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Psychology- Forensic.
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Psychology- Forensic.
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Psychology- ForensicQ1. Outline what is meant by geographical profiling in forensic psychology. (Total 2 marks) -
correct answer-Geographical profiling involves analysis of the locations in which a criminal
has committed his crimes, looking at factors such as the spatial relationship between the
different crime scenes and what this reveals in relation to the perpetrator.
Q2. Briefly explain the top-down approach to offender profiling. (Total 2 marks) - correct
answer-The top-down approach begins by looking carefully at the crime scene and draws
conclusions from the evidence found there about the offender. It categorises offenders into
disorganised and organised offenders. This method is typically used for more extreme
crimes, such as murder and rape.
Q3. One method of offender profiling involves categorising offenders as either organised or
disorganised offenders. Briefly explain one limitation of this method of offender profiling.
(Total 2 marks) - correct answer-Top-down approaches work best for particular types of
crime, such as premediated murder, rape, torture and so on. They work much less well for
crimes such as burglary, because the crime scene reveals little about the offender.
Therefore, the top-down approach can only be properly used for certain crimes.
Q4. Outline one cognitive distortion shown by offenders who attempt to justify their crime.
(Total 2 marks - correct answer-Minimisation refers to a type of cognitive bias where a
person is more likely to minimise or play down the severity of the circumstances they are in.
In the context of offending behaviour, research suggests that offenders have a tendency to
use minimisation as a way of reducing their guilt, and perhaps even put some of the blame
onto the victim, as part of the process. For example, Kennedy and Grubin (1992) found that
the majority of convicted sex offenders tended to blame the victim.
Q5. Briefly discuss two criticisms of Eysenck's theory of the criminal personality. (Total 4
marks) - correct answer-There is some empirical support for Eysenck's theory, but a number
of critics have argued that the data are flawed. Research in this area relies heavily on the
self-report measures of personality devised by Eysenck and colleagues. Some (including
Farrington et al) have suggested that these scales are subject to response bias. Such
research inevitably excludes those who commit crimes and are not caught and convicted.
Consequently, many of these studies may only be telling us about the personality
characteristics of 'unsuccessful' offenders.
The theory is very deterministic as it suggests that criminal tendencies result from biological
differences between people, which then results in a criminal personality. This may give
offenders an excuse for failing to take responsibility for the choices they make. It also
suggests that such people will continue to offend as they have limited free will.
Differential association theory (DAT) - correct answer-Differential association theory (DAT)
was proposed by Sutherland who suggested that offending is learned through the
socialisation process. Pro-criminal attitudes will be learned through association with
significant others such as family and peers. In the example, whole families show deviant
behaviour so sons and grandsons would have learned their pro-criminal attitudes from family
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