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Forensic Psychology - Coggle Diagram

- - - - suggests that there is a moderate genetic or heritable basis of criminal behaviour.
        
        concordance rates for MZ twins is not 100%, and so this suggests that an interaction between the environment and genetics together produces the outcome of criminality
        
        LIMITATIONS:
        
        Twn studies assume that the only difference between twins is the amount of genetic information they share. They also share many life experiences.
  - - - Lombroso based his theory upon studying the cranial features of 383 dead and 3839 alive criminals, whereby approximately 40% of crime could be explained using the offender profiles based upon certain atavistic characteristics.
      - LIMITATIONS:
        
        labeled as racist
        
        Considered unscientific by many
        ~ did not use statistical
        analysis or a control group from another culture.
        
        People who look different can often be marginalised and so fall into crime and so causes the correlation ~ does not mean causation
- - - - Each aspect of personality (extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism) can be traced back to a different biological cause.
        
        Neuroticism/stability
        
        A person’s level of neuroticism is determined by the reactivity of their sympathetic nervous system. A stable person’s nervous system will generally be less reactive to stressful situations, remaining calm and level headed.
        
        Someone high in neuroticism on the other hand will be much more unstable, and prone to overreacting to stimuli and may be quick to worry, anger or fear. They are overly emotional and find it difficult to calm down once upset. Neurotic individuals have an ANS that responds quickly to stress
        
        Psychoticism
        Eysenck (1966) later added a third trait / dimension - Psychoticism – e.g., lacking in empathy, cruel, a loner, aggressive and troublesome. This has been related to high levels of testosterone. The higher the testosterone, the higher the level of psychoticism, with low levels related to more normal balanced behavior.
        
        Extra/Intoversion
        
        Extraverts are sociable and crave excitement and change, and thus can become bored easily. They tend to be carefree, optimistic and impulsive. They are more likely to take risks and be thrill seekers. Eysenck argues that this is because they inherit an under aroused nervous system and so seek stimulation to restore the level of optimum stimulation.
        
        Introverts on the other hand lie at the other end of this scale, being quiet and reserved. They are already over-aroused and shun sensation and stimulation. Introverts are reserved, plan their actions and control their emotions. They tend to be serious, reliable and pessimistic.
  - - - Observers/individuals learn general attitudes towards crime as well as the skills and knowledge
        required to carry out specific crimes. If the frequency and intensity of an individual’s exposure to pro-criminal attitudes is greater than their exposure to anti-criminal attitudes (using the same
        mathematical terms of frequency and intensity), then it is highly likely that the individual will become criminal.
      - LIMITATIONS:
        
        The frequency and intensity of exposure to criminal attitudes is very difficult to objectively and reliably measure
        
        It is incorrect to assume that simply because an individual has been exposed to more pro criminal attitudes compared to anti-criminal attitudes, then this does not necessarily mean that they will become criminal.
        
        STRENGTHS:
        
        offers a refreshing approach towards the explanation of crime - one where the environment, as opposed to the individual is blamed.
  - - - The overh-harsh superego craves for punishment due to being accustomed to such a feeling because the child had grown up with over-harsh parents
      - The weak superego is present due to a lack of identification with the same-sex parent during the phallic stage, perhaps because they were absent.
        
        A dysfunctional superego means that the id is unable to exercise control and be selfish/ demand instant gratification, thus leading to the selfish and impulsive characteristics of criminals
      - The deviant superego means that the child will internalise abnormal moral standards from their
        criminal parents.
    - - There is evidence contradicting the findings of Bowlby’s 44 juvenile thieves study.
        
        Lewis (1959) found that maternal deprivation during childhood was not indicative or a reliable predictor of the likelihood of becoming criminal in the future, nor were maternally deprived children at a significant disadvantage in terms of forming close relationships during adulthood.
        
        Therefore, this decreases the validity of Blackburn’s conclusion that inadequate superegos are a reliable predictor of criminality.
      - psychodynamic explanations is their lack of scientific rigour. For example, the superego/an individual’s internalised sense of right and wrong is embedded within the unconscious tripartite personality, meaning that such a concept cannot be empirically and objectively measured
- - - - Hostile attribution bias is the tendency for offenders to view emotionally ambiguous or non-threatening situations as hostile and threatening, and so is an automatic reaction to novel situations, as suggested by Schönenberg and Justye (2014).
        
        When 55 violent offenders were exposed to pictures of facial expressions which were neither clearly hostile nor clearly neutral, the overwhelming majority viewed the images as aggressive or hostile. This may be the result of being a ‘rejected’ and ‘aggressive’ child, according to Dodge and Frame (1982).
      - Minimisation is particularly common amongst sex offenders, and is used as a coping mechanism for guilt or regret, where offenders will under exaggerate the significance of their. crimes and the emotional consequences suffered by their victims.
        
        Hasmall (1991). In their sample, an astounding 35% of child molesters attempted to justify their
        crimes as non-malicious and simply being a way of showing their affection, whilst 36% did not accept committing a crime at all as they perceived the child as consenting!
- - - - STRENGTH:
        behaviour modification systems is that they are flexible
  - - - Skills acquisition is when the therapist teaches the offender techniques which can be used to manage their anger, and prevent them from spiraling out of control. These can include breathing techniques, the use of meditation and positive self-talk
      - During application practice, the offender applies the skills learnt above to a real-life situation
        which would normally trigger anger e.g. during a role play. If the techniques work they are positively reinforced by the therapist.
      - Cognitive preparation takes on a cognitive approach, where offenders identify and rationale the patterns of emotion which occurs before, during and after aggression. This helps them to understand and predict why and when they are likely to become angry.
- - - - Investigative
        
        The process whereby each crime is recorded onto a database. Then, the details of each new crime are matched with this database in order to develop hypotheses about the likely characteristics, social demographic and motivations of the culprit. Therefore, there is a much greater emphasis on scientific methods of investigation and statistical analysis.
      - Geographical
        
        Suggests that each offender has an operational base, which can be inferred through mapping the locations of previous crimes. This should form a circular shape, where the operational base or ‘centre of gravity’ is at the centre, and can also be used to predict future crimes through the analysis of a jeopardy surface.
        
        marauders
        (carrying out crimes close to the centre of gravity)
        
        commuters
        (carrying out crimes far away from the centre of gravity),
  - - - Profile generation includes 4 steps:
        
        crime scene classification
        
        crime reconstruction
        
        data assimilation
        
        profile generation
      - Organised:
        
        Socially and sexually competent
        
        Show evidence of planning:
        
        Unlikely to leave the body or clues at the scene
        
        Have a specific type of victim
        
        Commit the crime in a surgical manner
      - Unorganised:
        
        They are socially and sexually incompetent, often living alone and being unemployed
        
        No evidence of planning:
        
        So often leave evidence ~ Blood or hair
        
        Random attacks that often occur around an operational base ~ often their homes