Cognitive explanations: psychological

• what did Kohlberg propose?

  the level of moral reasoning
• what does the level of moral reasoning suggest?

  that people's decisions and judgements in issues or right and wrong can be summarised in a stage theory of moral development
• What did Kohleberg find using the moral dilemma technique?


  that a group of violent youths were significantly lower on the moral development than non violent youths
• Where are criminal offenders more likely to fall on the morality model?

  offenders are more likely to be classified at the pre-conventional level of Kohleberg's model (stages 1 and 2)
• How is the pre-conventional level characterised?

  • by a need to avoid punishment and gain rewards
  • associated with less mature childlike reasoning
• How do studies support the idea that criminals fall on the pre-conventional level?

  studies suggest that offenders are more egocentric and display poorer social perspective talking skills
• how do people on a higher level of the morality model differ from those on a lower level?

  tend to be able to sympathise more with the rights of others and exhibit more conventional behaviour
• What are cognitive distortions?

  the way in which criminals interpret other people's behaviour and justify their actions
• 2 cognitive distortions

  • hostile attribution bias
  • minimalization
• Hostile attribution bias

  the propensity for violence is often associated with the tendency to misinterpret the actions of other people
• What support is there for a hostile attribution basis?

  2014 study showed that violent offenders were more likely to perceive the images as angry or hostile
• minimalization 


  an attempt to deny or downplay the seriousness of an offence and has been referred to as a 'euphemistic label' of behaviour
• what offenders a particularly prone to minimalisation?

  sexual offenders and child molestation cases