PSYC 3402 Lecture - Midterm PDF

Lecture 1: Defining Crime WHAT IS CRIME? - There is not an objective definition to crime. - Crime is a social construct not universal over time or within a culture. What was acceptable before may not be anymore (i.e. abortion in the United States). Consensus theory of crim...

Lecture 1: Defining Crime WHAT IS CRIME? - There is not an objective definition to crime. - Crime is a social construct not universal over time or within a culture. What was acceptable before may not be anymore (i.e. abortion in the United States). Consensus theory of crime: crime is defined in a manner broadly agreed upon by society (i.e. not stealing from others). Conflict theory of crime: crime is determined by socially powerful groups. - There are different ages for criminal responsibility (i.e. Canada = 12 and Ireland = 7). “Criminal behaviour refers to intentional behaviour that violates a criminal code; intentional in that it does not occur accidentally or without justification of excuse.” - Includes intent and is focused on this legal definition of crime. - Definitions of criminal behavioural matters influence crime statistics, are related to prevalence, are key to research, and influence how we evaluate criminal justice interventions. - We should measure crime because it helps evaluate the CJS (criminal justice system), helps theory construction, and impacts policy. Federal and provincial corrections = 4.6 billion a year. - 3.1 million Canadians are formally involved in the CJS. - 8.3 million Canadians report being victims of crime annually. - It is a significant budget item. - Top three concerns of Canadians. MEASURING CRIME: Prevalence: the number of individuals (i.e. cases) at a specific time. - It can be expressed by a rate of percentage. - Prevalence = number of individuals doing the crime. Incidence: number of crimes/events over a specific period. - Not at the individual level!! - For example, over 2 million police-reported criminal code incidents in 2020. - It can be expressed as a rate. Crime rates: controls for population size. - Crime severity index: tracks changes in severity of police-reported crime from year to year. - It looks at the volume and severity. - More serious crime carries higher weight than less serious crime. - Weights are derived from actual sentences. Methods for gathering crime statistics: official statistics (mandatory for police to report, dark figure of crime, crime perpetrated by children are excluded, reported crimes may be withdrawn; hierarchy issue (where police only include serious crime)); - victimization surveys (20% of Canadians report being a victim each year, only ⅓ of incidents are reported to police, 63% of Canadians are affected by crime each year, participation is not required); - offending survey (studies children and youth from birth to 25 using longitudinal and cross-sectional designs, broad focus: physical development, learning, behaviour, etc; may under or over-report crime). CRIME TRENDS: - 5 out of 10 Canadians believe that crime is increasing. - Since 2020, there has been an increase in hate crime and spousal crime but a decrease in property crime. - Violent crimes have the lowest rates of police-reported crimes. PERCEPTION OF CRIME: - We do not naturally use information in a scientific manner. - Use cognitive shortcuts. - Our response to the information we get from the world is precise; because of heuristics and biases, we constantly miss preserving and overestimate crime-related trends. Influences: media (help shape public opinion, impacts public perception, the more media you use, the more fearful of crime you are, looking for views, exaggerated police success, exaggerated risk of victimization); - personal experience (if you know someone was a victim or you were a victim, you tend to believe crime is higher); - politics/Ideology (individuals who perceived crime as decreasing = support alternative measures to punishment; individuals who perceived crime as increasing support punitive measures; higher education is related to beliefs that crime trends are reducing and that punitive measures are less likely to be effective). - Public perception of crime shapes the actions of politicians. FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH CRIME; TERMINOLOGY: Correlate of crime: a variable that is associated with criminal behaviour. - Cross-sectional research designs. - Statistics (correlations). - Correlations can range from -1.0 to 1.0. Cannot infer causality because you cannot know if the factor is creating the outcome or the outcome is creating the factor. - Reverse causation. - There can be another unmeasured variable that impacts the outcome. Risk factor: a variable that precedes the outcome of interest and increases the probability that the outcome will occur; longitudinal designs. A risk factor that, when changed/manipulated, changes the outcome of interest. - Discovered using randomized controlled, treated designs, quasi-experimental designs, and propensity score matching. The Central 8: - Criminal History - Crimianal Personality - Criminal Associates - Criminal Attitudes - Substance Misuse - Marital/Family Defects. - Education/Employment Deficits - Unstructured Leisure Time Protective factors include positive attributes, internal (intelligence) or external (prosocial supports), which will reduce the likelihood of reoffending. Lecture 2: Evolutionary & Biological Theories of Crime WHAT MAKES A GOOD THEORY Parsimony: simple as possible. Make causative statements: if this happens, then that happens → Identify mediators and moderators (variables influencing the relationship). Falsifiable: able to test for it, run a research study and see whether it supports the theory. Empirically based: reviewed the research to generate the theory & can accommodate new data. Interdisciplinary compatibility: crime is influenced (by society, community, culture, etc). Respect for gender, ethnicity, and culture. Ward (2019)  - Argues that treatment effects are small to moderate due to failure to promote and test theories in correctional psychology → theories are underdeveloped and neglected (they do not meet all the characteristics of a good theory and are not taught to those who give the intervention). - If we increase theoretical literacy, i.e., the people in the CRJ's understanding of the theories of crimes, we can improve the outcome (reduce reoffending in our approaches). Dr. Bonta’s Interview - Rational, makes sense - It can be generalized to many populations - Data-driven - Practical significance - Focuses on causes BEHAVIOURAL GENETICS Genotype: unobservable genetic –genetic makeup of an individual. Phenotype: the totality of observable behaviour characteristics. - Dynamic (changes over time). - Product of an interaction between genotype and environment. Assumption of behavioural genetics: everybody will have an underlying liability for engaging in crime. - The liability is a result of both genetics and the environment. - Genetics matters as much as the environment. RESEARCH METHODS OF GENETIC STUDIES Compare people with varying genetic and environmental correlations → Compare identical twins vs. fraternal twins, etc. - Use statistical models to estimate this variability and how much of it is explained in genes, shared environments, and non-shared environments. TWIN STUDIES Identical twins = 100% DNA Fraternal twins = 50% DNA Researchers have conducted these studies to tease genes apart from the environment by comparing trait similarities between identical and fraternal twins. - Concordance rate: the percentage of two individuals who match one another on a specific trait. - If the concordance rate is higher for identical (MZ) twins than for fraternal (DZ) twins, it means that there is a stronger genetic influence. ADOPTION STUDIES Adopted children have the genes of their biological parents and the environment provided from their adoptive parents. - The Concordance rate is calculated between adopted children and their adoptive parents (environment) and children and their biological parents (genetics). SIBLING DESIGNS Compare different types of siblings. - Full brothers = same, shared environment and genetics are 50%. - Maternal halfbrothers = same, shared environment and genetics are 25%. - Paternal halfbrothers = different, not shared environment and genetics are 25%. - ​Used to compare different rates of crime across - Due to genes or environment? - A study done on Sexual offending data showed key factors were Genetics and Non-shared environment. - Meant more for sexual offending against children than against adults - This means the environment matters more  - Overall, there is a consistent genetic component to antisocial behaviour ** A PRIMER ON MOLECULAR GENETICS Polymorphisms: a small number of genes that produce multiple traits. The different forms of the same gene are called alleles. - Blood type is a polymorphism with three different alleles: A, B, and 0. - Eye colour is a polymorphism with different alleles: blue, brown, and green. Monamine oxidase (MAOA) gene: - 1 gene with 2 forms. - Low activity (allele 1) vs. High activity (allele 2). - MAOA is responsible for breaking down the brain neurotransmitters (norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine). - MAOA gene (low allele) is linked with aggression. - It is only found in the X chromosome, so it mainly affects males because they have one X chromosome. - MAOA low activity: hypersensitive, affected more by negative experiences, reacts aggressively in defence, and impulsive. DIATHESIS-STRESS MODEL Having a vulnerability doesn't mean you will develop the condition; Need an additive effect of a stressor. Implications: - Biomarker of aggression. - Targeting MAOA to treat pathological aggression - More targeted prevention. NEUROCHEMISTRY AND CRIME Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers of the NS operating in the brain. - Work together with hormones. - Serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine have been studied about crime. Serotonin: involved in behavioural inhibition and mood regulation. - Influences sexual activity, sleep regulation, and appetite. - Serotonin has been the most studied. - Low levels reduce our ability to inhibit behavioural impulses. Dopamine: pleasure system; gives us pleasant feelings. - Higher levels are associated with higher levels of aggression. - Low levels were found to discriminate violent recidivists from nonrecidivists. Norepinephrine: involved in fight or flight. - Positive relationship between NE activity and aggression. - Positive correlation between elevated levels and history of aggression. - Majority of research is based of off males. Hormones - messengers of the endocrine system ○ Testosterone Has a minimal link to criminal behaviour Higher levels of testosterone have a small (positive) correlation with aggression. Reducing testosterone in men with sexual offences it can reduce recidivism for some. ○ Cortisol Stress hormone High levels of cortisol may increase behavioural responses to minor forms of provocation. Overreaction to minor issues Low cortisol levels may result in an "underappreciation" of the consequences of aggression. More likely to use aggression Linked with aggression  Chemical Castration: - Administer drugs such as lupron, which acts on the pituitary gland to inhibit testosterone. - In Canada, courts cannot order it but can make psychiatric treatment mandatory, which may include medication. - It can be included as condition of parole, but not once the sentence is over → parole board can impose chemical castration. BIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES, AUTOMATIC NERVOUS SYSTEM Regulates involuntary responses. ANS arousal and antisocial behaviour - Antisocial individuals are more likely to be under-aroused - Measures of ANS: - Heart Rate (HR) - Lower HR found in CD, delinquent and antisocial youth - Skin Conductance - Electrodermal activity (EDA) - EDA - measures the amount of electrical current between two points on the skin - Sweating can create electrical activity - Antisocial individuals have lower EDA - Less nervous = less sweat/less conductance - Electroencephalogram (EEG) - Increased aggression for those showing delta and theta waves - Low HR, EDA, and slow-wave EEGS's all indicate ANS under arousal - Tried to link measures of autonomic response such as HR and Electrodermal activity (EDA) to various measures of antisocial conduct - HR and EDA are related to general emotional reactions such as fear, anger, or anxiety → Individuals who engage in antisocial behaviours tend to exhibit low HR and low EDA PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY AND CRIME Psychophysiological Theory - uses physiology (i.e., low resting heart rate) to explain psychological constructs (i.e., emotions, motivation, learning etc.) Fearlessness theory: - Some individuals do not experience much fear (i.e. elevated Hr, sweaty palms) when stressed. - Low ANS arousal indicated low levels of fear and anxiety. - Increase in antisocial behaviour. Stimulation-seeking theory: - Low ANS arousal is a constant state (i.e., having a low resting HR); individuals seek stimulation by engaging in risky activities such as crime (criminal behaviour) to alleviate the unpleasantness or bring their arousal to an ideal level. BIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES: NEUROIMAGING AND NEUROPSYCHOLOGY Frontal lobe: The frontal lobe is responsible for higher cognitive functions such as decision-making, problem-solving, emotional regulation, and voluntary movement control. Prefrontal cortex damage can predispose individuals to violent and antisocial behaviour. - Structural or Functional damage to the area responsible for Emotional regulation, Decision making, Impulse control, Cognitive flexibility - This leads to Antisocial tendencies, Earlier age of incarceration, Increased risk of violence, More convictions, Infractions in prison, Poorer treatment gain, Revocation (recidivism), Self-harm and Suicidal behaviour. Prefrontal cortex dysfunction: - Damage to the orbitofrontal region can produce a syndrome called pseudopsychopathy or acquired sociopathy - Immature behaviour - Lack of tact or restraint  - Coarse language - Promiscuous/aberrant sexual behaviour - Lack of social grace NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL DEFICITS AND CRIME Neuropsychology - studies brain function indirectly - i.e., a suspected brain injury following an accident, a person may be administered motor tests designed to diagnose what part of the brain may be malfunctioning/underdeveloped. - Executive functioning - cognitive functioning involving future goal-oriented behaviour, purposive attention, organizational skills, and inhibitory control Verbal Deficits - Juvenile delinquents have evidenced verbal deficits, which are proposed to be linked to criminal behaviour. - Linked to the left hemisphere dysfunction Executive Functions - Delinquent youth displayed impairment in terms of executive functioning (Wisconsin Card Sort Test). - Meta-analysis found a moderate effect. - Linked to frontal Cortex dysfunction Impact on the Criminal Justice System - More cases where neuroscientific evidence - Typically used to reduce the sentence - To find a brain excuse for their actions - Used to assess mental states (Competency hearings) Brain Imaging: - Brain Imaging - examines the structural (i.e., reduced grey matter, tumours, lesions) and functional characteristics of the brain (i.e., blood flow, glucose metabolism - In brain imaging studies, these are some conclusions made from findings: - Functional and structural damage to the prefrontal cortex are more common among antisocial populations than in comparison groups - Areas associated with emotional regulation, social cognition, self-reflection, decision-making, impulse control, and cognitive flexibility are most likely to be impaired in antisocial populations. - Limbic systems of anti-social populations showed lower responses to threatening stimuli. OTHER BIOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS - DIET, TOXINS, AND PREGNANCY Diet: unhealthy, high sugar diet = higher risk of antisocial behaviour. Lead exposure - Higher levels of lead/lead exposure in an individual = possible association with changes in prefrontal lobe and neural networks - During childhood (and in utero) impacts brain development - Predisposes individuals to poor educational performance, attention deficits, and antisocial behaviours. Steroids: a possible situational risk factor for those with aggression issues. Alcohol: - Relationship between substance use and aggression - Causes difficulties with neurological functioning - Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Lecture 3: Psychodynamic & Learning Theories of Crime PSYCHODYNAMIC They believe that humans are prone to aggression.  Freud: - Behaviour is instinctually driven (sex and aggression). - It must release aggressive energy. - Behaviour (and personality) is unconsciously determined. - Personality develops in stages → Early experience is emphasized. - Id, Ego, Superego Id: instinctual desires (unconscious) - Governed by pleasure. Ego: mediates instinctual needs and those of society. - Governed by reality principle. Superego: our moral regulator. - Two systems are conscience (which shuts down the ID) and the ego ideal (the social standards we aspire to). 3 main sources of criminal behaviour created by the faulty development of the superego → did not receive what they needed. - Harsh → neurotic criminal - Weak → psychopathic - Deviant → deviant identification THE GLUECKS Matched samples of 500 delinquent and 500 nondelinquent youth. - Interviews with boys, parents, and teachers. - Delinquency due to weak superego from faulty parenting. - There was an emphasis on family and parenting variables. They believe that the primary cause of delinquency is parenting factors. - Parental ideals, attitudes, temperaments, and behaviour must have significantly impacted the superego (conscience). SOCIAL CONTROL THEORIES OF CRIME Social control theories of crime propose that all humans are fundamentally impulsive and aggressive, and it is through internal and external controls that we refrain from being violent. Instead of asking why people commit crime, these theories focus on why not everyone does. The key assumption is that social processes make individuals to conform and bind them to the social order, preventing crime. EARLY SOCIAL CONTROL THEORIES Personal Control: These controls, internalized individually, are often developed through family and primary groups. Family’s Role: Families play a crucial role in instilling pro-social values. Children from cohesive, supportive families are less likely to become delinquent. SOCIAL BOND THEORY (HIRSCHI) Crime is more likely when a person’s bond to society is weak or broken. The theory emphasizes four fundamental elements of social bonds: 1. Attachment: Emotional ties to others. 2. Commitment: Pursuing conventional goals (e.g., job, family). 3. Involvement: Participation in pro-social activities (e.g., volunteering). 4. Beliefs: Respect for societal rules and laws.  If these bonds are strong, an individual is less likely to engage in criminal behaviour. GENERAL THEORY OF CRIME This theory adds complexity by focusing on self-control. Low self-control, usually stemming from poor childhood socialization and weak parental guidance, is linked to a higher likelihood of committing a crime. Key traits of low self-control include impulsivity, a focus on the present, unstable relationships, and lack of remorse. MODERN DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES Life course persistent pathway: - The lifelong offending individuals. - It is a persistent pattern of criminal or violent behaviours. - They start young and continue throughout the majority of their life. - May have a prefrontal cortex injury. Adolescent limited pathway: - Antisocial behaviours begins in adolescence. - With time, they change. - Peers can be a significant influence on such a pathway. Age-Graded Theory of Informal Social Control: - Individuals desist from crime when subject to informal social controls (jobs, relationships). - Notes that these controls will be dependent on your age. - The value or effect of the controls will increase or decrease depending on the lifespan. Other early childhood factors: - Childhood externalizing disorders link to onset delinquency. - Parental practices. Baumrinds parenting styles: - Authoritative parents are warm but firm, setting clear rules while encouraging independence. - Authoritarian parents are strict and controlling, while; - permissive parents are lenient, offering little guidance or discipline. Implications: - Neurological differences. - Importance of temperament (emotions/behaviour) - Important of parents - Importance of socialization LEARNING THEORIES Learning is an adaptive process in which a particular behaviour is changed by experience. Criminal behaviour is under antecedent (prompt) and consequence control. Classical conditioning: - Watson and based on Pavlov’s dog. - Demonstrated how behaviours can be learned through association. - Pavlov showed that by repeatedly pairing a neutral stimulus (a bell) with an unconditioned stimulus (food), the dog eventually learned to associate the bell with food and would salivate when hearing it. Over time, the bell alone became a conditioned stimulus, triggering the conditioned response of salivation without food. Eysenck’s conditionability: - Assumed that delinquent acts, such as theft, violence, and vandalism, were essential, pleasurable or beneficial.  - Why is everyone not a criminal? The hedonistic tendency to commit crimes is opposed by the conscience, which is a fear response built up from childhood in conditioning in a controlling process. - Refers to the idea that an individual's behaviour (criminal behaviour) is influenced by their level of personality traits like extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism. - Believed that individuals with personality traits, such as high extraversion (seeking stimulation) and low levels of fear or anxiety (low neuroticism), have weaker social conditioning and self-control, making them more prone to impulsive and antisocial behaviour. - Controllability is the degree to which an individual's personality enables or limits their ability to regulate impulses and conform to social norms. Operant conditioning: - Skinner is a strong situationist → believes that all behaviours occur due to the environment. - Learning theory explains how behaviour is shaped by its consequences. - Reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behaviour (positive reinforcement adds a reward, negative reinforcement removes something unpleasant) - Punishment decreases the likelihood of a behaviour (positive punishment adds something unpleasant, negative punishment removes something desirable). - Over time, behaviours are strengthened or weakened depending on the consequences they receive. Application to criminal behaviour: - Positive reinforcement →, material gain, thrill/adrenaline, positive peer responses. - Negative reinforcement → reduction of fear/anxiety, removal of stressors. Prison sentences do not reduce reoffending. SOCIAL LEARNING THEORIES Can learn from personal consequences but also by seeing others rewarded and punished. Extends operant condition by including observational learning, cognition, etc. We need to examine perceptions, thoughts, expectancies, competencies, and values to understand criminal behaviour. Learning principles work well with animals, but humans have complex cognitions that presumably influence behaviour. Bandura (social learning theory): - We learn through observation and listening to those around us. - Cognition plays a role in our active decisions to engage or not engage in a specific behaviour. - Vicarious learning and self-efficacy. Sutherland (differential association theory): - Dismissed internal factors. - People learn to commit deviant acts through interpersonal interactions with their social environment. - Development of attitudes supportive of crime comes from chronic exposure to delinquent peers. - Frequency, duration, status of the individual, and how such interactions occur in our development are vital. - 9 principles. - Learn values that are favourable or unfavourable to law violation from others. Akers (differential association-reinforcement theory): - Core elements of Skinnerian behaviourism, Bandura’s social learning theory, and Sutherland’s differential association theory. - People learn to commit deviant acts through interpersonal interactions in their social environment; group interactions, observational, and vicarious learning are key. - Personal reinforcement = operant. - Watching others be reinforced = vicarious - Role models: parents, peers, media. PIC R (PERSONAL, INTERPERSONAL, AND COMMUNITY REINFORCEMENT THEORY) Antecedent events control criminal behaviour (precede the behaviour) and consequent events (follow the behaviour). Signal operant conditioning (reward & cost) that come from 4 sources: 1. Personal = the individual 2. Interpersonal = other people 3. Situational = the act itself 4. Community The impact of reward and cost depends on personal and biological factors. Explains that personal, interpersonal, and community-level reinforcements shape criminal behaviour. - Personal factors include internal motivations and self-control, interpersonal factors relate to relationships with others (like family or peers), and community factors involve broader social and environmental influences. - Criminal behaviour persists when these factors provide more rewards than pro-social alternatives, reinforcing the behaviour. Canada and the UK apply these principles to their treatment. - It is changing its nature to help reduce recidivism and help individuals not commit crimes. Lecture 4: Risk Assessment THE PURPOSE OF RISK ASSESSMENT Risk assessment informs sentencing, security classification, parole decisions, case management, and treatment intensity. It also determines the level of supervision and allocates scarce resources. Informing sentencing and security classification: - Risk assessment is used to determine whether an individual can be kept in indeterminate detention and to decide the security classification level for an individual. Parole decisions and case management: - Risk assessment informs parole decisions, identifies treatment needs, and determines the level of supervision and treatment intensity. Allocating scarce resources: - Risk assessment allocates scarce resources, such as time and budget, to individuals at a higher risk of reoffending. RISK FACTORS Risk factors are categorized as static or dynamic. Static risk factors: - Risk factors that cannot be changed. - Prior offence - Age of the individual at release - Prior community supervision by license Dynamic risk factors: - Risk factors that can change over time and are further described as stable or acute. - Stable dynamic risk factors change slowly, such as attitudes to armed crime. - Acute dynamic risk factors change rapidly, such as victim access and collapse of social support. Unique risk factors: - Unique risk factors are risk factors that are specific to a particular type of crime. - Domestic violence: level of jealousy, number of stepchildren. - Sexual offending: sexual preoccupation, vegan sexual interest, stranger victims.  Generic risk factors: - Factors are risk factors that predict all types of crime. - The big four = criminal history, pro-criminal personality (a personality conducive to committing crimes), pro-criminal attitudes (attitudes conducive to committing crimes), and pro-criminal associates. Protective factors: - Reduce the chance of committing a crime. - Concern for others - Aspiration for work or family - Adult social support CENTRAL EIGHT RISK FACTORS