Criminal Behavior Exam 2

aggression

intent and attempt to harm another individual, physically or socially, or, in some cases, destroy an object (passive-aggressive behaviors dont fit)

hostile aggression

majority of crimes, expressive aggression (angry/upset and now responding), response to anger inducing conditions, goal is to make victim suffer, most violet crimes

instrumental aggression

competition or the desire for some object or status possessed by another person, robberies, typically no intent to harm unless interference - cold, calculated desire (domain of serial killers)

violence

destructive physical aggression intentionally directed at harming other persons or things

ALL violent behavior is aggressive…

but not all aggressive behavior is violent

psychodynamic

humans are prone to violent impulses; need to be controlled

hydraulic model

impulses need proper release

• all violence is manifestation of this energy

• if violent crime is to be controlled, the human animal must be provided with multiple, but appropriate, channels for catharsis

• if you dont release you are going to explode (ex:watching MMA)

Lorenz

states that aggression comes from protecting our land, aggression is an inherited instinct, aggression is an insurance policy

ritualized aggression

not actual fighting, displays of superiority ex: big horned goats

aggression results from frustration

frustration does not always lead to aggression

weapons effect

Berkowitz and LePage

• the presence of an aggressive stimuli increases the probability of aggression - can be actual weapon or mental representation

cognitive-neoassociation model

an aversive event produces a negative affect (physical pain or psychological discomfort) , the unpleasant feeling may evoke aggressive or violent responses, one cognitively appraises the situation and decides how/if to act (man is worried that his brother and wife are sleeping together while he was in jail)

excitation theory

assumption that physiological arousal dissipates slowly over time, can be transferred to other situations ex: displacement

displaced aggression theory

the target is at the wrong place at the wrong time ex: mad at work and coming home to kick the dog

triggered displaced aggression

minor annoyance triggers pent up aggression, act is in excess of need to address the annoyance

rumination

self focused attention

• anger can build up

• can lead to triggered event

• person lacks capacity to see alternatives

to be maintained aggression needs reinforcement

ex: robbing store and getting away with money and the crime - you are likely to do it again

cognitive scripts model

every script in life is learned through experience, once learned we follow, scripts help with what is likely to happen, scripts become automatic and everyone does it ex: shaking hands

hostile attribution model

when prone to violence, more likely to interpret ambiguous actions as hostile (stronger in boys), does not have cognitive flexibility

intelligence = processing speeds

funny people have higher processing speeds

aggression/ violence depend on:

perception of social environment, expectations about outcomes, belief about how others will respond, belief about ability to respond effectively

I³ theory

believes people have the power to self regulate (not everyone has this), organizes risk factors: instigating triggers (discrete incidents), impelling forces(increase chances of aggression), inhibiting forces (increase chance of aggression)

overt crime

direct confrontation with victims, decreases with age, lacks social cognitions for non aggressive solutions

covert crime

concealment, dishonesty, sneaky, increases with age, relies on cognitive capabilites

reactive aggression

angry expressions, tantrums, emotional acts to threat, social/ psychological adjustment problems, lack emotional control, lack of social skills, personality disorders, problems emerge early, rape, assault, murder

proactive aggression

instrumental aggression, bullying for reaction, domination, teasing, cold-blooded calculated acts, less emotional, driven by expectation of reward, less affected by temperament, develops later in life, troubles us more

boys aggression

overwhelming violent criminals are men, more overt aggression and direct confrontation, more physical aggression

girls aggression

covert aggression, interpersonal (reputation assassination) 

suicide contagion

one person commits suicide then a couple more will ex: college campus

delinquency

behavior against the criminal code committed by an individual who has not yet reached adulthood

status offenses

only a juvenile can commit ex: truancy, nicotine, alcohol

juvenile courts

focused on rehabilitation

adult prison system

focused on punishment

conduct disorder

habitual misbehavior (lying, fires), prerequisite to ASPD, future ted bundys

LCP - life -course persistent offenders

lifelong antisocial behavior across many conditions, childhood neurological problems, difficult temperaments, wide variety of criminal activity, increasing frequency of offenses elevated aggression at work/home, substance abuse, work failures, AS peers, minority of children follow this path

AL - adolescence limited offenders

majority of juvenile offenders, begin offending during adolescence and stop around age 18, the frequency and violence level may be as high as that the of LCP youth, crimes are often just being rebellious to be rebellios, crimes are rewarding but abandoned with prosocial alternatives, almost typical teen behavior

steinbergs dual systems model

adolescents reach peak logical reasoning around 16 - similar to adults, psychosocial maturity is far less developed - less future control and future outlook, especially vulnerable to peer influence, the two paths do not merge until approximately age 25

coercion developmental theory

poor parental monitoring, disruptive family transitions, and inconsistent parental discipline are major contributors to early onset deliquency, key predictor: family environment, some children elicit parental ineptnesss more than others

coercive cycle

beginning of AS behavior

early onset AS

begins in preschool, inept parenting is more sever, high level of social incompetence, arrest likely as an adult

late onset AS

begins late adolescence, inept parenting less severe, social incompetence but lower level, stop offending as an adult - easier to fix

Callous-Unemotional trait theory (Frick)

step above conduct disorder, lack of concern, limited capacity for guilt, poverty of emotion, cluster of traits consistent with adult psychopaths, kids who have this dont fear punishment, predictive of lifelong offending, see hurting people as a way to get what they want

what is a good treatment program for juvenile offeding

begin treatment very early, focus on social and family - family first

Tertiary prevention

aka treatment approaches - multisystemic therapy: daily contact with the kids, focus on family

functional family therapy: similar to MST, develops inner strength