FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY LECTURE 2

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FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGYLECTURE 2

• Psychology of Criminal Behaviour

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Recommended Reading

• Howitt, Dennis. (2009), Introduction to Forensic
  and Criminal Psychology 3rd Edition. London
  Pearson Prentice Hall Chapter 5.
• Hollin, C.R. (1989), Psychology and Crime An
  Introduction to Criminological Psychology.
  London Falmer Press.
• Hollin, C.R. (1992), Criminal Behaviour A
  Psychological Approach to Explanation and
  Prevention. London Falmer Press.
• Millon, Theodore Simonsen, Erik Birket-Smith,
  Morten and Davis, Roger D. (1998), Psychopathy
  Antisocial, Criminal and Violent Behaviour. New
  York Guilford Chapter 3, Chapter 8.

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Aims of Lecture

• Examine the root causes of crime.
• Describe the biological perspectives on criminal
  behaviour.
• Describe the sociological theories on criminal
  behaviour.
• Evaluate psychological perspectives on crime.

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Theories of Crime

• Societal or macro-level theories study crime at a
  broad level of analysis and suggest that crime is
  purely as a result of social structure.
• Community or locality theories study crime form a
  geographical perspective. Suggests that crime or
  criminality is not randomly distributed
  geographical profiling.
• Group and Socialisation Influence Theories focus
  on criminal behaviour and concentrate on the
  influence of the group (family, sociological
  perspective of group thinking.
• Individual approaches study crime at an
  individual level. Individual characteristics are
  linked to biological and social influences.

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Psychoanlytic Theory

• Instinctual theories hold with the idea that
  aggression is an innate, instinctual behaviour,
  (Lord of the Flies).
• Freuds psychoanalytic approach (1930s) suggests
  that aggression is an underlying urge that must
  be expressed. He sees aggression as innate and
  inevitable, even to the point of the tendency
  towards death or the death instinct (Thanatos).
  Freud argues that it is important for the
  individual to direct this energy outwardly. Both
  Freudian and ethological viewpoints emphasize the
  importance of catharsis, where the aggressive
  drive must find an outlet in actual aggressive
  behaviour or in some symbolic substitute.
• Bowlby (1944-1980) Emotional bond between child
  and mother
• 44 juvenile thieves study 14 of the 44
  affectionless characters

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Explaining Crime - Biological Theories

• Biological Theories explain criminal behaviour in
  terms of genetic forces rather than free will
  proposal that behaviour is determined by genes.
• Historical explanation proposed by Lombroso
  19th century Italian physician - Lombroso
  discussed criminal types identified by
  physical characteristics such as excessive hair,
  long ear lobes, large jaw and slanting forehead
  throwbacks to an earlier more primitive form of
  man later incorporated psychological and
  environmental variables in his research. Modern
  theory moves away from the criminal gene.
• FAMILY STUDIES
• Twin Studies
• Adoption Studies

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Sheldons Constitutional Theory

• Sheldons Constitutional Theory (1942) body
  build and personality 3 different body types
  (somatypes)
• Mesomorphs, (muscular) adventurous, aggressive
  mainly the criminals.
• Ectomorph (thin and bony) restrained,
  introverted.
• Endomorph (large and heavy sociable and
  outgoing
• (Biology and Psychology)

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Twin Studies

• TWIN STUDIES
• Monozygotic (MZ) identical same genetic
  constitution
• Dizygotic (DZ) share about 50 of genetic
  constitution.
• If twins are in same environment assumed
  differences must be due to genetic variation.
  Concordance the degree to which related pairs
  of subjects within a study population display the
  same behaviour.
• Number of Studies have shown higher concordance
  in MZ twins (See Table overleaf)
• The study of criminal behaviour in twins reared
  apart is limited.
• Twins may be treated differently.

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Twin Studies
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Adoption Studies

• Approach involves tracing children who have been
  given up for adoption, and comparing their
  criminal records with that of the biological and
  adoptive parents.
• Mednick, Gabrielli Hutchings Study (1983- 1984)
  
• 4,000 male adoptees enough information on
  parents to assess potential contribution of
  criminality.
• Compared the criminal behaviour of the children
  with that of their biological and adopted
  parents.
• Criminal behaviour of biological parents had
  stronger influence than that of the adoptive
  parents (property offences not violent crime)

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Male Adoptees With Criminal
Records According to Criminality of Parents
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Biology and Crime

• Neurological theories Hillbrand et al (1998)
  higher levels of enzyme serem creatine kinase
• Raine (1994) Murderers had significant lower
  glucose metabolism in both lateral and medial
  prefrontal cortex areas says that deficits were
  localized in the frontal cortex may be related to
  violence.
• Millar (1999) physiological characteristics may
  be a s result of institutionalization rather than
  cause of criminality
• All demonstrate that genetic factors do have a
  role to play in the explanation of crime.

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Explaining Crime Sociological Theories

• Mountjoy Prison Study Typical Irish Criminal?
• Durkeim suggests that a certain amount of crime
  and non-conformity is needed in a society to help
  reinforce social values a small number of
  criminals reinforce others values - if society
  was all conforming, it might stagnate.
• Mertons Strain Theory (1969) suggests
  working class people are more prone to commit
  crimes ultimate goal is to gain material
  success and criminals conform to the core values
  of the culture (or lower class social groups).
  The only way they are different is the methods
  they use. Why the working class? because they
  have fewer chances of achieving material success
  than those that are better off.

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Explaining Crime Sociological Theories

• Marxists study crime in relation to the
  inequality of power the basic idea is that the
  law exists to protect the ruling class and keep
  the working class under control I.e. the haves
  and the have nots.
• Beckers (1963) Labeling Theory deviant
  behaviour is behaviour that people so label. The
  people that hold power label the criminal may
  become a self-fulfilling prophesy I.e.mental
  illness, terrorists. Stigma/Martyr.
• Bowlby - explains deviance in terms of a childs
  socialisation process maternal deprivation
  might result in a criminal or psychopathic nature
  in later life.
• Lykken The Case for Parental Licensure
  Chapter 8, Millon et al.

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Personality and Criminal Behaviour

• HANS J. EYSENCK PERSONALITY AND CRIME.
• Theory incorporates biological, sociological and
  psychological factors.
• Proposes three personality dimensions of
  extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism.
• Eysencks theory of personality and crime
  examines the causal problem.
• Conscience is a conditioned response acquired
  through Pavolovian principles. We are punished
  or rewarded by our parents, teachers, and peers
  for our social behaviour (conditioning
  experience) in our conscience. we behave well
  because our consciences would trouble us if we
  didnt.

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Personality and Criminal Behaviour

• Eysenck Eysenck (1985) 3 major dimensions of
  personality - Continuum
• P Psychoticism ( Aggressive, cold, impulsive,
  etc.)
• E Extraversion (Sociable, assertive,
  carefree, etc.)
• N Neuroticism (Anxious, depressed,
  irrational)
• Different combinations of personality scores are
  linked to criminal behaviour at different periods
  during life, but high psychoticism levels
  distinguishes between criminal and non criminals.

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Eysenck Personality and Crime

• CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR IS A RESULT OF
• Missing Conditioning Experiences
• Wrong Experiences are Reinforced
• Poor Conditionability - Raine (1993)
  Anti-social people and criminals show poor
  conditionability (speed at which they form
  Conditioned Responses)
• Cortical and Autonomic Nervous System we are born
  with affects our ability to learn from or
  condition to the environment.
• Cortical arousal low arousal makes conditioning
  less likely to occur
• P Poor/Low arousal Always involved
• E Poor/Low arousal Younger samples seeking
  stimulation
• N Normal arousal Older samples - emotion
  and anxiety

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Other Factors

• Alcohol
• Drugs
• Anti Social Personality Disorder
• Psychopathy
• Cognitive Theories
• Addiction to Crime
• Poverty
• Unemployment
• Criminal Justice System
• Policing
• Legislation
• Societal responses
• Sentencing Policies
• Etc..