forensic psychology

what is the aim of profiling?

• likely characteristics of offender

• helps police find more likely suspects

• differetn styles

what are the 2 different styles of offender profiling?

• american top down approach

• british bottom up approach

what is the American top down approach?

• interviewed 36 serial killers and sex murderers to gain insight into their thinking and behaviour

• organised and disorganised

• used to compare info from new crime to make judgements based on past experience

what were the characteristics of organised offenders?

• intelligent

• socially and sexually competent

• lived with someone

• planned their attacks

what were the characteristics of disorganised offenders?

• less intelligent

• socially and sexually incompetent

• loners

• more likely to behave impulsively

• not plan attacks

what are the limitations of the American top down approach?

• self report interviews

• restricted sample

• lacks validity

• can’t be generalised to the wider population

what does the bottom up approach use more of than the FBI?

investigative psychology

what is the British bottom up approach?

• geographical profiling

• saw the crime scene as a source of information

• behaviour of the offender at the crime scene would reveal info about their day to day

• focuses on the unique circumstances

what are the 4 main stages when building a profile (Douglas)?

• assimilating data

• classifying the crime

• reconstructing the crime

• creating a profile

what were Canter’s 5 main characteristics that should be included in a profile?

• personal characteristics

• criminal history

• residential location

• domestic and social characteritsics

• occupational and educational history

what are the biases and pitfalls of offender profiling?

• profiles have limited use

• Douglas- aim of offender profiling has been misunderstood

• research shows it’s limited

• Copson- 14% of senior police felt that it had helped solve a case

what case was a misuse of offender profiling?

Rachel Nickell case

how was the Rachel Nickell case a misuse of offender profiling?

• profile was developed

• man fitted the profile but there was no forensic evidence

• was arrested and charged

• judge criticised the misuse of offender profiling

what is a successful example of offender profiling?

John Duffy

what were the details of the John Duffy case?

• railway rapist

• 24 sexual assaults and 3 murders

• forensic evidence suggested that they were committed by one person

how was the profile similar to Duffy?

• live close

• mid 20s

• semi skilled occupation

• knowledge of railways

• criminal record

• physically unattractive

• fantasise about sex and violence

• martial arts

what is positivist criminology?

criminal behaviour results from physical or psychological features, no free will is involved

why believed is the positivist approach?

Lombroso

what did Lombroso research?

• physical characteristics of criminals

• if certain features were more common in criminals than non

what did Lombroso conclude?

• criminals were more likely to have atavistic features than non

• strong jaw and heavy brow

what were the features of criminals?

• drooping eyelids

• large ears

• high defined cheek bones

• long arms

what did Lombroso think criminal behaviour come from?

• primitive instincts

• survived evolutionary process

• genetic throwback

• identified by their atavistic features

what are the strengths of Lombroso?

• highlighted the role of biology in criminology

• criminal behaviour was an interaction between biological, psychological and social factors

• highly influential in future theories of criminology

what are the limitations of Lombroso?

• didn’t use non criminal control group

• many of his samples may have had psychological disorders or chromosomal abnormalities

what was Mednick’s study on?

criminal behaviour in adopted children

what was the method of Mednick et al’s study?

• concordance analysis of danish adoptees was conducted

• rates of concordance for criminality between the adoptees and their adoptive and biological parents were compared

what were the results of Mednick et al’s study?

• 13.5% of adoptees with parents without criminal conviction had a criminal conviction themselves

• 14.7% with at least one CCAP

• 20% with at least one CCBP

• 24.5% with at least one CCAP and one CCBP

what was the conclusion of Mednick’s study?

• genetic link is supported

• concordance rates are quite low

• suggests that there are other factors that lead to criminality

what were the evaluation points of Mednick’s study?

• adoption studies allow separation of the genetic and environmental influences

• just because a person has not been convicted of a crime does not necessarily mean that they have never committed one

an extra Y chromosome:

• Jacobs et al

• higher percentage of prison population had atypical chromosome pattern XYY

• compared to normal population

how does an extra Y chromosome increase the likelihood of offending behaviour?

• increased testosterone

• increased violence

• more likely to be hyperactive, more impulsive and have a lower IQ

what was Raine et al’s study?

link between brain dysfunction and criminality

what was the method of Raine et al?

• used PET scans to create 3D images of the functional processes happening in the brains of 41 murderers

• pleading not guilty by reason of insanity

• vs control 41

what were the results of Raine’s study?

• murderers showed reduced glucose metabolism in the prefrontal cortex

• superior parietal gyrus

• corpus callosum

• asymmetrical activity in the two hemispheres

• brain processes were dysfunctional

what was the conclusion of Raine’s study?

evidence supported a link between brain dysfunction and predispositions to violent acts

what were the evaluation points of Raine’s study?

• control group who matched variables such as age and sex

• researchers could not randomly allocate participants to the control or killer groups

• needed to be cautious when drawing conclusions about casual relationships

what are the strengths of the biological explanation of offending behaviour?

• studies provided support for some contribution from biological factors

• can be tested scientifically

• reliable

what are the weaknesses of the biological explanation of offending behaviour?

• no study has shown 100% concordance rate between twins or biological parents and children

• cannot be the only influencing factor

• Andrews and Bonta

• too reductionist and deterministic

what was Andrews and Bonta’s study?

• concordance rates for criminality between biological parents and adopted children might not be directly due to genetics

• could be a result of inherited emotional instability or mental illness

• could indirectly result in offending behaviour

what did Hans Eysenck do?

explained criminal behaviour in terms of personality type

what are Eysenck’s two main personality dimensions?

• neuroticism stability

• extraversion introversion

what is neuroticism stability?

• traits of anxiousness and restlessness

• reliability and calmness

what are the traits at each end of extraversion introversion?

• sociable, impulsive and assertive

• quiet passive and reserved

what was the third personality dimension added later?

psychoticism

what is psychoticism?

• shows how disposed an individual is to psychotic breakdown

• score highly- aggressive, hostile and uncaring

which personality scales are best suited for different age groups?

• psychoticism- criminal behaviour

• extraversion- young people

• neuroticism- older people

what is the evaluation of Eysenck’s theory?

• influential across psychology

• developed from studies which involved self report measures

• lacks reliability

what is the cognitive approach to offending behaviour?

criminal thinking patterns, cognitive distortions and different levels of moral reasoning are all important

what was Yochelson and Samenow’s study on?

criminal thinking patterns

what was the method of Yochelson and Samenow’s study?

• longitudinal study over 14 years

• examined male offenders

• group 1- not guilty due to insanity

• group 2- normal prison

• interviews over the years

what were the results of Yochelson and Samenow’s study?

• only 30 participants finished the study

• 52 thinking patterns were found to be common across all participants

• criminal thinking patterns, automatic thinking errors and crime related thinking errors

what is criminal thinking pattern?

fear and need for power

what are automatic thinking errors?

• lack of trust

• lack of empathy

• impulsiveness

• manipulativeness

what are crime related thinking errors?

fantasising about criminal behaviours

what was the conclusion of Yochelson and Samenow’s study?

• criminals share common thinking patterns and thinking errors

• these characteristics are not unique in criminals, but are more likely to exist

what were the evaluation points of Yochelson and Samenow’s study?

• no control group- results are less valid

• gender bias

• results cannot be generalised

• longitudinal study- difficult and expensive to replicate

• element of ecological validity

what are cognitive distortions?

irrational thought patterns which give people a distorted view of reality

what are Gibbs et al’s cognitive distortions?

• being self centered

• minimisation

• blaming problems on others

• hostile attribution bias (others are out to get them)

what study supports Gibbs’ theory?

Liau et al

what were the results of Liau et al’s study?

• found cognitive distortions were higher in a group of 52 male delinquents than a control group

what is the imitation of Liau’s study?

don’t show that these thought patterns cause criminal behaviour, it could be the other way round

what did Kohlberg theorise?

• moral reasoning progresses in stages

• increases as you grow older

what was the Heinz dilemma?

• broke into a shop to steal drugs to cure dying wife

• participants had to decide if his actions were justified

• sample of 10, 13 and 16 year old boys

what are Kohlberg’s 3 levels?

• pre-conventional reasoning

• conventional reasoning

• post conventional reasoning

what is in the preconventional reasoning level?

• an action is morally wrong if the person who commits it is punished as a result

• the right behaviour is the one that is in your own interest

what is in the conventional reasoning stage?

• the right behaviour is the one that makes other people think positively about you

• important to obey laws and follow social conventions because they help society to function properly

what is in the post conventional reasoning level?

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

• actions are driven by abstract, universal principles of right and wrong, which don’t depend on the situation

who supported Kohlberg’s levels of reasoning?

Allen et al

what is the evaluation of Kohlberg’s level of moral reasoning?

• gender bias

• Gilligan claimed the theory was androcentric and focused too much on male oriented ideas

what did Freud propose?

• only way to really now how people behave is to look at their past

• offending behaviour was linked to early childhood experiences

what are Freud’s two psychodynamic theories to explain offending behaviour?

• inadequate superego

• defence mechanisms

what are the 3 inadequate superegos?

• deviant

• weak

• over harsh

what are Blackburn’s proposed 3 types of superego that lead to offending behaviour?

• a weak superego

• a deviant superego

• a strong or over harsh superego

what is a weak superego?

• found in those with no same sex parent

• fewer inhibitions towards conducting antisocial behaviour

• fully respond to their id

what is a deviant superego?

• those whose same sex parent in immoral

• girl has criminal mother, her superego might be less responsive to crime than someone without a criminal mother

what is a strong/over harsh superego?

• thinks about acting on id’s desires- feel guilty if they have a strong superego

• feel like they should get punished to relieve their guilt

• engage in crimes on order to get caught

what are Freud’s different defence mechanisms?

• displacement

• repression

• denial

defence mechanisms: Englander

• displaced aggression in offenders might explain their anti social behaviour

• if offenders cannot control their aggression- spill out of their unconscious

• resulting in violent and offending behaviour

what are the weaknesses of the psychodynamic approach to crime?

• difficult to scientifically test the theories

• unreliable and lacks validity

• case studies and qualitative data

• hard to use it to state laws than can be generalised

who developed the differential association theory?

sutherland

what is the differential association theory?

• used to explain offending behaviour

• sutherland believed that criminal behaviour could be learned in interactions with other deviant individuals

what are the strengths of the differential association theory?

• accounts for all types of people

• supported by Short- found positive correlation

what are the weaknesses of the differential association theory?

• not everyone is influenced by people around them

• doesn’t consider individual differences

• hard to test

what are the purposes of custodial sentencing?

• retribution

• rehabilitation

• incapacitation

• denunciation

• deterrence

what are the psychological effects of custodial sentencing?

• metal health problems

• institutionalisation

• reinforces criminal behaviour

• labelling

what was Dooley’s study?

depression and suicide risk in prison

what was the method of Dooley’s study?

• case notes of suicides that happened in prison between 1972 and 1987 were studied

what were the results of Dooley’s study?

• prisoners serving life sentences and those who convicted violent or sexual crimes were most at risk

• association between suicide and guilt over offences

• history of psychiatric problems in about a third of cases

• self harm was common

what was the conclusion of Dooley’s study?

• depressive illness is likely to be a contributing factor to suicides in prison

• better communication between staff and prisoners is needed

what are the institutionalisation effects?

• strips offenders of their autonomy

• zimbardo

reinforces criminal behaviour:

• breeding ground for crime

• reinforce the criminal lifestyle and support criminal behaviour

• teaching others

• high recidivism

what are teh psychological effects of labelling?

• stigma

• difficult to get a job or maintain their social network

• increases likelihood of recidivism

what are the he factors that affect the likelihood of reoffending?

• length of time spent in prison

• supervision after conditional release

• disciplinary reports

• education level

• seriousness of crime

• prisoner ethnicity

• individual experiences in prison