Welcome to Criminological Psychology!
Ever wondered why people commit crimes? Is it something they are born with, or is it a result of their environment? And when a crime happens, how reliable are the people who saw it? In this topic, we dive into the fascinating world of Criminological Psychology. We will explore theories of why people turn to crime, how our memory can play tricks on us in court, and how we can help offenders change their ways.
Don't worry if some of the scientific terms seem a bit heavy at first—we'll break them down step-by-step with simple examples you can relate to!
1. Why do People Commit Crimes? (Theories of Crime)
Psychologists look at crime from two main angles: Biological (nature) and Social (nurture).
A. Biological Explanations
These theories suggest that something inside the body makes a person more likely to be criminal.
i. Brain Injury
The Pre-frontal Cortex is like the "brakes" of your brain. it helps you control your impulses and make good decisions. If someone has a head injury in this area, their "brakes" might fail, leading to impulsive or aggressive behavior.
Analogy: Imagine a car with broken brakes. It’s not that the car "wants" to crash; it just can't stop itself when it needs to. This is similar to how a brain injury can affect behavior control.
ii. XYY Syndrome
Most men have XY chromosomes. Some men are born with an extra Y, making them XYY. Early researchers thought this made men "super-masculine" and more aggressive. However, modern psychology suggests that while XYY might lead to lower intelligence or slower learning, it doesn't automatically make someone a criminal.
iii. Personality Theory (Eysenck)
Hans Eysenck argued that criminal behavior comes from having a specific personality type. He used the mnemonic PEN:
- P - Psychoticism: Being cold, aggressive, and lacking empathy.
- E - Extraversion: Being a thrill-seeker. These people have an "under-aroused" nervous system, so they commit crimes for the "buzz."
- N - Neuroticism: Being emotionally unstable and reacting strongly to stress.
B. Social Explanations
These theories suggest that the people around us and the way society treats us cause criminal behavior.
i. Labelling Theory
When society gives someone a "label" (like "troublemaker" or "thief"), that person might start to see themselves that way. It becomes a Master Status—the most important thing about them.
ii. Self-Fulfilling Prophecy (SFP)
This happens in four steps:
1. An expectation is set (e.g., a teacher thinks a student is "bad").
2. The person is treated according to that expectation.
3. The person reacts to that treatment.
4. The expectation comes true (the student starts acting "badly").
Quick Review Box:
- Biological: Brain injury, XYY, Eysenck's PEN.
- Social: Labelling and Self-Fulfilling Prophecy.
- Common Mistake: Don't confuse Labelling with SFP. Labelling is the name given to someone; SFP is the process of that person becoming what people expect.
2. Eye-Witness Testimony (EWT)
When a crime happens, the police rely on witnesses. But are witnesses always right? Eye-Witness Testimony refers to the account given by people of an event they have seen.
Factors Affecting EWT
i. Weapon Focus
If a criminal is holding a gun or a knife, our brain enters "survival mode." We focus entirely on the weapon because it's a threat, which means we fail to notice the person's face or height.
Analogy: It’s like looking at a bright light in a dark room; you can see the light clearly, but everything else around it becomes a blur.
ii. Stress and Anxiety
A little bit of stress can help us remember, but too much stress makes our memory crumble. This is known as the Yerkes-Dodson Law.
iii. Leading Questions
The way a question is asked can change a person's memory. If a lawyer asks, "How fast was the car going when it smashed into the pole?", the witness is likely to remember a higher speed than if they used the word "hit".
Key Takeaway: Our memories are not like video cameras; they are more like a puzzle where we sometimes lose the pieces and fill the gaps with what we think happened.
3. Key Studies in Criminological Psychology
Classic Study: Loftus and Palmer (1974)
Aim: To see if leading questions could distort memory of a car accident.
Procedure: Participants watched clips of car crashes and were asked: "About how fast were the cars going when they [verb] each other?". Verbs used included: Smashed, Collided, Bumped, Hit, Contacted.
Results: The verb "Smashed" led to the highest speed estimate (\(40.5\) mph), while "Contacted" led to the lowest (\(31.8\) mph).
Conclusion: Language can significantly alter how we remember an event.
Contemporary Study: Valentine and Mesout (2009)
Aim: To test the effect of high stress on eye-witness identification in a real-world setting (The London Dungeon).
Procedure: Visitors were surprised by a "scary person" in the dungeon. Their heart rates were measured to check stress levels. Later, they had to identify the "scary person" from a photo lineup.
Results: Participants with high anxiety (high heart rates) were less likely to identify the person correctly compared to those with lower anxiety.
Conclusion: High levels of stress/anxiety negatively affect the accuracy of EWT.
4. Treatments for Offenders
How do we stop people from re-offending? Psychology offers several methods.
A. Anger Management
This is a form of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). It works in three stages:
1. Cognitive Preparation: Identifying what "triggers" the person's anger.
2. Skill Acquisition: Learning new ways to cope (e.g., counting to ten, deep breathing).
3. Application Practice: Role-playing scenarios where they use their new skills.
B. Token Economies
Based on Operant Conditioning (Learning Theory). Prisoners earn "tokens" (secondary reinforcers) for good behavior, like being tidy or following rules. These tokens can be swapped for rewards (primary reinforcers) like extra phone time or sweets.
Did you know? Token economies are very effective inside the prison, but the behavior often stops once the person leaves and there are no more tokens to earn!
5. Research Methods: Content Analysis
In Criminological Psychology, we often use Content Analysis. This involves taking qualitative data (like newspaper reports about crime or recordings of police interviews) and turning it into quantitative data (numbers).
How to do a Content Analysis:
- Pick your source (e.g., 50 news articles about burglary).
- Create categories (e.g., "mentions of violence", "mentions of age").
- Tally how many times each category appears.
- Compare the totals.
Quick Summary:
- Loftus & Palmer: Leading questions change memory.
- Valentine & Mesout: High stress ruins identification.
- Anger Management: Changes the way we think about anger.
- Token Economies: Uses rewards to shape behavior.
Great job! You've just covered the core essentials of Criminological Psychology. Remember, if you find it hard to memorize the names of studies, focus on the story of the study first—the results usually make logical sense once you understand what they did!