Chapter 9- Forensics Flashcards

Question

Evaluate Eysenck's Theory:

Answer 1

* Strength: evidence to support criminal personality; Eysenck and Eysenck compared 2017 male prisoners' scores on EPQ with 2422 male controls. On measures of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism, across all ages, prisoners recorded higher average scores than the control group. This agrees with predictions of theory that offenders rate higher than average across the the dimensions identified by Eysenck. * COUNTERPOINT: Farrington et al conducted a meta analysis of relevant studies and reported that offenders tended to score high on measures of psychoticism, but not for extraversion or neuroticism. This means that the central assumptions of criminal personality have been challenged by research. * Weakness: too simplistic; idea that all offending behaviour can be explained by personality traits alone is oversimplified; Moffitt drew a distinction between offending behaviour that only occurs in adolescence (adolesence-limited) and that continues into adulthood (life-course-persistent); she argued that personality traits alone were poor predictor of how long offending behaviour would go on for. She considered persistence in offending behaviour to be result in reciprocal process between personality traits and environmental reactions to those traits. These present more complex picture than Eysenck's theory, maybe the idea that offending behaviour is result of interaction between personality and environment is more valid and reasonable? * Weakness: cultural factors unaccounted for; some psychologists studied Hispanic and African American offenders in maximum security prison in New York, dividing offenders into 6 groups based on offending history; findings were that all 6 groups were less extravert than non-offender group, opposing Eysenck's theory which predicted them to be more extraverted. The psychologists suggested this was due to different cultural group used, therefore Eysenck's concept is culturally relative and limited in application.

Answer 2

* Moral Development: * Kohlberg '68 proposed that people's decisions and judgements on right and wrong can be summarised in a stage theory of moral reasoning 1. Level 1: pre conventional morality (rules are obeyed to avoid punishment and also for personal gain) 2. Level 2: conventional morality (rules are obeyed for approval and to maintain social order) 3. Level 3: post-conventional morality (rules challenged if they infringe rights of others, and rules challenged if they go against individual's ethical principles) The higher the stage, the more sophisticated the reasoning. Kohlberg based his theory on people's responses to moral dilemmas. Many studies have suggested that offenders show low moral reasoning than non-offenders, and Kohlberg found that a group of violent youths were lower level of moral development than non-violent youths. How does this link with criminality? Offenders are likely to be pre-conventional level of morality, whereas non-offenders have generally progressed to conventional level and beyond. The pre-conventional level is about avoiding punishment and gaining rewards (quite like a child, less mature reasoning). Therefore, adults and teens who reason at this level more likely to commit crime if they can get away with it or gain rewards in form of money etc... This assumption is supported by Chandler 1973, who found that offenders are often egocentric and display poorer social-perspective taking skills than non-offenders. Individuals that reason at higher levels tend to sympathise more with rights of others, and are more conventionally honest, generous, and non-violent.

Answer 3

What are cognitive distortions? They are errors or biases in people's info processing system (faulty thinking). There are 2 examples of cognitive distortions are hostile attribution bias and minimalisation. 1. Hostile Attribution Bias; evidence suggests that tendency for violence caused by inclination to misinterpret actions of other people; assuming people are being confrontational when they are not. = hostile attribution bias. Offenders may misread non-aggressive cues triggering a disproportionate, violent response. Psychologists presented 55 violent offenders with images of emotionally ambiguous facial expressions. When compared to non-aggressive matched control group, violent offenders perceived more images wrong, as angry/hostile. Roots of this behaviour may be present in childhood; psychologists showed children video clip of ambiguous provocation (intention was neither hostile or accidental). Children who were classed as aggressive interpreted video as hostile compared to non-aggressive class children who thought video was acceptable. 2. Minimalisation = attempt to deny/downplay seriousness of offence and has been referred to as application of 'euphemistic label' for behaviour. E.g. burglars downplaying their offence as a method of making ends meet. Studies suggest that sex offenders are particularly prone to minimalisation. Barbaree found that among 26 rapists, 54% denied they had committed an offence at all, further 40% minimalised the harm they did.

Answer 4

Strength: evidence for link between level of moral reasoning and crime. Palmer and Hollin compared moral reasoning in 332 male and female non-offenders and 126 offenders using SRM-SF which contains 11 moral dilemma related questions, found that offender group showed less mature moral reasoning than non-offender group. Consistent with Kohlberg's findings. Weakness: level of moral reasoning depends on type of offence; Thornton and Reid found that people who committed crimes for financial gain were more likely to have preconventional morality than those who committed impulsive assault crimes. Preconventional moral reasoning tends to be associated with crimes which offenders believe they can evade the law. Therefore, Kohlberg's theory isn't applicable to all forms of crime.

Answer 5

Strength: real world application; therapy; CBT aims to challenge irrational thinking, offenders are encouraged to face up to what they have done and establish less distorted view of their actions. Studies suggest that reduced denial and minimalisation in therapy is highly associated with reduced risk of reoffending (acceptance of crime important aspect of rehabilitation) Therefore, theory of cognitive distortions has practical value. Weakness: level of cognitive distortion depends on type of offence; Howitt and Sheldon gathered questionnaire responses from sex offenders. Contrary to what researchers predicted, they found that non-contact sex offenders (accessed images on internet) used more cognitive distortions than contact sex offenders (physically abused children). Those who had previous history of offending also more likely to use distortions as justification. Therefore, distortions are not used in same way by all offenders.

Answer 6

* differential association theory (social learning theory of offending) proposes individuals learn values, attitudes, techniques and motives for offending behaviour through association and interaction with different people. * Scientific Bases: Sutherland developed scientific principles that could explain all types of offending. * 'conditions which are said to cause crime should be present when crime is present and should be absent when crime is absent' * His theory discriminates between individuals who become offenders and those who don't despite social class/ethnicity. Offending as learned behaviour; acquired through learning, often through interactions with people individual looks up to, like family/friends. Differential association suggests it is possible to mathematically predict how likely it is that individual will commit offence. This requires knowledge of frequency, intensity and duration of exposure to deviant/non-deviant social norms. Offending arises from 2 factors: 1. Learned attitudes towards offending: when person is socialised into group, they are exposed to values and attitudes towards the law. Some of these could be pro-crime, if pro-crime attitudes outweigh anti-crime attitudes, person will go on to offend. 2. Learning of specific acts/techniques: as well as being exposed to pro-crime attitudes, potential offender may also learn techniques of committing offences. Socialisation in Prison- Sutherland's theory also accounts for why many convicts reoffend after prison release; prison inmates may learn techniques of offending from more experienced offenders, may put this into practise after release. Learning could occur through observational learning/vicarious reinforcement, imitation, direct tuition etc.

Answer 7

* Better approach than Lombroso's atavistic theory: Sutherland shifted ideas away from biological explanations of offending behaviour, differential association theory explains offending behaviour as result of deviant social circumstances and environments may be more to blame than actual offenders- this provides more realistic solution to problem of offending than eugenics and punishment (targets root cause). * HOWEVER- this theory could be stereotyping individuals from impoverished, crime-ridden backgrounds as unavoidable criminals. The theory suggests that exposure to pro-crime values is sufficient to produce offending behaviour. This ignores that idea of free will and that some people choose to not offend despite the exposure to crime influences. * Sutherland's theory accounts for all types of crimes; he recognsied that lesser offences like burglary, theft, vandalism (called blue-collar crime) occurred in working-class communities and corporate offences like fraud (called white collar crime) were more prevelant in affluent communities, which can be explained using his theory, which suggests offenders learn from the norms and values they are exposed to. This theory is able to account for almost all types of offences, giving it a better application and real-world use than other theories. * Difficult to test this theory: Sutherland aimed to have scientific basis of his predictions, which means they must be testable; many of the concepts, like the number of pro-crime attitudes an offender has or has been exposed, are difficult ot quanitify and measure. Theory assumes that offending behaviour occurs if pro-crime attitudes outnumber anti-crime attitudes, which cannot be operationalised and measured, so we don't know at which point it is when the urge to offend is realised and triggered, therefore this theory lacks scientific credibility.

Answer 8

Freud's tripartite personality: id, ego, superego. Each have their own principles (id = pleasure, ego = reality, superego = morality). Blackburn 1993 used Freud's psychodynamic theory to explain offending behaviour: According to Blackburn, if superego is deficient/inadequate, then criminal behaviour is inevitable because the id (operates on pleasure principle) is given 'free reign'. 3 types of inadequate superego have been proposed. 1. Weak/underdeveloped superego: result of absence of same sex parent during phallic stage (no oedipal/electra complex reconciliation). Prevents child from internalising parent's moral views, leaving them unable to control their id's impulses 2. Harsh/overdeveloped superego: result of strong identification with strict parent = excessive feelings of guilt and anxiety. This unconsciously drives individual to commit crime to satisfy superego's demand for punishment. 3. Deviant Superego: result of normal identification with parent who is immoral/has deviant values = if child has criminal parent, child would adopt same deviant attitudes.

Answer 9

* This theory considers role of emotion; unlike cognitive explanation which overlookes it, this approach considers how anxiety and feelings of rejection may contribute towards offending behaviour. Furthermore, it also considers role of biological factors (instinctive drives of id) AND environmental factors (role played by parents during childhood). This suggests that theory is holistic and comprehensive in a way other theories are not. * HOWEVER, there is little evidence that children raised without same-sex parent are less law abiding as adults. This contradicts Blackburn's weak superego arguements. The alternative proposal that criminal behaviour refelxts an unconscious desire for punishment is inconsistent with attempts made by most criminals to conceal their crimes = implausible explanation for majority of cases of crime. * Also, this explanation is criticised for its gender bias; Freud argued that females should develop a weaker superego than males because they don't identify as strongly with their same-sex parent. This is due to their 'penis envy'. This is problematic as it suggests that more women become criminals, whereas in reality it is actually the opposite that is true.

Answer 10

Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation was based on psychodynamic principles. He proposed that the ability to form meaningful relationships in adulthood was dependent on child forming continuous relationship with mother-figure. Failure to establish relationship with primary care giver means that child is likely to experience number of damaging and irreversible consequences in later life, like AFFECTIONLESS PSYCHOPATHY, AP (lack of guilt or empathy). Such maternally deprived individuals were likely to engage in acts of delinquency and cannot develop close relationships. (44 thieves study; interviewed thieves and their families, 14 were found to be AP, and 12 of these AP had prolonged separation during the first 2 years of their lives). Bowlby concluded that due to maternal deprivation, these caused AP and delinquent behaviour.

Answer 11

* Support from Bowlby's 44 theives study, interviewed 44 teenagers who stole and their families, found that 14/44 where AP and 12/14 had prolonged separation in first 2 years of their lives, compared to none in the control group). Suggests maternal deprivation in early life leads to emotional damage like AP which increases risk of offending. * HOWEVER, this research is flawed as Bowlby potentially allowed his preconceptions to influence the responses of his interviewees, thus invalidating the research of this findings. * Also, this research cannot establish cause and effect; even if there is a link between prolonged separations and emotional problems, it doesn't neccessarily mean the separation caused emotional problems. There could be other factors like distress ; the relationship between different factors is unlikely to be as simple as the theory suggests.

Answer 12

Custodial Sentence is where the court requires an offender to be held in prison/closed institution. The aims of custodial sentencing include: 1. **Deterrence**: put off people committing crime. **General deterrence** sends broad message to society that crime isn't tolerated, and **individual deterrence** tries to reduce **recidivism** (reoffending). 2. **Incapacitation:** the offender is taken out of society to prevent them reoffending, protect public, depends of severity of offence and nature of offender. 3. **Retribution:** society enacting revenge for crime through making offender suffer, level of suffering should be proportional to seriousness of crime. Aim may be important to victim(s) to feel justice has been done. 4. **Rehabilitation:** prison should reform prisoner to reduce recidivism; access to education/treatment so that they leave prison as better people. Psychological effects of custodial sentencing: * **Depression/anxiety:** appears to increase in prison, suicide rates and self harm increased in prison than in general population. * **Institutionalisation:** effect of becoming so accustomed to norms and dependent on routines of prison life, it becomes harder to adapt and be autonomous when reintroduced into society. * **Prisonisation**: prisoners are socialised into adopting inmate code; behaviour considered normal in prison may be inappropriate in society * **Social Stigma:** being labelled as an ex-convict may lead to loss of contacts, reduced employability, person internalises the view that thet are always criminal, affecting recidivism or even suicide.

Answer 13

* Strength: generally effective in incapacitating offenders and offering retribution; offenders unable to be threat to society whilst in prison, and victims may feel sense of justice; prisons do also offer rehabilitation to offenders, providing them with education. Therefore, prison does achieve some of its aims. * HOWEVER; custodial sentences are ineffective as a deterrent, with recidivism rates of 50%. Furthermore, it has been suggested that prison may increase recidivism, rather than decrease it, as convicts may become socialised with the procrime attitudes of the inmates, thus encouraging sustainence of criminal behaviour. Suggests that custodial sentencing does more harm than good, and is completely ineffective. * Weakness: Stanford Prison Experiment: prisoners have negative impacts and are stripped of their identity (de-individuation), making them conform to their social role and internalising pro-crime values even more. * Weakness: Bartol 1995 suggests prison is brutal, demeaning and devastating; suicide rates amongst offenders in 15x higher than in general pop. Prison Reform Trust 2014 found that 25% of women and 15% men reported symptoms of psychosis during their prison time, suggesting prisons trigger mental illnesses and raises questions about prison's ability to rehabilitate offenders and reduce recidivism.

Answer 14

Behaviour modification applies behaviourist principles of operant conditioning to prisoners; aims to replace undesirable behaviours with more desirable ones through use of positive and negative reinforcement/punishment. = TOKEN ECONOMY. Token Economy is a system where prisoners are given tokens when they perform desirable behaviours, like making their bed, obeying prison rules, avoiding conflict...... These token reinforce behaviour has they can be exchanged for desirable goods, like tobacco, food, phone call, time in gym etc. Target behaviours and rewards must be clearly **operationalised** at the outset + hierarchy where some behaviours get more tokens than others. Tokens can be withheld, removed for non-compliance/disobedience. Prison staff need to be trained (standardised procedures) to reward same behaviours in same way. Tokens themselves have no value to prisoners. Their value is learned by associating them with rewards they receive in exchange. The rewards (cigarettes, food, gym time etc) are PRIMARY REINFORCERS (give pleasure without need for learning by association). Tokens are SECONDARY REINFORCERS (acquire their value through association of primary reinforcer through classical conditioning process). Overtime, to encourage further improvement, more may be expected of prisoner to achieve token rewards, allowing their behaviour to be gradually shaped towards a more desirable behaviour, allowing them to be able to adapt to normal life again.

Answer 15

* Support for effectivenes of token economy: Hobbs + Holt; they introduced token economy system to young delinquents and a control group; observed a significant increase in positive behaviour compared to non-token economy group. Allyon et al found similar results in an adult prison. This suggests that token economies are effective in increasing desirable behaviours. * Easy to implement: no need for trained psychologists (expensive) like required in anger management. = cost - effective as existing staff help maintain system. Practical way to improve prison environment for staff and prisoners. * ISSUE WITH TOKEN ECONOMIES: difficult to implement in the real world, which isn't as structured as in prisons where goof behaviour is CONSISTENTLY rewarded. Offenders may find it hard to adjust what they have learned to real life after release. Therefore, whilst it is effective in institutions, it may make transitioning hard for offenders. * Ethical concerns: could be manipulating and dehumanising - if prison staff abuse their power, it could give rise to abuse. Even if prisoners do good behaviour, staff may deny priveleges or even necessities, so there is a risk of there being a negative impact on prisoners, so this technique isn't always suitable.

Answer 16

Novaco 1975 suggests that cognitive factors triggers emotional arousal which precedes aggressive acts. He argues that some people get angry too quickly especially in situations perceived to be anxiety-inducing. In behaviourist terms, becoming angry is reinforced by the individual's feeling of control. Thus, created anger management programme, whic is a form of CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy). The individual is taught to recognise the cognitions that trigger anger and loss of control, and encourage resolution techniques that prevent violence. Novaco recognised that such individuals often present irrational, illogical, maladaptive thinking styles, which can be combated in 3 phrases: 1. **Cognitive Preparation:** IDENTIFY AND CHALLENGE IRRATIONAL THINKING. This stage requires an offender to reflect on past experience and consider typical pattern of their anger. Offender learns to identify those situations that act as triggers. The therapist helps outline how this trigger is irrational. 2. Skills Acquisition: MUSLE RELAXATION TECHNIQUE- STRATEGIES TO HELP DEAL WITH ANGER. Offenders are introduced to techniques and skills to help them deal with situations outlined before to help them act more rationally. Cognitive technique = self-talk to encourage calmness. Behavioural technique =assertiveness training in how to communicate to help it become an automatic response eventually. Physiological technique = muscle relaxation, helps deal with physical reaction and control one's emotions. 3. Application Practise: PRACTISE/EXPOSURE in final phase, offenders are given the opportunity to practise their skills within carefully controlled environment. May involve role play, where therapist 'winds-up' offender in order to assess their progress. If done well, offender gets positive reinforcement.

Answer 17

* Support for effectiveness of anger management - Taylor + Novaco 2006, conducted meta-analysis and reported 75% improvement rates amongst offenders. Suggests these programmes have positive influence on anger amongst criminals. * HOWEVER Howells et all 2005 found only moderate benefits. * Holistic Approach: use cognitive, behavioural and social strategies across the 3 phases, taking a multidisciplinary approach that acknowledges complex range of elements that could contribute towards criminal behaviour. * This method deals with underlying causes of offending by challenging the internal, irrational and illogical thought processes that may lead to offending behaviour. This is more likely to give a more long-lasting change in behaviour than token economies, which only targets superficial external behaviours. This way, the rates of recidivism are significantly decreased. * PROBLEM? This programme is expensive and time consuming to run; requires highly trained specialists, and success of technique requires honest commitment of offenders and their willingness to change their ways. This may be a problem if prisoners are uncooperative/apathetic. This technique may not be most practical...

Answer 18

RJ method reduces and atones offending behaviour through reconciliation between offender and victim, as well as wider community. Enables offender to see impact of crime and serves to empower victims by giving them a voice. Focussed on reducing harm done by offender, rather than punishing them. RJ is often offered to young offenders as an option instead of prison, if victim agrees and it can come in different forms. Involves communication with victim, offender may simply give payment as reparation (no communication involved), or write a letter if there is no interaction. Often, a trained mediator looks over conversation, victim is given chance to tell offender how they have been affected. Offender is given chance to apologise and reconcile. The aims of this technique include: * Rehabilitate Offenders, actively engage with perspective of othes and take responsibility * Atone for their wrongdoing, show guilt and offer compensation * Reduce victim's sense of victimisation, they are no longer powerless and have voice.

Answer 19

* Support for effectiveness of RJ comes from Sherman and Strang 2007; reviewed 20 studies from US, UK, Australia and all of them show reduced recidivism, in one study recidivism for RJ was 11% compared to a control group which served a short custodial sentence which has 37% recidivism, therefore RJ more effective deterrent. * Therefore RJ is also more cost-effective, 18 billion pounds spent on financing reoffenders who were released from custodial sentence, so RJ reduces recidivism and therefore reduces overheads too. * However, RJ can be misused as prisoners could fake their apology to avoid prison and may not genuinely be willing to atone their wrongdoings. Likewise victims may want to inflict harm as revenge on offender, which isnt the aim of RJ. Could have damaging effects, difficult to judge intentions. * RJ not suitable for all crimes, some victims may never want to be face to face with a serial murderer/rapist....

Chapter 9- Forensics Flashcards

(44 cards)