forensics

Created by

evie

Cards (84)

what is the top-down approach 
investigative tool by US police to narrow down the field of enquiry and suspects
what are the two behavioural categories
organised
disorganised
what are traits of organised criminals 
plans crime in advanced
above average intelligence
little evidence left
controlled
married or have children
what are traits of disorganised criminals 
no planning
lower IQ
unskilled work or unemployed
body usually at scene
spontaneous
what are the main stages of conducting an fbi profile
data assimilation
crime scene classification
crime reconstruction
profile generation
what is data assimilation 
gathering information from multiple sources ( police reports, crime scene photos)
what is crime scene classification 
decide if scene represents organised or disorganised
what is crime reconstruction 
hypotheses made about what happened (victim behaviour, crime sequence)
what is profile generation 
profilers sketch the offender including physical characteristics, behaviour habits
what are evaluations of the top-down approach
strengths: high ecological validity
limitations: only applies to particular crimes with a crime scene, not cyber crimes
classification is too simplistic
original sample too small (36)
based on outdated models of personality
what is the bottom-up approach 
uses past data on similar crimes committed to build a picture of the offender
what is the aim of investigative psychology 
establish patterns of behaviour that are likely to occur or co-exist across crime scenes
what are key assumptions of investigative psychology 
interpersonal coherence
time and place
forensic awareness
what is interpersonal coherence 
consistency between how offenders interact with their victim and with others in everyday life
what is time and place 
time and location communicates something about own place of residency or employment
e.g crimes during daytime indicates unemployed or working night shifts
what is forensic awareness 
offenders who show understanding of police investigation are likely to have had previous encounters with justice system
what is geographical profiling 
uses locations of linked crime scenes to make inferences about the operating base of offender - known as geographical profiling
what is circle theory 
developed by canter the idea most offenders have a spatial mindset
what are the two models of circle theory
marauder
commuter
what is the marauder  
operates in close proximity to their home base
what is the commuter 
travelled to commit crimes
what is evaluation of bottom-up approach
strengths: real life application
applies to more crimes then top-down
scientific method as its done of statistical likelihood
limitations: other factors are important like characteristics
what is atavistic form 
focuses on nature and the idea our behaviour is the result of physiology
who proposed the atavistic form 
lombroso
what did lombroso suggest criminals experienced 
a genetic throwback and primitive features that are less developed
what are criminal traits 
high cheek bones
narrow, sloping brow
prominent jaw
eye defects
what are strengths and limitations of atavistic form 
strength: father of criminology- helped it move from a moralistic view to a scientific field
limitations: racially biased- racial undertones (dark skin, curly hair) which is commonly found among those of African descent
lack of support- goring found no link between behaviours and physiology
provides an excuse- biologically deterministic, criminals have no freewill over behaviour if born with these features
biologically reductionist- too focused on nature
what are genetic explanations for criminals 
twin studies
adoption studies
family studies
candidate genes
diathesis-stress model
how is twin studies an explanation for criminal behaviour 
christiansen (1977): examined 3500 pairs of twins and established concordance rate of criminal behaviours
mz: 35%+21% dz: 13%+8%
suggests genetics play a part because mz twins share 100% genes and their concordance rate is higher but environment still plays a part as it is not 100%
how are adoption studies a explanation for criminal behaviour 
Crowe (1972): compared a group of adopted children whose bio mom had a criminal record, and those who's bio mom didn't
if bio mom had criminal record: 50% of adopted children had criminal record by 18.
if bio mom didn't have criminal record: 5% of adopted children had criminal record by 18.
takes into account both nature and nurture
how is family studies an explanation for criminal behaviour 
brunner (1993): conducted analysis of large Netherlands family, some had been responsible for counts of antisocial + criminal behaviour
researchers found males had a genetic condition which later became 'brunner syndrome' which results in lower IQ and deficiency in maoa gene
how are candidate genes an explanation for criminal behaviour 
maoa gene is responsible for production of a protein which allows metabolising of noradrenaline, serotonin, dopamine
a dysfunction in the gene can result in these neurotransmitters not being broken down.
how is diathesis stress model an explanation for criminal behaviour 
low maoa gene activity is only related to adult aggression when combined with a traumatic life event
what are the neural explanations for criminal behaviour 
mirror neurons
prefrontal cortex
amygdala
what is the explanation of mirror neurons for criminal behaviour 
brain cell that fires when you do an action or watch someone else do same action. triggers empathy for others
criminals can switch off mirror neurons = no empathy for others
what is the explanation of the pre frontal cortex for criminal behaviour 
linked to decision making, criminals have a smaller pre frontal cortex
what is the explanation of the amygdala for criminal behaviour 
seat of emotions, psychopaths lack remorse and they have a smaller amygdala
what are the psychological explanations 
Eysenck's theory of criminal personality
cognitive explanations
differential association theory
psychodynamic explanations
what are the traits proposed to have a criminal personality 
extraversion
neuroticism
psychoticism
what is extraversion 
outgoing, talkative, seek excitement and engage in risk taking behaviour