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Lecture notes

Lecture notes: Forensic Psychology (PY-FPSSIN)

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Full typed lecture notes the for year one Forensic Psychology module. These notes are bullet-pointed for easy, fast reading and the highlighted keywords and headings allow for information to be found quickly.

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  • July 20, 2023
  • 23
  • 2022/2023
  • Lecture notes
  • Kate muir
  • All classes

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Criminal and Forensic Psychology

February 14th 2022
Lecture 1 - What is forensic psychology?

- Introduction to forensic and criminal psychology by Howitt, D
- Durrant, R
- Concerned with courts of law
- Intersection between psych and CJS
- Lack of consensus on its boundaries
- Professional aspects of psych applied to the courts of law
- criminal psychology is specific to the causes of crimes, forensic is more broad

What is crime?

- Crime is an act or omission punishable by law
- Crime is an act of breaking a moral rule defined in criminal law
- There isn't one definition Munice (2001)
- breaking a law, departure from moral or social rules, causing harm, misfortune or risk
to others
- Newman (1977) surveyed 5 countries, used vignettes, had people rate the scenarios
of what they thought it was crime, a lot of agreement on what counts as crime eg.
abortion, protests etc. What counts as a crime in one country is not in another.
- Ellis said crimes have: Intention, victim, victim is same social group as offender, not
an act of self-defence, not political

Explaining criminal behaviour

- Drugs and alcohol
- Mental disorders
- Social, individual factors
- There is no overarching explanation as to why
- multiple explanations
- biological approach, family environment, socio-cultural approach, situational
approach, psychological approach
- all theories have pros and cons
- some crimes can have multi-causal explanations

How does psychology contribute?

- Forensic psychologists are researcher-practitioners
- criminal justice process
- offender rehabilitation

, - biopsych and neuroscience (use of psychosocial methods eg. polygraph) cognitive
psychology (investigative process) and developmental psychology (child and adult
learning experiences and how we process things)

Explaining crime/levels of explanation

- Why does crime occur?
- society
- local communities
- social groups
- criminal acts and events
- individual offenders

February 24th 2023
Lecture 2 - Theories of Crime

Biological approaches
- Lombroso said criminals are genetically primitive and an inferior species
- He said criminals can be identified through big jaws and low brow bones
- his focus was on physical characteristics
- Sheldon classified 3 types of body and personality:
- Ectomorph (introvert)
- Mesomorph (Aggressive, possibly criminal)
- Endomorph (relaxed)
- 40/50% of the variance in antisocial and criminal behaviour can be attributed to
genetic factors
- Are factors like intelligence, personality, propensity for criminal behaviour inherited?
- The neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin may relate to criminal behaviour
- Hyperactivity in the dopaminergic system can lead to a promotion in impulsivity and
aggression
- Hypoactivity in seroronergic system can lead to impulse control and aggression
- Hormones can modulate actions of neurotransmitters in CNS
- Testosterone is higher in males and involved in secondary sex characteristics
- Could testosterone lead to more aggressive and violent behaviour?
- Testosterone is shown to lead to dominance, status and competition rather than
aggressive or violent behaviour
- Traumatic brain damage is 3x more common in violent offenders compared to
controls
- reoffending into adulthood more common in young offenders with a history of losing
consciousness
Pros and cons of the biological approach
Pros
- evidence suggests that bio factors have some influence and can contribute to
understanding individual differences in offending behaviour
- Knowledge of biological causes can contribute to better targeted treatment
Cons
- methodological issues with carrying out bio research on crime, hard to pinpoint cause
and effect

, - bio approaches need to be combined with other approaches to provide a full
explanation of crime

February 27th 2023
Seminar 2 - Charecteristics of Offenders

Age and gender
- Boys more likely to associate with other offenders, especially those in the context of
gangs
- attitudes to rule breaking that distinguish boys from girls
- men and women commit crimes for different reasons
- a greater number of men than women commit serious crimes resulting in injury or
death
- some theories can only be used to understand young men as many studies of crime
have been conducted with male samples due to the disproportionate number of male
offenders
- the great majority of crimes are committed by males, and most of these are in their
mid-teens
- a number of psychosocial disorders rise in prevalence or reach a peak in
adolescence or early adulthood. other examples inc problem drinking, use of drugs,
depression, suicide and eating disorders
- depression more common in women, suicide more common in men
Social skills
- offenders are deficient in socially acceptable and adaptive behaviour
- social skills training has become a popular technique in offender rehabilitation
- offenders can meet their victims and learn from them about the experience of
suffering crimes to develop their empathy and effective interactions with others
(Sarason, 1968)
Cognitive abilities
- deficiencies in cognitive abilities
- inability to see the consequences of one's actions
- a lack of empathy
- lower moral development
- A study by Hirschi (1969) showed the average criminal to have below average
intelligence. Those with a higher than average level of intelligence are less likely to
get caught. Academic failure is associated with increased risks of delinquency. adult
offenders are more likely to have a history of low educational attainment than the
population at large.
Moral development
Kholberg's stages of moral development
- moral reasoning passes through 6 stages from early childhood to adulthood
- The stages are sorted into three levels, preconventional morality, conventional
morality and post-conventional morality.
- each stage involves a more advanced level of moral reasoning
1. Obedience/punishment orientation
2. individualism and exchange
3. establishing interpersonal relationships
4. maintaining social order

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