factors and bias could affect the collection and processing of forensic evidence in this case [10]

Charlton et al. Motivation - high profile so job at risk, case importance - keep public safe, job satisfaction - small town so recognize as hero, contextual bias - weapons (Hall&Player), expectation bias - suspect with previous convictio

Explain how the research by Memon and Highman (1999) could be used to improve the way evidence is collected though police interviews [10]

Aim:Review of cognitive interview (Context reinstatement, different perspective, different starting point, recall everything), test effectiveness of various components, rel'ship CI and SI plus structured interview, measures of memory performance and effects of training, Memon (1996)- no sig. diff. Between components, Milne (1997) - context reinstatement most effective recall, full CI most accurate Standard interview not standardised, training and motivation affect effectiveness, measures of memory lab exps low eco. validity. Quantitative results lack detail , CI more demanding and exhausting, quality and quantity of training key, ind. diffs. of interviewer. Training programmes for interviewers, move poor interviewers into other areas, further research needed, compare with structured interview as is standardised, all components of CI important to complete

Discuss the effectiveness of using the cognitive interview technique [10]

Context reinstatement, different perspective, different starting point, recall everything, Memon & Highman - review of lab experiments, Context reinstatement most accurate, CI more effective overall, lab exp low eco validity and SI not standardised. Plan, Engage Explain, Account clarify challenge, Closure, Evaluation - build rapport and thorough, evaluation provides feedback. Training very important , Grant et al. 1996 context important - not done in PEACE

Discuss the methodological issues of research the collection and use of evidence from witnesses and suspects [15]

standardised procedure needed to compare interview techniques and SI not standardised (Memon&Highman) (Fisher et al.), lab exps - low eco validity (Loftus & Palmer), demand characteristics - aim must be unknown, individual differences

Assess the ethical issues of research into the collection and use of evidence from witnesses and suspects [15]

Deceit to reduce demand characteristics (Loftus, 1979) Distress of seeing crime (Christianson&Hubinette) socially sensitive - doubts interviewers and suspect evidence (Pedzek et al.) Consent - cannot give full consent if aim withheld (Brewer&Trewen)

Assess the usefulness of research into the collection and use of evidence from witnesses and suspects [15]

Useful - improve interviewing technique (Memon&Highman), identify areas for further research, improve accuracy/quality rather than quantity (Pedzek et al.) Not useful - not ecologically valid lab exps, demand characteristics lower validity, validity of evidence doubted - socially sensitive,

Assess the debate about whether psychology is a science with regard to research into the collection and use of evidence from witnesses and suspects [15]

Variables manipulated, hypothesis testing, subjective results - demand characteristics, bias, socially desirability, SI not standardise - unreliable, lab exps controlled - standardised but confounding variables affect - individual differences

Daryl is a detective who believes he could improve the success of interviews with suspects. He suggested asking witnesses to sleep at the police station and playing them sounds known to have been audible at the time of the incident, such as dogs barking, traffic noise or music. The witness would then be woken up and re-interviewed. Discuss how a psychologist could investigate whether Daryl's new interview technique could improve the collection of evidence [10]

Context reinstatement - sounds as traces, compare with other aspects of CI (Milne 1997) - repeated measures although may produce demand characteristics, p acts as own baseline to reduce effect of individual differences (Memon&Highman), analyse accuracy of info provided with real info (Pedzek) Could use video of crime - Loftus & Palmer- lower eco validity as not as affecting? Ethics - deceit, distress, socially sensitive - must debrief

Using the research by Dixon et al.( 2002) explain how juries can be persuaded by characteristics of witnesses and defendants [10]

Aim - whether Brummie accent produce stronger attributions of guilt than standard, race and type of crime influence. Method - Brummie or Standard, Black or White, Blue or White collar, 119p's listened to tape of crime, Ind. Measures, 7 point scale of guilt, Speech evaluation instrument, Results - Brummie more guilty, Brummie, black, blue - most guilty, superiority and attractiveness - guilty.

Not only is language/accent important in determining guilt -Mahoney&Dixon, but race and attractiveness too(more guilty), converse to Stewart 1985

Assess the validity of research into psychology and the courtroom [15]

juries confidential so mock juries used - low eco validity, shadow jury - no responsibility for consequence, lab exp - controlled, standardised, reduce confounding variables, all Dixon's sample were white students - ethnocentrism as cultural and social bias affect generalisability of results, repeated measures would see p's act as own baseline - counter effect of ind. diffs. - demand characteristics would lower validity,

Discuss the methodological issues of research psychology and the courtroom [15]

lab exp- controlled and standardised but low eco validity , real juries - no qualitative data so assumptions, bias made (Stewart) mock jury, shadow jury, ethnocentrism (Dixon, Broeder, Stewart), generalisability, representative sample, individual differences, bias in interpretation - racial bias (Brewer)

Assess the ethical issues of research into psychology and the courtroom [15]

Distressing content, Dixon students pressured to take part - right to withdraw, informed consent - deceit or aim not known to reduce demand characteristics, Stewart - consent of observation and privacy, socially sensitive content - racial bias Dixon et al.

Assess the usefulness of research into psychology and the courtroom [15]

bias outlined so can improve objectiveness of jury - bias in interpretation and low eco validity - informing of bias may not reduce it. Allow witnesses to appear less guilty, more realistic - defendants may then take advantage and appear less guilty. Range of jury members to reduce bias - representative sample

Assess the debate about whether psychology is a science with regard to research into psychology and the courtroom [15]

Dixon - lab exp, fake interview - low eco valid, replicable standardised and controlled, cause and effect hard to establish so not valid, Broeder - subject interpretation, bias of interpretation - Stewart, low generalisability - students Dixon,

Assess the freewill/determinism debate with regard to psychology and the courtroom [15]

Determined by factors such as language, accent, appearance, race (Broeder, Stewart, Seggie, Brewer) - freewill to decide who is guilty, freewill if bias known - then determined by cognitive bias

Assess the ethnocentrism of psychology and the courtroom [15]

biased interpretation as social and cultural influences experimenter - Stewart, Broeder, Brewer. Samples usually white, students - Dixon, Stewart, cannot generalise to all juries e.g. blacks may see other blacks as less guilty or Aussies more likely to see UK as guilty - Seggie

A lawyer is representing a man who believes has been wrongly accused of murder, there is evidence to suggest that he is guilty and other evidence that he may be innocent. Outline strategies that could be used to influence during decision making in this case. (10)

Attractive - Halo effect - Thorndike, RP and less hedgers, confident - Lakoff, dress smart - Stewart, inadmissisable evidence to sway jury - Broeder, DNA evidence produces CSI effect - Schweitzer & Saks, avoid fMRI as interpreted as more guilty - Leisburg

Darcy has been looking at the local news and has seen two pictures of people accused of theft. They have lots of piercings. She wonders if, like accents, piercings might affect the decision-making of the jury. Discuss how a psychologist could investigate whether Darcy is right in believing that seeing a suspect with lots of piercings might affect the decision reached by a jury [10]

mock jury as not permitted to observe real - low eco validity but controlled and standardised, assess guilt attributions to pierced or not pierced defendants, low distress crime such as stealing, Dixon et al. - accent affects so ensure both have same accent to reduce confounding variables, same appearance otherwise - reliable and valid

Using the research by Wilson & Kelling, explain how the features of neighbourhoods and zero tolerance policing can help prevent crime [10]

review article - vandalism leads to further crime if not fixed Zimbardo 1969 car in Palo Alto left untouched until Zimbardo partially damaged - if damage, suggests lack of community so any displays of damage should be fixed - Broken Windows theory

Newark Foot Patrol Experiment 1970's - no significant impact of foot patrol on crime rates but did make residents feel safer so could increase sense of community and deter further crime

Zero tolerance policing - address and punish all crime to prevent escalation. Confident and assertive policing to make an environment inhospitable to crime.

Assess the validity of research into crime prevention [15]

hard to measure effectiveness of crime prevention strategy - correlation but not causal. (Newman & Frank, housing size and criminal activity linked)

Confounding variables may be affecting such as zero tolerance (Bratton, NYC, 7000 new police addressing all crime) - deterred by policy or by increased police officers?

ecological validity - observation used so high ecological validity - realistic environment and observing natural behaviour w/o interference other than the independent variable

majority of studies in US or UK - ethnocentric so not generalisable to all populations - may have different rel'ships with police, wealthy, corruption etc

only short term effects measured not long term

Assess the reliability of research into crime prevention [15]

individual differences of police officers implementing zero tolerance - motivation, assertiveness, personality - influence results especially in studies of cities such as Bratton in NYC

Zero tolerance - all crimes addressed as same to prevent escalation so standardised procedures - although ethical issue as should consider individual differences of criminal as could be affected by MH, situation - Mallon, Hartlepool

Defensible space, Newman 1972 - difficult + expensive to implement in different cities, countries, situations as not all will have means to increase surveillance - ethnocentric means results are not replicable across countries

Observation could be affected by experimenter bias - Newark Foot Patrol

Quantifying effectiveness is important in ensuring objective results - level of crime - operationalise as how many arrested or accused? Zero tolerance could result in innocent people being convicted - cause insignificant crime reduction

Discuss the methodological issues of research crime prevention [15]

Observation - experimenter bias - could influence results e.g. Newark Foot Patrol Experiment - distorted by what the aim is

Ethnocentrism - mainly UK/US e.g. Bratton, NYC + Mallon, Hartlepool - not generalisable to other countries where rel'ship with police could be different, wealth, corruption, Defensible space - Newman&Frank - could have high crime but small buildings e.g. Kenya

Individual differences - of actual police officers, whether they are invested in Zero tolerance scheme but also of criminals who may have other factors influencing their behaviour that are dispositional rather than situational such as family - Sutherland or self esteem - Trzesnieski

Cause & Effect - often correlational - Newman&Frank - other factors could be influencing, mainly field experiments or observation - not all factors can be manipulated - Bratton NYC - more police of more rigorous policy? Dennis & Mallon - crime fell whether 0 tolerance deployed or not

Long term v short term - only short term considered - would crime rates rise again after short time - police get lazy - Zero tolerance - or money runs out to fix damage - Wilson & Kelling, Broken Windows

Costs - of implementing surveillance equipment, Newman 1972, expensive and could be damaged by criminals, costs of more police too - Bratton NYC

Assess the ethical issues of crime prevention with regard to features of neighbourhood and zero tolerance policing [15]

Neighbourhood - Newman 1972, observing public behaviour in response to changes to their neighbourhood lacks consent and threatens confidentiality - although in public place this is assumed as accepted

Zero Tolerance - Pollard 1998 - aggression and could lead to discrimination against criminal stereotypes, (harm) risks alienation of certain groups and divides community (socially sensitive) , should be taken on case by case basis as individuals may be suffering from MH issues and behaviour is determined,

Assess the usefulness of research into crime prevention [15]

Broken Windows, Defensible space, Zero tolerance - situational strategies so are easy to implement as behaviour assumed as universal, although fails to acknowledge individual differences affecting behaviour

Many case studies to illustrate but many are short term rather than long term effects

Ethical issues with zero tolerance - aggression, discrimination against stereotypes, determining factors such as MH not considered

Ethnocentric - target hardening, Clark 1997, may not be so useful in US where gun crime is more of an issue - more effective in UK where theft is more common

Displacement of crime - Repetto 1976 - criminals move to other areas instead resulting in crime rate drop but shifts to elsewhere

Cost of implementing schemes - more police for zero tolerance Bratton NYC, surveillance equipment in defensible space Crowe 1991, fixing damage in broken windows

Useful theories but not without problems

Assess the reductionism/ holism debate with regard to crime prevention [15]

Holistic - situational, considering explanations of crime as universal and solved by deterring factors such as more police, more surveillance, target hardening - easier to implement but fails to consider other factors - innate genes - Lyons et al. - family background - Sutherland - self-esteem - Tzesniewski

Holistic - difficulty in studying directly the effectiveness of strategies - other confounding variables - correlation not causation

Assess the individual/situational debate with regard to crime prevention [15]

Situational - all situational and considers crime as result of environment or lack of surveillance

Easier to implement universal strategies - Zero tolerance, Defensible Space

Fails to consider other factors - innate genes - Lyons et al. - family background - Sutherland - self-esteem - Tzesniewski

Reduces opportunity by denying free will rather than dealing with perpetrators - deterring crime rather than helping criminals - more likely to reoffend - only short term considered so strategy could begin to fail

Not applicable to all situations - e.g. target hardening when crime is gun related, defensible space when crime is fraud,

Assess the freewill/determinism debate with regard to crime prevention [15]

Deterministic - restricts freewill to prevent crime rather than dealing with the individual reasons for crime - likely to reoffend or displacement of crime, Repetto 1976

Freewill - zero tolerance policy assumes criminals have freewill and all should be punished the same - could be determined by background, mental health, eduction

Deterministic - Wilson & Kelling - lack of order leads to crime Broken Windows

Assess the ethnocentrism of crime prevention strategies [15]

Types of crime - target hardening or defensible space not relevant for gun crime, fraud, hacking - only useful for theft

Types of housing/environment - Newman&Frank - house size correlated to crime rate but some countries such as Kenya have high crime but very small houses

Corruption/Police brutality - increasing police may lead to more deaths, discrimination of particular races or ages, e.g. America - more black people convicted

Poverty - affects crime rates as people have no opportunities - not related to or deterred by defensible space, zero tolerance - behaviour is determined so have lack of choice

Cultures - although NYC culturally diverse so does show range of ethnicities - other cultures may not regard certain things as crimes e.g. FGM is legal in some countries or homosexuality is illegal

Shona has been thinking about crime in her village. Petty things such as graffiti and stealing garden gnomes are beginning to happen. She is wondering what might have led to it and what the community might do to stop it. Discuss how a psychologist could design a practical strategy to tackle the problems that Shona has seen [10]

Broken Windows - Wilson & Kelling - remove graffiti and other signs of damage to prevent further criminal activity - instil sense of community, create safe place - may be expensive or time consuming,

Newman - Defensible Space - improve communal areas by planting trees, adding benches to encourage maintenance of ownership and community - may be vandalised too - waste resources, space to do so limited

Zero Tolerance - punish criminals even petty - prevent escalation, confident and assertive police - increase numbers - increase surveillance (Bratton) - although crimes may have been influenced by other factors such as gang culture, lack of education - costs of employing more police

Amy is the manager of a clothes store. She believes that the store has a problem with people stealing goods from it and she is keen to address this problem. What crime prevention strategies might a psychologist suggest to help Amy address the problem of goods being stolen from her clothes store? [10]

Target hardening Clarke, - increase surveillance, add cameras to deter crime + catch criminals, bright lighting - make it less rewarding to steal - may incur high costs - could move checkout closer to door

Zero Tolerance security on door to deal with all petty thefts - police called immediately - may be nuisance, discrimination against stereotypes and wrong accusations - CCTV to ensure correct person accused

Explain how the research by Haney et al. (1973) could be used to understand the effects of imprisonment [10]

Aim - to investigate how behaviour differed when either given role of prisoner or guard in prison simulation