Forensics Flashcards

Question

Biological Explanations, Atavistic Form: combined ideas with what

Answer 1

Darwinian evolution

Answer 2

no one! its genetically built in

Answer 3

- examined features and measurements of nearly 4,000 criminals and the skulls of 400 dead ones

Answer 4

- L is know as the father of criminology and tried to base his theory in established science (Darwin) - However, his research lacks a control group -> Significantly weakens the validity of the claims - This lack of scientific basis can lead people to argue L is just pointing out feature of people, no criminals, due to no CG -> significantly weakens the theories claims

Answer 5

- There is little research evidence to support Atavistic form Goring: - Compares 3,000 criminals and 3,000 non-criminals - Concluded that there is no evidence of distinct characteristics in criminals - Instead they have a lower average intelligence -> perhaps suggesting crime is explained socially - This limited L’s theory by providing a more scientific evidence to counteract his claims Kurtzenberg et al: - Offered surgery to prisoners to fix their physical defence and the prisoners said that they were treated differently - This adds weight to the idea of crime being socially explained and offers no support for Atavistic form Overall there is little to no research evidence to support AF and the biological approach, weakening the claims of the theory.

Answer 6

- There is little wider application DiLisi: scientific racism - AF defined are specific to those of African Decent - Also supports the idea of eugenics which was prevalent at the time (historic validity) -> highly unethical theory - Overall the theory is socially sensitive and therefor lack wider application, weakening the theories realisability

Answer 7

Argues that offender behaviour stems from genetic factors and are therefore inherent The evidence comes from: * Twin Studies * Adoption Studies * Family Studies

Answer 8

- Genes are said to be linked to criminal behaviour due to certain genes being responsible for certain behaviours. - This is especially shown through Candidate Genes - Candidate Gene: one specific gene causes one specific behaviour - The MAOA gene is a key example Responsible for aggressive behaviour and breaking down NTs in the bloodstream (serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline) - Low activity version of this gene can lead to an excess of aggressive and anti-social behaviour

Answer 9

Brunner Caspi

Answer 10

Method: * Investigated 28 male member of a Dutch family * Women in the family noticed the men tended to be overly aggressive (spatially and temporally → across the county and generations → shows it isn't a learned behaviour) * Aggressive individual all had the knock out version of the MAOA gene → this is super rare though ○ Didn’t give evidence as its only one case, and this knock out gene is super rare. ○ You couldn’t day the gene actually causes all criminal behaviour because its so rare

Answer 11

Method: * Followed 1000+ men from age 3-26 * Close follow ups throughout, and at end of study: still had 96% of the sample → really low attrition rates * Strong longitudinal study * Collected data on genetics regarding MAOA and any childhoods trauma * Self repot and other repots (peers and teachers eg) of their aggression + any police records -> triangulation and a case study (drawing on lots of info) * Findings: ○ Early maltreatment can be a predictor for aggression, not MAOA ○ Low MAOA not a predictor necessarily ○ Low MAOA and maltreatment = significant effect on aggression

Answer 12

- Examining monozygotic MZ (identical) twins and DZ (non-identical) twins - (who share 100% and 50% of their genetic make-up respectively) - Concordance rates (i.e. percentages to show how many twin pairs share a particular behaviour) help to indicate a possible genetic tendency.

Answer 13

Christiansen

Answer 14

Studied over 3500 twin pairs in Denmark and found the following concordance rates for offending behaviour: -> Concordance rate of 35% in MZ and 13% in DZ (Male twins) Conclusions: - The findings indicate a degree of inheritance. - However, the concordance rates are low, even for monozygotic twins, which indicates that the environment still plays a large part in criminal behaviour. - Secondly the difference between male and female twin pairs raises an interesting question about the role of gender in criminal behaviour.

Answer 15

- Used to rule out the environmental effect on development. - For example, a twin study may find a 68% concordance between monozygotic twins, but if they are raised in the same home environment, then the chances are that they will be treated in a similar way by their parents/siblings and therefore the learning environment that they grow up in is likely to be a factor in their behaviour. - Adoption studies attempt to rule this out by looking at children who have been adopted and have therefore been raised by adopted parents where there is no genetic similarity.

Answer 16

Method: * Compared a group of adopted children whose biological mother had a criminal record, to a control group of adopted children whose biological mother did not have a criminal record. Findings: * Biological mother had a criminal record, 50% of the adopted children also had one by the time they were 18. * In the control group, only 5% of the adopted children had a criminal record by the time they were 18. This suggests that children seemed biologically predisposed to criminality.

Answer 17

Family Studies: Brunner - Discovered the MAOA gene through a family study of 28 member of a Dutch family who all displayed aggressive behaviour (spatially and temporally) - They all had the knock out version of the MAOA gene - Didn’t give evidence as its only one case, and this knock out gene is super rare. - You couldn’t say the gene actually causes all criminal behaviour because its so rare, but still points to a genetic element of criminality. Twin Studies: Christiansen - Studied over 3500 twin pairs in Denmark and found the following concordance rates for offending behaviour: ○ Concordance rate of 35% in MZ and 13% in DZ (Male twins) - The findings indicate a degree of inheritance. Adoption Studies: Crowe - Compared a group of adopted children whose biological mother had a criminal record, to a control group of adopted children whose biological mother did not have a criminal record. - Biological mother had a criminal record, 50% of the adopted children also had one by the time they were 18. - In the control group, only 5% of the adopted children had a criminal record by the time they were 18. - This suggests that children seemed biologically predisposed to criminality.

Answer 18

Issues with the methods of investigations: Family: - Generalisation is difficult due to incredibly small sample sizes -> decreases validity Twins: - Twins are unique and may have a different experience to the general population -> it may not always be appropriate to generalise from twins to all non-twins. - Twin studies assumes that MZ and DZ twins share similar environments, however this isn’t always the case -> they can be treated differently by parents, friends etc - OTOH, an issue with twin studies is that MZ twins are often treated more similarly than DZ twins, thus this may be an explanation for higher concordance rates for MZ twins. Adoption: - Adoption studies assume that nature and nurture can be distinguished, however many adoptions take place when children are older and so environment can have an impact -> cant fully show causation -> decreases the validity of twin study claims

Answer 19

- Biological determinism suggests that offending behaviour is determined by genetic factors which cannot be controlled by the person, thus they should not be blamed (or responsible) for their crimes -> this impacts out current legal system - Biological determinism does not necessarily work in our criminal justice system and wider society, where we are responsible for our actions, as some people would argue that genetic factors could be used as an ‘excuse’ to justify criminal actions. - Lots of controversy around the case of Stephen Mobley → appealed that he was genetically predisposed

Answer 20

Dysfunctions in the brain and NS (inc brain structure and NTs) Research into this has often included those with Antisocial Personality Disorder (psychopaths) → Lack of emotional response → lack of empathy for others

Answer 21

Structural differences in the brains of criminals as responsible for their criminal actions, eg lack of activity in the amygdala prefrontal cortex amygdala

Answer 22

Prefrontal Cortex - Prefrontal Correct regulated emotional behaviour - Therefore, people would be more disposed to criminal behave with a reduction in PFC activity, as they would be unable to process the emotions neurotypical people associate with crime like empathy, morality, intuitive, and fear As supported by Adreian Rein Through many examples of brain scans, shows that people with ADP have reduced prefrontal cortex functioning

Answer 23

The emotional centre, a reduction of activity here can lead to a lack of empath or increase in aggression, causing criminal behaviour Potegal: Stimulation of the brain in hamsters can be found to lead to aggressive behaviour

Answer 24

NTs firning inappropriately can cause changes in a person’s mood/behaviour making it more likely for a person to want to or simple to just commit criminal behaviour. Low levels of Serotonin - Linked to mood and impulsiveness, making it harder to act less impulsively and aggressive behaviour more likely High levels of Dopamine - Identifies with pleasure, making criminal activity feel rewarding and create a desire to repeat behaviours

Answer 25

Neurophysiology: Raine *et al* (1997) found that offenders have abnormal brain function when compared to controls; for example, decreased prefrontal cortex activity may indicate that offenders are unable to consider the consequences of their actions and control their behaviour. Neurochemistry: Scerbo and Raine (1993) conducted a meta-analysis on 29 pieces of research into anti-social adults and children, finding in all cases, low levels of serotonin.

Answer 26

**Research often correlational** - no clear way to show cause and effect. - eg, low levels of serotonin found in offenders could be a cause of offending behaviour, but they could also be the effect of it. - Decreases the validity of the research claims -------------------------------------------------- HOWEVER - **Couppis** : some individuals who engage in certain criminal behaviours may experience an increase in dopamine and as a result seek out such experiences again due to the reward feeling. - Which is a causal relationship ALSO: - Neurochemical explanations of offending behaviour have been criticised for being overly simplistic. - The links between Neurochemical explanations centre around violent and aggressive behaviour, which does not explain all types of crime

Answer 27

Biological determinism: * suggests that offending behaviour is determined by neural (or genetic) factors which cannot be controlled by the person, thus they should not be blamed (or responsible) for their crimes → this can be seen as a good thing as it would seek to impact the criminal justice system to focus on rehabilitation * BUT Biological determinism does not necessarily work in our criminal justice system and wider society, where we are responsible for our actions, some people would argue that neural factors could be used as an ‘excuse’ to justify criminal actions.

Answer 28

A three part personality that creates a criminal personality

Answer 29

- introversion / extroversion - neuroticism / stability - psychoticism / socialisation

Answer 30

- individual differnces on the three personality scales determines how infividual react to envrionemtnal stimuli - have an innate biological basis as we inherit aspects of our nervouse system

Answer 31

extrovert-neurotic-psychotic

Answer 32

Extravert: - under-aroused and searches the environment for stimulation. - engage in dangerous and risky activities to raise levels of arousal - resistant to conditioning/learning. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Neurotic: - have a high level of reactivity in their sympathetic nervous system, so react quickly to situations of threat. - This means they tend to be jumpy, over-anxious and can be difficult to predict. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Psychotic: - tend to be cold, unemotional and prone to aggression. - They may lack empathy.

Answer 33

- *Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ).* - This locates people along the three dimensions to determine their personality type - SELF REPORT

Answer 34

socialisation

Answer 35

- Eysenck saw offenders as developmentally immature - selfish - immediate gratification - offenders are impatient - During socialisation, children are taught to delay gratification they are conditionaed - Eysenck believed that people with high E and N scores had nervous systems that made them difficult to condition and so are more likely to act in an anti-social manner.

Answer 36

Eysenck and Eysenck : - coreelation between E's personality traits and criminal beahviour sampling 2070 male prisoners with a control group - however, issues with self report -------------------------------------------------------------------- Farrington: - meta-analysis, found offenders tended to score high on measures of psychoticism, but not extraversion and neuroticism. - meta-analysis = higher internal val as statistical

Answer 37

Mischel: - argues there is no such thing as a stable personality, instead we adopt different personality types depending on the situation we are in. - This means that E’s personality would be dependent on social situations and we would never be able to predict criminal behaviour → therefore the theory wouldn't be useful

Answer 38

Cultural Bias: Bartol & Holachock: - Studied grouped Hispanic and African-American offenders in a prison - found that all groups were less extraverted than a non-criminal group, which is the opposite of what Eysenck would expect. - This therefore limits Eysenck theory in terms of wider application across cultures, lowering the external valdity -------------------------------------------------------------------- Biological Determinism: - it suggests that there is a significant genetic component to personality traits. - This is a problem in the criminal justice system because it means we cannot charge criminals for their actions as they are not technically responsible, which is not inline with out criminal justice system

Answer 39

- differnt levels of moral reasnoning causes criminal behaviour -> three levels each having two staged - based the theory of a group of young boy's responses to a series of mora dilemnas

Answer 40

- pre-conventional morality - conventional morality - post-conventional morality

Answer 41

- Stage 1: Punsihmnet Oreintation → rules are obeyed to avoid punsihment - Stage 2: Intrumental Orientation or Personal Gain → rules are obeyed for personal gain

Answer 42

- Stage 3: ‘Good boy/girl’ Orentation → rules are obeyed for approval - Stage 4: Maintenance of the Social Order → rules are obeyed to maintain soical order

Answer 43

- Stage 5: Morality of Context and Individual Rights → rules are obeyed if they are impartial → demoratic rules are challenged if they infinge the rights of others - Stage 6: Morality of Conscience → The individual establishes his or her own rules in accordance with a perosnal set of ethical priciples

Answer 44

Pre-Conventional: More Likely - Punishment and reward orientation → if they can get away with it without gettign punished they will - Associated with more child-like behaviour -------------------------------------------------------------------- Post-Conventional: Less Likely - More focused on the intrinsic nature of the crime, so would be less likely to do something they consider a crime - Are able to sympathise and think about consequences

Answer 45

- faulty, biased, or irrational ways of thinking leading to perceptions of rality to be altered

Answer 46

- hostile attribution bias - minimalisation

Answer 47

The tendecny to misinterpret the actions of others as hostile or aggressive - eg ‘I hit them becuase they were looking at me funny’ Which then triggers a violent response

Answer 48

An attempt to downplay or deny the seriousness of a crime Used to deal with feelings of guilt Sexual Offenders are prone to this, eg ‘she was asking for it’

Answer 49

Kohlberg - Found that a group of violent youths had significantly lower level of moral reasoning than non-violent youths. - more likely to be classified as pre-conventional. - This suggests that offenders may be more childlike and egocentric when making moral judgements, supporting moral reasoning as an explanation for crime. - However: there is reseach bias as he was finding reseach to suppor his own theory -------------------------------------------------------------------- Kennedy & Grubin: - Majority of convicted sexual offenders tend to blame the victim - 1/4 of the sample interviewed believed the abuse was a positive thing - Shows that offenders tend to minimise their behaviour

Answer 50

Kohlberg: - All male sample - Based on hypothetic dilemmas - Decrease in validity as unlikely a 5 year old could understands and answer them properly -------------------------------------------------------------------- -Cause and Effect - Confounding variables that cause crime, not just irrational thinking - therefore you cannot show that the irrational thinking causes crime, could just be how they deal with it after -------------------------------------------------------------------- - All the research depends on self report → demand char → reduce validity - Therefor it may be better explained by the Diathesis Stress Model

Answer 51

Levels of moral reasoning: not apply equally to all forms of crime - Thronton and Reid: people who commit crime for finical gain tend to be more likely to show post-conventional moral reasoning -------------------------------------------------------------------- Cognitive Distortions depends on the type of offence - Howitt and Sheldon: Non-contact sex offenders use more cognitive distortions than contact sexual offenders - Suggests that distortions are not used in the same way

Answer 52

Explains criminal behaviour through interactions with others leading to you learning the values and attitudes, techniques, and motives of cime

Answer 53

Sutherland

Answer 54

- We learn through socialisation → criminal behaviour is modelled by other people - 3 keys areas: pro-crime attitude, associated, families

Answer 55

- Crime behaviour comes about by being exposed to people with a pro-crime attitude: seeing criminal behaviour as favourable - People with PC attitude will see criminal attitudes as the norm - if someone comes into contact with more people with PC attitude instead of anti-crime attitude, they will offend

Answer 56

- PCA is leaned via association ith people and repeated exposure

Answer 57

- Criminal behaviour runs in families as a person will come into contact with PCA repeatedly, meaning they have been socialised with a Pro-Crime social norm This can also happen with friends or communities

Answer 58

Mathmatically! - Suggests that it is possible to mathematically predict how likely it is that someone offends - To do this, the frequency, intensity of the relationship (eg familiar bond), and duration of exposure to PCA

Answer 59

- Attitudes: pro-criminal attitudes through repeated exposure to pro-criminal groups - Techniques: - will learn criminal techniques of how to commit offences, eg robbing a house. Account for why so many convicts released from prison go on to reoffend

Answer 60

Farrington: - longitudinal study of 411 men from the age of 8 and found 45% went on the commit crime. - The key 'risk factors' for turning to crime were: - poverty - crime in the family - poor educational background. Therefore, this study suggests that exposure to criminal attitudes and behaviours does influence people to commit crime themselves. HOWEVER: the idea of a risk factor being that crime is in the family is that it also points to biological explantions

Answer 61

- A limitation of the theory is that it is difficult to test the predictions of differential association. - Sutherland aimed to provide a scientific mathematical framework within which future offending behaviour could be predicted. - However, many of the concepts are not testable as they cannot be operationalised. - For example, it is hard to measure how many pro-crime attitudes a person has or has been exposed to. - The theory does not have scientific credibility unlike biological explanations.

Answer 62

The theory can account for a wide selection of crimes from all sectors of society. - Sutherland recognised that some types of offence such as burglary may be clustered in inner-city, working-class communities. - He was also interested in 'white-collar' crime or corporate offences committed by middle-class social groups who share deviant norms and values. -------------------------------------------------------------------- HOWEVER: - The theory proposes that anyone who comes from a family or social background where crime is the norm, and where there are financial issues and or poor education, they will inevitably go on to be criminal. - This fuels the stereotype that some people in society are destined to become criminals. - This can lead to self-fulfilling prophecies which can themselves drive people to crime as they are rejected from society.

Answer 63

- Inadequate superego - Maternal Depravation

Answer 64

- Allows for primitive, emotional demands to become the most guiding behaviour - Deals with emotions and guilt → different from other theories - Can also lead to a LACK OF guilt → psychopathy

Answer 65

- Offender behaviour may occur if there is a problem with the phallic stage - If the superego is deficient, then offender behaviour is inevitable as the ID is given ‘free reign’

Answer 66

1. Weak SE 2. Devient SE 3. Over harsh SE

Answer 67

- Same sex parents is absent during the phallic stage → no fulfilment of the oedipus or electra complex → no opportunity for identification - Causes less guilt and moral thinking then those who identify with the same sex parents - Offender behaviour more likely

Answer 68

- the child internalises deviant morals from their same sax parent - increase the likelihood of offender behaviour

Answer 69

- Excessively harsh parent meaning they have an overly harsh superego and therefore have crippling guilt and anxiety - This can drive people to commit crime in order to satisfy a need to be punished - This may cause a build up of pressure, which can cause an outburst of inappropriate behaviour

Answer 70

- critical period - affectionlaess psychpathy

Answer 71

- Bowlby: argued the ability to form meaningful relationships in adulthood was a result of forming a warm relationship with ones mother - Failure to establush a relationship in the first two 1/2 years of life (critical period) means a child is likely to experince a number of damaging consequences in later life

Answer 72

- A development of maternal depravation - A personality type that has a lack of gult, empahty, and feeling towards others - A person with this will not develop a healthy internal working model - Makes it more likely a perosn will commit criminal acts

Answer 73

Bowlby (1944): '44 thieves' study, - Bowlby found boys with a discrupted critical period were more likely than others to develop affectionless psychopathy and go on to commit crime than control - This supports the psychodynamic claim that disruptions to attachment in early childhood are detrimental to development and play a significant role in offending. -------------------------------------------------------------------- However: Bias Sci Basis: - Small sample size makes it un-generalisable - the sample also may have been reacting to the war and not just separation → cohort effects - You also cannot generalise or show causation with a case-study Researchers Bias: - he experienced maternal depravation and so may not be impartial

Answer 74

Psychodynamic as was radical for the time: - first to link early experience in childhood to moral behaviour and offending – something that is now regarded as common-sense - drew attention to the emotional basis of offending, a factor that is largely ignored by other theories -------------------------------------------------------------------- However, psychodynamic is not falsifiable: - The theory is not open to empirical testing. - Popper: argued that the approach was unfalsifiable - The theory is unfalsifiable, as they cannot be disproved eg the super ego - so therefore is unscientific as they are impossible to test - This makes it less valid as an expiations

Answer 75

Gender Bias: - according to frued, women should be more prone to ofending due to developing a weaker superego than boys - states: 96% of prison population is male -------------------------------------------------------------------- Psychic Determinism: - States that all psychology functions are controlled by unconscious forces - People do not have the free will to commit crime, instead it is unconscious conflicts repressed during childhood → eg that morality comes soul from the superego and not any external cultural forces

Answer 76

- deterrence: put people off crime - incapacitation: no opp[ertunity to commit crimes - retribution: provides justice - Rehabilitation: reintegrate back into society

Answer 77

- England and Wales has the highest prison population in Europe with 141 prisoners per 100,000 ppl - The prison population has grown 80% in the past 30 years

Answer 78

- 2019, £18.1 bn

Answer 79

42% reoffend within one year

Answer 80

Shorter prison stays are less effective than community sentences at reducing recidivism, 63% R (short sentences )comp to 56%R (community sentences) → this would indicate that longer prison stays are more effective at reducing recidivism

Answer 81

The way in which prisoners are socialised into adopting an 'inmate code'. → Behaviour that may be considered unacceptable in the outside world may be encouraged and rewarded inside the institution. - This links to recidivism by highlighting how those who have been freed from prison are more likely to reoffend due to not being able to function within society and are forced into crime again.

Answer 82

- higher rates of self-harm and suicide - 1/4 death in prison system 2023 were suicide - The annual cost of mental ill health among people in prison in England estimated to be £2.1bn

Answer 83

- Once offenders have spent time in prison, they may find it difficult to function in the outside world. - For example, they learn to lack autonomy (independent behaviour) as everything is done for them and they aren’t allowed any independence in prison, so cannot be independent in the outside world. - They also conform to roles, whereby they develop what **Zimbardo** called Pathological prisoner syndrome and become passive and helpless.

Answer 84

Extremely expensive: £40,000 per person per year - This and high crime and recidivism rates point to cheaper alternatives as being better Alternatives: - Electronic monitors - fines - community service - ASBOS - Cautions Suggests that CS can be used to remove dangerous people from society, but not used in majority of cases where cheaper alternates can be used

Answer 85

- Signs of depression and self harm in prison as a psychological effect of CS → cause and effect cannot be established - Could be caused by things other than CS, like the prisoners mental state before going to prison, especially as this is not monitored - EG suicide rates and depression has been liked to factors like prison environment like overcrowding. But it may be that the prison is overcrowded by people who were more prone to psychological effects. - Therefore difficult to suggest custodial sentences cause psychological harm

Answer 86

- The rise in crime stats suggests CS working as a deterrent is not woking and prisons are overcrowded - **Recidivism Rates:** high, 2 in every 5 prisoners - Prisons can act of a school of crime, where inmates learn how to commit other types of crime once released → can lead to higher levels of recidivism (oft called ‘**brutalisaiton**’) → this can reinforce criminal norms and values - HOWEVER, it could be the prison environment itself that leads to attributes that cause crime like lower self-esteem. Further suggesting reforms on prison environment is needed.

Answer 87

- Behaviour modification programmes aim to change offender behaviours as part of their rehabilitation inside a prison → They are based on operant conditioning. - Token economy

Answer 88

- based on the use of tokens (secondary reinforcers) which are given to offenders by prison staff once a desirable behaviour has been displayed. - The tokens can then be exchanged for a phone call home, time in the gym or exercise yard, extra cigarettes or food. - These are the primary reinforcers- they are directly rewarding.

Answer 89

1. target behaviour is operationalised by breaking down into component parts e.g. improved interaction with other prisoners would include 'speaking politely' 2. Each 'unit' of behaviour needs to be objective and measurable and agreed with prison staff and inmates. 3. Staff and prisoners should be made aware of the scoring system and how much each particular behaviour is 'worth'. 4. The aim is for positive reinforcement to outnumber punishment 5. It is important that prison staff are fully trained in the token economy system. 6. The aim is to standardise the procedures to that all prison staff are rewarding the same behaviours in the same way.

Answer 90

**Hobbs & Holt** - Implementing a token economy in a juvenile delinquent centre increased the % of desired behaviour in inmates in comparison to institutions without it. - reliability due to completing the experiment across three juvenile centres, range of data to be collecting and avoiding creating conclusions based on potentially anomalous results - validity due to the boys being properly informed about the token system, as it ensures the changed in behaviour are actually due to the TE and not the boys knowing they are part of a psychological experiment HOWEVER: this has application issues → on juveniles, may not work with highly violent criminals

Answer 91

- The prisoners may treat TEs as a means to an end, not actually changing their behaviour in the long run → therefor higher levels of desired behaviour may be a a faked response and not lead to rehabilitation - **Blackburn:** Argued pos changes in prisons are quickly lots when a prisoner is releases and there is no one on the outside to reinforce the behaviour - Therefore, TE may work well in prisoners, but it may not work to counter recidivism as the underlying issues that cause offending have not been addressed - Therefor other types of rehab may be better → like anger management

Answer 92

TE can lead to a safer prison environment through the promotion of more desirable behaviour → putting less stress on prison staff HOWEVER: seen as unethical - It involved the exchange of tokens for rewards, and withholding the rewards could be seen as immoral, dehumanising, and manipulative (**Moya and Achtenberg**) - It is seen as obligatory rather than optional - EG withholding food or drink, or speaking to loved ones → things seen as human rights RATHER then a privilege - Therefore there are many that disagree with the use of TE - This highlights how behaviour modification systems and their efficiency are perspective dependent → eg prison staff my see them as highly effective as the prison is less dangerous but psychologists may see how they do not have that much of an affect on recidivism

Answer 93

- Anger management is used to reduce the likelihood of recidivism and violent behaviour and is offered to offenders in prison as a form of CBT - The aim is to change the way offenders respond to situations that lead to anger and the physiological effects of anger, in order to avoid angry or violent outbursts.

Answer 94

Novaco to identify the emotional, cognitive and behavioural patterns of behaviour that are required to change as part of rehabilitation.

Answer 95

1. cognitive preparation 2. skills acquisition 3. application practive

Answer 96

- Offenders reflecting on their past experiences and consider the patters to their anger - The offender can learn to identify situation that act as triggers and how these are irrational

Answer 97

- Learning skills to help offenders deal with anger and to deal with the triggering situations rationally - Cognitive: positive self talk, encouraging calmness, eg counting to 10 - Behavioural: assertive training in how to comminate more effectively rather than turning to anger, which will then become an automatic repones - Physiological: dealing with the physical reaction to anger, eg using relaxation training or meditation -> aiming to control ones emotions rather than being controlled by them

Answer 98

- Offenders practice their skills in a controlled environment - EG Role play with therapists reinciting triggering scenarios -> requiring commitment form the offender and bravery from the therapist - The offender is then given positive reinforcement from the therapist

Answer 99

Ireland: - Natural experiment, 50 male offenders who had completed an anger management course, and 37 who hadn't → all of their anger levels were measured with a number of assessment types - The experimental group were given CALM treatment, and the control group were not - Findings: the experimental group were rated and self rated as lower in aggression -> 92% showed an improvement in one area, vs 8% showed no improvement HOWEVER: - The offenders completed the self-report measures before and after completing the CALM treatment programme. Self-report has low validity, especially when dealing with criminals, as they could be more inclined to lie out of fear of it effecting their sentence

Answer 100

- Many crimes, such as burglary or fraud are not motivated by anger so anger-management would not help to prevent this type of crime-> depend on individual factors. - Howells: found that participation in anger management had more impact when they had intense anger before and or highly motivated to change (treatment rediness) -> This would imply that AM does only works when offenders have the right personality or anger levels → reducing it wider application --------------------------------------------------------------------- Regardless, economic factors play a part - Anger management is likely to be an expensive option. - require the services of highly-trained specialists who are used to dealing with violent offenders. - They also take time to implement properly which adds to the expense. Many prisons do not have the resources to fund such programmes. - Leads to it being less likely to be implemented

Answer 101

- suggests there is a straightforward causal relationship between anger and offending - Anger is assumed to be the emotional state necessary to commit crime. - However, research has found no difference in anger levels between offenders classed as violent and those classed as non-violent. (Loza & Loza) Therefore, targeting anger may not actually reduce the number of violent crimes, as levels between violent and non violent are the same. There may be another factor contribution to violent crimes that needs to targeted → perhaps biological is a better explanation MAOA

Answer 102

- emphasis to the needs of the individual victim to feel compensated - The method of treatment seeks to be a healing process; restorative justice is less about 'retribution' and more about 'reparation'

Answer 103

1. The victim (or survivor) of the crime and their recovery. 2. The offender and their recovery/rehabilitation.

Answer 104

- A trained mediator supervises the meeting. - It is a non-courtroom setting where offenders voluntarily meet with survivors. - Can be face-to-face or a remote meeting. - The survivor has the opportunity to tell the offender how the incident affected them. The offender can then understand the consequences of their actions and the emotional distress caused. - It is important that there is active involvement on both sides. - The focus is on positive outcomes for both survivors and offenders. - Other relevant community members may have a role in the process e.g. neighbours, friends, family members.

Answer 105

- Restorative justice may take place pre-trial (and then be taken into account during sentencing). - It could also take place alongside a prison sentence or as an alternative to prison (especially if the offender is young). It can also be used as an incentive to reduce the length of a sentence. - It may also involve the offender giving monetary payment to the survivor to reflect the psychological damage caused or the actual physical damage, in the case of a break-in for example.

Answer 106

- The RJC is an independent body whose role is to establish clear standards for the use of restorative justice and to support survivors and specialist professionals in the field. - RJC advocates beyond the use of restorative justice beyond crime and encourage its use in many areas including schools, children's services, workplaces, hospitals and communities.

Answer 107

Sherman and Strang: - Compared 36 studies (meta analysis) of RJ with conventional justice eg prison - Found reductions in recidivism for violent and property crime in particular - All parties reported greater satisfaction - Suggests RJ has a positive outcome and is a valid way to deal with criminal behaviour However: Limitations of meta analysis: - publication bias: researcher picking research to include that leave out non-significant or negative results - the concs may not be valid → neither is RJ then

Answer 108

- Has high ecological validity as is used in prisons instead of prison sentence → increases the validity by highlighting how the theory can be used in real life scenarios - Liebman: not applicable or appropriate for domestic abuse cases due to the power imbalances → lowers application HOWEVER: do we have a moral responsibility to help offenders? - many would argue that we do not need to help prisoners and they cost to much anyway → lowered application if a lack of funding - **Reising**: found RJ aids in amygdala brain plasticity over prison, and reduces recidivism → therefore we have a responsibility to apply it - Therefore we do need to use RJ, regardless of its total lack of validity

Answer 109

- £8 saved for every £1 spent - Highlights how RJ is economically a better solution for dealing with offender behave - There are power imbalances in RJ, victim holding often more power especially with young offenders. The victim can also feel less in power - Shapland: 85% of victims reported satisfaction with the process → this points to it not being unethical - If it is unethical, it cannot be practiced or implemented in public policy - Also lowers the validity, as more harm could come out of the it than good

Forensics Flashcards

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