Cognitive

• Moral development

  • Kohlberg applied concept of moral reasoning to offending behaviour.
  • Kohlberg proposed that peoples decisions and judgements on issues of right and wrong can be summarised in a stage theory of moral reasoning- the higher that stage= more sophisticated reasoning.
  • Kohlberg based his theory on people's responses to a series of moral dilemmas.
  • Many studies have suggested that offenders tend to show a lower level of moral reasoning than non-offenders.
• • Kohlberg using his moral dilemmas, found that a group of violent youths were at a significantly lower level of moral development than non-violent youths.
• Level of moral reasoning= the way a person thinks about right and wrong. Such thinking then applies to moral behaviour. The higher the level, the more that behaviour is driven by a sense of what is right and the less it is driven by just avoiding punishment or avoiding the disapproval of others.
• Link with criminality

  • Offenders are more likely to be classified as the pre-conventional level of Kohlberg's model, whereas non-offenders have generally progressed to the conventional level.
  • Pre-conventional level is characterised by a need to avoid punishment and gain rewards, and is associated with less mature, childlike reasoning.
  • So adults and adolescents who reason at this level may commit crimes f they get away with it or gain rewards in form of money, increased respect.
• Link with criminality continued

  • This assumption is supported by studies which suggest that offenders are often more self-centred, display poorer social perspective-taking skills than non-offender peers.
  • Individuals who reason at higher levels tend to sympathise more and exhibit more conventional behaviours like honesty, generosity and non-violence.
• Evaluation, moral development- research support

  • Evidence for the link between level of moral reasoning and crime.
  • Palmer and Hollin compared moral reasoning in 332 non-offenders and 126 convicted offenders, using the socio moral reflection measure short form (SRM-SF) which contains 11 moral dilemma related questions such as not taking things that belong to others and keeping a promise to a friend.
  • Offender group showed less mature moral reasoning than the non-offender group. This is consistent with Kohlberg's predictions.
• Evaluation, moral development- type of offence

  Limitation= level of moral reasoning may depend on the offence.

  • Thornton and Reid found that people who committed crimes for financial gain were most likely to show pre-conventional moral reasoning than those convicted of impulsive crimes.
  • Pre-conventional moral reasoning tends to be associated with crimes in which offenders believe they have a good chance of evading punishment.
  • Kohlberg's theory may not apply to all forms of crime.
• Cognitive distortions are faulty, biased and irrational ways of thinking that means we perceive ourselves, other people and the world inaccurately and negatively. We occasionally show evidence of faulty thinking when explaining our own behaviour (unexpected or out of character behaviour)

  • Linked this to the way in which offenders interpret other peoples behaviour and justify their own actions.
• Hostile attribution bias= tendancy to judge ambiguous situations or actions of others as aggressive or threatening.
• Minimalisation= type of deception that involves downplaying the significance of an event or emotion.
• Hostile attribution bias

  = A tendancy for violence is often associated with a tendancy to misinterpret the actions of other people.

  • Offenders may misread non-aggressive cues and this may trigger a disproportionate, violent response.
  • Schonenberg and Jusyte presented 55 violent offenders with images of emotionally ambiguous facial expressions.
  • Compared to a non-aggressive matched control group, the violent offenders were significantly more likely to perceive images as angry and hostile.
• Hostile attribution bias:

  • Roots of this behaviour may be apparent in childhood.
  • Dodge and Frame showed children a video of an 'ambiguous provocation'
  • Children identified as aggressive prior to study interpreted the situation as more hostile than 'non-aggressive'
• Minimalisation

  • Burglars may describe themselves as 'doing a job' or 'supporting my family' as a way of minimalisation the seriousness of their offences.
  • Suggests that individuals who commit sexual offences are prone to minimalisation.
  • Barbaree found among 26 incarcerated rapists, 54% denied they had committed an offence at all, 40% minimised the harm they had caused to victim.
• Evaluation, cognitive- real world application

  • Cognitive behaviour therapy aims to challenge irrational thinking in the case of offending behaviour, offenders are encouraged to 'face up' to what they have done and established a less distorted view of their actions.
  • Studies suggest that reduced incidence of denial and minimalisation in therapy is highly associated with a reduced risk of reoffending.
  • Suggests the theory of cognitive distortions has practical value.
• Evaluation, cognitive distortions- type of offence

  Limitation= level of cognitive distortions depends on the type of offence.

  • Howitt and Sheldon gathered questionnaire responses from sexual offenders. They found that non-contact sexual offenders used more cognitive distortions than contact sex offenders.
  • Those with a history of offending were also more likely to use distortions as a justification.
  • So cognitive distortions are not used in the same way by all offenders.