Psych 230 Final Review Notes

Forensic Psychology

An interdisciplinary branch of psychology that applies psychological knowledge to issues in the civil and criminal justice system.

Criminal Justice System

Divided into Civil (dealing with private law disputes) and Criminal (enforcing public law and criminal code violations).

Criminal Behavior

An intentional act violating the criminal law, committed without excuse, and penalized by the justice system.

Sociological Concepts of Crime

Focuses on demographic and group correlates of crime like sex, age, urbanity, class, ethnicity, and religion.

Psychology Concepts of Crime

Emphasizes individual differences contributing to criminal conduct like antisocial attitudes, values, and negative peers.

PIC-R Model

Explains how risk factors are expressed in criminal behavior.

Correctional Psychology

Focuses on applying psychological knowledge to offenders in justice settings.

Canadian Accomplishments

Contributions in psychopathy, risk assessment, and correctional treatment programs.

Canadian Correctional Systems

Includes Provincial Systems (sentences < 2 years) and Federal Systems (sentences ≥ 2 years).

Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)

Commonly used measure of crime statistics in Canada, submitted to the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics.

Research Methods

Include Experimental Design, Correlational Design, Case Study, Survey, Naturalistic Observation, and Meta-Analysis.

Hypothesis

An educated guess about the relationship between variables in a study.

Variable

Events, conditions, or behaviors measured or controlled in a study.

Data Collection

Process of collecting measurements of behaviors in a study.

Analyzing Results

Involves descriptive and inferential analyses to interpret study findings.

Reporting Findings

Writing a research report including abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, and references.

Within-subject design (dependent mean comparison)

A research design where the same participants are used in all conditions being compared, such as before and after treatment, to assess changes within individuals.

Pearson correlation

A statistical measure indicating the strength and direction of a linear relationship between two variables, ranging from -1.0 to +1.0, with 0.0 representing no linear relationship.

Personal

Includes expectations, attitudes, and beliefs of an individual.

Environment

Comprises the situation, stimuli, and context surrounding an individual.

Behavioral

Involves overt actions and movements exhibited by an individual.

Differential Association Theory (Sutherland)

Theory proposing that criminal behavior is learned through interactions in the social environment.

Applications of social learning principles to antisocial behavior

Utilizing social learning principles to understand and address antisocial conduct.

Development of attitudes favorable toward crime

Formation of positive attitudes towards criminal activities due to exposure to delinquent peers.

Differential Association-Reinforcement theory (Akers)

Integration of Skinnerian behaviorism, Bandura's social learning theory, and Sutherland's differential association theory.

A General Personality and Social Psychological Perspective on Criminal Conduct (PIC-R)

Criminal behaviors develop through similar principles as any other behavior.

Recidivism

Committing a new criminal offense following previous detection or release.

Risk Assessment as Recidivism Prevention

Using risk assessment to prevent new crimes from occurring.

Static Variables

Factors that do not change and are historical in nature.

Dynamic Variables

Factors that can change due to treatment, experience, or other agents.

Challenges in Risk Assessment

Difficulties in predicting rare events and the implications of base rates in risk appraisals.

Generations of Recidivism Risk Assessment (RA)

Evolution from subjective assessments to objective, empirically biased tools.

SIR Scale

Statistical Information on Recidivism scale, a static actuarial tool for predicting recidivism.

LSI-R

Level of Service Inventory-Revised, an assessment tool that includes static and dynamic risk items informed by theory and research.

Central Eight

Eight criminogenic areas assessed by the LSI-R, including offense history, antisocial peers, and substance abuse.

Fourth Generation Instruments

Assessment tools explicitly linked to criminal recidivism, including static and dynamic variables, sensitive to change, and guiding clients from intake to case closure.

Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI)

Instrument based on central eight criminogenic areas, guiding case management from intake to case closure.

Violence Risk Scale (VRS)

Tool with the capacity to link assessment and treatment, evaluating change for violent offenders.

Martinson's "Nothing Works" Doctrine

Initial negative conclusion on the effectiveness of correctional treatment despite positive outcomes in studies.

Risk Principle

Treatment intensity should match the client's risk level, with high-risk clients receiving more intensive interventions.

Need Principle

Effective correctional treatment targets criminogenic needs, dynamic risk factors linked to re-offending.

Responsivity Principle

Treatment should match the offender's learning style and cognitive capabilities, including cognitive behavior methods.

Core Correctional Practices

Include social learning theory, interaction skills, intervention skills, and program integrity in correctional interventions.

Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R)

Assessment tool for psychopathy, scored based on file information and semi-structured interviews, with scores ranging from 0 to 40.

PCL-R

Psychopathy Checklist-Revised; a tool used to assess psychopathy, with a minimum score of 30 for diagnosis and 25 for research purposes.

Factors in Psychopathy Assessment

Psychopathy can be assessed based on 2, 3, or 4 factors, including interpersonal, affective, lifestyle, and antisocial facets.

Self-Report Measures

Methods like Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised and Triarchic Psychopathy Measure are used for self-report assessments of psychopathy.

Psychopathy vs

Psychopathy is not formally listed in DSM-5, while Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) is, although the terms are often used interchangeably.

Field Reliability of PCL-R

The PCL-R shows varying interrater agreement in different settings, with concerns about bias based on the side retaining the clinician.

Predictive Validity for Institutional Violence

The PCL-R demonstrates small to medium effects in predicting institutional violence, with varying results in different meta-analyses.

Subtypes of Psychopathy

Psychopathy can be categorized into primary (emotionally stable) and secondary (aggressive, unstable) subtypes, with differences in characteristics and responsiveness to treatment.

Therapeutic Pessimism

Historically, there has been skepticism about the effectiveness of psychotherapy in fundamentally changing psychopathic traits.

Treatment Efficacy

Studies have shown mixed results in treating psychopathy, with some evidence of positive effects but challenges in designing effective interventions.

Responsivity Issues

Psychopathy presents challenges in therapy, with negative therapeutic correlates like decreased progress and weaker alliances between clients and therapists.

Factor 1

Refers to a component in the Two Component Model for the Treatment of Psychopathic Clients, focusing on interpersonal traits.

Factor 2

Part of the Two Component Model, it targets criminogenic needs linked to antisocial behavior to reduce violence.

Responsivity Issue

The role of Factor 1 in psychopathic traits, emphasizing the need to manage it as a responsivity issue in treatment.

Criminogenic Component

Component 2 of the treatment model, aiming to address criminogenic needs associated with Factor 2 traits.

Therapy Interfering Behaviors

Behaviors like manipulative behavior, lying, and irresponsibility among clients with psychopathic traits that hinder therapy progress.

Dynamic Risk Assessment Tools

Tools used to assess criminogenic needs and guide treatment interventions for violent and sexual recidivism.

White Collar Crime

Financial crimes centered around monetary gain, often involving manipulation and fraud without physical violence.

Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMGs)

Deviant biker groups engaging in criminal activities like human trafficking, weapons trafficking, and extreme violence.

Ponzi Scheme

A fraudulent investment scheme where returns are paid to earlier investors using the capital of newer investors.

Corporate Psychopathy

Refers to individuals in the corporate world exhibiting psychopathic traits like deceitfulness, manipulativeness, and lack of guilt or remorse.

Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMGs)

Criminal organizations like the Outlaws, Hell's Angels, Bandidos, and Pagans involved in organized crime activities such as drug trafficking, violence, and other illegal enterprises.

OMG Quebec Biker War

A violent conflict between Hell's Angels and Rock Machine, later joined by Bandidos, characterized by public shootings, bombings, and murders in downtown Montreal from 1994 to 2001.

Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) Implications

A framework for assessing and treating offenders, emphasizing identifying criminogenic needs, targeting interventions based on these needs, and considering individual responsivity factors for effective rehabilitation.

Substance Use Disorder (SUD)

A condition involving harmful use of substances like cocaine, opioids, or alcohol, leading to negative consequences on personal, social, and legal aspects, including tolerance, withdrawal, and addiction.

Drug Treatment Courts (DTCs)

Judicially supervised programs offering substance abuse treatment as an alternative to incarceration for offenders with substance-related criminal behavior, focusing on rehabilitation, monitoring, and support to reduce recidivism.

Juvenile Delinquency

Criminal behaviors committed by individuals under 18 years old, often involving property crimes, addressed under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) with a focus on rehabilitation, protection, and legal rights of young offenders.

DSM-5 Criteria for Conduct Disorder

Defines a range of behaviors including aggression, destruction of property, deceitfulness, and serious violations of rules.

Risk for Future Criminality

Concerns the likelihood of engaging in criminal behavior in the future, with Conduct Disorder being a strong predictor.

Callous-Unemotional (CU) Traits

Traits such as lack of remorse and unconcern, now included in DSM-5, associated with more severe patterns of criminal behavior.

Juvenile Psychopathy

Refers to the presence of psychopathic traits in youth, assessed using tools like PCL-YV and ICUT.

Youth Criminal Trajectories

Describes the stability of criminal behavior in youth, with two main subtypes - Life-course Persistent (LCP) and Adolescence-limited (AL) offenders.

Psychopathy Checklist

Youth Version (PCL:YV):A tool derived from adult measures to assess psychopathic traits in youth, predicting recidivism and violent behavior.

Protective Factors

Factors like positive peer relations and good school achievement that reduce the risk of criminal behavior and recidivism in youth.

Multisystemic Therapy (MST)

A family and community-based treatment model for youth aimed at reducing negative behaviors and improving support networks.

Boot Camps

Military-style programs for youth offenders, often ineffective due to poor implementation, lack of addressing criminogenic needs, and high attrition rates.

Violent Offending

Involves actual, attempted, or threatened harm to individuals, including homicide, assault, robbery, and threats, with a focus on nonsexually motivated violence.

Rate of Robbery and Serious Assault per 100,000 Canadians

Measurement of the frequency of robbery and serious assault incidents in Canada per 100,000 individuals.

Theoretical Perspectives on Violence

Various frameworks including Biological, Psychodynamic, Evolutionary, Social Learning/Cognitive, and Psychopathological perspectives that explain the causes of violence.

Genetics

Study of how inherited traits and genes influence violent behavior.

Social Learning/Cognitive Models

Theories that suggest violent behavior is learned through observation, reinforcement, and cognitive processes.

Violence Risk Assessment

Process of evaluating the likelihood of an individual engaging in violent behavior using structured tools and interviews.

Violence Risk Assessment Tools

Instruments like VRAG, SORAG, HCR-20, and VRS used to assess and predict the risk of violence in individuals.

Historical Clinical Risk-20 (HCR-20)

Assessment tool developed to forecast violence risk in mentally ill forensic patients, consisting of historical, clinical, and risk components.

Violence Risk Scale (VRS)

Tool developed to inform treatment planning, detect change, and measure the risk of violence in individuals.

Violence Reduction Treatment

Programs aimed at reducing violent behavior in offenders, with behavioral/social learning treatments showing more significant effects.

ABC/VRP

A 6-month high-intensity program for high-risk, high-need violent individuals focusing on cognitive-behavioral strategies, with the primary objective of reducing aggressive behaviors.

Interdisciplinary Treatment Team

A team including psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, recreational therapists, nurses, Aboriginal Programs Officer, Aboriginal Elder, psychiatrist, Parole Officer, and Correctional Officer, managed by Program Director and Associate Program Director.

Target Population

Federally incarcerated male offenders in the prairie region with a history of violence, impulsivity, and diagnosed with Axis I or severe Axis II disorders.

Sexual Aggression/Assault/Violence

Involves any actual, attempted, or threatened sexual contact with a non-consenting or unable to consent person.

Paraphilias

Recurrent, intense, sexually arousing fantasies, urges, or behaviors involving nonhuman objects, suffering, children, or uncommon behaviors like necrophilia.

Sexual Violence Risk Assessment

Involves static and dynamic variables predicting sexual violence, with tools like RRASOR, Static-99, Stable 2000, VRS-SO, and SPJ used for assessment.

Change Information in Risk Appraisals

Incorporating dynamic risk assessment tools to capture changes in risk levels and inform treatment decisions effectively.

Sex Offender Treatment

Cognitive-behavioral programs focusing on relapse prevention, addressing deviant fantasies, attitudes, offense cycle, relationships, anger management, and social supports.

Cycle of Violence

Describes the stages in an abusive relationship including tension building, acute battering, and contrition/remorse stages.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

A disorder characterized by instability in relationships, self-image, affects, impulsivity, and other traits like fear of abandonment and intense anger.

Abusive Personality (APB)

A syndrome characterized by intense anger, demandingness, impulsivity, often linked to substance abuse or promiscuity, and predisposing individuals to assault their partners.