C3 - All Evaluation

Question 1

What are the 3 evaluation points for the role of the amygdala biological explanation of criminal behaviour?

Answer 1

• Supporting evidence
• Other brain areas can affect criminal behaviour
• Biological reductionism

Question 2

What are the 3 evaluation paragraphs for the role of the amygdala biological explanation of criminal behaviour?

Answer 2

SE - Gao et al: 1795 participants were assessed at age 3 for fear conditioning then 20 years later they looked to see which participants had been involved in criminal behaviour. Those who had committed crimes at age 23 had shown no fear conditioning at age 3

Other parts of brain: The orbitofrontal cortex is responsible for personality, planning, decision-making and impulse control. Dysfunction here can lead to aggression and poor moral judgement, which is often a trait criminals have

BR: Criminal behaviour is too complex for it to only be explained by amygdala dysfunction. However it can be a positive as it means that researchers can isolate one cause of behaviour and study it to develop successful treatments and therapies

Question 3

What is one evaluation point for the inherited criminality biological explanation of criminal behaviour

Answer 3

Supporting evidence

Question 4

What is the evaluation paragraph for the inherited criminality biological explanation of criminal behaviour?

Answer 4

Tiihonen et al research with 900 Finnish offenders. Found evidence of low MAOA and CDH13 activity. Estimated 5-10% of all violent crime in Finland is due to abnormalities in these two genes

Question 5

What are the 3 evaluation points for the Eysenck’s personality theory individual differences explanation of criminal behaviour?

Answer 5

• Supporting research (Eysenck and Eysenck)
• Considers nature and nurture (socialisation + genetics)
• Issues with measuring personality

Question 6

What are the 3 evaluation paragraphs for the Eysenck’s personality theory individual differences explanation of criminal behaviour?

Answer 6

SE - Eysenck and Eysenck:
2070 male prisoners and 2442 male controls were given Eysenck’s personality questionnaire. They found that prisoners scored higher than controls in all three scales

N + N - Someone may have been born with an under aroused nervous system, which leads to extraversion, however they may not be socialised in a way that means the under-aroused nervous system becomes a problem

Issue with measuring personality - Since Eysenck’s personality questionnaire is a self-report measure, SDB may be in effect as they may answer in a way to appear a better person. Eysenck included lie scales to see when someone is inputting false data, so he discarded these data points

Question 7

What is an evaluation point for the cognitive factors individual differences explanation of criminal behaviour?

Answer 7

• Supporting evidence for Kohlberg

Question 8

What is an evaluation paragraph for the cognitive factors individual differences explanation of criminal behaviour?

Answer 8

Chen and Howitt (2007)
Male offenders in youth correctional facilities and controls from schools in Taiwan self reported their criminal histories that were classified according to their crime.
Overall, the offenders were significantly less mature despite their age being higher on average

Question 9

What are the 3 evaluation points for the differential association theory social psychological explanation of criminal behaviour?

Answer 9

• Supporting research
• Can explain white collar crimes
• Confined to smaller, less violent crimes

Question 10

What are the 3 evaluation paragraphs for the differential association theory social psychological explanation of criminal behaviour?

Answer 10

SE - Akers et al - 2000 male and female teenagers. Differential association, reinforcement, and imitation combined to account for 68% of the of the variance in weed use and 55% of alcohol use
Supports DAT as peers influenced other adolescents to engage in deviant behaviours

Explains WCC - As when people who are surrounded by other people committing WCC, they start to think that it is okay to do it too

Confined to smaller crimes - Violent crimes are often impulsive and emotional, so cannot be learned through association

Question 11

What is an evaluation point for the gender socialisation theory social psychological explanation of criminal behaviour?

Answer 11

• Chivalry hypothesis

Question 12

What is an evaluation paragraph for the gender socialisation theory social psychological explanation of criminal behaviour?

Answer 12

Women may appear to commit less crime than they actually do because male-dominated criminal justice professionals often treat them more leniently, leading to fewer prosecutions. Pollak (1950) claimed that men in the criminal justice system tended to have a protective attitude towards women, so women are less likely to be arrested, charged, prosecuted or convicted

Question 13

What are the 3 evaluation points for the anger management method of modifying of criminal behaviour?

Answer 13

• Multidisciplinary approach
• Research support
• Attrition rates

Question 14

What are the 3 evaluation paragraphs for the anger management method of modifying of criminal behaviour?

Answer 14

Multidisciplinary approach - Shown by the SIM having 3 stages focusing on different aspects of psychology. S1 = cognitive, S2 = behavioural, S3 = social

Supporting evidence - Taylor and Novaco (2006) found that the total number of aggressive incidents fell by 34.5% and number of physical assaults fell by 55.9%. However, other research refutes this, stating that no statistically significant differences between pre-treatment and post-treatment

Attrition rates - The offender may be unwilling to reflect on behaviour so they will drop out. They may also find the role-playing distressing, and not want to take part

Question 15

What are the 3 evaluation points for the restorative justice method of modifying of criminal behaviour?

Answer 15

• Victim perspective
• Recidivism
• May not be applicable to all offenders, victims and crimes

Question 16

What are the 3 evaluation paragraphs for the restorative justice method of modifying of criminal behaviour?

Answer 16

Victim perspective - Victims of crime were less likely to develop PTSD and to desire revenge. RJ Council - 85% victim satisfaction from victims in face-to-face meetings. However, Miers et al - Significant proportion are sceptical about the offender’s motives for signing up to RJ as they may only do it for a reduced sentence

Recidivism - Sherman and Strang - For adult offenders, RJ was more effective than a prison sentence for reducing recidivism. For young offenders, RJ is equally effective. However, the RJ Council found that overall recidivism rate after RJ is still 37%

May not be applicable to all offenders, victims and crimes - RJ may not be suitable for crimes such as:
- Sexual offences
- Hate crimes
- Domestic crimes
This may be difficult for for RJ to work as the victim may not want to see the offender as they may be traumatised by the crime done to them

Question 17

What are the 3 evaluation points for the role of dopamine biological explanation of addictive behaviour?

Answer 17

• Supporting evidence
• Not all addictive behaviour increases dopamine release
• Use of animal test subjects

Question 18

What are the 3 evaluation paragraphs for the role of dopamine biological explanation of addictive behaviour?

Answer 18

SE - Joutsa: Dopamine levels were increased in participants given a gambling task and these levels were raised regardless of win or lose, therefore dopamine is released because of the behaviour

Not all behaviours increase D release - Stokes: no significant increase in dopamine levels in volunteers taking cannabis. Therefore the dopamine theory is limited as it cannot explain all addictive behaviour, suggesting that there are alternative explanations for addiction

Use of animal subjects - Strength - Mice and rats have similar reward pathways to humans, which allows researchers to carry out experiments that could not be done on humans
Weakness - Misses social context so results cannot be generalised to humans

Question 19

What are 2 evaluation points for the genetics biological explanation of addictive behaviours

Answer 19

• Multiple drug use
• Drugs come in and out of fashion

Question 20

What are the 2 evaluation paragraphs for the genetics biological explanation of addictive behaviour?

Answer 20

Multiple drug use - It makes it difficult for the researchers to identify whether genes predispose people to a specific substance or to addictive behaviour in general, reducing internal validity

Drugs come in and out of fashion - If someone has a genetic predisposition to a particular drug, researchers can only study this drug if it is available or fashionable at the time, reducing temporal validity

Question 21

What are the 3 evaluation points for the Eysenck’s personality theory individual differences explanation of addictive behaviour?

Answer 21

• Supporting evidence
• Issue with cause and effect
• Methodological issues

Question 22

What are the 3 evaluation paragraphs for the Eysenck’s personality theory individual differences explanation of addictive behaviour?

Answer 22

SE - Dong et al: Chinese university students were given the EPQ just before they entered university and their internet addiction was measured 2 years later
Found that higher neuroticism and psychoticism were linked to addiction

Issue of cause and effect - We cannot be sure if it is the addict’s personality that caused them to take the drug or if taking the drug caused the addict’s personality. Additionally, there may be a third factor that has an effect on this behaviour, which Eysenck doesn’t explore

Methodological issues - Self report techniques are vulnerable to social desirability bias, reducing validity as they do not answer truthfully, weakening the claim that personality traits cause addiction. Additionally, participants may misunderstand what the question asked so the questionnaire may not measure what it intended, reducing internal validity

Question 23

What is an evaluation point for the cognitive biases individual differences explanation of addictive behaviour?

Answer 23

Supporting evidence

Question 24

What is an evaluation paragraph for the cognitive biases individual differences explanation of addictive behaviour?

Answer 24

Griffiths et al: Compared the verbalisations of 30 regular gamblers with 30 non-gamblers while they were playing a fruit machine
He found that regular gamblers showed many more irrational verbalisations (14%) than the non-gamblers (2.5%). In addition, the verbalisations showed evidence of many heuristics and biases

Question 25

What are the 3 evaluation points for the peer influence social psychological explanation of **addictive behaviour**?

Answer 25

- Supporting evidence - Does not explain the maintenance of addiction - Peer influence or peer selection

Question 26

What are the 3 evaluation paragraphs for the peer influence social psychological explanation of **addictive behaviour**?

Answer 26

SE - Simons-Morton and Farhat (2010) reviewed 40 prospective studies into the relationship between peers and smoking. Found that all but one showed a positive correlation between the two. However, correlational so cannot establish a cause and effect relationship Maintenance of addiction - Some addictions can outlast the peer groups that first influenced them, therefore there is likely another explanation needed in order to explain the maintenance of addiction Peer influence vs. peer selection - Issue whether the individual is influenced by peers to engage in the addictive behaviour, or if the individual chooses friends because they engage in the behaviour. There is conflicting evidence, with some saying peer influence is the cause and some saying it is peer selection. Therefore, this suggests that both peer influence and selection are important processes in the development of addiction

Question 27

What is an evaluation point for the role of the media social psychological explanation of **addictive behaviour**?

Answer 27

Supporting research

Question 28

What is an evaluation paragraph for the role of the media social psychological explanation of **addictive behaviour**?

Answer 28

SE - Gunasekera: analysed 87 of the top 200 movies of the last 20 years. Found that the use of alcohol and tobacco was common, and cannabis and other drug use was present also. The addictions tended to be portrayed positively without any negative consequences, providing vicarious reinforcement for individuals who see their role models engaging in the behaviour, which may initiate an addiction

Question 29

What are the 3 evaluation points for the antagonist and agonist substitutions method of modifying of **addictive behaviour**?

Answer 29

- Research support - Buprenorphine as a replacement of methadone - Ethical issues

Question 30

What are the 3 evaluation paragraphs for the antagonist and agonist substitutions method of modifying of **addictive behaviour**?

Answer 30

Supporting evidence - NICE: assessed 31 reviews of the effectiveness of methadone, including 27 randomized control trials. Found higher levels of retention for people using methadone compared to a placebo or no treatment, and lower rates of illicit drug use Buprenorphine as a replacement of methadone - Buprenorphine has both agonist and antagonist properties, meaning it partially activates dopamine receptors, reducing withdrawal symptoms, but it also blocks the receptors, preventing the euphoria associated with the opioids. It is milder than methadone so has less chance of overdose, as buprenorphine has a ceiling effect, meaning that taking large quantities of the drug will not produce a greater effect. Found to be 6 times safer than methadone Ethical issues - Side effects. Methadone is very addictive and is a depressant, meaning that it slows down activity in the CNS. If this is combined with other depressant drugs like alcohol, it can cause respiratory problems. Naltrexone can cause liver function issues.

Question 31

What are the 3 evaluation points for the aversion therapy method of modifying of **addictive behaviour**?

Answer 31

- Supporting evidence - Alternative methods - Side effects of antabuse

Question 32

What are the 3 evaluation paragraphs for the aversion therapy method of modifying of **addictive behaviour**?

Answer 32

SE - McRobbie: 100 smokers conducted rapid smoking compared to watching an anti-smoking video. RS group showed significant decrease in the urge to smoke in the next 24 hours and weeks after. At 4 weeks the difference between the groups was no longer significant and therefore the impact of RS on long term abstinence is unclear Alternative methods - Covert sensitisation: Addicts are asked to imagine the worst possible scenario that their addiction could bring. They may also be asked to imagine feelings of being sick and vomiting when they have the urge to drink. More ethical than AT, as less harmful side effects Side effects - Causes extreme nausea. Additionally, can cause drowsiness, tiredness, headaches, skin rash. These side effects may lead to the individual not takin antabuse anymore, so they may relapse into alcoholism

Question 33

What are the 3 evaluation points for the role of dopamine biological explanation of **schizophrenic behaviour**?

Answer 33

- Supporting evidence - Application to drug treatments - Issue of cause and effect

Question 34

What are the 3 evaluation paragraphs for the role of dopamine biological explanation of **schizophrenic behaviour**?

Answer 34

SE - Davis et al: Noted that too little dopamine is evident in D1 receptors of the frontal lobe of many individuals with the cognitive impairments and negative symptoms of SZ Application to drug treatments - Using neurotransmitters to explain SZ means that drugs such as **phenothiazine** can be made that can alter the NT production, which can stop the symptoms, treating the disorder. Phenothiazine blocks D2 dopamine receptors in the brain, reducing the overstimulation of the receptors, which stops the hyperdopaminergia and therefore the positive symptoms Issue of cause and effect - As the dopamine balances may not cause schizophrenia, but schizophrenia may cause the dopamine imbalances. PET scans are yet to be able to detect differences in dopamine activity in the brains of schizophrenic and non-schizophrenic people

Question 35

What is 1 evaluation point for the genetics biological explanation of **schizophrenic behaviours**

Answer 35

Diathesis stress model

Question 36

What is one evaluation paragraph for the role of dopamine biological explanation of **schizophrenic behaviour**?

Answer 36

This may explain why one MZ twin develops SZ even if both carry the gene. Perhaps only one experienced the trigger, therefore the issues with using twin studies mean that perhaps alternative explanations for SZ need to be considered and a more holistic explanation should be adopted

Question 37

What are the 3 evaluation points for the cognitive approach individual differences explanation of **schizophrenic behaviour**?

Answer 37

- Research support - Practical applications - Not a comprehensive theory

Question 38

What are the 3 evaluation paragraphs for the cognitive approach individual differences explanation of **schizophrenic behaviour**?

Answer 38

SE - Barch: Comparison of 30 schizophrenics with 18 non-schizophrenics on a range of cognitive tasks including the Stroop test found that schizophrenic patients took over twice as long to name the ink colours as the control group. Shows that the theory actually matches real life, adding credibility and making it able to be used as evidence for a therapy, or other applications Practical applications - Cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis (CBTp) has been shown to be an effective therapy for some patients with SZ. NICE recommended CBTp be routinely offered to individuals with recent onset of SZ or individuals with residual symptoms Not a comprehensive theory - Some researchers criticise the explanation as only being able to explain cognitive symptoms of SZ, other symptoms such as movement issues are not well explained Additionally, the explanation can only explain proximal symptoms (what causes current symptoms) and not distal symptoms (origins of the condition)

Question 39

What is an evaluation point for the psychodynamic approach individual differences explanation of **schizophrenic behaviour**?

Answer 39

Freudian concepts are outdated

Question 40

What is an evaluation paragraph for the psychodynamic approach individual differences explanation of **schizophrenic behaviour**?

Answer 40

Freudian concepts are outdated - Approach is **unfalsifiable** as there is lack of a testable hypothesis, so cannot prove concepts such as the tripartite personality

Question 41

What are the 3 evaluation points for the sociocultural factors social psychological explanation of **schizophrenic behaviour**?

Answer 41

- Practical applications - Is urbanicity a valid explanation - Issue with cause and effect

Question 42

What are the 3 evaluation paragraphs for the sociocultural factors social psychological explanation of **schizophrenic behaviour**?

Answer 42

Practical applications - If research into social isolation has suggested that solitary play in children could be an indicator of SZ in later life (Jones et al), then preventative measures can be done such as introducing play groups in nurseries and primary schools Is urbanicity a valid explanation - Although Krabbendam and van Os identified a range of factors that increase social stress, alternative research proposed that higher levels of social capital (enabling people to act effectively together) in urban living actually protects individuals from stress Cause or effect - People with SZ often have small social circles and find it difficult to make friends. So maybe SZ causes the social isolation or social isolation causes the SZ. Social drift hypothesis - people diagnosed with MH disorders often find it difficult to maintain employment, so may have to move to inner cities, so does urbanicity cause SZ or does having SZ lead to living in an urban environment

Question 43

What is an evaluation point for the dysfunctional families social psychological explanation of **schizophrenic behaviour**?

Answer 43

Not all studies found a significant difference in the quality of communications within SZ families

Question 44

What is an evaluation paragraph for the dysfunctional families social psychological explanation of **schizophrenic behaviour**?

Answer 44

Not all studies found a significant difference in the quality of communications within SZ families - Liem et al: In a structured task by the parents of 11 sons with SZ and 11 sons without SZ, there were no difference in the communication. Suggested that the difference may just be the parent adapting their communication to deal with the SZ child

Question 45

What are the 3 evaluation points for the antipsychotics method of modifying of **schizophrenic behaviour**?

Answer 45

- Practical applications - Supporting evidence - Non-compliance

Question 46

What are the 3 evaluation paragraphs for the antipsychotics method of modifying of **schizophrenic behaviour**?

Answer 46

Practical applications - Lawrie: Antipsychotic drugs revolutionised the care of SZ, changing it from incurable and requiring institutionalisation to one that could be treated in the community with the potential for independent living and recovery Supporting evidence - Cole et al: Found 75% of those given a typical antipsychotic were considered to be much improved compared to 25% given a placebo. None of the patients given the antipsychotic got worse, in comparison with 48% with the placebo Non-compliance - SZ patients tend to lack the insight into their own condition, they don't believe they have a problem so don't take the medication Rettenbacher et al: Full compliance in only 54.2% of schizophrenics, partial compliance in 8.3%, non-compliance in 37.5%

Question 47

What are the 3 evaluation points for the CBTp method of modifying of **schizophrenic behaviour**?

Answer 47

- Supporting evidence - Not all research is supportive - Lack of significant findings in long term studies

Question 48

What are the 3 evaluation paragraphs for the CBTp method of modifying of **schizophrenic behaviour**?

Answer 48

SE - Kuipers et al: 60 individuals who each had positive and distressing symptoms that was medication resistant were randomly allocated to either a CBT plus standard care condition, or a standard care only condition. After 9 months, the researchers found that 50% of the CBT + standard care condition were considered to have improved, with only one becoming worse. In the control condition, 31% were considered to be improved with 3 becoming worse and one committing suicide Not all research is supportive - Jauhar et al: reported only a small therapeutic effect from using CBT with clients with SZ. However this may be due to the fact that clients could not choose their treatment plan Lack of significant findings in long term studies - Tarrier et al: Studied individuals who got CBT shortly after diagnosis or standard care. 18 months later the CBT group had the same relapse rate as standard care clients. Suggest that the effects of CBT are short lived