FORENSIC

PSYCHOLOGY

Forensic Psychology: what the specification says you have to know

• Offender profiling: the top-down approach, including

organised and disorganised types of offender; the bottom-up
approach, including investigative Psychology; geographical
profiling.
• Biological explanations of offending behaviour: an historical
approach (atavistic form); genetics and neural explanations.
• Psychological explanations of offending behaviour:
o Eysenck’s theory of the criminal personality;
o cognitive explanations; level of moral reasoning and
cognitive distortions, including hostile attribution bias
and minimalisation;
o differential association theory;
o psychodynamic explanations.
• Dealing with offending behaviour:
o the aims of custodial sentencing and the psychological
effects of custodial sentencing. Recidivism.
o Behaviour modification in custody.
o Anger management and
o Restorative justice programmes.

You have to be able to describe, apply, analyse, interpret and

evaluate all of the above

1
 2

Neural explanations: Raine 12.

5

Key words:
328–329 Amygdala: The integrative centre for emotions, emotional
behaviour, and motivation.
Prefrontal cortex: it is responsible for regulating behaviour.
This includes mediating conflicting thoughts, making choices
between right and wrong, and predicting the outcomes of
actions. It is also involved in control, such as suppressing
emotional or sexual urges.

Watch the video and answer the following questions:

What does Raine say are the four main predictors for
1 becoming a violent offender?

Raine says that brain-imaging research is going to allow

2 us to predict whether individuals are going to commit a
violent offence in how many years?

What has Raine discovered about people who have a

3 reduced volume of their amygdala?

4 What does Raine mean by the neuro-ethical dilemma?

What has being part of the Criminology and Psychology

5 Department taught Raine about criminal behaviour?

Raine describes a violent offender like a jigsaw puzzle –

6 what does he mean by this?

Raine et al. (2000) study: Neural explanations of crime research support:

Task: In the following description of Raine’s study, highlight the method
and results and then write what the aim and conclusion would be and two
evaluation points.
The volume of the prefrontal grey and white matter in the brains of 21 people
with APD and 21 without APD (control group) was measured using an MRI scan
(magnetic resonance). APD stands for anti-social personality disorder. These people
show no emotion or feelings for others. All 42 participants had their autonomic
activity measured through the measuring of their heart rate and skin conductance
while they were put into a stressful situation through videotaping them talking
about their faults. A reduced amount of grey matter (11%) was found in the pre-
frontal area for the APD group in comparison to the control group. The APD group
also showed a reduced autonomic response during the stressful situation.

Storyboard task:
Turn over the piece of
paper and create a story
board for the Raine study
which includes pictures
that show the participants
of the study, how the
research was carried out
and what was found out.
Use 3–4 boxes.

AQA Psychology Year 2 Activity Cara Flanagan, Jo Haycock, Mark Jones, Ruth Jones © Illuminate Publishing 2016
 3
The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised-measuring psychopathy

Grade yourself on each of the characteristics 0 = Doesn’t apply at all 1 = It applies so trait is there but not
dominant 2 = Describes the person perfectly

1 Glib and Superficial Charm The tendency to be smooth, engaging, charming, slick, and
verbally facile. Psychopathic charm is not in the least shy, self-
conscious, or afraid to say anything. A psychopath never gets
tongue-tied. They have freed themselves from the social
conventions about taking turns in talking, for example.

2 Grandiose Self-Worth A grossly inflated view of one's abilities and self-worth, self-
assured, opinionated, cocky, a braggart. Psychopaths are arrogant
people who believe they are superior human beings.

3 Need for Stimulation or An excessive need for novel, thrilling, and exciting stimulation;
Proneness to Boredom taking chances and doing things that are risky. Psychopaths often
have a low self-discipline in carrying tasks through to completion
because they get bored easily. They fail to work at the same job
for any length of time, for example, or to finish tasks that they
consider dull or routine.

4 Pathological Lying Can be moderate or high; in moderate form, they will be shrewd,
crafty, cunning, sly, and clever; in extreme form, they will be
deceptive, deceitful, underhanded, unscrupulous, manipulative,
and dishonest.

5 Conning and Manipulativeness The use of deceit and deception to cheat, con, or defraud others
for personal gain; distinguished from Item #4 in the degree to
which exploitation and callous ruthlessness is present, as reflected
in a lack of concern for the feelings and suffering of one's victims.

6 Lack of Remorse or Guilt A lack of feelings or concern for the losses, pain, and suffering of
victims; a tendency to be unconcerned, dispassionate, coldhearted,
and unempathetic This item is usually demonstrated by a disdain
for one's victims.

7 Shallow Affect Emotional poverty or a limited range or depth of feelings;

interpersonal coldness in spite of signs of open gregariousness.

8 Callousness and A lack of feelings toward people in general; cold, contemptuous,

Lack of Empathy inconsiderate, and tactless.

9 Parasitic Lifestyle An intentional, manipulative, selfish, and exploitative financial

dependence on others as reflected in a lack of motivation, low
self-discipline, and inability to begin or complete responsibilities.

10 Poor Behavioral Controls Expressions of irritability, annoyance, impatience, threats,

aggression, and verbal abuse; inadequate control of anger and
temper; acting hastily.

11 Promiscuous Sexual Behavior A variety of brief, superficial relations, numerous affairs, and an
indiscriminate selection of sexual partners; the maintenance of
several relationships at the same time; a history of attempts to
 4

sexually coerce others into sexual activity or taking great pride at

discussing sexual exploits or conquests.

12 Early Behavior Problems A variety of behaviors prior to age 13, including lying, theft,
cheating, vandalism, bullying, sexual activity, fire-setting, glue-
sniffing, alcohol use, and running away from home.

13 Lack of Realistic, an inability or persistent failure to develop and execute long-term

Long-Term Goals plans and goals; a nomadic existence, aimless, lacking direction in
life.

14 Impulsivity The occurrence of behaviors that are unpremeditated and lack

reflection or planning; inability to resist temptation, frustrations,
and urges; a lack of deliberation without considering the
consequences; foolhardy, rash, unpredictable, erratic, and
reckless.

15 Irresponsibility Repeated failure to fulfill or honor obligations and commitments;

such as not paying bills, defaulting on loans, performing sloppy
work, being absent or late to work, failing to honor contractual
agreements.

16 Failure to Accept Responsibility A failure to accept responsibility for one's actions reflected in low
for Own Actions conscientiousness, an absence of dutifulness, antagonistic
manipulation, denial of responsibility, and an effort to manipulate
others through this denial.

17 Many Short-Term Marital A lack of commitment to a long-term relationship reflected in

Relationships inconsistent, undependable, and unreliable commitments in life,
including marital.

18 Juvenile Delinquency Behavior problems between the ages of 13-18; mostly behaviors
that are crimes or clearly involve aspects of antagonism,
exploitation, aggression, manipulation, or a callous, ruthless
tough-mindedness.

19 Revocation of Condition A revocation of probation or other conditional release due to

Release technical violations, such as carelessness, low deliberation, or
failing to appear.

20 Criminal Versatility A diversity of types of criminal offenses, regardless if the person

has been arrested or convicted for them; taking great pride at
getting away with crimes.

TOTAL

DIAGNOSIS
Hillary
 5
Eysenck's psychological explanation: 12.
6

330–331

Answer the following questions with a number

from 5 (very much) to 1 (not at all)

❶ Do you stop to think things over before you do something?

❷ Does your mood go up and down like a yoyo?

❸ Are you a talkative person?

❹ Do you ever feel miserable for no reason?

❺ Are you a lively person?

❻ Do you find yourself letting go and enjoying a party?

❼ Are you an irritable person?

❽ Do you dislike meeting someone you have never met before?

❾ Do you believe life insurance plans are a good idea?

❿ Are you described by other people as being quiet?

⓫ Are you level headed and straightforward?

⓬ Are your feelings easily hurt?

⓭ Is your worst nightmare being at a party with lots of loud music and
people?

⓮ Do people describe you as being unable to sit still?

⓯ Do you remain calm under pressure?

⓰ Do you dislike thrill-seeking activities like climbing mountains, diving, etc.,

because the adrenaline rush does not interest you?

⓱ Do you see things pessimistically so see a glass as half-empty rather than

half-full?

⓲ In large social gatherings, do you feel overwhelmed and feel you need to
seek out space to be by yourself?

⓳ Do you get bored when you are alone?

⓴ Would people describe you as being relaxed most of the time?

Ring the answers below

Which is bigger? I or E

Which is bigger? N or S?

AQA Psychology Year 2 Activity Cara Flanagan, Jo Haycock, Mark Jones, Ruth Jones © Illuminate Publishing 2016
 8

Limitations of Eysenck’s theory 12.

8

Below are some limitations of Eysenck’s

330–331 theory of personality. For each one, explain
the evaluation point further, making it
clear why it is a limitation.

It is simplistic to consider personality in terms of just two dimensions. Another theory called the five factor model suggests other
personality dimensions are important such as openness to experience, agreeableness and consciousness so . . .

There is little consistent evidence that extraverts have differences in their cortical arousal compared to introverts so . . ..

Eysenck’s theory is questioned in research by Bartol and Holanchock (1979) who studied Hispanic and African-American offenders in a
prison and divided them into six groups depending on their criminal history and offence. They found that all groups were less extraverted
than a non-criminal group. This therefore . . .

Eysenck’s theory assumes that our personality is consistent and can be scored but . . .

Research that supports Eysenck’s theory does not look at those criminals who are not caught, so researchers only compare convicted
criminals to the general population. This means . . .

Extension
What are the strengths of the theory? Explain your point clearly (i.e. elaborate).

AQA Psychology Year 2 Activity Cara Flanagan, Jo Haycock, Mark Jones, Ruth Jones © Illuminate Publishing 2016
 9

Which cognitive explanation? 12.

9

332–333 Task
Write down which cognitive explanation or explanations would describe the behaviour in the
scenario and then justify the reasons why. Pick from the following options:
1. Kohlberg: Pre-conventional level of morality: A person in this stage of moral development
may commit crimes if they can get away it or gain rewards in the form of money,
increased respect, etc.
2. Cognitive distortions: These are faulty, biased and irrational ways of thinking that mean
we perceive ourselves, other people and the world inaccurately and are usually negative.
3. Minimalisation: This is a specific example of a cognitive distortion, which involves
downplaying the significance of an event or emotion.
4. Hostile attribution bias: This is a specific example of a cognitive distortion that involves
judging ambiguous situations or the actions of others as aggressive and/or threatening
when in reality they may not be.

Scenario Which cognitive Why

explanation/ explanations?
Clive helps himself to the food at his
local Asda because he thinks that
because he applied for a job at the
council and didn’t get it that he is
entitled therefore to help himself.

James steals a blind woman’s bag

because he wants the money and
knows she wouldn’t be able to
identify him as she wouldn’t be able
to see him.

Travis stole a car because he knows

that the gang he hangs around with
are impressed when gang members
steal cars.

Sophie thinks it is ok that she broke

a woman’s nose when the woman
looked at her in a strange manner
in a club because if she didn’t act in
this way then the other woman may
have hit her first.
Tom thinks it’s OK that he stole
a bike off the street to sell to get
money as he knows he will get away
with it as no one saw him take it.

Randolph doesn’t see why the

woman he slept with on Friday night
has gone to the police saying he
had sexually assaulted her when
she was drunk as she had clearly
consented.
Fatima doesn’t see why it is a
problem that she steals cars from
rich families as they have lots of
money and she needs the money to
support her family.

Extension
Produce your own examples.

AQA Psychology Year 2 Activity Cara Flanagan, Jo Haycock, Mark Jones, Ruth Jones © Illuminate Publishing 2016
 Cognitive explanations: SUPPORTING RESEARCH- For each
study example identify if it supports hostile attribution bias OR
minimisation AND explain WHY. Explain WHAT the result
suggests (extension- evaluate the research)
6

Schonenberg and Justye (2014) 55 violent offenders were presented with images of
emotionally ambiguous facial expressions. When compared with a control group, offenders
were more likely than non-violent PPs to perceive the images as angry/hostile.

Barbaree (1991): amongst 26 convicted rapists, 54% denied they had committed an
offence at all at 40% minimised the harm that they had caused the victim.

Dodge and Frame (1982): children were showed an “ambiguous provocation” where the
intention was neither clearly hostile or accidental. Prior to the study, children who had been
judged as aggressive were more likely to perceive the situation as hostile.

Pollock and Hashmall (1991): 35% of a sample of child molesters said that the crime they
committed was non-sexual. 36% said that the victims had consented.
 Explanation for
Explanation The role of parents and childhood Soft or hard determinism and free will Biological influences on behaviour
criminal behaviour
Psychological This sees criminal behaviour as
explanation: resulting from having a lower
Cognitive explanations level of moral reasoning than
(level of moral reasoning non-criminals and because of
332–333

and cognitive distortions) faulty information processing

called cognitive distortions.
This means that crime is seen
Cognitive explanations

as resulting from internal

Psychological explanations:

processes.
Chapter 12: Forensic psychology  

Biological explanations: This is hard determinism as criminal

Atavistic, neural and behaviour is caused by genetic influences and
genetic factors neural factors which biologically determine
criminal behaviour. Free will can’t change the
influence these have so people are not seen
as in control of the crimes they commit.

Psychological Parents have a role in socialising a child to delay

explanation: gratification and be less selfish. However, people
Eysenck’s theory of the with high E and N scorers are difficult to condition
criminal personality because of their nervous systems so will act
antisocially. This means parents have little effect
on the personality and behaviour of the criminal as
inherited factors affect the development of criminal
behaviour more.
Some boxes have been filled in for you.

Psychological Biological factors are seen as having little

behaviour, the role of parents and childhood,

explanation: influence on the development of criminal

Differential association behaviour.
offending with respect to: explanation for criminal

Criminal behaviour is the result of

Use the table below to compare the explanations for

determinism types/free will and biological influences.

socialisation, which is learned from the

people around you.

Psychological Offending occurs because

explanation: the superego is deficient or
Comparing explanations of offending behaviour

Psychodynamic inadequate so the id is given

explanations free rein.

7
Maternal deprivation causes
affectionless psychopathy
12.

where a person lacks guilt and

feelings for others, which leads
10a

to delinquent behaviour.
 Explanation for
Explanation The role of parents and childhood Soft or hard determinism and free will Biological influences on behaviour
criminal behaviour
10

Psychological This sees criminal behaviour as resulting Parents and childhood influence the way This is soft determinism as thought processes The way that information is processed
explanation: from having a lower level of moral that schemas develop and can influence a cause the criminal behaviour but free will is is biological; however, these are refined
Cognitive explanations reasoning than non-criminals and child’s understanding of what is right and seen as having some influence on criminal through the experiences a person has in their
332–333

(level of moral reasoning because of faulty information processing wrong. These can affect the development of behaviour because a person is free to choose environment
and cognitive distortions) called cognitive distortions. This means cognitive distortions and faults in information whether to act on their irrational thoughts.
that crime is seen as resulting from processing.
internal processes.

AQA Psychology Year 2 Activity

Biological explanations: Criminal behaviour results from offenders Parents influence the development of criminal This is hard determinism as criminal behaviour Crime is an innate tendency that may be
Atavistic, neural and being genetic throwbacks who inherit behaviour only through genetic influences. is caused by genetic influences and neural genetically determined or the result of
genetic factors genes that predispose them to commit Childhood environmental experiences factors which biologically determine criminal abnormalities in the brain structure or
crimes. influence criminal behaviour slightly. behaviour. Free will can’t change the influence function.
these have so people are not seen as in
Reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex control of the crimes they commit.
can also cause criminal behaviour as
this is involved in regulating emotional
behaviour.

Psychological Criminal personality causes criminal Parents have a role in socialising a child Personality is determined by the genetic Our personality traits are biological in origin
explanation: behaviour. Each person has high or low to delay gratification and be less selfish. factors, which means that an individual is and come about from the nervous system that
Eysenck’s theory of the levels of extraversion, psychoticism and However, people with high E and N scorers biologically determined to be a criminal so we inherit so the criminal personality has a
criminal personality neuroticism. are difficult to condition because of their has little free will. biological basis.
nervous systems so will act antisocially.
Neurotic-extraverts seek excitement, are This means parents have little effect on the
not easy to condition and are unstable. personality and behaviour of the criminal as
inherited factors affect the development of
Psychoticism is also linked to crime, where criminal behaviour more.
a person is unemotional and prone to

Cara Flanagan, Jo Haycock, Mark Jones, Ruth Jones

aggression.

Psychological Offending is seen as learned in the same The family are seen as crucial in determining This is soft determinism because free will is Biological factors are seen as having little
explanation: way as any other behaviour, through the whether an individual is likely to engage in seen as having some influence on criminal influence on the development of criminal
Differential association relationships and associations we form criminal activity. If a family supports criminal behaviour because a person learns to be behaviour.
with the people around us. If these people behaviour and see it as reasonable then this a criminal through their relationships and
have values and attitudes that are pro- will affect the child’s value system. associations with others but is free to choose Criminal behaviour is the result of
criminal, then a person will offend. whether they act on the pro-criminal attitudes socialisation, which is learned from the
they learn. people around you.
some responses are open to argument.

Psychological Offending occurs because the superego is The development of the superego and moral This is hard determinism because criminal There are some biological influences on
explanation: deficient or inadequate so the id is given understanding occurs through the interaction behaviour is determined by the inadequate criminal behaviour as a person is born with
Suggested answers are given below, though

Psychodynamic free rein. with parents during the phallic stage of and deficient superegos. They enable the id to biological drives such as Thanatos – the drive
- Answers
Comparing explanations of offending behaviour

explanations development when children identify with have free rein and not be properly controlled. to be aggressive.
Maternal deprivation causes affectionless their same-sex parent. Inadequate or deviant This means a person has no free will to act
psychopathy where a person lacks guilt superegos lead to crime. differently as the id works at an unconscious
and feelings for others, which leads to level and so can’t be controlled.
delinquent behaviour. Without a mother-figure affectionless
12.

psychopathy can develop. This is where a

person lacks guilt and empathy for others and
10b

is linked to crime.

© Illuminate Publishing 2016

 11

Differential association: Gap fill sheet 12.

11

334–335 Task: Fill in the missing words using the words below:

rationalisations schools fraud law

longitudinal socialised scientific deprived
mathematically techniques intensity chronic
inappropriate different respect interactions
outweighs released

The sociologist Sutherland in 1939 developed a set of ..................................... principles which could explain all types of offending.
Offending behaviour was believed to be learned through the ..................................... that a person has with significant others such
as peer group or family members. This was called differential association theory – this proposes that through interaction with
others, individuals learn the values, attitudes, ..................................... and motives for criminal behaviour.

When a person is .......................................... into a group they will be exposed to certain values about the ……….. Some of these
values will be pro-crime and some will be anti-crime attitudes. Sutherland argues that if the number of pro-criminal attitudes
the person comes to acquire .......................................... the number of anti-criminal values, they will become a criminal.

According to Sutherland’s theory, criminal behaviour is not exclusive to people who are .......................................... or uneducated. If a
person from a middle-class family is exposed to behaviours seen as acceptable such as tax or insurance .......................................... or
stealing then they will be more likely to commit these crimes than if they have not been exposed to such behaviours.

If you have knowledge of the frequency, .......................................... and duration that a person is exposed to deviant and non-deviant
norms and values then it will be possible to .......................................... predict the likelihood that a person will commit a crime.

Everyone’s associations are .......................................... (differential association) therefore everyone has different values and norms.

Sutherland also theorised that if the benefits of engaging in criminal behaviour outweigh the benefits of not engaging in
criminal behaviour then a person will commit a crime. This could be benefits in the form of .......................................... and approval of
the people with whom the person associates.

Offenders may also learn techniques for committing crimes and this can involve learning certain .............................................................
(such as it being acceptable to steal from a high street shop because they overcharge and make loads of profit so no one will
suffer because of the shoplifting).

This theory can explain why people who are .......................................... from prison reoffend because while they are in prison they
learn pro-crime attitudes and specific techniques of offending from others who are more experienced – supporting the idea that
prisons may be .......................................... of crime rather than a place for rehabilitation.

The theory has been supported by Farrington et al. (2006) who conducted a .......................................... study of the development
of offending and anti-social behaviour in 411 males who were studied from the age of 8–50 years. They were all living in a
deprived working-class inner city area of London. It was found that 41% of the males had been convicted of at least one offence
between the ages of 10 and 50. A small proportion of the participants (7%) were defined as .......................................... offenders as they
committed half of the recorded offences in the whole study. Key risk factors were identified including family criminality, poverty,
poor parenting, low school achievement and risk taking. This study therefore supported Sutherland’s differential association
theory because the socialisation of the males through .......................................... role models and dysfunctional systems of reward and
punishment had led to criminal behaviour.

AQA Psychology Year 2 Activity Cara Flanagan, Jo Haycock, Mark Jones, Ruth Jones © Illuminate Publishing 2016
 16 Mark questions for Differential Associations

 Bev was well behaved at primary school, despite living in a notoriously rough
neighbourhood. When she reached secondary school she started hanging out with
what her mum called a “bad crowd” who she saw at school and most evenings. She
heard the group of friends talking about shoplifting, committing vandalism and the
occasional serious crime like mugging.

Outline how the differential association theory could explain Bev’s situation (4)

Outline how the differential association theory could explain Bev’s situation and evaluate the
theory as an explanation of crime (16)
 12

Drawing and applying the superego types 12.

13

Task
336–337 Read the descriptions of the three different kinds of inadequate
superego and identify which statements goes with each type and WHY

There is an absence of the same sex parent in the

phallic stage. This means that the child cannot
identify with the same-sex parent. This means that
the superego is not fully formed and the child has
The weak superego

a lack of understanding of the difference between

right and wrong. The superego does not punish the
child through feelings of guilt. This means that the
child will show criminal or immoral behaviour as
the superego does not hold them back.

When the child identifies with their same-sex

parent, the parent they identify with is immoral
or has immoral standards of behaviours. This
The deviant superego

leads the child to internalise morals that are

not acceptable. This means that they do not see
criminal behaviours in the same way as others
and won’t associate guilt with showing criminal
behaviours.

A healthy superego is firm and has rules of what

behaviours are and are not acceptable. If these
rules are broken, the superego will be forgiving.
The over-harsh superego

This is different from the over-harsh superego,

which will not be forgiving, which increases
guilt for wrongdoing and will lead the child to
unconsciously seek opportunities where they
will be reprimanded to reduce their sense of guilt.
This leads to criminal behaviour to satisfy the
superego’s need for punishment.

Which superego is being shown?

1. Rumel gets into fights when he goes to see his favourite football team play. He feels guilty as he knows the damage
he has done and has spent time in jail for GBH but he can’t help himself.

2. Clive stole some money from his teacher’s wallet and didn’t understand why he had to have a detention when he
has seen his father steal money from his mother and from Grandma’s purse all the time.

3. Hannah’s mother left when she was a few days old and she has not seen her since. Hannah has broken into five
different houses and stolen jewellery that she has sold to buy herself a new car. She loves her car and has decided
that it is a good way to get whatever she wants.

4. Tess enjoys her PE lessons at school, but she often sneaks out and goes through her classmates bags and steals their
mobile phones, jewellery and purses. She feels guilty when she sees her classmates crying, including her best friend.
Even when they found out it was her and stopped speaking to her she stole a boy’s mobile during her science lesson.
Her parents were very angry and the school suspended her for 3 days. She is now thinking of other ways that she
can steal things from the people she knows, although she knows it is wrong, she gets a sense of pleasure from this.

AQA Psychology Year 2 Activity Cara Flanagan, Jo Haycock, Mark Jones, Ruth Jones © Illuminate Publishing 2016
13

Psychodynamic explanation of criminality: Bowlby (1944)

44 Thieves maternal deprivation
John Bowlby believed that the relationship between the infant and its mother during the first
five years of life was most crucial to socialisation. He believed that disruption of this primary
relationship could lead to a higher incidence of juvenile delinquency, emotional difficulties and
antisocial behaviour. To support his hypothesis, he studied 44 adolescent juvenile delinquents in
a child guidance clinic.

Aim: To investigate the effects of maternal deprivation on people in order to see whether
delinquents have suffered deprivation.

Procedure: Bowlby interviewed 44 adolescents who were referred to a child protection program
in London because of stealing- i.e. they were thieves. Bowlby selected another group of 44
children to act as ‘controls’. (These were individuals referred to clinic because of emotional
problems, but not yet committed any crimes.) He interviewed the parents from both groups to
state whether their children had experienced separation during the critical period and for how
long.

Findings: More than half of the juvenile thieves had been separated from their mothers for
longer than six months during their first five years. In the control group only two had had such
a separation. He also found several of the young thieves (32% 14/44) showed 'affectionless
psychopathy' (they were not able to care about or feel affection for others). None of the
control group were affectionless psychopaths (but 2 had experienced separation).

Conclusion: Affectionless psychopaths show little concern for others and are unable to form
relationships. Bowlby concluded that the reason for the anti-social behaviour and emotional
problems in the first group was due to maternal deprivation.

Answer the following questions:

1. Outline how Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation links to the

psychodynamic explanation of criminality.
2. Outline any methodological problems with Bowlby’s research- why
are they a problem?
3. Comment on the problem with inferring causation between
deprivation and criminality (refer to Lewis’s research on page 337)
 15
bhaviour modification in custody: Token economies 12.
16

340–341 Miltenberger (2008) identified seven components of a token economy:

1. Target behaviours: This is the behaviours that are decided are
desirable and undesirable, which should be shown more or less.
2. Type of tokens: This is the type of tokens that are used, such as
stars, poker chips, plastic tokens, etc.
3. The reinforcers are identified: This is what tokens will be exchanged
for – usually material items, services or activities.
4. Reinforcement schedule: A reinforcement schedule needs to be decided – this
is initially continuous but partial reinforcement could be used as time passes.
5. Exchange criterion: This is the exchange price – for example, a chocolate bar
is 5 tokens
6. Time/place for exchange: A decision about when the tokens can be
exchanged and where.
7. *Response cost: A penalty or fine could be used where tokens are taken
away for engaging in undesirable behaviour.
*Not always used

Imagine that you are a manager of a prison and you want to improve the behaviour of
the inmates in the prison. In the six boxes below draw pictures that demonstrate each step,
TASK
describing the step underneath the box. You will need to decide what will happen at each
stage and then draw and explain in the boxes like a story board. If you decide you want a
response cost then you can draw this in the sixth box as well.

1 2 3

4 5 6

AQA Psychology Year 2 Activity Cara Flanagan, Jo Haycock, Mark Jones, Ruth Jones © Illuminate Publishing 2016
 16

Anger management 12.

18

342–343 To manage aggression, the prison service uses a cognitive behaviour programme called CALM (Controlling
Anger and Learning to Manage It). This aims to reduce offending by regulating emotional arousal and
negative emotions through identifying triggers. It develops rational thinking, communication and social
skills. It helps give problem-solving skills that can be used when there is heightened emotional arousal.

Ireland (2004): The effectiveness of Anger Management

Research study: Jane Ireland (2004) Anger management therapy with young male offenders: An evalua-
tion of treatment outcome.

Aim: To investigate whether anger-management programmes are successful in reducing aggression in

young male offenders.

Procedure: A natural experiment was conducted where 50 male prisoners who had completed an anger
management course were compared with a control group of 37 male prisoners who had not. Both groups
of males in the experimental and control conditions were then given (1) a cognitive behaviour interview,
(2) the Wing Behavioural Checklist (WBC), which was completed by prison officers rating 29 angry be-
haviours with scores of 0, 1 or 2 for the week before the interview and (3) a self-report questionnaire on
anger management with 53 items completed by the prisoners themselves. The experimental group then
completed their CALM treatment, while the control group had no intervention and then both groups were
assessed on all three measures again.

Findings: After treatment, the prisoners who had completed CALM rated themselves lower on the anger
questionnaire and were rated lower on aggression by the prison officers. There was no significant reduc-
tion in either of these measures in the control group; 92% of the treatment group showed improvements
on at least one measure, 48% showed improvement on both measures; 8% showed no improvement or
deterioration on both measures.

Conclusion: Prisoners appeared to be helped by the programme; however, it is unclear whether these
programmes have a long-term effect.

Questions:

1. What is a natural-experiment? How would it have worked in this experiment?

2. Explain a strength and limitation of using this method.

3. The prisoners completed the self-report measures before and after completing the CALM treatment
programme. Explain one or more threats to the validity of the data collected.

4. Explain how Ireland could have checked that the interview she used was reliable.

5. 8% of prisoners got worse, explain why this may have happened.

6. The CALM programme uses cognitive behaviour therapy. What is cognitive behaviour therapy?

7. What does this study show about the use of anger management to reduce recidivism?

8. Anger management programmes have benefits in comparison to behaviour modification

programmes. Explain similarities and differences between these ways of dealing with the offender.

AQA Psychology Year 2 Activity Cara Flanagan, Jo Haycock, Mark Jones, Ruth Jones © Illuminate Publishing 2016
 17

Aims of restorative justice: Card sort 12.

19

344–345 Cut out the cards below and arrange them

under the three main headings.
There are four for each.

Benefits to the victim Benefits to the offender Benefits to the wider

community and
economy

Enable them to put the Restorative justice

Empowerment in terms
crime behind them, for reduces the frequency
of a sense of personal
example why they were of reoffending, so
power.
targeted. Acts as closure. community is safer.

Saves money – £8 in
Opportunity to address
savings to the criminal Develop an
and heal the underlying
justice system for every understanding of the
issues and opportunity
£1 spent on restorative effect of their actions.
to change.
justice.

Shows the community

Develop an
that offenders are Opportunity to
understanding of
making up for their apologise and accept
why the crime was
actions so gives sense of responsibility.
committed.
retribution.

Opportunity to
Gives victims a greater Opportunity to repair
(re)build a sense of
voice in the Criminal the harm done as a
community and mutual
Justice System. result of the crime.
accountability.

AQA Psychology Year 2 Activity Cara Flanagan, Jo Haycock, Mark Jones, Ruth Jones © Illuminate Publishing 2016
 18

Classification of a crime scene 12.

2

322–323
of crimes below
Read the descriptions
aracteristics of each
and underline the ch sed or
be classified as organi
description that can
disorganised.
e.
characteristics in blu
Underline organised
d.
d characteristics in re
Underline disorganise
your decisions.
Be prepared to explain

Charming attacker
A manhunt is currently underway in the Manchester and Leeds area. In the past year 12 women have been murdered,
four attacked but not killed and five women have disappeared. All women are university students who have been
attacked at night in their beds or while walking around at night alone. All victims have shoulder length blonde hair
with a middle parting. The survivors have described the man as about 30 years, with unwashed dirty clothes with poor
social skills as he showed difficulty communicating with his victims. He struck up a conversation with them about the
weather but then suddenly the man grabbed them by the neck. The victims were often tied up with their clothes or what
the attacker could find in the student’s room. They were then hit with some kind of wooden bat and mostly the bodies
were left at the scene. Five women have disappeared but the nature of the attacks suggests they are connected. Two of
the women who have disappeared left blood at the crime scene substantial enough to conclude that the attack is likely
to have been fatal but forensic analysis suggests that the attacker cleaned the rooms of the other three women before
taking their bodies.

Dangerous woman
Police are looking for a woman who has attacked eight men, fatally injuring seven of them in the Edinburgh area. The
victims are all aged between 16 and 20. The attacker is described as approximately 40 years with short black hair who
smells of expensive perfume. She did not speak much to the victims but was described as speaking slowly in a monotone
manner. She has a local accent and attacked victims from all over Edinburgh in the day and at night. The woman
approached the men from behind and smashed them with a rock on the back of the head over and over again. The
woman left no evidence at the crime scene, taking the rock with her, covering the body with leaves before being seen
several times running away from the crime scenes.

The Gemini killer

Police have been investigating recent attacks on couples in their cars in the Birmingham area. Three attacks have
occurred in the last month. In the first attack, a man pulled up and shot into a couple’s car as they sat near the
secluded Aston Lake. One victim was shot several times in the head and was found dead at the scene and the other
died on route to hospital. In another attack, the murderer shot a couple sat outside their house in the Lozells area of
Birmingham in daylight in what is described more as a drive by shooting. The third couple were found in their car in
a secluded Perry Barr car park. The killer firstly tried to get into the car before firing
over 100 shots into the car, and threw the gun down near the car leaving behind pre-cut
lengths of rope that the police think the killer was going to use. Miraculously there is
one survivor who can’t be named for his protection. Police are looking for a male with a
Birmingham accent aged between 35 and 40. Several phone calls and letters have been
received by the police claiming to be the ‘Gemini killer’ as all shootings occurred in the
date range for this birth sign. Last year in the same period, several couples were also shot
in their cars, killing three people, which have remained unresolved. Police are treating
these as linked.

AQA Psychology Year 2 Activity Cara Flanagan, Jo Haycock, Mark Jones, Ruth Jones © Illuminate Publishing 2016
 19

Top-down true or false 12.

3

322–323 How much can you remember? Below is a

list of facts about the top-down approach.
Write down whether it is a true or false fact.
For the false ones, write what the correct
answer is in the table.

Fact True or false Answer is false

There are four main stages in the
1 construction of an FBI profile. True False

The top-down approach originated in the

 True False
United Kingdom.
Organised offenders show evidence of
 True False
planning.

 Organised offenders tend to live alone. True False

The top-down approach was developed in

 True False
the 1970s.
The top-down approach is also known as
 True False
the typology approach.

Interviews with 15 serial killers were used

 to create the classification system.
True False

Top-down approaches are criticised for

 True False
using out of date models of personality.
Disorganised offenders tend to have higher
 True False
than average IQ.
The top-down approach can be used with
 True False
all types of crime.
Canter et al. found evidence that
 murderers tend to be a mixture of True False
organised and disorganised types.
The top-down approach creates hypotheses
 True False
about the characteristics of an offender.
The top-down approach has been criticised
 True False
for being too complicated a system.
Organised offenders plan their crimes in
 True False
advance.
The main purpose of offender profiling is
 to narrow the field of enquiry and list of True False
suspects.

AQA Psychology Year 2 Activity Cara Flanagan, Jo Haycock, Mark Jones, Ruth Jones © Illuminate Publishing 2016