Forensics Flashcards

Question

How do adoption studies provide evidence for genetic explanation of offending behaviour?

Answer 1

If neither parent offends: 13.5% conviction If adoptive parent offends: 14.7% conviction If biological parent offends: 20% conviction If both offend: 24.5% conviction Indicates genetics have a greater influence than nurture, but increases when both offend, implying that both nature and nurture play a role in offending Don’t control when children adopted and separated from biological parents, may influence offending behaviour, may still have contact with biological families, and factors prior to birth and early years can affect likelihood to offend, can’t fully separate

Answer 2

Genetic analysis of 800 finnish offenders MAOA gene ‘warrior gene’, controls production of enzyme monoamine oxidase A, ore MAOA, which regulates neurotransmitter serotonin, low activity variant linked to aggression CDH13, linked to substance abuse and ADHA

Answer 3

Part of primitive limbic system Fight, flight or freeze stress response 'Emotional brain' - 'the accelerator'

Answer 4

More latterly evolved region Executive function: decision making, planning regulating impulses and emotions, empathy 'Thinking brain' - 'the brakes'

Answer 5

Antisocial personality disorder/psychopathy -Problems processing mentions and empathy - Leads to lack of guilt and remorse, enables offending

Answer 6

differences in the structure and function of the brain cause offending

Answer 7

Special brain cells distributed in several areas of the brain, they fire in response to one’s own actions and in response to the actions of others.

Answer 8

Keysers found that only when criminals with APD were asked to empathise did their mirror neurones activate, concluded that criminals with APD experience empathy, but only sporadically (not consistently, like a normal brain)

Answer 9

Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ)

Answer 10

introversion-extroversion, neuroticism-stability, and psychoticism-sociability

Answer 11

Faulty, biased or irrational ways of thinking, making people perceive reality in an inaccurate (usually negative) way

Answer 12

Hostile attribution bias Minimalisation

Answer 13

A tendency to misinterpret the actions of other people and to assume they are being hostile when they are not. This can lead to people responding to non-aggressive cues with a disproportionate, violent response

Answer 14

Emotionally ambiguous facial expressions were presented to violent offenders and a non-aggressive matched control group. Ambiguous expressions are more commonly interpreted by violent offenders as having hostile intent Children identified as aggressive and rejected prior to the study were more likely to interpret videos of ambiguous situations as hostile than ‘non-aggressive’ and accepted controls

Answer 15

An attempt to downplay the seriousness of an event and the impact on the victim/society Self depiction helps offenders to rationalise what they have done and deal with any guilt, enables reoffending (burglars, sexual offenders)

Answer 16

Howitt and Sheldon, questionnaires with sex offenders. Non-contact compared with contact (sexual images on internet vs physically abused children), found that non-contact minimalised their crimes more than contact as they claimed they hadn’t hurt anyone Alvaro and Gibbs found that when they measured for cognitive distortions in anti-social young adults, there was a strong relationship between the level of antisocial behaviour and minimalisation: the more antisocial the young adults, the more they downplayed the seriousness of their offences and their responsibility for their actions

Answer 17

Similar to Bandura's SLT and the idea of vicarious reinforcement, yet proposed before by Sutherland, and early criminologist, showing role of environment in shaping offending behaviour Crime is learned through different interactions and associations with people around us

Answer 18

1. Criminal behaviour learned rather than inherited 2. Learned through association with others 3. Association is with intimate personal groups 4. Learn techniques and attitudes/motivations 5. Learning is directions, for or against crime. Seen as favourable or unfavourable 6. If number of pro-criminal attitudes outweighs anti criminal ones, person becomes offender 7. Learning experiences vary in frequency and intensity for each individual 8. Criminal behaviour is learned through the same process as any other behaviour 9. General need is not sufficient explanation for crime because not everyone needs to turn to crime

Answer 19

Should be able to mathematically predict how likely to offend someone is if we know the frequency, intensity and duration of which they have been exposed to deviant norms

Answer 20

Superego, morality principle In phallic stage of development, child internalises the morals from their same-sex parent as way of resolving Oedipus/Electra complex Punishes the ego with guilt and rewards through pride

Answer 21

Id, pleasure principle Selfish drives and instant gratification

Answer 22

Ego, reality principle Mediates between the unconscious conflicts of the Id and Superego

Answer 23

The superego is formed during the phallic stage (3-5 yrs) through identification with the same-sex parent. If that parent is absent, the child cannot internalise a fully formed superego. The consequence is that the superego is too weak to encourage the ego to override the demands of the Id.

Answer 24

A deficient superego will lead to criminality, and can be deficient in three different ways

Answer 25

A deviant superego develops if the moral voice that the child has internalised in the phallic stage has immoral values: e.g. a girl raised by a criminal mother won’t feel guilty when she commits a crime. Thus, the superego fails to modify the selfish demands of the Id.

Answer 26

The over-harsh superego can develop if a child develops a very strong identification with a strict parent. This leads the individual to experience excessive guilt and anxiety if they act on Id impulses. This may unconsciously drive the individual to commit crime in order to get caught: then the punishment would satisfy the feeling of guilt.

Answer 27

Maternal deprivation hypothesis If prolonged separation between mother and child occurs before the age of 2 ½ (critical period) and if there is no substitute mother available, this can lead to: Affectionless psychopathy: lack of guilt, empathy and the ability to relate to others.

Answer 28

Supported by his 44 thieves study

Answer 29

Involves a convicted offender spending time in an institution, such as: a prison, a young offender institution, secure psychiatric hospital

Answer 30

Protect society

Answer 31

Harsh sentences put people off offending

Answer 32

Opportunity for rehab and learning new skills

Answer 33

Provide justice for victims and families by taking away freedoms and rights

Answer 34

Mental health issues Prisonisation Institutionalisation

Answer 35

Re-offending Behaviourist term Act of a person repeating an undesirable behaviour after they have experiences the negative consequences of that behaviour

Answer 36

System for dealing with offending behaviour by focussing on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation, enabling an offender to see the impact of their crime, empowers victims by giving them a voice Focus on victims healing + managing anger/grief Make amends, help victim heal Actively take responsibility for the crime Acceptance of guilt/understanding of wrongdoing, leads to rehabilitation which reduced recidivism Often used as diversion programme for young offenders Make communities safer, bridge divides, rebuild communities

Answer 37

Trained mediator supervising Non-courtroom setting Voluntary of offender Face-to-face/remote Survivor given opportunity to confront offender, explain impact. Important there is active involvement for all parties Focus on positive outcomes Other relevant community members may be involved to explain impact.

Answer 38

Individual: trained mediator, initial meeting with victim to establish goals, face to face/online/letters, pretrial/in prison/in place of prison, alongside community service, education Community: peace circles in many high violence/crime communities, come together to resolve issues/build understanding

Answer 39

Often seen as a monetary payment by an offender to the survivor to compensate for the harm caused, so an offender may make financial contributions, reflecting on the psychological and physical damage, or may involve an offender repairing the damaged property themselves

Answer 40

The restorative justice council: an independent body whose role is to establish clear standards for using RJ, and support survivors and professionals Advocate use beyond crime: may work to help conflicts in schools, childrens services, workplaces, hospitals and communities

Answer 41

Thoughts lead to feelings and behaviours: cognitive factors trigger the emotional arousal that precedes aggressive acts

Answer 42

Aim: to reflect on past experiences (cognitive approach) Identifying triggers and patterns of response Therapist helps identify irrational behaviours Ellis' ABCD D= dispute irrational beliefs that would lead to healthier consequences

Answer 43

Aim: acquire skills for dealing with anger-provoking situations (behavioural approach) Cognitive techniques: positive self talk, encourage calmness Behavioural techniques: assertiveness/communication Physiological: relaxation/meditation

Answer 44

Aim: practice acquired skills (social approach) Role-play scenarios with therapist Needs commitment from offender and brave therapist Success in role play met with positive reinforcement from therapist

Answer 45

A form of cognitive behavioural therapy pioneered by Raymond Novaco (1975).

Forensics Flashcards

(69 cards)