cognitive explanations

• level of moral reasoning

  Kohlberg proposed that people's decisions and judgements on issues of right and wrong can be summarised in a stage theory of moral development - the higher the stage, the more sophisticated the reasoning. Kohlberg based his theory on people's responses to a series of dilemmas.
• Kohlberg's theory of reasoning

  many studies have suggested that criminals tend to show a lower level of moral reasoning than non-criminals. Kohlberg, using his moral technique, found that a group of violent youths were significantly lower in their moral development than non-violent youths.
• Kohlberg's model and criminality

  Criminal offenders are more likely to be classified at the pre-conventional of his model (stage 1 and 2), whereas non-criminals have generally progressed to the conventional level and beyond.
• Kohlberg's model continued

  the pre-conventional level is characterised by a need to avoid punishment and gain rewards, and is associated with a less mature, childlike reasoning. Adults who reason at this level may commit crime and get away with it or gain rewards in the form of money or increase respect
• Kohlberg's model continued

  This assumption is supported by studies which suggest that offenders are often more egocentric and display poorer social perspective-taking skills than non-offenders. Individuals who reason at higher levels tend to sympathise more with the rights of others and exhibit more conventional behaviours such as honesty and non-violence.
• cognitive distortions

  errors or biases in people's information processing system characterised by faulty thinking. we all occasionally show evidence of faulty thinking when explaining our own behaviour but research has linked this to the way in which criminals interpret other's behaviours and justify their own actions.
• example of cognitive distortions - hostile attribution bias

  evidence suggests a proportion of violence is often associated with a tendency to misinterpret the actions of other people. offenders may misread non-aggressive cues and this may trigger a violent response. Schoenberg and Justye presented 55 violent offenders with images of emotionally ambiguous facial expressions. when compared with a non-aggressive matched control group, the violent offenders were significantly more likely to percieve the images as angry and hostile
• hostile attribution bias continued

  the roots of this behaviour may lie in childhood. Dodge and Frame showed children a video clip of an 'ambiguous provocation', where the intention was neither hostile or accidental. children who had be identified as aggressive and rejected prior to the study interpreted the situation as more hostile than those classed as non-aggressive.
• example of cognitive distortion - minimisation

  an attempt to deny or downplay the seriousness of an offence and has been referred to as the application of a euphemistic label for behaviour. e.g. a burglar may describe themselves as doing a job for their family as a way of minimising the seriousness of the offence
• minimisation continued

  studies suggest that individuals who commit sexual offences are prone to minimisation. Barbaree found among 26 incarcerated rapists, 54% denied they had committed an offence at all and a further 40% minimised the harm they caused to the victim. Pollock and Hashmall reported that 35% of a sample of child molesters argued that the crime they committed was non-sexual and 36% stated the victim consented
• A03- level of moral reasoning evidence

  • Palmer and Hollin compared moral reasoning between 210 female non-offenders, 122 male non-offenders and 126 convicted offenders using the socio-moral reflection form which contained 11 moral dilemma related questions
  • the delinquent group showed less mature moral reasoning than non-delinquent which is consistent in Kohlberg's prediction
  • Blackburn suggests the delinquents may show poor moral development due to a lack of role playing opportunities in childhood
• A03 - alternative theories of moral reasoning

  • Gibbs proposed a revised version of Kohlberg's theory comprising a mature and immature level of reasoning
  • in the first level, moral decisions are guided by avoidance of punishment and personal gain
  • in the second level, they are gained by empathy, social justice and one's own conscience
  • these stages are equivalent to Kohlberg's conventional and pre-conventional levels
• A03- alternative theories continued

  • Gibbs argued that Kohlberg's post-conventional level should be abandoned because it was culturally biased and did not represent a natural maturational stage of cognitive development
  • Gibbs view is supported by Piaget's theory of moral development which suggests that child-like reasoning is self-centred and egocentric which gives way to empathy and a concern for the needs of others as children get older
• A03 - application of research

  • understanding the nature of cognitive distortions has proven beneficial in the treatment of criminal behaviour
  • the dominant approach in the rehabilitation of sex offenders is cognitive behavioural therapy which encourages offenders to face up to what they have done
  • studies suggest that reduced incidence of denial and minimalization in therapy is highly correlated with a reduced risk of reoffending and is a key feature of anger management