Psych exp: Cognitive exp

• What is the level of moral reasoning?

  • refers to the process by which an individual draws upon their own value system to determine whether an action is right or wrong
• What are the 3 universal levels of moral reasoning suggested by Kohlberg?

  1. Preconventional

  2. Conventional

  3. Post-conventional
• What is the level of preconventional morality?

  • Punishment orientation -> rules are obeyed to avoid punishment
  • Instrumental orientation and personal gain -> rules are obeyed for personal gain
• What is the level of conventional morality?

  • 'Good boy/girl' orientation -> rules are obeyed for approval
  • Maintenance of the social order -> rules are obeyed to maintain the social order
• What is the level of postconventional morality?

  • Morality of contract and individual rights -> rules are obeyed if impartial; democratic rules are challenged if they infringe on the rights of others
  • Morality of conscience -> the individual establishes their own rules in accordance with their set of ethical principles
• What did Kohlberg propose about the morality of criminals?

  • Kohlberg proposed that criminals have a childlike, immature sense of reasoning, and so reason at the pre-conventional level 
• What are cognitive distortions?

  Errors or biases in people’s information processing system characterised by fault thinking.
• Types of cognitive distortions?

  • Hostile attribution bias
  • Minimalisation
• What is hostile attribution bias?

  • The tendency for offenders to view emotionally ambiguous or non-threatening situations as hostile and threatening, and so is an automatic reaction to novel situations  
  • It tends to link to impulsive aggression (reactive outbursts, usually disorganised offenders, extrovert neurotics) 
• Research support for hostile attribution bias? (AO3)

  • Schönenberg and Justye (2014) 
  • 55 violent offenders were exposed to pictures of facial expressions
  • neither clearly hostile nor clearly neutral
  • overwhelming majority viewed the images as aggressive or hostile.  
  • Control group: non-aggressive matched group (matched pairs)
  • The offenders were significantly more likely to perceive images as angry and hostile 
• More research support for hostile attribution bias? (AO3)

  • DODGE AND FRAME (1982)
  • showed children a video clip of an ‘ambiguous provocation’.
  • Children who had been identified as aggressive and rejected prior to the study interpreted the situation as more hostile than those classed as non-aggressive and accepted.
  • Therefore, may suggest this behaviour may lie in childhood. 
• What is minimalisation?

  • The attempt to deny or downplay the seriousness of an offence, the application of a ‘euphemistic label’  
  • E.g. burglars may describe themselves as ‘doing a job’ or ‘supporting my family’ as a way of minimising the seriousness of their offences  
• Minimalisation research support (AO3)

  • HOWARD BARBAREE (1991) found among 26 incarcerated rapists, 54% denied they had committed an offence at all, 40% minimised the harm they had caused. 
  • POLLOCK AND HASHMALL (1991) reported 35% of a sample of child molesters argued that the crime they had committed was non-sexual (they were ‘just being affectionate’), 36% stated that the victim had consented  
• Further minimalisation support (AO3)

  • KENNEDY AND GRUBIN (1992)
  • looked at use of minimalization by convicted sex offenders.
  • Accounts of offences by offenders were used and rated for degree of denial
  • Majority of offenders attempted to excuse their behaviour by blaming someone else, usually victim
  • A 1/3 of the offenders denied any involvement at all
  • ¼ believed their victim benefitted in some way from the abuse.
  • Minimalisation seems to be widely used for offenders.  
• Real life application (AO3)

  • There is a major potential benefit to treating offenders
  • In CBT, offenders are challenged to face up to their thinking and adjust their distorted thought processes
  • A number of studies have found a correlation between reduced minimisation/denial with reduced offering
  • However can be expensive and not all offenders benefit from it.