Pre Study Guide - Psychology FINAL PDF

Ch. 11 – Psychopathy psychopathy = a personality disorder defined by a collection of interpersonal, affective, and behavioural characteristics, including manipulation, lack of remorse or empathy, impulsivity, and anti-social behaviours - descriptions of psychopathy exist in most cultures Self-...

Ch. 11 – Psychopathy psychopathy = a personality disorder defined by a collection of interpersonal, affective, and behavioural characteristics, including manipulation, lack of remorse or empathy, impulsivity, and anti-social behaviours - descriptions of psychopathy exist in most cultures Self-Report Measure 1. Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R) a. is a 154-item inventory designed to measure psychopathic traits in offender and community samples b. includes the coldheartedness scale 2. Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (SRP) a. 64-item self report measure designed to assess psychopathic traits in community samples (4 factors – 1. erratic lifestyle 2. callous affect 3. interpersonal manipulation 4. criminal tendencies) advantages: ○ measure attitudes and emotions that cannot be easily observed ○ easy to administer, relatively inexpensive ○ do not require inter-rater reliability ○ can detect faking (good and bad) challenges: ○ psychopaths often lie, manipulate and malinger ○ may not have sufficient insight into their own traits ○ do not experience certain emotions resulting in difficulty reporting on those emotions Subclinical Psychopaths students who scored higher on the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (SRP) were more likely to defraud the experimenter students with higher SRP scores were better at identifying vulnerable victims students with higher SRP scores were more likely to cheat on an exam Assessment Hare’s Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) – most popular method (in adults) ○ 20-item scale (score 0, 1, or 2 on each) ○ semi-structured interview and review of file information ○ assess interpersonal, effective and behavioural features Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) = a personality disorder characterized by a history of behaviours in which the rights of others are violated a confusion surrounds the diagnosis of ADP and its relationship to both psychopathy and sociopathy as the three terms are sometimes used interchangeably ○ sociopathy = a label used to describe a person whose psychopathic traits are assumed to be due to environmental factors need to display three or more symptoms: ○ deceitfulness ○ impulsivity ○ irritability ○ repeatedly engage in criminal activity ○ irresponsibility ○ lack of remorse ○ reckless behaviours other diagnostic Criterion are… ○ the person is at least age 18 ○ conduct disorcer was present bu history before age 15 ○ and the anti social behaviour does not occur in the context of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder almost all pscyhopaths can be classified as having APD most offenders diagnosed with APD are not psychopaths APD, psychopathy, and sociopathy are sometimes used interchangeably ○ they are related but distinct constructs Forensic Use of Psychopathy court cases with testimony about psychopathy resulted in more severe dispositions  PCL-R scores were used in the death penalty sentencing psychopathy does not meet the insanity defense ○ psychopaths know the difference between right and wrong are mental health professionals who are hired by the prosecution or the defence influenced by who hires them? ○ adversarial allegiance: tendency for forensic experts to be biased towards those who hire them PCL-R scores provided by prosecution experts are higher as compared to defense experts there is evidence for an adversarial allegiance with “prosecution” professionals ○ eg. giving higher PCL-R scores as compared to “defense” professionals Psychopathy and Violence psychopaths make up a small proportion of the population but account for a large proportion of all crimes committed psychopaths: ○ start their criminal careers younger ○ persist longer and commit a greater variety of crime ○ engage in more violent crime ○ more likely to reoffend ○ do not commit homicide more often than non-psychopathic offenders in cases of murder: ○ psychopaths have multiple victims, stranger victims, male victims, and deny responsibility psychopathic homicide ○ are more likely to engage in instrumental homicide as compared to nonpsychopathic homicide offenders instrumental violence = refers to violence that is employed as a means to attain a subsidiary goal reactive violence = which involves a response to a perceived threat or provocation psychopathic violence is more likely to be: ○ predatory ○ instrumental ○ callous  ○ calculated ○ not reactive in nature ○ target strangers ○ vindictive or opportunistic Psychopaths in the Community Hare’s Psychopathy Checklist-Screening Version (PCL-SV; Hart, Cox, & Hare, 1995) is used to assess psychopathy in community samples Coid, Yang, Ullrich, Roberts and Hare (2009) ○ 71% of the sample scored 0 ○ psychopathy is rare in the community not all psychopaths are violent offenders one study found 5% of their sample of corporate professionals met the criteria for psychopathy psychopathic professionals tend to have: ○ poor management and performance appraisals ○ better creativity ○ stronger communication skills ○ less likely to be team players Psychopaths and Victims one study identified characteristics of nonincarcerated psychopaths in heterosexual relationships and found that women: ○ were manipulated into being victims ○ were lied to ○ were emotionally, economically and psychologically abused ○ the men had multiple infidelities ○ were isolated ○ their children were mistreated Psychopathy and Sexual Violence psychopathy is weakly associated with sexual offenses ○ psychopaths engage in more violent offences, but fewer sexual offences, than non-psychopaths psychopathy is related to number of previous violent offences, but not related to previous sexual offenses  ○ PCL-R scores of rapists have been associated with their number of prior offences but not with their number of prior sexual offences offenders who commit sexual homicide score higher on psychopathy mixed sexual offenders (assault both adults and children) are the second most psychpathic offenders compared to other sex offenders, child molesters have the lowest psychopathy scores psychopathic sexual offenders are more likely to be vindicative and opportunistic, whereas, nonpsychopathic sex offenders are more likely to report feeling anxious prior to the rape Wayne (40/40 on Psychopathy Checklist) Video - he killed his brother, sexually assaulted four children from the ages of 4-8 - says things very matter-of-factly with zero remorse Psychopathy and Treatment one study examined the effects of treatment with psychopaths: violent recidivism rates were: untreated non-psychopaths = 39% treated non-psychopaths = 22% untreated psychopaths = 55% treated psychopaths = 77% - some clinicians have concluded from the above study that we should not bother to treat psychopath, since treatment will only make them worse - caution is required when interpreting such result, it could be that treatment to date just has not worked with psychopaths - they look at is as a way to be more effective in manipulation, not as a way to get help - psychopathic sex offenders who remained in treatment showed positive gains and were less likely to reoffend - even among high-risk psychiatric patients with relatively high PCL-R scores violent reoffending can be reduced with treatment Psychopathy and Law Enforcement almost half of police killers had traits consistent with psychopathy  psychopathic suspects are difficult to interrogate, they: ○ try to outwit ○ attempt to control the interrogation ○ will not be fooled by bluffs ○ enjoy being the focus of investigation ○ attempt to shock - adversarial allegiance = the tendency for forensic experts to be biased toward the side (defence or prosecution) that hired them Response Modulation Deficit Theory - psychopaths fail to use contextual cues that are peripheral to a dominant response set to modulate their behaviour - fail to learn to avoid punishment - do not pay attention to cues that would inhibit behaviours Affective Theory of Psychopathy psychopaths have a deficit in the experience of certain critical emotions that guide prosocial behaviour one study found: ○ psychopaths did not identify emotional words faster than neutral words another study found: ○ psychopaths’ startle-elicited blinks did not differ in magnitude across pleasant, unpleasant and neutral slides some researchers have proposed an amygdala dysfunction theory to explain the affective deficits seen in psychopaths while others propose an attention deficit explanation Does Family Matter? best family background predictors of developing psychopathy in adulthood are: ○ criminal parent ○ having uninvolved father ○ low family income ○ disrupted family life ○ experiencing physical neglect The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (40 yr prospective study) ○ 97% of men scoring 10 or more on PCL-R had been convicted of an offence  ○ best predictirs of adult psychopathy were have a criminal parent, sons with uninvolved fathers, low family income, disrupted families, and physical neglect Psychopathy in Youth two ways to assess psychpathic traits in youth: 1. Antisocial Process Screening Device: - observer rating scale to assess psychopathic traits in children 2. Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version: - scale designed to measure psychopathic traits in adolescents several issues with labelling a youth as a psychopath are psychopathic traits in youth stable? ○ study found fairly high stability across a 4 year period ○ study found moderate stability in traits from ages 13 to 24 ○ study found moderate trait stability from childhood to age 48 with largest change during adolescence are measures of psychopathy in youth assessing characteristics of adolescence? youth who score high on PCL:YV ○ begin criminal behaviours younger ○ engage in more violenc ○ are at greater risk to reoffend once released psychopathic traits are linked with delinquency and aggression, not anxiety and depression youth with psychopathic traits may be more responsive to intervention youth with high PCL-YV scores were given treatment in an intensive treatment centre or a correctional centre: ○ youth who received treatment from correctional centre violently reoffend at twice the rate of those in intensive program in treatment centre Psychopathy Label students presented with information on a defendant who was either psychopathic, psychotic or no mental illness: ○ mock jurors were more likely to support death penalty for psychopathic offenders ○ mock jurors were less likely to support death penalty for juveniles Youth Psychopathy Label students reviewed information on defendants diagnosed with psychopathy, conduct disorder/antisocial personality disorder or no diagnosis: ○ psychopathic defendants were rated as less credible ○ psychopathic and conduct disorder/antisocial personality disorder defendants were more likely to be found guilty and more likely to reoffend Nature vs Nurture nature: innate characteristics nurture: personal experiences and environment evidence to suggest genetic contribution to psychopathy identical twins have more similar scores on Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI) than do fraternal twins genetics account for between 29% and 59% of variance on PPI subscales - parent-child interaction therapy = an intervention that foucses on increasing the parent-child relationship using positive reinforcements and teaching positive parenting strategies **helps the children with conduct problems and high CU traits Personality Disorders - Anti Social Personality Disorder - 3:1 male-female ratio - fail to respond to punishment - incapable of true emotions - charming and manipulative - diagnosis – at least 18 years old with anti-social behaviour before age 15love Paul Bernardo & Karla Homolka - serial rapist and murderer Paul Bernardo - St. Catherine’s, ON in the early 1990s - high school girls started to go missing Ch. 14 – Sexual Violence sexual act = a nonconsensual sexual act, by either a male or female person to either a male or female person, regardless of the relationship between the people involved - the rate of sexual assault in Aboriginal populations is double the rate compared to non-Aboriginal populations  three levels: ○ simple sexual act (level 1) an assualt committed in circumstances of a sexual nature such that the sexual integrity of hte vicitm is violated level 1 involves minor physical injuries or no injuries to the vicitm ○ sexual assualt with a weapon or causing bodily harm (level 2) sexual assault with a weapon, threats, or causing bodily harm ○ aggravated sexual assualt (level 3) sexual assualt that results in wounding, maiming, disfiguring or endangering the life of the victim Myths sexual assault is not a common problem sexual assault is most often committed by strangers women “ask for it” by the way that they dress avoid being alone in dark, deserted places women derive pleasure from being a victim women lie about sexual assault Consequences for Victims rape trauma syndrome: ○ acute phase: heightened levels of fear, anxiety and depression ○ long term phase: development of phobias, chronic physical health problems etc post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Classification Sexual Offenders - voyger = someone who likes to watch without consent and derrives pleasure from it - exhibitionists = show themselves engaging in a sexual act, or exposing their genitals to strangers - rapists = a person who sexually assualts someone over the age of 16 - pedophiles = a person whose primary sexual orientation is toward children - child molesters = someone who has actually molested a child - intra-familial (incest offender) = someone who sexually abuses his/her own biological children or children for whom he/she assumes a parental role, such as a stepfather or live-in boyfriend - extra-familial = someone who sexually abuses children who are not related to them Rapist Typologies The Revised Rapist Typology, Version 3 ○ opportunistic ○ pervasively angry ○ sexual ○ sadistic ○ vindictive Groth’s three main types of rapists ○ anger rapist (most common) usually uses excessive force than is ncessary to obtain compliance and engagement in a variety of sexual acts to degrade the victim high levels of anger directed solely toward woman not being motivated primarily by sexual gratification *most of these rapes are precipitated by conflict or percieved humiliation by some significant woman, such as the offender’s wife, mother or boss (approx 50% of rapists fit this type) ○ power type intention to assert dominance and control over the victim variation in amount of force used, depending on the dgeree of subission shown by the vicitm not being motivated primarily by sexual gratification frequent rape fantasies (approx 40% of rapists fit this category) ○ sadisitic type obtaining sexual gratification by hurting the victim high levels of victim injury, including torture and sometimes death frequent violent sexual fantasies (approx. 5-10% of rapists fit this type) Child Molester Typologies fixated child molestors regressed child molesters subdivided into 2 types based on coercion: ○ sex pressure (lured, pressured into activity) ○ sex-force : exploitative type and sadistic type (physically forced) Fixated Child Molestors primary sexual orientation towards children child molestor who has long-standing, exclusive sexual preferences for children sexual interests in children begins in adolescnece and is persistent male children are the primary target percipitating stress is not relevant their offences are planned emotionally immature, poor social skills, usually single usually no history of alcohol or drug abuse often feel no remorse or distress over their behaviour *attracted to children and at some point they act upon it Regressed Child Molestors primary sexual attraction is toward adults sexual interest in children begins in adulthood and is episodic female children are their primary targets percipitaition stress and feelings of inadequacy are usually present offences are often impulsive they are often married, and are having marital problems or issues many of their offences are related to alcohol use more likely to feel remorse for their behaviour Adolescent Sex Offenders commit 20% of rape commit between 30%-50% of child sexual abuse history of sexual abuse is common however, the majoritiy of sexually abused children do not become sexual offenders Female Sex Offenders only 2%-5% of incarcerated sex offenders are female sexual abuse by females is underestimated 4 types proposed ○ teacher/lover teacher believes they are in-love with the child believes there is a relationship, feeels like she is being a mentor to the child) ○ male-coerced (being coerced by the male accomplice)  ○ male-accompined (male is involved, but it is not forced, they are accomanying each other in their crimes) ○ predisposed indiviual usually has a long history if abuse through their childhood and are dealing with it in their life this type typically acts alone she may abuse very young chilren who are likely tp be her own or part of her family sometimes also physically abuses and she may have sexual fantasies that involve children - crossover effect = a sexual offender who engages in one type of sexual offedning (an online child abuser) starts enagging in a differnet type of sexual offending (a contact sexual abuser), or an offender who victimizes children starts victimizing adults too Aboriginal Sex Offenders 40% of the aboriginal offender population has committed a sexual offence aboriginal sexual offenders tend to: ○ have lengthier criminal and substance abuse histories ○ lower education ○ higher unemployment rates Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) study found: ○ 89% of Aboriginal sexual offenders were under the influence of alcohol ○ aboriginal offenders were less likely to have male victims ○ less likely to victimize children ○ most victims of Aboriginal offenders are known and are part of the Aboriginal community Theories Of Sexual Aggression proposed four pre-coniditons for child molestation to occur ○ offender must be motivated ○ lack of internal inhibitions ○ overcome external inhibitors ○ overcome child’s resistance (coertion, pressure, force) More Theories of Sexual Aggression Marshall and Barbaree (1990) ○ integrated model of sexual aggresion  ○ includes biological factors, childhood experiences, sociocultural influences, and situational events Quinsey and Lalumiere (1995) ○ evolutionary theory of sexual offending ○ consequence of a mating strategy that resulted in a reproductive advantage Treatment of Sexual Offenders most treatment programs focus on… ○ recognizing denial, minimizations and cognitive distortions ○ empathy training ○ enhancing social skills ○ treating substance abuse problems ○ modifiying deviant sexual interests ○ relapse prevention (consists of 2 main parts) offenders list emotional and situational risk factors that lead to fantasizing or offending (eg. feeling lonely) offenders develop plans to deal more appropriately with problems and avoid or cope with high risk situations Effectiveness of Treatment w Sex Offenders lack of consensus about whether treatment is effective incarceration does not appear to be deterrent challenges for researchers: ○ conducting controlled studies ○ relatively low base rate of sexual recidivism (ie. researchers have to wait many years to see if treatment works) Sex Offender Treatment meta-anayses showed: ○ sexual recidivism rates lower for treated offenders (both adolescent and adult) ○ both institutional and community treatment effective ○ cognitive-behavioural treatment associated with strongest effects Sex Offender Registry of Ontario Christopher’s Law: a bold measure in community safety The Ontario Sex Offender Registry (OSOR) was created as a result of the abduction and murder of 11-year-old Christopher Stephenson by a convicted offender on June 18, 1988  After Christopher's death, a Coroner's inquest recommended that the Solicitor General of Canada, along with the Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General, police, and other relevant organizations, create a registry for convicted, dangerous, high-risk sexual offenders. The recommendation also called for offenders to register with the police in the jurisdiction where they live or plan to live. Ontario proclaimed Christopher’s Law (Sex Offend xxxer Registry) The need for a sex offender registry? the actions of sex offenders have profound and long-lasting consequences for their victims and communities data indicates that a rapid response during an investigation of child abduction for a sexual purpose is critical in 80% of child abduction cases, intital contact of an offender with a victim occurs within a quarter mile of hte victims last known location Ontario’s sexual offender registry provides police with important and timely information that improves their inability to investigate sex-related crimes as well as monitor and locate sex offenders in the community any person who is resident in Ontario and has been: convicted anywhere in Canada of a “sex offence” as defined in Christopher’s Law* found NCR for a “sex offence” by reason of mental disorder and given an absolute or criminal discharge ★ Christopher’s Law ○ invitation to sexual touching ○ sexual exploitation of a person w a disability ○ incest ○ bestiality ○ bestiality in the presence of a child ○ voyeriusm ○ parent or guardian procuring sexual activity ○ luring a child by means of computer system ○ exposure to person under age 14 ○ stupefying or overpowering for the purpose of sexual intercourse ○ living on the avails of prostitution of a person under 18 ○ obtaining prostitution of person under 18 ○ sexual assault  Of those victims who were murdered? 44% were murdered within 1 hour of abduction 74% were murdered within 3 hrs of abduction 91% were murdered within 24 hrs of abduction reporting period and offender has a reporting obligation of: 10 yrs - if the maximum sentence is less than 10yrs and conviction is for only one sex offence life - if convicted of more than 1 sex offence, or a single offence for which the maximum sentence is more than 10 years penalities for non-compliance first offence – a fine not more than $25,000 and/or impriosonment of not more than 1 year subsequent offence – a fine not more than $25,000 and/or impriosonment of not more than 2 years does the public have access to the OSOR? public does not have access to the OSOR this contributes to a consistently high offender compliance rate resulting in increased accuracy and integrity of the data on the registry. this enhances public safety for Ontarians Pedophiles, Child Molestors - pedophile = recurring, intense sexuallt arousing fantasies, urges, involving children (usually 13 yrs or younger) - child molestor = person who is sexually attracted or abuses a child Canada’s Age of Consent the age of consent to sexual activity is 16 years, in some cases the age of consdent is higher (eg. when there is a relationship of trust, authority or dependency) Close in age exception a 14 or 15 yr old can consent to sexual activity as long as the partner is less than 5 yrs older and there is no relationship of trust or authority or dependency or any other exploitation of the young person  this means that is the partner is 5 years older than the 14- 15-year-old, any sexual activity is a criminal offence there is also a close in age exception for 12 and 13yr olds ○ they can consent to sexual activity with a partner as long as the partner is less than two years older and there is no relationship of trust, authority or dependency or any other exploitation of the young person ○ this means that of the partner is 2 years or older than the 12 or 13 yr old, any sexual activity is a criminal offence Sexual Exploitation - a 16 or 17 yr old cannot consent to sexual activity if: - their partner is in a position of trust or authority towards them (teacher/coach) - the young person is dependent on their sexual partner (eg. care/support) - the relationship between the younger person and the partner is exploitative The following factors may be taken into account when determining whether a relationship is exploitative of the young person: the young person’s age the age difference between the young person and their partner how the relationship developed (eg. quickly, secretly, or over the internet) whether the partner may have controlled or influenced the young person Incarceration of Sex Offenders… to be committed to the McNeil Island, a court must find “beyond a reasonable doubt” that a person meets the definition of a sexually violent predator under state law, this is defined as someone w a history of sexually violent crimes and an underlying personality disorder or “mental abnormality” who is believed to be “more likely than not” to reoffend if they are not detained this law allows the state to identify a person for potential commitment either at the end of their prison sentence, just before they are released, or if someone already freed commits a “recent overt act”, defined as behaviour that is predatory and similar to their past behaviour eg. if someone who was convicted of sexually assaulting a child is released and then found loitering at a park or mall and approaching children, this could be considered a recent overt act Ch. 15 – Homicides - homicide is quite rare representing less than 1% of violent crimes in Canada - homicide rate has been declining since the 1990s - declined until 2018 but then started to rise in 2019, 2020, 2021 - most solved homicides in 2014 were committed by someone known to the victim Definition of Homicidal Offences first degree murder (planned and deliberate) second degree murder manslaughter infanticide (killing of a baby) Bimodal Classification of Homicide reactive (affective) ○ impulsive; unplanned; response to perceived provocation ○ victims are most often relatives instrumental (predatory) ○ proactive; premeditated; motivated by a goal ○ victims are most often strangers homicides can also be classified as a combination of reactive and instrumental (ie. reactive-instrumental, instrumental-reactive) Filicide = killing of children by parents neonaticide = the deliberate act of a parent murdering their own children during the first 24 hrs of life infanticide = the crime of killing a child within a year of its birth 3 types of maternal filicide: ○ neonaticides ○ those committed by battering mothers ○ those committed by mothers with mental illness (eg. postpartum psychosis) Familicide = murder or murder-suicide in which an individual kills multiple close family members in quick succession, most often children, spouses, siblings or parents perpetrator most often male  often a history of spousal and child abuse about half of these killers commit suicide Familicide – Ronald Gene Simmons Ronald Gene Simmons, December 22-26, 1987, Dover Arkansas Simmons killed 14 family members ranging in age from 20 months to 46 years shortly before xmas 1987, Simmons decided to kill all the members of his family ○ on the morning of December 22, he first killed his wife Rebecca and eldest son Gene by bludgeoning them with a crowbar and shooting them with a.22-caliber pistol ○ he then killed his 3-year-old granddaughter Barbara by strangulation ○ he then waited for his other children to return from school for xmas break, upon their arrival he told them he had presents for them but wanted to give them one at a time ○ he first killed his daughter 17-year-old Loretta, strangled and held under the water in a rain barrel and he killed his other 3 children in the same way and subsequently dumped in the cesspit ○ December 26, remaining family members arrived at the home for the holidays. ○ The first to be killed was Simmons' son Billy and his wife Renata, who were both shot dead. He then strangled and drowned their 20-month-old son, Trae. ○ Simmons also shot and killed his oldest daughter, Sheila (whom he had sexually abused), and her husband, Dennis McNulty. Simmons then strangled his child by Sheila, seven-year-old Sylvia Gail, and finally, his 21-month-old grandson Michael. Simmons laid the bodies of his whole family in neat rows in the lounge. ○ After the murders, Simmons drove to a Sears store in Russellville, where he retrieved Christmas gifts that he had previously ordered for his family. ○ That night, he went for a drink at a local bar before returning home where he spent the rest of the evening and the following day drinking beer and watching television. Youth Who Kill - in 2014 the youth homicide rate was 10.7 per 100,000 and was the lowest rate since 1984 - in contrast to homicides committed by adults, youth homicides often have an accomplice but like adult offenders are often acquainted with their victim - nearly half (46%) of youth homicide offenders in one study committed the homicide while committing another crime Spousal Killers  - femicide = the term to describe the killing of women - uxoricide = refer to the killing of a wife by a husband specifically - androcide = refers to the killing of men - mariticide = refer to the killing of a husband by a wife uxoricide is much more common than mariticide ○ associated with recent or imminent departure of wife ○ husbands often used close contact methods ○ often associated with use of excessive force Sexual Homicides killing that involves a sexual component most offenders… ○ were white ○ were single ○ had diverse criminal histories ○ used a con as method of approach Multiple Murder - serial murder = min. of two victims ; cooling off period between killings ; no apparent connections to inital murder ; killings usually committed in different location - mass muder = min. 3 victims ; no cooling off perood between killings committed at same location - spree murder = multiple victims ; one continuous event at two or more locations, no cooling off period between killings Characteristics of Serial Murderers most serial murderers are male a slight majority of serial murderers are white most common motive is enjoyment victims of serial murderers are usually females, white and young shooting is the most common method of death