History and culture of Forensic Psychology

James Hadfield 1800

• Had a head injury in battle

• Attempted to murder King George III

• Found not guilty by reason of insanity 

• From this passed criminals lunatics act which means you can be held indefinitely under state's law, until it is determined by medical professionals that they are no longer harm to themselves/society

• This is a key early legal precedent for the insanity defence.

• On the current grounds would not be able to plead insanity as it was a premeditated act

Daniel McNaughten- 1843

•  Often had delusions where he thought he was being followed (current day Schizophrenic symptomology)

• Attempted to shoot the prime minister, but short the secretary by mistake

• Meant the criminal act of lunatics needed to be refined again

• Led to the McNaughten rule: legal test for criminal responsibility: 

  • An individual is not responsible if, at the time of the act, they were "labouring under such a defect of reason from a disease of the mind" that they:

  • 1. Did not know the nature and quality of the act, OR

  • 2. Did not know what they were doing was wrong.

    
    

Cesare Lombroso (1876)

• Author of "Criminal Man."

• Promoted Biological Positivism: the theory that criminality is inherited.

• He claimed a "born criminal" could be identified by "physical stigmata" (e.g., sloping forehead, large ears, asymmetry of the face).

• From this mug short originated in 1880s- Idea was you could find empirical evidence for typical criminal based on features of their face

• His theories are not considered credible today.

Galton (1879) 

• claimed to discover the ‘face of crime’ through composite photos 

• Would take multiple photos and layer them on top of each other, to get the 'typical face' of various crimes

• At first was highly regarded and well published

• Approach became discredited, as became apparent that when you layer the faces you lose the idiosyncratic features Lombroso looked for

Biological theories 

• Underlying theoretical supposition that criminality is innate and that it is expressed in (or related to) physical characteristics.

• Painstaking measurements

• Social Darwinism-application of ideas to support stereotypes, e.g. racial biases, eugenics movements

• Theories lack credibility, though should be remembered for developments in research methods

• Predominant view in both early clinical and criminal psychology through phrenology studies, work of Caesare Lombroso and Francis Galton

Wilhelm Wunt 1890 

• Opening of the first psychology lab 

• Believed psychological processes could be studied in the lab

Hugo Munsterberg (1908)

• Author of "On the Witness Stand."- The first publication of a forensic psychology text

• A controversial but foundational figure who argued for the application of psychology in the legal system.

• He believed experimental psychology could test individual differences far beyond what "common sense" in the courtroom could achieve

• Was very unpopular with peers and other legal professionals 

Charles Goring (1913) the English convict

• Chief medical officer, was funded by the government to take a direct test of Lombroso's ideas of the “born criminal,” which claimed that criminals had distinct physical abnormalities

• Seeing if there was a physical difference between criminal class and normal class

• argued against Lombroso's ideas finding instead that individuals who committed  a particular crime were marked by defective mental capacity (lower IQ), alcoholism, poor social conditions

• Meant the Eugenics movement continued (arguably worse) whereby 'feeble minded' people were sterilised to prevent criminal behaviour

• Also shifted attention to psychological and social factors

What are Sheldon’s 3 somatotypes (1942)

• Endomorph: Associated with Viscerotonia (pleasure-loving, dependent). They are shorter and rounder

• Mesomorph: Associated with Somatotonia (exercise-loving, aggressive). They are athletic

• Ectomorph: Associated with Cerebrotonia (withdrawing, unsociable). They are taller and thinner

What did Sheldon (1949) find about Mesomorphs?

• Studied 500 persistent delinquents and 500 non-delinquents.

• Found that 60% of delinquents were classified as mesomorphs, compared to only 30% of non-delinquents.

• He argued this body type was linked to traits like aggression and impulsivity

What are the critiques of Sheldon's mesomorphy theory?

• The relationship may not be biological or constitutional.

• Confounding Variables:

  • Muscular individuals (mesomorphs) might be more likely to attract police attention (over-selected).

  • This body type might simply be more instrumental or "successful" in committing certain crimes.

What is the XYY Syndrome theory of criminality

• The theory that males with an extra Y chromosome (approx. 1 in 1,000) have an increased risk of behavioural problems.

• One study in a maximum-security hospital found a higher-than-normal rate.

• Rutter and Giller: –argue that ‘An extra Y chromosome …probably carries a slightly increased risk of behavioural problems’

• However, support is mixed/weak. Many XYY men are well-adjusted, and the vast majority of criminals have no chromosomal abnormality.

What did Eysenck (1977) find in twin/adoption studies?

• Argued that heredity and environment interact to cause criminal conduct.

• Twin Studies: Found an average concordance rate of 55% for identical (MZ) twins versus 13% for fraternal (DZ) twins.

  • HOWEVER, identical twins are treated more similarly than fraternals

• Adoption Studies: Children whose biological parents were criminals were more likely to be criminals, even with non-criminal adoptive parents.

  • HOWEVER, most children were adopted at birth - According to Bowlby separation from the mother in the first 5 years can lead to criminality; so could be due to parental separation

Forensic Psychology in the Czech Republic?

• Since the 1990s, the field has seen a significant increase.

• More research and academic literature.

• More university courses offering forensic psychology.

• Expanded roles for FPs in government and the Czech police (e.g., recruitment, trauma).

• Increased use of psychologists as judiciary experts.

  • BUT, not happening as quickly as would like as they are very critical about what they want to implement and why

  • e.g., offender profiling arguing it was not developed enough to justify spending money on this

Forensic Psychology in India? Karandikar (2017) 

• There is a high need for FPs, but the field is not well-integrated into the criminal justice system.

• Prisons "fall behind" other countries in using psychologists for assessment and rehabilitation.

  • overcrowding, stress, bullying, mental health issues

• There are not many forensic psychology courses, and it needs to be made more attractive as a profession.