forensic psychology

• How is crime defined in forensic psychology?

  Crime is any illegal act punishable by incarceration or another type of punishment.
• What historical issue complicates the definition of crime?

  What was considered a crime in the past may not be viewed as a crime today.
• When was homosexuality legalized in the UK?

  Homosexuality was legalized in the UK in 1967.
• How do cultural issues affect the perception of crime?

  Cultural differences can lead to varying views on what is acceptable behavior.
• What does the 2004 Child’s Protection Act state regarding smacking children in the UK?

  Smacking a child so that a mark is left is punishable by law.
• What are the three main methods of measuring crime?

  • Official Statistics
  • Victim Surveys
  • Offender Surveys
• What do Official Statistics represent in crime measurement?

  They describe the number of crimes reported to and recorded by the police.
• How many households are involved in Victim Surveys in the UK?

  Victim Surveys involve 50,000 randomly selected households.
• What is the purpose of Offender Surveys?

  To gather details of the types and frequency of crimes committed by a cohort of criminals.
• What is a significant problem associated with Official Statistics?

  They may conceal the 'dark figure' of crime, where 75% of crime goes unreported.
• What did Farrington and Dowds (1985) find regarding police recording policies?

  Changes in police recording policies can explain sudden increases in theft incidence rates.
• How do Victim Surveys reduce the impact of the 'dark figure' of crime?

  They allow individuals to self-report crimes, reducing fear of repercussions.
• What methodological problem is associated with Victim Surveys?

  Victims may experience 'telescoping', misremembering when a crime occurred.
• What is the practical application of Offender Surveys?

  They inform crime prevention and management strategies by showing patterns of offending behavior.
• What bias may affect the data collected from Offender Surveys?

  Offenders may exaggerate or minimize their crimes in self-reports.
• What does the top-down approach in offender profiling use?

  A pre-established typology and the FBI method of profile generation.
• What are the two categories of offenders in the top-down approach?

  Organised and disorganised offenders.

  
• What are the four steps of profile generation in the top-down approach?

  1. Crime scene classification
  2. Crime reconstruction
  3. Data assimilation
  4. Profile generation
• What characteristics define organised offenders?

  They are socially and sexually competent, showing evidence of planning.
• How do disorganised offenders differ from organised offenders?

  Disorganised offenders show no evidence of planning and often leave clues at the crime scene.
• What is the aim of offender profiling?

  To reduce the list of suspects and increase the likelihood of solving a case.
• What is a limitation of the top-down approach in offender profiling?

  It can only explain crimes with obvious, visible characteristics.
• Why might the top-down approach oversimplify offender classification?

  Not all offenders can be distinctly categorized as organised or disorganised.
• What did Canter et al (2004) find regarding disorganised offenders?

  Disorganised offenders cannot be distinctly identified from organised offenders.
• What does the bottom-up approach in offender profiling rely on?

  It develops a profile as the crime scene and eyewitness testimonies are analyzed.
• What are the two hallmarks of the bottom-up approach?

  • Investigative psychology
  • Geographical profiling
• What is the process of investigative psychology?

  Each crime is recorded onto a database and matched with details of new crimes to develop hypotheses.
• What does 'interpersonal coherence' suggest in investigative psychology?

  The manner in which the offender treats the victim reflects their interpersonal functioning in real life.
• What does geographical profiling assume about offenders?

  Each offender has an operational base inferred through mapping previous crime locations.
• How are offenders classified in geographical profiling?

  As marauders or commuters based on their crime locations relative to their operational base.
• What did Copson (1995) find regarding the effectiveness of offender profiling?

  Information from an offender profile led to successful identification in only 3% of cases.
• What is a key advantage of the bottom-up approach over the top-down approach?

  It relies on scientific methods of inquiry and statistical analysis.
• What evidence supports the use of smallest space analysis in geographical profiling?

  Lundrigan and Canter (2001) found characteristic traits of spatial consistency in serial murder cases.
• Who proposed the atavistic form in biological explanations of crime?

  Lombroso proposed the atavistic form.
• What are atavistic characteristics according to Lombroso?

  Specific facial and cranial features that identify criminals.

  
• What are some examples of atavistic characteristics?

  Long ears, dark skin, extra toes, and curly hair.
• How did Lombroso associate certain atavistic characteristics with specific crimes?

  Murderers had bloodshot eyes, fraudsters had reedy lips, and sexual deviants had glinting eyes.

  
• What was the basis of Lombroso's theory regarding atavistic characteristics?

  He studied the cranial features of 383 dead and 3,839 living criminals.
• What criticism do modern researchers have regarding Lombroso's atavistic theory?

  It has been branded as racist and lacks scientific validity.
• Why is the atavistic form considered unscientific?

  Lombroso's methodology lacked statistical analysis and a control group.