Summary
FORENSICS AQA SUMMARY NOTES
- Module
- A level Psychology
- Institution
- A Level Psychology
Covering all A01, A02 and A03 that could possibly come up in your exams! Forensics
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Offender profiling: American top-down approach Offender profiling: bottom-up approach Biological explanations: Historical approach Biological explanations: Genetic and neuralAim of offender profiling: the main aim of offender profiling Bottom-up approach: This approach does not begin with Atavistic form: Lombroso, an Italian physician, proposed that Genetic explanations:
is to narrow the list of likely suspects. Professional profilers fixed typologies. Instead the profile is data-driven and criminals are genetic throwbacks - a primitive subspecies Twin and adoption studies: Christiansen studied over 3500
are employed to work alongside the police especially in high emerges as the investigator rigorously scrutinises the details who are biologically different from non-criminals. twin pairs in Denmark, finding a concordance rate for
profile murder cases. The scene and other evidence are of a particular offence. Determined that you are born a criminal. offender behaviour of 35% for MZ males and 13% for DZ
analysed to generate hypotheses about the probable The aim is to generate a picture of the offenders males (slightly lower rate for females). This suggests a
characteristics of the offender eg age, background, characteristics, routines and background through an analysis genetic component in offending.
occupation. of the evidence. Biological approach: Offenders were seen by Lombroso as Crowe found that adopted children who had a biological
lacking evolutionary development. Their savage and mother with a criminal record had a 50% risk of having a
untamed nature meant that they would find it impossible to criminal record aged 18. Whereas adopted children whose
Top-down approach: the FBI interviewed 36 sexually Statistical analysis: Statistical procedures detect patterns of adjust to civilised society and would inevitably turn to mother didn't have a criminal record only had a 5% risk.
motivated murderers and use this data, together with behaviour that are likely to occur across crime scenes. This is crime. Therefore, Lombroso saw offending behaviour as an
characteristics of their crimes, to create 2 categories done to develop a statistical database which then acts as a innate tendency and therefore was proposing a new
(organised and disorganised). baseline for comparison. Features of an offence can be perspective that the offender was not at fault. Candidate genes = MAOA and CDH13: a genetic analysis of
If the data from a crime scene matched some of the matched against the state based to suggest potentially about 800 offenders by Tiihonen et al suggested two genes
characteristics of one category we could then predict other important details about the offender, their personal history, that may be associated with violent crime:
characteristics that would be likely. family background, etc. Lombroso argued the offender subtype could be identified MAOA: gene regulate serotonin and linked to aggressive
by their physiological markers. These atavistic characteristics behaviour
are biologically determined. CDH13: linked to substance abuse and ADHD
The organised and disorganised distinction is based on the Canters assumptions: This study found that 5-10% of all severe violent crime in
idea that offenders have certain signature ways of working. 1. Interpersonal coherence: consistency between the way Finland is attributed to the MAOA and CDH13 genotypes.
These generally correlate with a particular set of social and offenders interact with their victims and everyday lives. Cranial, physical and emotional features:
psychological characteristics that relate to the individual. Degree of domination. - Narrow, sloping brow
2. Time and place: time and location of an offenders crime - A strong prominent jaw Diathesis-stress: if genes have an influence on offending, this
will communicate something about home - High cheekbones influence is likely to be at least partly moderated by
Organised offenders are characteristed by: location/employment - Facial symmetry environmental factors. The diathesis-stress model suggests
- Evidence of planning the crime - victim is deliberately 3. Criminal characteristics: can help to classify them - Dark skin and existence of extra toes, nipples or fingers that the tendency to offending behaviour is due to a
targeted and the killer/rapist may have a type of victim 4. Criminal career: crimes tend to be committed in a similar - Insensitivity to pain, use of slang, tattoos and combination of: genetic predisposition and a biological or
- High degree of control during the crime and little evidence fashion, indication of developing crime unemployment psychological stressor or trigger.
left behind at the scene 5. Forensic awareness: understanding who shows an
- Above average IQ - in a skilled/professional job understanding of police investigation
- Usually married and may even have children Different types of offenders have different physical Neural explanations:
characteristics: Lombroso also suggested that physiological Antipersonality disorder (APD): there may be neural
Geographical profiling: the locations of crime scenes are used markers were linked to particular types of crime. differences of offenders and non-offenders. For example, APD
Disorganised offenders are characterised by: to infer the likely home or operational base of an offender - Murderers = bloodshot eyes, curly hair and long ears is associated with a lack of empathy and reduced emotional
- Little evidence of planning, suggesting the offence may have known as crime mapping. Serial offenders restrict their work Sexual deviants = glinting eyes with swollen and fleshy lips responses. Many convicted offenders have a diagnosis of
been spontaneous to areas they're familiar with (spatial consistency). Location APD.
- The crime scene reflects the impulsive nature of the act, eg can also be used alongside psychological theory to create
body still at the scene and the crime shows little control on hypotheses about the offender and their modis operandi Lombroso’s research: Lombroso meticulously examined the
the part of the offender (habitual way of working). facial and cranial features of 383 dead convicts and 3839 Raine et al found reduced activity and an 11% reduction in
- Below average IQ - maybe in unskilled work or unemployed living ones. He concluded that 40% of criminal acts could be the volume of grey matter in the prefrontal cortex of people
- History of failed relationships and living alone, possible accounted for by people with atavistic characteristics with APD compared to controls. This is the part of the brain
history of sexual dysfunction Marauder and commuter: Canter and Larkin proposed two that regulates emotional behaviour.
models of offender behaviour.
1. Marauder: operates close to their home base
FBI profile construction: 2. Commuter: likely to have travelled a distance away from Keysers found that only when offenders were asked to
1. Data assimilation - Review of the evidence (photographs, their usual residence when committing a crime empathise did they show an empathy reaction, which is
pathology reports) controlled by mirror neurons in the brain. This suggests APD
2. Crime scene classification – Organised or disorganised individuals do experience empathy, but may have a neural
3. Crime reconstruction - generation of hypothesis about the Circle theory: Canter and Larkin also suggest that the pattern switch that turns on and off. In a normally functioning brain
behaviour and events of offending locations is likely to form a circle around the the empathy switch is permanently on.
4. Profile generation - generation of hypothesis about the offenders usual residence, and this becomes more apparent
offender eg background, physical characteristics the more offences that are. The offender spatial decision-
making can provide insight into the nature of the offence Serotonin: neurotransmitter has been linked to mood and
(planned or opportunistic, mode of transport, and impulsiveness. Moir and Jessel; several human animal
employment status). studies which suggest a link between low levels of serotonin
and aggression.
, Dopamine: has been identified as it is linked to the
dopaminergic pathway, which results in pleasure. Buitellar;
juvenile delinquents giving dopamine antagonists which
reduce levels of dopamine.
Example: Ted Bundy Example: Railway rapist - 23 sexual assaults, John Duffy. Hooton 1939: conducted a 12 year study comparing 13,873
Looked for patterns, organised, list of 2000 suspects, john was male prisoners in 10 US states with a control group of 3,023
1505. He fitted the profile so well the police watched him, men. Argued that criminal behaviour was due to biological
arrested him and sentenced him to life. inferiority and degeneration. And he believes sloping head,
protruding ears, narrow jaw indicate criminal behaviour.
+ Research support for organised category: Canter et al + Evidence to support investigative psychology: Canter and + Changed criminology: Lombroso (the father of modern - Twin studies assume equal environments: Often assumed
Looked at 100 US serial killings. Smallest space analysis was Heritage conducted an analysis of 66 sexual assault cases criminology) shifted the emphasis in crime research away that environmental factors are the same for MZ and DZ twins
used to assess the Co-occurrence of 39 aspects of the serial using smallest space analysis. Several behaviours were from moralistic to scientific. Also, in describing how particular because they experience similar environments. However,
killings. This analysis revealed a subset of behaviours of identified in most cases eg using impersonal languages. Each types of people are likely to commit particular types of crime, because MZ twins look identical, people especially parents
many serial killings which matched the FBI's typology for individual displayed a pattern of such behaviours, helps the theory heralded offender profiling. This suggests that tend to treat them more similarly, which in turn effects their
organised offenders. This suggests that key component of the establish whether two or more offences were committed by Lombroso made a major contribution to the science of behaviour. Therefore higher concordance rates for MZs
FBI typology approach has some validity. the same person. This supports one of the basic principles of criminology. maybe because they are treated more similarly than DZs,
CA: Godwin argues that, in reality, most killers have multiple investigative psychology that people are consistent with their CA: However, many of the features that Lombroso identified suggesting conclusions lack validity.
contrasting characteristics and don't fit into one type. This behaviour. as atavistic (curly hair, dark skin) most likely to be found
suggests that the organised disorganised typology is probably CA: However, the database is made-up with only solved among people of African descent, a view that fitted 19th
more of a continuum. crimes which are likely to be those that were straightforward century eugenic attitudes, to prevent some groups from + Evidence to support diathesis-stress: Mednick et al studied
to link together - circular argument. This suggests that breeding. This suggests that his theory might be more 13,000 Danish adoptees having at least one court conviction.
investigative psychology may tell us little about crimes that subjective than objective, influenced by racist prejudices. Conviction rates were 13.5% (biological or adoptive parents
+ Can be adapted to other types of crime eg burglary: have few links between them and therefore remain unsolved. had no convictions), 20% (one biological parent), 24.5%
Meketa reports that top down profiling has recently been (both biological and adoptive parents). This data suggests
applied to burglary, leading to an 85% rise in solved cases in - Evidence contradicts link between atavism and crime: that both genetic inheritance and environment influence
three U.S. states. The detection method adds 2 new + Evidence supports geographical profiling: Lundrigan and Goring compared 3000 offenders and 3000 non offenders and criminality - supporting the diathesis-stress model of crime.
categories: interpersonal (offender knows their victim, still Canter collected information from 120 murder cases in the found no evidence that offenders are a distinct group with
something of significance) and opportunistic (inexperienced US. Smallest space analysis revealed spatial consistency - a the unusual facial and cranial characteristics. He did suggest
young offender). This suggests that top down profiling has centre of gravity. Offenders leave home based in different though that many people who commit crime have lower than + Link between crime and frontal lobe: Kandal and Fred
wider application than was originally assumed. directions when dumping a body but created a circular effect, average intelligence, offering limited support for the research people with frontal lobe damage, including the
especially in the case of marauders. This supports the view atavistic theory. This challenge is the idea that offenders can prefrontal cortex. They found evidence of impulsive
that geographical information can be used to identify an be physically distinguished from the rest of the population, behaviour, emotional instability and inability to learn from
- Top-down profiling was flawed: Canter et al argues that the offender. therefore they are unlikely to be a subspecies. mistakes. This supports the idea that structural abnormalities
FBI agents did not select random or even large sample, nor in the brain are a causal factor in offending behaviour.
did it include different kinds of offenders. There was no
standard set of questions so each interview was different and - Geographical profiling may not be sufficient on it’s own: - Poorly controlled methods: Lombroso didn't compare his
therefore incomparable. This suggests that top down profiling Recording of crime is not always accurate, can vary between offender sample with a control group, and therefore failed - Link between neural differences and APD is complex:
does not have a sound, scientific base. police forces and an estimated 75% of crimes are not even to control confounding variables. For example, modern Farrington et al studied adult males with high APD scores.
reported to the police. Even if crime data is correct, other research shows that social conditions EG poverty are They were raised by a convicted parent and physically
factors matter EG timing of the offence and age an experience associated with offending behaviour, which would explain neglected. These early experiences may have caused APD and
Personality: the top down approach is based on behavioural of the offender. This suggests that geographical information some of Lombroso’s links. This suggests that Lombroso’s associated neural differences eg reduced activity in the
consistency - that serial offenders have characteristic ways of alone may not always lead to the successful capture of an research does not meet modern scientific standards frontal lobe due to trauma. This suggests that the relationship
working (modus operandi) so crime scene characteristics help offender. between neural differences, APD and offending is complex
identification. Mischel argued that people's behaviour is and there may be intervening variables.
much more driven by the situation they are in then by a Nature or nature: The atavistic form suggests that crime has a
thing called personality. This suggests that profiling method Mixed results: Copson surveyed 48 police department's and biological cause, it is genetically determined. However, facial
based on behavioural consistency may not always lead to found that advice provided by a profiler was useful in 83% of and cranial differences may be influenced by other factors, Biological determinism: the biological approach suggests
successful identification of an offender. cases, which suggests the approach is valid. The same study such as poverty or poor diet, rather than inherited. This offending behaviour is determined by factors which cannot be
revealed that only 3% of cases lead to accurate suggests that the idea of an innate atavistic form as a controlled so no responsibility. However, the justice system is
identification. Kocsis et al found chemistry students produced predisposing factor for criminality is meaningless. based on individual responsibility. The identification of
more accurate profiles than detectives. This suggests that possible biological precursors to crime complicates this
offender profiling may actually have little practical value when principle. This suggests we should excuse some people but,
it comes to solving cases ultimately, this is not possible because then many could
claim no responsibility.
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