OCR A level Psychology: Applied Psychology- Criminal Psychology section

What makes a criminal? (Biological)

First term of yr 13 with Miss Seales

Physiological and non-physiological explanations of criminal behaviour

Physiological explanations- Genetics and Brain Dysfunction.

Genetics- Men are genetically more likely to commit criminal behaviours, with women only making up 3% of the UK prison population in 2021. Jacobs (1965) looked at XY men (normal) and XYY men (Genetic abnormality where they have an extra male chromosome), and found that XYY men were more agressive and less intelligent than XY men, leading them into crime more. XYY men made up only 0.001% of the population but made up 1.5% of prisoners. Osborn and West (1979) found only 13% of sons of non-criminal fathers had convictions, whilst 40% of sons of criminal fathers did. Brunner et al (1993) conducted analysis on a large dutch family involved in various criminal behaviours and concluded that individuals inherit genetic conditions which make them more prone to offending behaviour. Mednick (1984) looked at the criminal records of 14,000 Dutch males, finding that 20% of adoptees had biological parents that comitted crimes while only 14.7% of them had adopted parents with criminal records, showing nature has a stronger link to criminal behaviour than nurture (physiological).

Brain Dysfunction- The Limbic system controls agression and is linked to sexual behaviour (higher activity in criminals). Damage to this area can lead to defecits in learning, attention and memory perhaps explaining why violent offenders fail to learn from their past experiences. The Temporal Lobe controls our rationality and morality, with the brain wave activity here likely to be slower in criminals (Especially Violent Psychopaths). When over-stimulated, it can decrease our ability to control our emotions/act rationally. The Corpus Callosum divides our brains 2 hemispheres, controlling our irrational and rational sides. In criminals it is less active so the connection between the 2 sides are weake

Raine- Background, Aims and Method

Background- Raine suggested 3 reasons why prefrontal defecits may cause anti social (opposite of prosocial) personality. 1. This region appears to be critical in self restraint and deliberate foresight. 2. It is crucial for learning conditioned responses e.g a child learns to link anxiety over punishment with a misdeed. 3. Prefrontal defecits are associated with low leveles of autonomic arousal. People with antisocial personality disorder (APD) may unconsciously be trying to compensate by seeking stimulation.

Aim- To study brain activity in murderers who pled NGRI and non-murderers by using PET scans to see wether there are differences in the areas of the brain thought to be linked with violent behaviours.

Sample- 41 murderers, 39 males 2 females from California, USA who pled NGRI. They were matched with a group of 41 non murderers, 39 males and 2 females. There were 6 murderers with Schizophrenia, and they were matched with 6 non-murderers also with Schizophrenia. IQ, ethnicity, and brain injury were not matched. All kept off ALL medication 2 weeks prior (Even Schizophrenia medication), verified by a urine test.

Design- Quasi experiment (IV was murderer or not), matched ppts design. DV was if they had any brain dysfunction in previously linked areas of the brain like the Amygdala, Corpus Callosum, prefrontal cortex etc.

Raine- Procedure

Ppts had to complete a 32 minute Continous performance task, CPT (Matt Hughes did it). They were allowed to practice for 10 minutes beforehand and the glucose tracer injectionfor the PET scan was injected 30 seconds after the CPT had started. After the 32m CPT, ppts were transferred to a PET scanner room where their brains were scanned 10 times at 10mm intervals to measure activity in different regions of the brain. (Such a precise measurement so the study could be replicated if need be). The glucose tracer injection was used to measure the activity by looking at glucose metabolism in different areas of the brain.

Raine- Results, Conclusion and Evaluation

Results- No difference in CPT performance. NGRI's were found to have lesser activity in the frontal lobe, which could explain their issues with rational thinking and self restraint. NGRI's had less activity in their Corpus Callosum, with the connection between the rational and irrational side of their brain being weak which could effect their long term planning. There was also less activity in NGRI's prefrontal cortex and left angular gyrus, areas that had previously been linked to violent behaviour. NGRI's had less activity in the left side of their Amygdala, Thalamus and Hippocampus, areas that link to emotion regulation. They had less activity in the Parietal lobe, which is also linked with abstract thinking like morality, justice etc. Quantative data.

Conclusion- Raine suggests how brain abnormalities in NGRI's may translate to violent or anti-social behaviour. Prefrontal defecits may make someone more impulsive or emotional. Defecits in the limbic system particularly may make it harder for someone to learn from their mistakes, or understand their emotions. Raine proved violent behaviour is not determined by biology alone however. Brain dysfunction may be an effect of violent behaviour, not a cause. Violence as a whole cannot be explained by the results, these can only relate to murderers who have pled NGRI.

Evaluation- Co-variables may occur with being a murderer, like their childhood experiences. Thus, this reduces the validity as extraneous variables here may be the causal factor. PET scans are standardised procedures, thus having high external reliability. However, some could argue PET scans can be interpreted differently, reducing their reliability. Ethnocentric, California based. Low ecological validity as it was conducted in a lab. Low construct validity as it only looks at NGRI murderers and cant be used

Evaluating explanations for Criminal Behaviour

Usefulness of research- Gives insight into how much responsibility can be placed on NGRI's. Also depicts biological causes of violent behaviour, like the defecits in the brain found by Raine. However, those results can only be appplied specifically to NGRI murderers. Also it is reductionist as it ignores the influence of upbringing, socialisation, and ones environment in their criminal behaviour.

Nature vs Nurture- Nature= Brain dysfunction in Raine, and less activity in areas previously linked with violence found. Genetics= Jacob's found XYY men made up 0.001% of the population but 1.5% of prisoners. Nurture= SLT, we learn criminal behaviour through imitation of role models. Self fufilling prophecy's, people feel unable to deviate from their social labelsgiven to them, like in the Ashanti tribe, Jahoda found 7% of mondays were arrested while 22% of wednesdays were.

Free Will vs Determinism- Determinism= SLT, you cannot choose your role models, may be parents who may be criminals. We also cannot change our physiological features like our genetics or brain dysfunctions. Free Will= SFP's, free will in if we choose to act in accordance to our labels or not. SLT, we choose wether to imitate our given role model or not.

Reductionism vs Holism- Reductionist= Raine ignores upbringing, socialisation and ones enviroment in criminal behaviour and we cannot be sure that our biology is the only factor that contributes to this. Holistic= Taking into account physiological and non-physiological factors for criminal behaviour.

Psychology as a Science- Scientific= Raine used PET scans, a standardised procedure. Looks at our biology, which is scientific and temporally valid as biology doesnt change over time. Non-scientific= PET scans can be subjectively interpretated, low objectivity. Difficult to establish cause and effect as we

Biological strategies to prevent Criminal Behaviour

Drug Treatments- Psychopharmology is the study of the effects that drugs have on for example, treating mental disorders. This may be helpful when discussing drugs that can help prevent criminal behaviours in people, like anti psychotic drugs which are used to treat schizophrenia. These work by altering the effects of chemicals like Dopamine in the brain. An example of an antipsychotic drug is Clozapine, an atypical antispychotic used to treat severe schizophrenia and its accompanied violent tendencies by blocking D2 receptors and the serotonin receptor 5-H2TA. Blocking the D2 treats the positive symptoms of schizophrenia while blocking the 5-H2TA blocks the negative symptoms. Clozapine is to be taken as a tablet with a glass of water, 12.5mg once or twice a day. An advantage of drug treatments is that they can address criminal and violent behaviour across numerous mental health issues like schizophrenia or attention-defecit disorder. They can be prescribed to adolescents or adults, though it can be over-prescribed to youth if not careful. Finkelhor and Johnson (2015) mentioned that there are likely to be problems in ensuring adherence to the medication. Antipsychotic drugs have been found to effectively reduce violent crime amongst prison populations. Fazel et al (2014) found there was a 45% reduction in violent crime when patients were prescribed antipsychotics, suggesting they were effective in reducing criminal behaviour, but only looked at violent crime in the incarcerated mentally ill.

Nurtitional Supplements- Zaalberg et al (2010) found ones diet can have a bearing on their agression and criminal behaviour. Deficiencies in omega 3 may result in limited regulation of the limbic system by the frontal lobes, resulting in self control and agression problems. Gesch et al (2002) suggested antisocial behaviour in priso

The Collection and Processing of Forensic Evidence (Biological)

End of term 1, going into the new year with Miss Seales

Motivating factors+bias in the collection and processing of Forensic Evidence

Fingerprints- One of the oldest identification techniques, used by police for over 100 years. A cost and time effective measure that has been greatly assisted by digitally-stored fingerprints and computer programmes that can rapidly search databases to find a match. Fingerprint analysts are motivated to catch criminals by identifying suspects but are also motivated to catch the correct criminal (by avoiding mistakes). However, mistakes do happen due to human error and fingerprint analysis isnt as objective or fool proof as typically made out. Charlton et al (2010) conducted 13 semi structured interviews with fingerprint analysts finding that their main motivations included: Rewards (Job satisfaction), satisfaction in solving cases, need for closure/fear of making mistakes, and feelings associated with searching and finding matches. During analysis ridge details of fingerprints are commpared with those found at the crime scene, though these are usually poorer quality. Dror (2011) found that fingerprint examiners differed from one another (inter-rater reliability) and themselves over time (intra-rater reliability). This may be due to cognitive factors like the types of crime, if they are high pressured, like the Madrid train bombings, which can bias decisions. As a fingerprints quality decreases, interpretations become more subjective. Simon (1998) found that the circumstances of a case and the pressure the fingerprint expert seems to be under can affect there decisions (due to this emotional context). Having little experience in fingerprint analysis may actually help one and their objectivity. Schiffer and Champod (2007) examined the effects of case context and pre-exposure to fingerprint analysts latent mark and found no difference in accuracy by Forensic science students. However some errors were made by the highly ex

Hall and Player- Background, Aim and Method

Background- Dror (2005) gave university research students either good or poor quality fingerprints, with a low or high level emotional stimulus. Students were found to be affected by the emotional context, which intefered with their decisions, making them more likely to make misidentifications. Fingerprint identification requires experts to recognise differences and similairities in fingerprints, though the interpretation of these can be more subjective when a fingerprint's clarity decreases. The Metripolitan police are usually given a copy of the "Crime Scene Examination Report", which can introduce possible bias.

Aim- Using the normal practices of the Metripolitan police, they wanted to test the effect of context on fingerprint identification by fingerprint experts, trying to answer the following Qs: 1. Does the written report of a crime affect an experts interpretation of a poor quality mark. 2. Are fingerprint experts emotionally affected by the circumstances of their case.

Design- Laboratory Experiment, but could be seen as Field experiment because of its naturalistic conditions. Independent measures design, with ppts allocated to either a low-emotional context group or a high one. Study took place in normal fingerprint examination lab in the New Scotland Yard Fingerprint Bureau (London). The IV was the emotional context and the DV's were: wether the ppt read the report prior to examining the mark, wether they made an identification, and if they would be confident in presenting this fingerprint as evidence to the court.

Sample- Self selected sample of 70 fingerprint experts from the metripolitan police fingerprint bureau. Experience there ranged from under 3 months to over 30 years, with a mean of 11 years. The majority were active practitioners but 12 were not.

Mateirals- Each ppt received: a card (With a £5

Hall and Player- Procedure

Ppts were randomly allocated into groups of 8 and were asked to treat the task ordinarily, with no time limit implemented. 35 where in the low-context group, and were given an examination report with an allegation of forgery (victimless, minor), while the 35 in the high context group where given an allegation of murder (victim, serious). One of the researchers stayed with them throughout, and answered any questions posed. Ppts completed a demographic information questionnaire, detailing: Where they worked, the years experience they had, and wether they had presented evidence at court before. The research was conducted anonymously. Ppts were given the card with the print (right forefinger) and where asked whether they thought the print matched any of the 10-print fingerprint form. The experts were then asked wether the mark was: Identification (A Match), Not an identification (Not a match), Insufficient (not enough detail for a comparison) or if there was insufficient detail to even establish identity, some in agreement but not enough to individualize. Finally, they were given a feedback sheet, asking wether they'd referred to the report prior to assessment, and to indicate what they read (to show understanding of the allegation, dates, venue, victim, details etc). If they referred to the report, they were asked wether they believed the information contained in it affected their analysis and how.

Hall and Player- Results, Conclusion and Evaluation

Results- 57 of the 70 ppts read the report prior to examination. 30 (52.6%) of them from the high context group, and 27 (47.4%) from the low context group. The high context group determined that: 6 found a match, 1 found no match, 15 found the prints insufficient and not enough detail for a comparison, and 13 found there were some details in agreement, but not enough to sufficiently establish identity. For the low context group, 7 found a match, 0 found no match, 12 found the prints insufficient and not enough detail for a comparison, while 16 found there were some details in agreement but not enough to sufficiently establish identity. 52% of the high context group that used the report claimed they were affected by the information given, significantly more than the 6% who were affected by what they read in the low context group. When asked if they would have the evidence to present their findings in court, in the low context group, 6 said yes while 29 said no, and in the high context group 5 said yes and 30 said no, proving neither group was confident enough to present unclear prints as evidence in court.

Conclusion- They concluded that even if experts think a serious crime-type has influenced their analysis, the final outcome is not affected. The fingerprint experts used in their research were less affected by cognitive biases than the non-experts used in Dror et al (2005), showing that fingerprint experts are better at analysing in a non-emotional, detatched manner. 19% of experts stated on their feedback sheets that they didn't even read the crime scene examination report, meaning they would not have even been aware of the crime-type contexts before they made their judgements.

Evaluation- Experiments knew they were in an experiment, not dealing with a "Live" mark, meaning it granted informed consent but could hav

Strategies for reducing bias in the collection and processing of forensic evidence

ACE-V- Stands for Analysis, comparison, evaluation and verification. It is a structured approach to fingerprint identification, used in the UK and US to minimize the effect of bias. It involves 4 stages: The analysis phase, determining the overall patterns, the comparison phase, finding an image consistent with the detail found in the latent print, the evaluation phase, comparing the 2 prints side to side to see if they match and the verification phase, where a blind expert repeats your process to try and verify your findings. Its useful for forensic examiners as its a structured approach to follow involving cross-checking, which not only can be useful for fingerprint experts but also for wider criminal justice where evidence is presented in a court to be trusted for a fair trial to take place. It is effective as it adopts a scientific approach to fingerprint analysis, testing a hypothesis by comparing the 2 different prints. Data collection occurs during analysis, theres a testing phase during comparison and a conclusion drawn in the evaluation phase. A peer review (blind) also reduces the probability of erroneous identification due to bias (Crime Scene Training 2011). In terms of practicalities, there must be consistency in how experts approach ACE-V. Each phase requires caution to reduce cognitive bias, and erroneous indentifications in experts are rare but not uncommon, e.g writing down the wrong finger or the wrong name, which happen more often than true erroneous errors.

LSU (Linear Sequential Unmasking)- Believes forensic examiners should work in a linear rather than circular line of reasoning, to prevent bias in the processing of forensic evidence. This means the reasoning process works from the evidence to the suspect, rather than from suspect to the evidence, to prevent confirmation bias. Here, the expert m

Evaluating the collection and processing of forensic evidence

Usefulness of the research- Useful= Hall and Player is useful as it lets us know that knowledge about the crime-type can lead experts to believe their fingerprint identifications may be influenced, this can lead to developing training programmes to reduce the possible effects of cognitive biases in fingerprint identification. Even if experts believe a serious crime type affects their final outcome, they are adept at dealing with fingerprint analysis in a non-emotional manner, useful as this implys that fingerprint evidence in courts of law is likely to be reliable. Hall and Player is more useful than Dror (2005) as it involved fingerprint experts and not untrained students, increasing its population validity as its more generalisable to other fingerprint experts.

Not useful= Hall and Player only investigated biases in fingerprint identification, when there are many other evidence collection processes like interviews.

Nature vs Nurture- Nurture= As fingerprint experts learn how to analyse marks from a crime scene from their peers, any errors made in fingerprint analysis could be the result of techniques used by colleagues (nurture).

Nature= May be biological factors involved in processing and collection of forensic evidence, though this isnt covered in depth.

Individual vs Situational- Individual= Findings support the individual side. Experts arent influenced by situational factors, like the cases emotional context, and accurate decisions are made by fingerprint examiners nevertheless.

Situational= However, non-experts are influenced by situational factors and misidentifications can occur.

Reductionism vs Holism- Reductionist= Hall and Player only investigate the emotional context of the crime (need-determination), neglecting other factors that could affect fingerprint identification.

Holistic= Looks at many differ

Collection of Evidence (Cognitive)

Started with Miss Seales on 30/1/2023.

Collection and use of evidence from witnesses and suspects

Identity Parades- Used for when police have a suspect and need a witness or victim to identify a suspect from a lineup of 6 individuals, 1 suspect and 5 "Foils". This could cause bias as the witness may assume the suspect MUST be in the lineup, being compelled to identify them though sometimes the suspect is not even included in the lineup, and they want to see if they recognise that they are not there. To reduce this bias, we could tell them that the suspect may or may not be in the lineup, or show the witnesses the lineup one by one. Wells conducted research into factors that affect lineups, like manipulating the confidence of witnesses by giving them false feedback. After watching poor quality CCTV, ppts were told the suspect had murdered the security guard, and were told to pick them out from a lineup. 1 group were told they identified the correct person, 1 were told they identified the incorrect person, and 1 control group was not told anything. Those with confirming feedback were more confident of their accuracy, and more willing to testify in court, demonstrating that police reactions to correct/incorrect line-up identifications can have a potent effect on witness testimony. To reduce this bias, the police should adopt a double blind procedure where the officer running the parade also doesn't know who the suspect is.

Identikits- A computerised technique used to accurately produce an image of a suspect based off of a witnesses description. Started in the 70s when police started to use photo-fit (what we used in class- Can build up a face by selecting features of body parts from a large bank of photographic images). They are used more widely than sketch artists as theres no need for artistic talent, however they can produce very odd looking faces. 80% of violent crimes take place in the night also, which means i

Memon and Higham- Aims, method and design

Aims- To review the Cognitive interivew (CI) based on 4 areas: The effectiveness of the 4 components of the CI, how the CI compares to other interview types, the quality of training needed to conduct the CI and the measures of memory aka the percentage of interview statements that are absolutely correct.

Method and Design- Not Empirical research. It is a review article critiquing the Cognitive interview, organised around 4 themes. Comments are made on some of the theoretical and methodological issues of the CI, as well as some of the practical considerations relating to the use of CI's in the field.

Memon and Higham- Results

The effectiveness of the 4 components of a CI- Context reinstatement- This is based on context dependent memory. Memon and Higham suggest cues are effective, to the extent that they're specifically encoded with "to be remembered information" increasing the overlap of test context (the interview) and context of acquisition (the crime scene). Report Everything- Can aid recall of information as the interviewee doesnt have to worry about screening out "Irrelevant" information that may actually be valuable, especially if the experimenter combines different witnesses details of the same crime. Change in perspective- Aims to use numerous pathways to try and retrieve data from witnesses about the crime. However, police have expressed concerns that this can lead to inadvertent fabricated details. Change Order- Can help aid recall of additional details, and it is been proven that it is more effective to recall a story forward once, then reverse that order than to recall a whole story from a beginning twice.

Comparison to other interview techniques- Standard interviews- Should not be compared with standard police interviews as no police training is required here. Structured interview (predetermined Q's)- As this relies on building a rapport with the interviewee, its good to compare effectiveness with the CI as Cognitive techniques like context reinstatement are used in CI's but not structured interviews. Guided Memory Interview (GMI)- This uses context reinstatement to encourage the witness to mentally envision the contexts, guiding their memory, likewise to CI's. This means they can be compared as both utilise context reinstatement. As GMI's ONLY use context reinstatement, we can also compare if the usefulness of the interviews is down to this, or one of the other 3 components used in the CI.

Measures of Memory (how accurate t

Memon and Higham- Conclusion

Research into the effectiveness of CI's still remain inconclusive and theres a need for further research, especially into the effects that CI's have on ones memory. Further research is also needed onto how various elements of CI's work. It is not yet clear how CI's relate to other interview techniques and what would make a suitable control group. However, what Memon and Higham did find was that interviewers differ in their ability to conduct an effective interview.

Strategies for Police Interviews

PEACE framework- An interview structure developed in the UK in the 1990s to reduce the amount of false confessions coming from accusatory interviews. PEACE stands for: P-Planning and Preparation, arguably the most important step where interviews should create a detailed, written interview plan and familiarises themselves with the crimes context. E- Engage and Explain, the first step of the interview, encouraging conversation by engaging the witness and creating a rapport, helping the interviewer develop lines of argument during the interview. A- Account, Clarification and Challenge, where an open ended question is used to initate an account of what happened. Interviewer should be actively listening, allowing for pauses so they can recollect the memory. The interviewer should then clarify and expand on the account after, breaking down its meaningful topics and mentioning any information identified in the planning phase not mentioned. C- Closure, ensuring the interview doesnt end abruptly. Interviewer should prepare a witness statement if necessary, or if theyre dealing with the suspect, should announce the date and time before ending. E- Evaluation, interviewer should evaluate whats been said with a view to determining how the witnesses account fits in with the rest of the investigation.

Usefulness= Best practice for interviews regarding crimes as it can be used on witnesses, suspects and victims. Useful as it provides an ethical way to collect evidence, and can provide information leading to a prosecution or early release of an innocent, saving time, money and giving the public more faith in the police service.

Effectiveness- Effective as it assumes those who lie will have their lie gradually broke down with inconsistencies. Also effective as without accounts from those centeral in the crime, evidence like CCTV, finge

Psychology and the courtroom (Cognitive)

Started on 24/02/2023 with Miss Seales

How juries can be persuaded by the characteristics of witnesses and defendants

Trial by Jury- Here, wether a defendant is guilty or not is decided by a jury of 12 members of the public aged 18-70 (UK), who are selected through the electoral register. The state (in the US) and the Crown (in the UK) are represented by a prosecution lawyer, while the defendant is represented by a lawyer for defence.

The defendant- Though the appearance of the defendant shouldnt really influence how theyre judged, it is, and assumptions are often made based off of their appearance. Asch's (1946) "Halo Effect" was a cognitive bias where a positive characteristic is assumed to be linked with other positive characteristics, like good looking people being assigned other positive traits. Good looking people actually earn more money, are happier and are more likely to be acquitted in court. Though mock trials are more likely to be used than real ones, due to ethics, research has used real trials. Stewart et al (1985) investigated the impact of appearance on jury decisions in 60 real trials. Observants rated the defendants on a range of traits like physical attractiveness, quality of dress and even posture. They found no correlation in race and attractiveness, a high level of agreement in raters (0.78) and that the less attractive a defendant was, the more severe their punishment was likely to be. This effect was also found concerning posture, and showed that attractiveness in a defendant can influence the jury's final decisions. Sigall and Ostrove (1975) involved 120 college students (equal gender split) who were asked to reccomend sentences in burgulary or fraud cases with or without seeing a photo of the defendant. They found that attractive defendants received shorter sentences, especially in robbery, however if they were perceived to have used their attractiveness to their advantage, with fraud, it went against them.

Dixon et al- Background, Aims and Method

Background- Dixon et al suggested it was widely accepted that "Standard" accents are rated more positively than non-standard ones, especially in status traits like intelligence.He wanted to see if this assumption is applied to legal contexts, as appraising a speaker's competence is an everyday practice in a law setting. The Brummie accent has particularly been rated more negatively from those with rural regional or standard english accents. Dixon realised that testing language attitudes in isolation would be misleading and reductionist, so he also explored the suspect's race and type of crime's effect.

Aim- To test the hypothesis that a suspect with the Brummie accent would receive a higher guilt rating than a suspect with a standard accent. Also aimed to see if race or type of crime had an effect on how they were judged also.

Design- Laboratory Experiment, Independent Measures Design. Used a 2x2x2 factorial design with the 3 IV's= Race of suspect (White or black), type of crime committed (Blue collar, armed burgulary, or white collar, cheque fraud), and accent of suspect (Brummie accent or standard accent).

Sample- 119 white psychology undergraduates from University College Worcester. Both genders, female dominated and ppts who grew up in Birmingham were excluded.

Materials- Participants attributions of guilt was operationalised using a 7 point scale on innocence (1) or guilt (7). Also used an SEI (Speech Evaluation Instrument), a measure on language features centered around the ppts speech's: Superiority, attractiveness and dynamism.

A 2 minute tape recording of a mock interview between a student playing a police inspector and a student speaking with a standard accent, as a "Code-Switcher" was used.

Dixon et al- Procedure

The 2 minute recorded transcript was a standardised conversation played to the ppt. Here, the suspect pleaded innocent in the interrogation, either to a white collar crime in cheque fraud, or a blue collar crime in armed burgulary. The script made sure to have the police inspector give mention to wether the suspect was black or white, and the crime type done. The code-switcher used a Birmingham accent and could also do a standard one as well. After listening to one of the version's of the transcript, ppts were given the 7 point scale on guilt vs innocence, and an SEI to complete, a more general measure of language attitudes.

Dixon et al- Results, Conclusion and Evaluation

Results- Significantly, the suspect with the Brummie accent was rated higher on guilt than the suspect with standard english, with a mean rating of 4.27/7 compared to 3.65/7. Black suspects were not rated significantly more guilty than white ones. Blue collar crimes were not rated significantly more guilty than white collar ones. However, it was undeniable that the suspects in the black, Brummie accented and blue collar crime condition received the highest guilt rating. SEI showed that the Brummie suspect was rated lower in superiority than the standard accent suspect. Suspects rating of guilt was determined by speech's "Superiority" and "Attractiveness" but not "Dynamism".

Conclusion- Suggests decision about guilt may be affected by accent in a British context. Non standard speakers (like Brummies) tend to be perceived as more guilty in a court of law. Blue collar crimes where the suspect is black and has a brummie accent is also perceived as guiltier. Overall, a range of psychological factors can influence perception of a suspect's guilt, including accent, race and type of crime.

Evaluation- Standardised procedure in the speech given in the interview. Ethnocentric, as it is British based. Holistic, looks at accent AND, crime type and race. Low ecological validity, not a real interview heard. High internal validity with the lab experiment however, allowed ppts to know it was a brummie accent, black suspect etc.

Strategies for improving Jury decision-making

Presenting Evidence in story order- Pennington and Hastie (1992) suggested evidence should be presented by lawyers in chronological order. Specifically, lawyers should create a timeline/story with their evidence to give the jurors the ability to develop their own coherent story in their mind of how things went down. At the end of the trial the judge sums up the evidence, giving them legal information on proof beyond reasonable doubt etc, and here the jurors can begin to match their own perceptions of the account to a possible verdict. If they believe the timeline is true, they are likely to give a not guilty verdict, if they dont theyre likely to give a guilty one.

This is uesful as it provides lawyers with a way to influence jury decision making to their clients benefit. Its also useful for juror's to create a clear account from the evidence presented to them. Pennington and Hastie (1992) have shown unveiling evidence in story order is more persuasive than doing it in witness order, where lawyers present witnesses in order of who they felt would be most persuasive. They also found the strength of evidence was perceived to be greatest when evidence was presented in story order rather than witness order, however the effectiveness of story order evidence was only present if the other side used witness order, otherwhise its effect was negated, thus limiting its effectiveness.

Using expert witnesses- Expert testimony is when a specialised area, like science or technology needs explaining in court. This must be from a qualified professional on the basis of their experience, training and knowledge (Clifford 2008). The overriding duty of the expert is to be impartial and unbiased, whilst also being good at communicating complex ideas into simplified, concise terms. Expert testimony acts as an effective safeguard against juro

Evaluating Psychology and the Courtroom

Usefulness of the research- Useful= By being aware of how characteristics of defendants can persuade the juries, like with attractiveness, race, crime type, accent etc, plans can be put in place to reduce these biases and make the judicial process fairer. Not useful= Even if we try to reduce these biases, by educating jurors for example, we still cannot be certain this will have an effect in the courtroom, as jurors may hold onto their biases regardless, making the judicial process less fair. The research also lacks generalisability because of its all white, Uni student sample, not representative of the average jury.

Reductionism vs Holism- Holism= The topic considers multiple explanations for biases in the judicial process, with physical factors like race and attractiveness, and social factors like crime type and accent. Reductionist= However, Dixon's study only considers factors in a narrow way, for example looking at only 2 crime types as full representations of blue and white collar crime. Further, the topic fails to consider factors other than the defendants characteristics that affect attributions of guilt, like the jurors own personal experiences, or characteristics of victims.

Psychology as a science- Scientific= Dixon collected quantative data, with guilt being measured on a 7 point scale. He used a lab experiment, meaning a high control over extraneous variables. Used a standardised procedure as all ppts of the same condition listened to the same audio. The study tested a hypothesis of how certain factors would affect defendants attributions of guilt also. Unscientific= Population validity was reduced due to the purely white, Uni educated sample, with low generalisability being unscientific. Using a lab experiment involves an unrealistic environment, meaning low ecological validity, and listening to a recor

Crime Prevention (Social)

16/3/2023- Independent start because of cancelled strike lesson

How the features of neighbourhoods, and a zero tolerance policy can influence crime

The 6 drivers of crime are: Oppurtunity, character, effectiveness of the CJS, profit, drugs and alcohol, and all must be targeted in neighbourhoods.

Newman's theory on defensible space believed if residents were more satisfied with their neighbourhood, they would be more defensive of its upkeep, thus reducing crime there. He identified 4 factors that can create defensible space: Territoriality (sense of ownership through fences etc), Natural surveillance (making it easier for residents to see what is happening in their neighbourhoods with balconies etc), image (maintaining the estate so residents have a sense of pride in it) and Milieu (Surroundings-communal areas to improve community). Newman found that between 2 NY housing projects, Brownsville (walk up buildings with a middle courtyard) and Van Dyke (High rise flats), Van Dyke had higher crime and graffiti levels, attributing this to Brownsville's communal area and the natural surveillance and milieu it brings.

Zimbardo's (1964) experiment put a car with an open bonnet and no numberplate in The Bronx and a car in Palo Alto, CA, a poor and affluent area each. Within 10 minutes people were stealing Car parts in The Bronx and within 3 days the car was a wreck used for entertainment, whilst in Palo Alto the car was untouched for a week. When Zimbardo smashed it with a sledgehammer and left it there, within a few hours this car was also totalled.

This provoked Wilson and Kelling's "Broken Windows Theory", with a premise that if a broken window remains unprepared people will be more likely to break the other windows due to the lack of consequence in the action. Peterson (2004) believed this was a metaphor for societal norms, in that once people disregard our usual prosocial norms, antisocial behaviours and serious crimes will eventually increase.

The broken windows th

Wilson and Kelling- Background, aims and method

Background- In the mid 1970s, the "Safe and Clean Neighbourhoods Program" was implemented in Newark, NJ to improve the community by putting police officers on foot patrols rather than cars. Officers opposed this as they felt slower, more exposed and subject to weather and 5 years later they found that this program didnt reduce crime rates. However what it did was make the Newark residents feel safer, like crime had reduced and led to them adopting less safety practices, leaving their doors unlocked for example. Citizens with foot patrol officers had a more favourable view of police officers than those with regular officers, and foot patrol officers had greater job satisfaction and attitudes towards citizens than their patrol car counterparts.

Aims- To outline how features of neighbourhoods can influence crime rates, the changing role of the police in the USA and strategies for maintaining order

Method/Design- Was a review article, not empirical research, with 3 main sections: Safe neighbourhoods, The changing role of the Police, and Maintaining Order.

Wilson and Kelling- Results

Safe Neighbourhoods:

-Wilson and Kelling pondered "Why can neighbourhoods be considered safer though crime has not gone down" and concluded with a focus of what frightens people in public places. Though people fear violent attackers, disorderly people like beggars or drunks bothering them is often overlooked, and a demographic that has been greatly reduced thanks to foot patrols.

-Foot patrol officers- Kelling walked through foot patrolled run down areas and found that the officers role was in enforcing the law and taking informal steps to protect public order. The people in these areas were "Regulars" (Who had a relationship with the officer) or "Strangers". The officers job was to survey "Strangers" and make sure disreputable "Regulars" upheld their rules. Rules like drunks can sit on building steps but not lie down on them were defined and enforced in collabaration with "Regulars", who felt reassured due to their involvement in maintaining order, thus reducing their fear of crime.

-Broken Windows- There is a developmental sequence in disorder and crime. If a buidings window is broken and left unrepaired, the rest will soon be broken. Neglected properties with like features become a target for disorder, even for people who usually wouldn't do such a thing as when there is seemingly no care for a property, theres a breakdown of community control and a stable neighbourhood can soon turn into a inhospitable one. Subsequently, residents will perceive actual crime as rising and look to move. These areas are vulnerable to criminal invasion, where drugs will change hands etc, and the connection between this disorderliness and fear is substantiated with examples of people crossing the street when encountered with groups of rude teenagers.

-Community Controls- Wilson and Kelling believe cases of disorderliness weaken the int

Wilson and Kelling- Conclusion and Evaluation

Conclusion- Police may have been mistakenly encouraged to think they'll be judged exclusively as crime fighters, leading to police focuing on high crime areas, but not the areas most vulnerable to criminal invasion. We should instead return to the view that police should protect communities and individuals. Crime statistics measure individual losses but not communal losses in a community. Doctors recognise the importance of fostering health rather than treating illness and similarly police should focus on the value of maintaining intact communities without any broken windows.

Strategies for crime prevention

Neighbourhood Watch Schemes- These associations are under the guidance of the "Neighbourhood and home watch network"(NHWN) nationally, and they work alongside the local police, crime comissioner and police service. NHW schemes aim to reduce crime by directly involving the community in activities to assist with the detection of local criminal activities. If a community is interested in setting up a NHW scheme, they need to determine who is intersted then contact the NHWN and the local police to register the association. They should then consider their aims, identifying specific problems and how the watch could help reduce them (NHWN, 2017). A coordinater should then be appointed, a person to ensure smooth flow of information between police and scheme members, and inducting those interested in joining. NHW residents can make their community safer by looking out for their neighbour, like when keeping look out of their homes for example.

Usefulness= NHW is most useful when residents can see eachothers houses for suspicous activity, concepts of natural surveillance and milieu looked at in Newman's theory of defensible space. However, straight roads, block flats etc may be less useful as surveillance is decreased. NHW is not only useful in preventing burgulary and antisocial behaviours, but also for fraud and cybercrime as those most vulnerable to these crimes, like the elderly now have trusted sources of information to deal with them, due to their NHW membership.

Effectiveness= NHW is effective as it acts as a deterrent to offenders as it increases their awareness that local residents are surveying the area for suspcious activity. Street signs denote where NHW are in effect, and NHW is also effective as it reduces the perceived oppurtunity for criminal behaviour, as it increases signs of occupancy in vacant homes, by membe

Evaluating Crime Prevention

Usefulness of the research- Useful= Many social benefits to the research like residents feeling safer in their neighbourhoods, architects can plan new housing in accordance to Newman's defensible space theory etc. Wilson and Kelling also showed the significant role police have, and how employing more can directly reduce crime. Not Useful= Though in the presence of police people are likely to exhibit pro social behaviour and obey the law, but when police are not present, this detoriates. Zero tolerance policies have negative impacts on minority groups, as a community, they feel targeted and feel they dont reap the benefits of reductions in crime.

Free will vs Determinism- Free Will= Crime prevention strategies assume individuals have free will to change their behaviours from criminal to pro social, and strategies like deterrents give individuals this choice to choose their behaviour, before it happens. Criminals also have free will to choose the area they commit crime in, and it doesn't always happen in run down areas, like Broken windows theory suggests. Determinism= The broken windows theory assumes that crime in run down areas is inveitable, and that areas that arent well maintained actually cause criminal activity. Areas that promote community relations are assumed to have lower levels of crime, but these assumptions arent always the case. By fixing the broken windows, the theory suggests crime should be reduced to almost non-existence, however official crime statistics suggest otherwhise.

Individualism vs Situational- Situational= Methods of preventing crime are situational, like foot patrol officers being employed in run down areas. Foot patrol programmes, features of neighbourhoods, and community controls are all situational preventative strategies. Individual= These methods success largely depend on how the lo

The effects of imprisonment (Social)

Started on 21/04/2023 at home

Punishment and reform as responses to Criminal Behaviour

Punishment as a response to criminal behaviour- There are non custodial punishments, like fines (usually for minor offences like road-traffic accidents), community service ("Community payback" unpaid work), and probation (routinely reporting to a probation officers as ordained by a judge, Ministry of Justice 2016). Even if someone is guilty, "Absolute Discharges" mean no further action will be taken, and "Conditional Discharges" mean the offender will not be punished unless they commit another offence in a certain time period.

-There are also custodial sentences, where an offender is placed in prison or secure treatment for the remainder of their sentence. Normally with offences so serious, only this punishment type is feasible. HM prison service 2017 found the prison population was 85,000, dominated by 81,000 men. Offenders in secure hopsital units can receive treatments for their mental disorders, like Schizophrenia. Residential areas like Feltham use therapeutic treatments and social learning methods to treat young offenders.

- The ministry of justice (2016) said they used prison as a form of punishment to take away offenders freedom, whilst protecting the public. Prison is also seen as "Retribution" in the Just-World hypothesis, as the victim feels justice has been served when the offender receives a custodial sentence. Hebenton and Pease have stated that punishment reduces the crime rate by acting as a detternet, and having a reformative effect on prisoners. This is Operant Conditioning, and it can even be in Negative Vicarious reinforcement.

- The effects of imprisonment include overcrowding, fear of violence, and lack of freedoms which can contribute to mental health problems in prisoners like anxiety or depression, which could increase prisoners likelihood of suicide, as they have a 4x times higher suicide r

Haney- Background, Aims, and Method

Background- Haney argued for the Situational Hypothesis rather than the Dispositional Hypothesis.

o The Dispositional Hypothesis= The nature of the people who administer prisons and who populate it are responsible for the state of the prisons, with prison guards having certain dispositions, like being attracted to the power that makes conflict inevitable between prisoners, who also have certain dispositions, like a lack of respect for authority.

o The Situational Hypothesis= The social structure and actual conditions of a prison cause the behaviours that the guards and prisoners exhibit.

Aims- To investigate the effects of the environment on a group of students and if the roles randomly assigned to them would significantly influence their behaviour.

Design- Laboratory Experiment (took place in Stanford University basement), indendent measures design, with behaviour being observed through self report, observation, daily guard reports, post-experiment findings, mood reports, personality tests etc.

Sample- Self selected of 24 male, college students, largely from middle class backgrounds. Gained 75 respondents from a newspaper adveretisement in the Palo Alto times and Stanford Daily, and gave them a range of psychological tests to find the 24 who were the most physically and mentally stable. They were all strangers to eachother, and there were 10 prisoners and 11 guards, with there being 2 reserves and one prisoner having to step up midway as another left early. Ppts paid 15 dollars a day to take part.

Haney- Procedure

Physical aspects of a prison- The Prison, constructed in the basement of Stanford University, had 3 small (6x9ft) cells with three cots, one for each prisoner, and steel bars on the doors. There was a solitary confinement, of a cupboard, a bedroom for the superintendent (Zimbardo), a bedroom for the warden, an interviewing room and a room for the guards adjacent. There was also a room representing the fenced prison "Yard" grounds, with an observation screen for video recording equipment or observers.

Operational Details- Prisons stayed in prison throughout the study. Guards worked 8 hour shifts then returned to normal life.

Role Instructions- All ppts signed a contract agreeing them minimally adequate diet, clothing, payment etc in exchange for their intention of staying in the simulation for the 2 weeks. The contract asserted they would have little human rights and privacy, but would not be subject to phyiscal abuse. The guards were told at a pre-experiment briefing to try and maintain order, and they fought the study was looking to measure the behaviour of the prisoners, though it was equally looking at their behaviour too.

Uniforms- Both groups given uniforms to foster anonymity. Guards wore Khaki, military like, and had a whistle, police stick and reflective sunglasses whilst prisoners wore loose fitting muslin smock with an identification number on the front and back, and no underclothes. They had a chain and lock on one ankle as a symbol, and were allowed no personal belongings.

Induction Procedure- Prisoners were told to be at their home on a random sunday and the Palo Alto police unexpectedly came to their home, searched them infront of their neighbours and took them away. At the mock prison, they were stripped, sprayed with delousing liquid and were placed in their cell, forced to be silent.

Administrat

Haney- Results, Conclusion and Evaluation

Results- Affected both groups feelings and their interpersonal processes between each other. Guards and prisoners generally showed more negative feelings towards others and themselves, whilst prionsers expressed more intention to harm others.

Though guards couldn't use physical abuse, they used verbal abuse, though feeling guilty once the study had ended, with one expressing his regret. Despite this, none missed work and in multiple ocassions they worked unpaid overtime with no complaint.

5 prisoners had to be released early due to extreme emotional depression, crying, rage and acute anxiety. One even developed a psychosomatic rash, with these symptoms appearing as early as the second day.

Some guards were fair and relatively passive, others bent the rules to create innovative cruelty and harassment, like cleaning toilets with their bare hands. Some prisoners dealt with this cruelty by developing extreme illnesses, whilst others became extremely obedient.

Experiment terminated early, 6 days into the 2 weeks due to the effect role play had on the ppts. Zimbardo had to be convinced by research assistant.

Conclusion- Being confined in such an environment can have negative effects on guards, prisoners and their interpersonal processes between eachother. Prison guards developed a pathology of power, leading to them gradually misusing this newfound authority, whilst Prisoners developed Pathological Prisoner syndrome, first being in disbelief at the guards treatment, then rebelling, then experiencing flattened emotions, and then passivity and illness. Overall, ordinary people can play roles they are given to the extremes, with their being individual differences in how people cope to these roles. Haney concluded that prison is an excessive punishment for crime, due to how rough the environment is.

Evaluation- After the e

Strategies to reduce reoffending

o Restorative Justice Programmes (RJ)= Marhsall (1999) defined this as "A process where all parties with stake in an offence come together collectively to resolve their issues, and deal with the aftermath of the offence and its implications in the future". Practioners (mediators in the RJ process) should be familiar with the restorative justice councils 2015 6 principles of Restorative Justice: 1. Restoration (repairing harm caused), 2. Voluntarism (ppts take part on their own accord), 3. Neutrality (practioner acting neutral), 4. Safety (Practioner does risk assessments and ensures both parties safety), 5. Accessibility (process should be for anybody whos experineced harm and conflict, if its safe to do so), and 6. Respect (Practioners should make this emotinoal process more measured). Here, a practioner will invite victim and offender to a meeting where both sides are introduced and the process is explained. The offender starts off by explaining their crime, why they joined the RP program and give an apology. The victim will then say how the crime affected them, something often not considered in court. A contract is drawn up, where both agree to measures to ensure it doesnt happen again, like a rehabilitation programme.

Usefulness= Useful as it provides closure for both parties. Sherman and Strang suggest its most useful in violent and property crimes, where a victim is clearly distinguishable. The UK restorative justice council (2015) found a 14% reduction in reoffendeing in offenders who took part in RJ schemes. RJ also saves government money, with 185 million being saved to the Criminal Justice System after 2 years, through reducing adult reoffending (Restorative justice council 2010).

Effectiveness= Theres flexibility in how RJ programmes are administered, they can be done in schools for example, as their aim is

Linking the effects of imprisonment to the debates

Usefulness of the research- Useful= Can be generalised to real life prisons, with the guards not having to report to a higher authority in Haney's study prompting the suggestion that guards need proper training and accountability to ensure they dont abuse their power. The study specifically altered the way prisons in the USA were run, with accused juveniles now not being kept in the same cell as adult prisoners before trial, to reduce the amount of violence against them. Not useful= Limited generalisability, as all were students from the USA. Low ecological validity, as the simulated prison couldnt be completely realistic, as this would mean ethical breaches like allowing physical harm had to happen. The study also didnt go the full 2 weeks, meaning they didnt get the explore the longitudinal effects of imprisonment.

Nature vs Nurture- Nature= Naturally power hungry, cruel people are drew to the role as guard, explaining guards brutality in real life prisons. Naturally deviant people are prisoners, explaining the negative interpersonal processes between prisoners and guards in Haney's study. Nurture= Looks at how imprisonment can have physical effects on a prisoner (psychosomatic rash). In Haney's study, the guards showed more negative feelings towards themselves and the prisoners as the experiment went on.

Reductionism vs Holism- Reductionist= Behaviour of both prisoners and guards in Haney's study is solely attributed to their assigned roles. Dooley attributed the 300 unnatural deaths out of 442 in prisons to suicide, due to conditions of the prison, not other conditions that mayve led them to suicide. Holism= Haney took a holistic approach in measuring behaviour, with self reports like questionnaires, observations and post experimental interviews. Haney was also Holstic in that he looked into the effects of impris