A summary of the course Criminality, Cognition and Personality. The summary consists of the lectures given. All the book chapters were read and did not add anything new. If you have any questions, you can message me :)
Lecture 1
Definitions antisocial behavior, aggression and violence
Antisocial behavior = broadly speaking, antisocial behavior encompasses acts that
o Do not respect societal norms,
o that violate laws or the rights of others,
o or in the case of children, the expectations of authority figures such as parents or
teachers
Aggression = any behavior directed toward another individual that is carried out with the
proximate intent to cause harm
o Additionally, the perpetrator must believe that the behavior will harm the target and
that the target is motivated to avoid the behavior
Violence = more specific form of aggression with extreme harm as its goal
What does not consist of aggression and violence
o No actions that are unintentional, consensual, ultimately beneficial
Criminality = behavior that is prohibited by law
Socio-ecological model
o To understand the development of criminality, we must take in multiple perspectives,
paying attention to individual and environmental factors
Models of antisocial behavior
Antisocial behavior in a nutshell
o Umbrella term for a wide range of behaviors
o Common core for all antisocial behaviors
o Differences in
Types of behavior
Timing of the onset of behavior
Persistence over time through genetic, neurobiological, and developmental
factors
Research on antisocial behavior in the past
o Originally seen as pure biological or psychosocial
o Late 19th and early 20th century: rise of models to explain antisocial behavior
Genetic model
o Heritability of behavior = percentage of variance of behavioral differences that can be
attributed to genetic differences
Evidence: heritability of antisocial behavior around 50%
o Twin and adoption studies
Assumptions twin and adoption studies
Monozygotic twins = 100% overlap in genes, 100% overlap in
environment
Dizygotic twins = 50% overlap in genes, 100% overlap in environment
MZ in different houses = 100% overlap in genes, 0% overlap in
environment
Adopted sibling = 0% overlap in genes, 100% overlap in environment
But many behaviors or traits show about the same heritability coefficients in
twin and adoption studies
o Molecular studies
, Examining differences in allele forms
However
Unlikely that antisocial behavior is coded on one gene
Influence of genes can change in different developmental phases,
exposure to environment, and type of antisocial behavior
Became less popular due to association with eugenic movement
Evolutionary models
o Based on Darwin’s theory of natural selection antisocial behavior emerges and is
maintained in a population because it has evolutionary advantages
Some of these traits are still adaptive, others not so much
o Evolutionary models do not legitimize that people show antisocial behavior; they
simply explain why these behaviors are commonly observed in humans
Biopsychosocial models
o Focus on who aspects of biological systems influence antisocial behavior
Brain
Hormonal system
Nervous system
Immune system
Psychosocial models
o Focus on the influence of environment on individuals
o Social learning models
Antisocial behavior is learned through observing others
In conjunction with reinforcement learning
o Social development models
Protective factors contribute to positive social skills and risk factors
contribute to behavioral problems
Balance between protective and risk factors determines lifestyle
Factors exist on the level of the individual, family, broader social environment
and multilevel
An integrative, intergenerational, developmental, biopsychosocial model of antisocial
behavior
o Studies have followed people over a longer period give several insights
Development of physical aggression
Variability in antisocial behaviors around 50% genetic influence
Risk factors in environment are often prenatal
Emphasizes the importance of looking at intergenerational
transmission of antisocial behavior
Genes, environment and how they work together
o Gene-environment correlation (rGE)
Passive
Evocative
Active
o Gene-environment interaction (GxE)
o Environment influences gene expression (epigenetics)
Intervention from a developmental, biopsychosocial perspective
o Considering the importance of prenatal factors, important to start early
o Risk factors are often stable, so prevention and intervention can be useful in different
life phases
o Prevention programs should be directed to all levels of risk factors
o Genes and environment do not only have individual effects but also interact. Genes
may be an important factor in explaining which interventions are working for whom
,Forms of aggression
Patterns of aggression and violence
o Violence decreased during the last millennium
o Within the lifespan there is also a decrease: physical aggression highest in early
childhood and decreased after
o Indirect aggression starts developing between age 4 to 8
Two (or three) patterns of indirect aggression
Consistently low
High and increasing
(very high and stable)
Majority in group 1
Girls more often 2 than boys, but difference disappears in adulthood
Lifetime patterns of aggressive behaviors
o Physical aggression part of behavioral repertoire in most toddlers
o But the frequency of use over time differs
o Three patterns of physical aggression
Absence of aggression in early childhood and adolescence
Average levels of aggression in early childhood and adolescence
High levels of aggression in early childhood and adolescence
o 1 and 2 are most prevalent
o Boys more likely to show 3 compared to girls, girls more likely to show 1
Categorization of aggression
o Indirect vs direct
Indirect = often more anonymous, indirect harm to target
Direct = more visible and perpetrator is more identifiable
o Type of aggression
Verbal = harming another person through language
Relational = harming another person’s social relationships
Physical = harming another person physically
Other, non-personal forms
o Motivation for aggression
Reactive aggression = hot-blooded,
impulsive, reacting to a provocation,
defensive
Proactive aggression = cold-blooded,
prepared, with the goal of harming
someone else, instrumental,
offensive
Different correlates
Regulation
Psychopathology
Cognitive biases
Social adjustment
Brain function
Genetic influences
Difference can be important in treatment
Assessment
RPQ is a self-report measures of aggression
CRTT one of the most used behavioral measures of aggression
, Lecture 2
Ethical issues in forensic psychology
Ethical dilemmas
o Are
Complex human interactions
Conflict of values
Many possible courses of action
None is optimal
o Can be solved based on individual character or communal/societal norms
o Deontological vs teleological/utilitarian/consequentialist
Deontological
An action is considered morally good because of some characteristic
of the action itself, not because the product of the action nis good
Killing is bad because taking a life is an unethical thing to do
Teleological
The basic standard of morality is precisely the value of what an
action brings into being
Killing can sometimes be justified if something even better is
achieved
o Examples in forensic psychology
Risk prediction
Self-harm prevention vs autonomy
Confidentiality vs harm prevention
Correctional forensic psychiatry vs legal practice
Correctional forensic psychiatry is deontological providing the
best possible care, autonomy, confidentiality, informed consent
Legal practice is consequentialist focus on professionalism,
objectivity, impartiality
Four principles of health care ethics
o Problems with the principles
Mental disorders can compromise autonomy
Difficult for professionals to know how to respect patient choices
Patient choices may not seem to be in their best interest
To benefit psychiatric patients, it is sometimes necessary to act in ways that
the patient experiences as harmful
Privileges beneficences over respect for autonomy
o Dutch situation
People can be taken for involuntary treatment in a mental health institution
Under one of three conditions
Emergency
If ordered by a judge
If ordered by a mayor
o The human rights act of 1998
Protects right of people in countries that belong to the council of Europe
Binding for all institutions and authorities, must be considered by lawmakers
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