psychology > Foreniscs > Flashcards

Foreniscs Flashcards

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1
Q

what is offender profiling

A

an investigative tool used to solve crimes. The core assumption of profiling is that criminals operate in a way that reflects their personality, so there’s consistency in crime and their MO

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2
Q

What is MO

A

how criminals commit crime

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3
Q

what is the top down approach

A

originates in FBI and involves analysis of previous crime to create a profile of an likely offender. A profiler will then use this knowledge to narrow the field of suspects and it relies on intuition and beliefs of the profiler.

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4
Q

what are the 4 stages in the top down approach

A
  1. data assimilation
  2. crime scene classification
  3. crime reconstruction
  4. profile generation
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5
Q

what is data assimilation

A

information is collected from many sources like DNA, Belongings. An attempt is made to identify the psychological signature of the individual offender

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6
Q

what is a psychological signature

A

distinct behaviour/actions/fantasies of an offender

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7
Q

what is crime scene classification/ typology

A

crime scenes are either classed as organised or disorganised. This can then tell if there’s is a distinction between offences and offenders.

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8
Q

what is organised crime

A

pre-planned, don’t leave much evidence, intelligent, target victims, may live further away,social and sexual competency

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9
Q

what is disorganised crime

A

spur of the moment, get caught for crimes, crimes of passion, impulsive, lives close to crime, history of sexula/ relationship dysfunction

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10
Q

what is crime reconstruction

A

hypotheses are generated about the crime sequence of events and the victim’s behaviour. This is to clarify the offender’s MO and if it may link to another crime

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11
Q

what is profile generation

A

A profile is then developed which includes the offender’ physical characteristics, behavioural habits and demography. This description is used to work out a strategy for the investigation to help catch the offender.

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12
Q

what is demography

A

ethnicity, social class, job etc

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13
Q

what is a positive evaluation of the top-down approach

A

(P)- has been successful used to create a profile for offenders
(E)- Arthur Shawcross case and the profile was very accurate- married, white male, low paid job, lived near the river
(L)- strength because using typologies profiling is effective and we can ensure that the criminals are punished accordingly
(H)- devised based on 36 manipulative individuals - likely to not be a good reliable source of information - sample not large, not standardised therefore lacks internal validity- cannot fit everyone

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14
Q

Another strength of the top down approach

A

(P)- lots of evidence to suggest that top-down appraoch is useful
(E)- Pinzotto (1984)found that profiling assistance was helpful in some way 83% of the time
Brewster-TD profiling helped with the interogation of suspects 62%
Mekta- 85% rise in solved case across 3 states
(L)- provided investigators with a different perspective, new lines of enquiry and may prevent wrongful convictions
H)- approach is based on hunches rather than reasoning- weakness because it reduces the credibility- no reaserch to say why it works- influneced by emotions and memories

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15
Q

weakness of TD approach

A

P)- difficult to make a distinction between typologies
E)- Turvey- organised/disorganised distinction is false and more likely to be a continum than 2 distinction categories. Offenders can be both categories
L)- weakness because categories may be regarded as generalisation and may not be useful
Furthermore- Canter analysed 39 aspects of serial killing in 100 us murders using small space analysis- no distinction between organised and disorganised - inaccurate and not very useful.

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16
Q

what is the bottom up approach

A

David Canter-builds a picture of the criminal from facts collected from previous crimes of the same type, therefore no intuition is needed. It’s data driven approach that involves using data from crimes scenes and victims to build a statistical database

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17
Q

what are the 4 psychological principles in this approach BT

A

interpersonal coherence
time and place
criminal charactersitics
forensics awareness

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18
Q

what is interpersonal coherence

A

the way they interact with their victims- assumption that their behaviour is consistent across situations and everyday behaviour is similar to the way a crime is committed

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19
Q

what is time and place

A

time and location gives gives as to where the perpretator lives or works and their mode of travel

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20
Q

what is criminal characteristics

A

involves putting perpetrator in categories

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21
Q

what is forensic awareness

A

certain behaviour may reveal knowledge of police techniques, possibly by previously committing a crime and going through the criminal crime justice

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22
Q

what happens after these 4

A

psychologists work on a profile using statistical techniques like small space analysis

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23
Q

what is small space analysis

A

A British method of profiling that uses techniques to plot the relationship between crime characteristics on a 2-D map. The data from many crime scenes and offender charcateristics are correlated so the most common connections can be identified

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24
Q

what are the characteristics of small space analysis

A

-crime characteristics occur together are physically closer
-common characteristics are at the centre
-uncommon characteristics are on the outside

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25
what does small space analysis tell us
identifies behaviour patterns and how likely features of a crime are likely to exist and how likely or unlikely these features occur together Eg. if someone kidnaps someone but apologies this is uncommon which will help identify the offender
26
who is Canter and Salfati ( 1999) and what did they do- SSA
analysed the co-occurence of 48 crimes and offenders characteristics from 82 murders cases where the victim was a stranger. There were 3 underlying themes: - instrumental opportunistic -instrumental cognitive -expressive impulsive
27
what is instrumental opportunistic- SSA
murder is used to obtain something or accomplish a goal
28
what is instrumental cognitive-SSA
concerned about being detected, the crime was planned- similar organised
29
what is expressive impulsive- SSA
uncontrolled, may have felt provoked by the victim- similar to disorganised
30
what is geographical profiling
focuses on where the crimes are committed.- location of a connected series of crimes, local knowledge between different crime scenes
31
what is the assumption of geographical profiling
the offender are more likely to commit crimes near where they live or travel to because it is little effort
32
what does canter suggest about GP
locations and timing can give important clues and this information can help with the inquiry and focus on where the police resources should go
33
what is the circle theory- Canter and Larkin 1993
offenders have a spatial mindset- commit crimes in a imaginary circle- 2 types; mauraders and commuter
34
what is a marauder
offenders home is within the geographical area where crimes are committed eg. yourkshire ripper
35
what is a commuter
offender travels to another geographical area to commit their crime
36
AO3 for bottom up approach- positive- investigative psychology works
P- Canter's first attempt at profiling was the case of the railway rapist and the approach was very successful E- canters profile- male/around 20's/live in the area of offence- same as John Duffy L- strength because it was a success more quick to capture criminals and keep society safe F- Canter and Heritage-1990- content analysis of 66 of sexual offenses and police were able to identify the offense committed by the same people.
37
AO3 for bottom up approach- geographical profiling is too simplistic
p-GP doesn't always lead to catching the perpetrators E-may be multiple criminals working in the same area- some may commit close to them and then far away L- offers no help placing pins in a map- doesn't catch them H- Advanced AI has led to more sophisticated techniques that catch perpretrators better
38
AO3 for bottom up approach
P- more objective and scientific than the top down approach as it uses statistical techniques and computrer analysis E- ssa based on previous crimes- database successfully identified individuals L- more reliable as it doesn't rely on the intuitions and beliefs of profilier H- information from databases are difficult to gather - information may be inaccurate- and not al crimes are recorded
39
what are the 3 biological explanations for offending behaviour
atavistic form genes neurology
40
what is the atavistic form
Lombroso- 1870's his idea was that criminals have certain physical features which come from primitive stage of human developement. Offenders were seen as lacking evoluntionary developement therefore was impossible to adjust to civilised society
41
what were examples of the atavistic form
heavy brows, large jaw, large ears dark skin he also said they are insenstive to pain
42
Genetics- forensics
Brunner (1993)- 28 males= dutch family- crimes-low MAOA Tihonen (2015)- low MAOA Capsi (2002)- childhood mistreatment and antisocial behaviour= more antisocial
43
what is the neural explanation
1. biochemical explanations 2. brain physiology
44
what is the biochemical explanation
noradrenaline- fight or flight reponse- high levels of this are linked to violence and agression serotonin- mood and impulsivity-low= impulsive actions are unstable= criminal act Dopamine- addiction and drug abuse. excess activity in limbic system= addiction= crime
45
what is brain physiology
limbic system- central part of the brain- primitive area- controls emotions- affect offending behaviour psychopaths have problems processing emotions brain developement-brains develope abnormally- frontal lobe appears to be smaller-less activity
46
AO3 for atavism
p-link between facial features and offending isn't due to biology e- facial features and offending behaviour may be due to socital factors l- Kaplans self-derogation theory-1980 A- lombroso- religious perspective
47
what is genes in forenics
the idea that certain genes may link to wheter a person engages in criminal behaviour
48
what is the evidence for genes
Brunner-1193- analysed the DNA of 28 male members of a Dutch family and all had a genes which lead to low production of MAOA Tihonen- also found low production of MAOA in criminals
49
what is the psychological explanation of offending behaviour
Eysenck's theory of criminal personality
50
what is Eysenck's theory of criminal personality
3 dimensions; 1. extrovesrion-introvesion= extraverts are outgoing but get bored easily. introverts are happy in their own company 2. neuroticsm- stability= neurotics experince negative emotions eg anger whereas stable people have a carefree attitude 3. pyscotiscm- normality= pyschotics are egocentric and lack empathy for others
51
what did the Eysenck's personality Questionnaire allow
allow individuals to be placed on the first 2 dimensions
52
BIOLOGICAL BASIS
Eysenck suggested that these personality traits were innate and mainly due to the type of nervous system we inherit from our parents. Therefore all personality types, including the criminal personality type have an innate and biological basis. Extraverts have an underactive nervous system which means they constantly seek excitement, stimulation and are likely to engage in risk-taking behaviours. They also tend not to learn from their mistakes.
53
what do neurotics often be like
tend to be nervous (over-react to a threat), jumpy and overanxious, their instability means that their behaviour is often difficult to predict. Also, as neurotics are responsive they could learn to commit crime easily.
54
what is psychotism like
more likely in men as it is linked to testosterone. Men have this in higher levels compared to women. Psychoticism is linked to criminal behaviour as these individuals are aggressive and lack empathy. This means there will be less holding them back and they are therefore more likely to engage in offending behaviour.
55
socialisation
criminality is not only caused by inherited personality traits but also interaction with the environment via the socialisation processes. He saw criminal behaviour as being developmentally immature as it is selfish and these individuals need immediate gratification. Additionally they are very impatient and cannot wait for things. The process of socialisation is when a child is taught to delay gratification and become socially orientated
56
what are the 2 cognitive explanations
moral reasoning cognitive distortions
57
moral reasoning
we aren't born knowing what is moral this developes as we age. Kolhberg proposed a stage theory saying some people can't progress past a certain stage making them more likely to commit crimes.
58
how many levels are there
3 levels with 2 stages each
59
what does each stage represent
advanced form of moral reasoning that individuals progress through these stages as a consequence of biological maturity and have opportunities to discuss and develope their thinking.
60
what is level 1
pre-conventional morality criminals often in this category stage 1- punishment orientation- rules are obeyed to avoid punishment stage 2- instrumental orientation or personal gain- rules are obeyed for personal gain
61
what is level 2
conventional morality most people only reach this level stage 3- 'good boy or good girl' orientation- rules are obeyed for approval stage 4- maintanance of the social order- rules are obeyed to maintain social order
62
what is level 3
post-conventional morality people in this stage do things without regard for themselves stage 5- morality contract and individual rights- rules are challenged if they infringe on the rights of others stage 6- morality of conscience- individuals have a personal set of ethical principles.
63
when do most people reach the pre conventional morality
at 10 years- this immaturity means they cannot develope empathetic thinking.
64
kolhberg's heinz dilema
tested a group of violent young boys found significantly low levels of moral reasoning compared to control group
65
what is cognitive distortions
type of irrational thought- individual's perception of events is not true in reality- distorted attitudes
66
what is attribution theory
reasons criminals give for their behaviour. attribution is an interference about the cause of their own behaviour. can be internal (my fault) or external attributions (something else caused me to do it)
67
what are the 2 cognitive distortions
hostile attribution bias minimalisation
68
what is hostile attribution bias
when interactions are interpreted as hostile- they usually think the worst of the behaviours of others- can lead to aggressive, criminal behaviour
69
what is minimalisation
offenders downplay their criminal behaviour. They don't accept the full reality of the situation and attempt to rationalise what they have done. eg. if someone hacks a bank it wont matter because the bank will refund it.
70
what is differential association theory
Sunderland- people learn to be criminals from their environment. Direct and indirect operant conditioning can affect criminal behaviour. ole models- successful modelling in children= criminal behaviour. socialised. Differential associations- individuals vary in which they associate with others who offend. what they see influences their own attitudes towards crime.
71
what is differential social organisation
name given to the extent in which the community supports or opposes criminality.
72
what were Sunderland's key principles
1. criminal behaviour is learnt not inherited 2. it's learnt through association with others 3. association is with family/peer group 4. techniques for committing crimes and attitudes are learnt 5. learning is directional 6. a person offends if favourable attitudes towards crime outweigh unfavourable ones 7. learning experinces vary in frequency and intensity for each individual 8. criminal behaviour is learned in the same way as other behaviour 9. need eg. money isn't a sufficent explanation for crime.
73
what are the 2 psychodynamic explanations
maternal deprivation theory the superego and defence mechanisms
74
what is maternal deprivation in terms of criminality MD
Bowlby- early years vital for shaping adult personality. if there's disruption eg. seperation between caregiver and infant= maternal deprivation= delinquent behaviour later. emotional consequnces if sepration was before 2.5 years consequnce of MD- affectionless psychopathy.
75
what study did bowlby do to show this
44 theives with 44 controls results- none controls experinced early years seperation but 39% of theives had
76
what is the superego and defence mechanism
personality has 3 componenets to be satisfied:id, ego and superego a strong superego means a person feels guilty for wrong behaviour
77
offending can be explained in 3 ways what are they
- underdeveloped superego= developes around age 4 outcome of oedipus/ electra complex- failing to identify with same sex parent- weaker superego- lead to criminality - overdeveloped superego= very strong identification with a strict parent- indi feels a lot of guilt- commit crimes to release it - a deviant superego= identifies with same sex parent to resolve complexes. adopting similar behaviour to same sex parent- adopt deviant behaviour
78
The defence mechanism allow offenders to justify behaviour how?
- displacement- release anger on innocent victims - sublimination= desire for committing heinous crime is diluted
79
dealing with offender behaviour- aims of custodial sentencing- prision
- deterrence= prevent offenders from re-offending- not want to commit crime again - Retribution- focuses on the feelings of the victim- if offender hurts someone they should pay for it -incapacitation- locking up prisoners- no longer a threat to society - rehabilitation- change the behaviours of offenders. counselling- lead a crime free life when released
psychology
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