Psychological Explanations

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Name three body types Sheldon (1942) identified
Ectomorph, Mesomorph and Endomorph
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What did early studies on XYY males demonstrate?(2)
Rare occurrence amongst the general population, prevalent amongst the prison population
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What did early studies on XYY males result in?
Detaining men identified as XYY, in the USA, as a preventative measure
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What was the argument opposing the detaining of XYY males?
They should be acquitted for their crimes since they are the victims of inheritance and therefore not responsible for their crimes (Alkinson et al. 1991)
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What did later research on XYY males demonstrate? (2)
XYY males had been overestimated in the prison population and underestimated in the general population (Ainsworth and Pease 1987)
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What does the MAOA gene do?
It is an enzyme that breaks down neurotransmitters: serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine
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What three functions are serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine important in?
Aggression, emotion and cognition
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What is the gene cadherin linked to?
Impulse control
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Where are the MAOA and Cadherin gene located?
In the X chromosome
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What can low levels of serotonin lead to? (4)
Difficulties in controlling emotional responses to anger, impulsiveness, self-destructive violence. Severe low levels can lead a condition called 'intermittent explosive disorder' (characterised by sudden explosive outburst of rage)
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What are the two types of twins?
Monozygotic (identical) and Dizygotic (unidentical)
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What has brain imaging of criminals shown about the hippocampus?
Abnormal functioning in murders and structural abnormalities in psychopaths
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What have research into offenders groups' medical histories indicated?
Increase in rates of head injuries, particularly involving loss of consciousness
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Fill in the blank: ___________ at birth is associated with violent crime?
Asphyxiation
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What does the amygdala do? (3)
Part of a 'reward circuit' in the brain and plays a critical role in emotion and cognition.
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What do abnormalities in the 'reward circuit' been associated with?
Addictive behaviours
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What have brain scans of teenagers and young adults from alcoholism prone families revealed?
Abnormalities in the amygdala (reduced in volume on right side)
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What relation does poor fear conditioning have to criminality? (3)
Poor fear conditioning at age three predisposes to crime at age twenty-three; poor fear conditioning early in life implicates amygdala and prefrontal cortex dysfunction; criminals typically had a lack of fear of socialising punishments as children.
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What happened to Phineas Gage? (5)
A temping rod had gone through his head, in an accident and caused damage to his prefrontal cortex. This caused Gage personality to alter. He became impulsive, selfish and aggressive as opposite to his gentle and level-headed personality
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What has major damage to grey area and white matter in the prefrontal cortex and automatic deficits been found to result in?
Pseudopsychopthic personality disorder
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What may underlie prefrontal cortex structural deficit? (4)
Low arousal, poor fear conditioning, lack of conscience and decision making deficits
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What have studies found in association between minor physical abnormalities? (2)
Increased antisocial behaviour in children and violent offending
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What can smoking during pregnancy result in ? (6)
Conduct disorder, violent offending, reduced sympathetic arousal, disruptions to the development of neurotransmitter system, disrupts cognitive functions, enhancement of cardio receptors which inhibit automatic functions
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Which three birth complications are thought to contribute to brain damage?
Anoxia, forceps delivery and pre-eclampsia
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What have studies shown, in terms of babies who suffer birth complications, when other psychosocial risk factors are present? (4)
Increased likelihood to develop conduct disorder, delinquency, committing impulsive and violent crime.
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What have studies shown, in terms of babies who suffer birth complications, coupled with negative home environment?
Results in risk factors for a predisposition to violence
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What have studies shown, in terms of babies who suffer birth complications, coupled with material rejection?
A risk of becoming an offender is greatly increased
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What is the criteria for a behaviour/ thought process to classified a 'disorder'? (4)
The behaviour/thought process is required to be statistically infrequent, maladaptive, personally distressing and irrational.
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What are the four confounding factors of mental illness and crime?
Social class, violence, stigmatisation/discrimination and co-morbidity between major psychiatric disorders and alcohol/ drug consumption
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What may be considered a criminal personality? (6)
Antisocial persoanlity disorder, psychopathy, behavioural problems (moral and social), lack of remorse, narcissistic personality disorder and addictive personalities.
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What are four dimensions of personality, according to Eysneck (1952)?
Extroversion/introversion; neuroticism/stability; psychoticism/altruism; impulsiveness
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According to Eysenck (1952), what will effect an individuals ability to be conditioned?
Biological inheritance; whether an individual is high in psychoiticism, low on extraversion, socially under controlled and socially over-controlled
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According to Kohlberg (1958), what are the three stages of moral development?
Pre-conventional (based on obedience and avoiding punishment); Conventional (based on the expectations of family and peers; post-conventional (beyond social conventions, they value the law however, they are open to acting as agents of change
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What are the two groups Moffitt identifies in his developmental taxonomy?
Life course persistent offender and adolescence limited offender
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According to Moffitt, what courses life course persistent offending?
Neuropsychological deficits and disadvantaged familial and economic environments.Consequently they fail across several life domains including education, marriage and employment and the offending behaviour is likely to desist
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According to Moffitt, what courses adolescence-limited offending? (3)
Biological age, peer social context and maturity gap
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According to Moffitt, what type of offending do adolescence-limited offenders commit?
Engage in delinquent acts which usually symbolise adult social status, for example: smoking, drinking alcohol, drug consumption, sexual behaviour
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According to Moffitt, what causes adolescent-limited offending to stop?
Upon reaching adulthood delinquent involvement is no longer necessary. As there is no biological infringement, their biological and social competency aids desistance
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According to Hakken and Laajasol, what weapons to schizophrenics use?
Sharp and blunt weapons
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According to Hakken and Laajasol, where part of the victim do schizophrenics injure more frequently?
The victims face
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When does schizophrenic systems tend to be prevalent? (5)
Onset tends to be in late adolescence or early adulthood; tends to strike men earlier and more severely; both sexes are equally vulnerable; higher incidence in lower socioeconomic groups and for people who are divorced or single.
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According to DSM-V, what are the symptoms of schizophrenia? (5)
Delusions; hallucinations; undisorganised speech; disorganised or catatonic behaviour; negative symptoms.
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According to DSM-V, what is the criteria for schizophrenia diagnosis? (4)
At least 2 of the recognised symptoms; 1 of them must be either hallucinations, disorganised speech or delusions; this must persist for 6 months; have 1 month of active symptoms
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What is the criteria for a patient to be diagnosed with a paranoid disorder?
Presence of one or more non-bizarre delusions that persist for at least one month
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According to Hakken and Laajasol, what weapons will individuals with paranoid disorders use?
Guns, as well as kicking and hitting
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According to Hakken and Laajasol, what methods will drug addicts use? (3)
Sharp and blunt weapons, steal from their victims, kill in the context of other crime
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According to Hakken and Laajasol, what methods will alcoholics use?
Most likely to use weapon present at the crime scene; likely to kill following an argument; likely to give themselves up
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What is the criteria for a patient to be diagnosed with a major depressive disorder?
Must have experienced one or more major depressive episode that extends for a period of two weeks or more
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What are the symptoms that an individual with major depressive disorder may experience during a major depressive episode?
Feelings of intense helplessness, low self-esteem and worthlessness, extreme fatigue, dramatic changes in eating and sleeping behaviour, inability to concentrate, greatly diminished interest in family, friends or activities.
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What two criminal behaviours have depression been associate with?
Shoplifting and violence
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What is the criteria for a patient to be diagnosed with conduct disorder? (5)
Pattern of behaviour during childhood in which the child exhibits a range of problems including fighting, lying, running away, vandalism and truancy
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What theorist conducted a classical conditioning experiment on dogs?
Pavlov
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Who conducted the little Albert experiment?
Watson and Rayner
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What is the four step modelling process, proposed by Bandura?
Observation/attention (of a respected individual); retention (information is coded and actions are remembered; reproduction; motivation (depends upon direct and indirect reinforcement and punishments
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What has authoritarian parenting been linked to, by Patterson?
Social aggression
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What has neglectful parenting been linked to, by Patterson?
Engagement in theft
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What are the two types of criminals Boie identified?
Born or incorrigible; victims of heteronomy
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What were the three types of criminals Drahm identified?
Instinctive, habitual, social misdemeanant
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What are the five motivations to murder?
Sexual gratification, thrill seeking, visual or auditory hallucinations, the enrichment of life, power and control, the extermination of a group
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What are the three indicators of future violence and homicidal tendencies, according to MacDonald?
Bedwetting past the age of five; obsession with fire; animal cruelty
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According to Dollard and Miller, what is the association of murder and frustration?
Frustrated individuals transfer anger to weaker people who cannot retaliate. Done as a means of restoring their own confidence to rectify past humiliation
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What does the graduation hypothesis, proposed by Arluke and Levin claim?
Frustration and blocked opportunities cause anger and aggression; anger and aggression causes violence; violence causes murder
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Explain Diet'z classification of Mass murderers (3)
Pseudo commandos (views there world as unjust and becomes increasingly angry until they explode; family annihilator; hit and run group: fire setters, bombers, food tampering/poising, these acts allow the individual to escape.
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According to Hodson,what are the two types of family killers?
Altrustic filicides and revenge killers
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What is the distinction between serial and spree killers?
Serial killers have a cooling off period
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According to Holmes, what are the types of serial killers?
Visionary type (delusions); mission-orientated type; hedonistic (thrill seekers); power/control orientated type; predatory type (hunt)
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According to Holmes, what are the subtypes of the hedonistic type of serial killers? (3)
Killing for creature comforts; thrill orientated from the kill itself; lust murders
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What are the five stages of Giannangelo's diathesis stress model of serial killing?
biological predisposition; predisposition, self-esteem and self-control problems, sexual dysfunction; maladaptive coping skills retreat into fantasy world; dissociative process; first kill
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What is the cycle of abuse based on Duluth model?
Using coercion and threats, using intimidation; using emotional abuse; using isolation; minizing, denying and blaming; using children; using male privilege; using economic abuse
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What are the three types of abusive men, according Holtzworth-Monroe and Stuart?
Family-only; borderline dysphoric; generally antisocial
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What are he three stages of the cycle of abuse?
The tension building stage, the acute explosion stage, honeymoon stage
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In terms of lack of resources, why might the victim stay? (9)
Religion, culture, economic consequences, social consequences, children, fear of reprisal, lack of confidence, coping mechanisms have not been developed and mental stability
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What are the theories surrounding why a victim would stay? (5)
Stockholm syndrome, victim-blaming theory, traumatic bond theory, entrapment theory, learnt helplessness.
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What are the characteristics of female domestic abusers? (2)
Alcohol abuse and personality disorders
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Why are women abusing?
Always have abused just wasn't reported due to stigma, may believe that their accusation may not be taken seriously, threat of future harm; shift in female socialisation; women are gaining more power and earning more money; economic downfall
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What are the causes of adolescent to parent violence?
Substance abuse, mental health problems, behavioural problems, learning difficulties or a family history of DV or self-harm
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What did early studies on XYY males demonstrate?(2)

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Rare occurrence amongst the general population, prevalent amongst the prison population

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What did early studies on XYY males result in?

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Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

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What was the argument opposing the detaining of XYY males?

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Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

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What did later research on XYY males demonstrate? (2)

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